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Joe Biden possible presidential campaign, 2016/Foreign affairs
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 Joe Biden |
Vice President of the United States (2009-2017) U.S. Senator (1973-2009) |
 Democratic candidates: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Iran nuclear deal
| Biden speaks at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on April 30, 2015 about the potential nuclear deal with Iran. |
- In a call with Jewish leaders on July 27, 2015, Vice President Joe Biden made assurances that the Iran nuclear deal benefits Israel. “This is a complicated thing, but when you look at the facts, when you cut all the political wheeling and dealing aside, this is a solid, solid, very strong agreement that makes Israel safer, makes us safer, makes the region safer,” Biden said as part of his effort promote the agreement on behalf of the Obama administration.[1]
- Following the announcement a nuclear deal had been reached with Iran on July 14, 2015, Biden was tasked with promoting the agreement to Congress. Biden said, "I am confident this deal will prevail."[2]
- Biden spoke about negotiations with Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on April 30, 2015. In addition to outlining the parameters of the current deal, Biden cautioned, "[I]f we’re viewed as walking away from what is considered a reasonable deal by our partners in favor of a unilateral, maximalist positions, we will lose international support that our sanctions regime depends on. Because unilateral U.S. sanctions long ago ceased to be enough to ratchet up the pressure. That's not what is hurting Iran so badly." Biden added, "Let’s get something straight so we don't kid each other. They [Iran] already have paved a path to a bomb’s worth of material. Iran could get there now if they walked away in two to three months without a deal."[3]
- On March 9, 2015, Biden criticized Senate Republicans for sending a letter to the Iranian government explaining features of the United States Constitution that affect any nuclear deal made between the U.S. and Iran. Biden said, "There is no perfect solution to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program. However, a diplomatic solution that puts significant and verifiable constraints on Iran’s nuclear program represents the best, most sustainable chance to ensure that America, Israel, and the world will never be menaced by a nuclear-armed Iran. This letter is designed to convince Iran’s leaders not to reach such an understanding with the United States. The president has committed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He has made clear that no deal is preferable to a bad deal that fails to achieve this objective, and he has made clear that all options remain on the table. The current negotiations offer the best prospect in many years to address the serious threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions. It would be a dangerous mistake to scuttle a peaceful resolution, especially while diplomacy is still underway."[4]
- Speaking at the Brookings Institution in December 2014, Biden stated, "[W]e remain committed to seek an agreement that meaningfully and verifiably blocks Iran from the pathways that it has available to it to create fissile material for a bomb; a nuclear breakout in its uranium enrichment facilities; the plutonium path, using Iran’s Arak reactor; or a covert nuclear program."[5]
Military preparedness and budget
| Biden debates Paul Ryan on defense spending in October 2012. |
- In 2014, Joe Biden criticized Arizona Senator John McCain for saying the government should spend more money on the military than food stamps or highways. Biden said, "When it comes to the safety of our warriors, we have to spend the money. But this idea of it’s somehow inherently more important to spend money on the military than on domestic needs is a policy I reject, I reject out of hand.”[6]
- When Paul Ryan suggested Biden wanted to cut defense spending during a vice presidential debate in October 2012, Biden responded, "The military says we need a smaller, leaner Army. We need more special forces; we don't need more M-1 tanks. What we need is more UAVs...that was the decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommended to us and agreed to by the President. That’s a fact."[7]
- In March 2008, Biden cosponsored S 2705 - Troops to Nurse Teachers Act of 2008, to develop programs to increase the number of nursing students and nurses who join the military.[8]
- When asked during a 2007 presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa if he supported women registering for selective service, Biden advocated for a national service requirement for everyone. Describing a 1988 bill Biden supported, he said, "[Y]ou get to pick one of three things. If you chose the Army it’s six months, if you chose a domestic Peace Corps it’s two years, if you chose foreign Peace Corps, you only have to do it a year. Everyone...can chose what they want but there should be universal service unless there is an extreme physical disability."[9]
- In 2007, Biden voted in favor of an amendment to H R 1585 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which would have limited the length of deployments to no more than 12 consecutive months for members of the Armed Forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom and seven consecutive months for members of the Marine Corps.[10][11]
- In 2005, Biden voted in favor of an amendment to the 2006 congressional budget designed "[t]o protect the American people from terrorist attacks by restoring $565 million in cuts to vital first-responder programs in the Department of Homeland Security, including the State Homeland Security Grant program, by providing $150 million for port security grants and by providing $140 million for 1,000 new border patrol agents."[12][13]
- In 1998, Biden voted against an amendment to S 2057 - Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999, that would have restricted base closures.[14][15]
National security
| Biden speaks at the Harvard Kennedy School in October 2014 about foreign policy and national security. |
- Speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School in October 2014, Joe Biden described ISIS as "a group that combines al Qaeda’s ideology with territorial ambitions in Iraq and Syria and beyond." Biden continued, "Our comprehensive strategy to degrade and eventually defeat ISIL reflects the lessons we have learned post-9/11 age about how to use our power wisely. And degrading them does not depend upon an unsustainable deployment of hundreds of thousands of boots on the ground. It’s focused on building a coalition with concrete contributions from the countries in the region. It recognizes outside military intervention alone will not be enough. Ultimately, societies have to solve their own problems, which is why we’re pouring so much time and effort into supporting a Syrian opposition and Iraqi efforts to re-establish their democracy and defend their territory. But this is going to require a lot of time and patience."[16]
- During the vice presidential debate in 2012, the moderator asked Biden why initial reports suggested the terrorist attack on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya related to a protest. Biden responded, "Because that was exactly what we were told by the intelligence community. The intelligence community told us that. As they learned more facts about exactly what happened, they changed their assessment. That's why there's also an investigation headed by Tom Pickering, a leading diplomat from the Reagan years, who is doing an investigation as to whether or not there are any lapses, what the lapses were, so that they will never happen again." Biden added they had not been told "they wanted more security there."[17]
| Biden speaks about ISIS following the death of journliast Steven Sotloff in September 2014. |
- According to The New York Times in August 2008, Biden "opposed the [Bush] administration’s handling of the [Iraq] war, especially Mr. Bush’s decision to send additional troops–an administration strategy that military experts say has helped to reduce violence in Iraq."[18]
- Biden cowrote an op-ed in The New York Times on May 1, 2006, recommending the Bush administration take Bosnia as an example of how to unite Iraq. Biden explained, "The idea, as in Bosnia, is to maintain a united Iraq by decentralizing it, giving each ethno-religious group — Kurd, Sunni Arab and Shiite Arab — room to run its own affairs, while leaving the central government in charge of common interests. We could drive this in place with irresistible sweeteners for the Sunnis to join in, a plan designed by the military for withdrawing and redeploying American forces, and a regional nonaggression pact."[19]
- Biden voted in favor of authorizing military force against Iraq in October 2002. Speaking on the Senate floor, Biden said, "I'll vote for this because we should be compelling Iraq to make good on its obligations to the United Nations. Because while Iraq's illegal weapons of mass destruction program does not pose an imminent threat to our national security, in my view, they will if left unfettered. And because a strong vote in Congress, as I said, increases the prospect for a tough, new U.N. resolution on weapons of mass destruction, it is likely to get weapons inspectors in, which, in turn, decreases the prospects of war." [20]
- In 2001 and 2006, Biden supported the Patriot Act, voting in favor of H R 3162 - USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and H R 3199 - USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005.[21][22][23][24]
- In 1995, Biden introduced S 390 - Omnibus Counterrorism Act of 1995, which sought to expand the definition and penalties for terroristic acts under the federal criminal code and set new guidelines for the deportation of foreign terrorists.[25]
- In 1991, Biden introduced S 2666 - Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Act of 1991, a bill whose language foreshadowed the Patriot Act, stating, "It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law."[26][27]
International relations
| Biden speaks about the Russia-Ukraine conflict on May 27, 2015 at the Brookings Institution. |
- Joe Biden discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the Brookings Institution in May 2015. Biden said, "The conflict over Ukraine, I think, is a test for the West, a test for the EU, a test for NATO, a test for us. President Putin is wagering that he has greater staying power than all the parties I just mentioned have. In Ukraine he's betting that he can outlast the current reformist pro-European government and undermine it economically. President Putin is also trying to scare our allies and partners with the threat of a new and aggressive Russia. Terms we haven't heard in a long time in terms of terms relating to nuclear power, nuclear arms." Explaining how the U.S. is responding to the conflict, Biden added, "The United States' sanctions on Russia must and will remain in place until the Minsk Agreement is fully implemented. It is my hope and expectation that when European leaders may meet again at the end of June, they will renew existing sanctions until Minsk is fully implemented."[28]
- On April 23, 2015, Biden spoke at the Annual Israeli Independence Day Celebration, where he reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to Israel's security. Biden said, "[W]e celebrate your independence and our friendship, which was born just 11 minutes after Israel’s founding. And President Obama and I are proud to carry forward the unbroken line of American leaders–Democrat and Republican–who have honored America’s sacred promise to protect the homeland of the Jewish people." Noting the importance of containing Iran's nuclear program to Israel, Biden added, "This isn’t a grand bargain between the United States and Iran. It’s a nuclear bargain between Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany, the EU, America and Iran. It’s based on hard-hitting, hard-headed, uncompromising assessments of what is required to protect ourselves, Israel, the region, and the world." [29]
- In January 2014, Biden advocated for a two-state solution while meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. Biden said, "[T]he one place where there’s a possibility for an island of stability, quite frankly, is what you said, and that is between the Palestinian people and the Israeli people in two secure states respecting one another’s sovereignty and security."[30]
| Biden discusses U.S.-China business relations in Beijing on December 5, 2013. |
- During a 2013 diplomatic visit to China, Biden criticized the country's treatment of foreign journalists, cautioning, "Innovation thrives where people breathe freely, speak freely, are able to challenge orthodoxy, where newspapers can report the truth without fear of consequences." Biden also expressed concern with China's plans to create an air defense zone in the East China Sea where Japan disputed the ownership of several island territories.[31][32]
- Biden served on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1975 to 2009, and acted as ranking member or chairman of that committee in the last 12 years of his Senate career.[33][34][35]
- When asked in 2007 if China was an ally or adversary, Biden responded, "They’re neither. The fact of the matter is, though, they hold the mortgage on our house. This [Bush] administration, in order to fund a war that shouldn’t be being fought and tax cuts that weren’t needed for the wealthy–we’re now in debt almost a trillion dollars–a trillion dollars to China. We better end that war, cut those taxes, reduce the deficit and make sure that they no longer own the mortgage on our home."[36]
- In 2006, Biden cosponsored S 2370 - Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which became law on December 21, 2006. The bill expressed support for a two-state solution and ended financial support to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority.[37]
- In 1999, Biden coauthored the Helms-Biden Act with North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms to create and authorize a payment plan for debts owed to the United Nations.[38]
Epidemic control
| Biden states the need for emergency funds to address Ebola in West Africa in November 2014. |
- Following the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, Joe Biden advocated for an emergency funding request of $6.18 billion to address both the immediate and future need to combat the virus.[39]
- Biden spoke at Harvard University's Institute of Politics in October 2014, where he noted "threats as diverse as terrorism and pandemic disease cross borders at blinding speeds" and emphasized the importance of coalitions to address such public health issues. Biden said, "Take Ebola. A horrific disease that is now a genuine global health emergency. Our Centers for Disease Control, USAID and our military have taken charge of that world epidemic. We are organizing the international response to this largest epidemic in history. The President rallied the world at the United Nations last week, mobilizing countries from all around the world to act, and to act quickly. We’re deploying over 3,000 American soldiers to West Africa to support regional civilian responses and advance the effort in fighting the disease of Ebola."[40]
- On September 5, 2001, Biden criticized the allotment of $182 million to address potential bioterrorism as insufficient. Biden said, "In my view, the threat from anonymously-delivered biological weapons and from emerging infectious diseases simply dwarfs the threat that we will be attacked by a third-world ICBM with a return address."[41]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Joe Biden Asks Jewish Leaders To 'Look At The Facts' Of Iran Deal," July 27, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Hill Democrats press Biden for answers on Iran deal," July 15, 2015
- ↑ Washington Institute, "30th Anniversary Address by Vice President Joe Biden," April 30, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Biden Condemns Republicans’ Letter to Iran on Nuclear Talks," accessed April 10, 2015
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden to the 2014 Saban Forum," December 7, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Joe Biden hits back at Dick Cheney," July 16, 2014
- ↑ TIME, "Undercard Debate: Not Much Difference When It Comes to U.S. Interventions," October 12, 2012
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.2705 - Troops to Nurse Teachers Act of 2008," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ The Iowa Brown and Black Forum, "2007 Transcript," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.2032 to S.Amdt.2011," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Hagel Amdt. No. 2032)," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.220 to S.Con.Res.18," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Lieberman Amdt. No. 220)," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.2981 to S.2057," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Inhofe Amdt. No.2981)," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by the Vice President at the John F. Kennedy Forum," October 3, 2014
- ↑ CNN, "Transcript: Vice Presidential Debate," October 12, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "A Democratic Leader on Foreign Policy, in Iraq and the Balkans," August 23, 2008
- ↑ The New York Times, "Unity Through Autonomy in Iraq," May 1, 2006
- ↑ C-SPAN, "Senate Session, October 10, 2002," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.3162 - Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 3162)," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R.3199 - USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (H.R. 3199 Conference Report)," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.390 - Omnibus Counterterrorism Act of 1995," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, S.266 - Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Act of 1991," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ CNET, "Joe Biden's pro-RIAA, pro-FBI tech voting record," August 23, 2008
- ↑ Brookings Institution, "Brookings hosts Vice President Joe Biden for remarks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict," May 27, 2015
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden the 67th Annual Israeli Independence Day Celebration," April 23, 2015
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at a Bilateral Meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres," January 13, 2014
- ↑ The New York Times, "China Pressures U.S. Journalists, Prompting Warning From Biden," December 4, 2013
- ↑ CNN, "Biden tells Chinese president of 'deep concerns' over air defense zone," December 4, 2013
- ↑ Senate.gov, "History of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 1816-2000," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Vice President Joe Biden," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, "Committee History & Rules," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Transcript: The Democratic Candidates Forum," August 8, 2007
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.2370 - Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "United States May Yet Lose Its Vote in U.N. General Assembly," November 16, 1999
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Biden Urges Groups to Lobby Congress for $6.2 Billion in Ebola Funds," November 13, 2014
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by the Vice President at the John F. Kennedy Forum," October 3, 2014
- ↑ CNN, "Biden: Bioterrorism more of a threat than missiles," September 5, 2001
