Lincoln Chafee presidential campaign, 2016/Foreign affairs
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 Lincoln Chafee |
Governor of Rhode Island (2011-2015) U.S. Senate (1999-2007) |
 Democratic candidates: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Iran nuclear deal
- Lincoln Chafee has expressed support for negotiations with Iran regarding their nuclear development program: “Of course, we should be talking with [Iran]. That’s what we did right during the Cold War: talking with China, talking with Russia….That’s the right way to make peace.”[1]
- In 2008, Chafee authored an op-ed in The Huffington Post on Iran emphasizing the importance of diplomacy to address nuclear proliferation. Chafee also suggested Americans understand Iran’s position, “If we were Iranians, would we be paranoid, too, about protecting ourselves and our vast resources in an oil-thirsty world?”[2]
Military preparedness and budget
- In an October 17, 2015, interview with Providence Journal, Lincoln Chafee explained that the media is not interested in covering an “anti-war” candidate. He said, "Not one person has asked me about stopping drone strikes. The establishment doesn't want to hear my voice, obviously." Chafee also discussed his plan to improve relations in the Middle East. He said, "Our brand isn't working, so we have to change that. Make it more positive. Start talking about peace. Let's resolve our differences without armed conflict. Let's be the ones to get to the peace table.[3]
- In a November 2014 interview with WPRO, Chafee described himself as “a pacifist.”[4]
- Chafee opposed potential cuts to the Army National Guard’s personnel and equipment to take effect in 2015.[5]
- In 2006, Chafee voted for an amendment to the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, which would have appropriated more than $47 billion for the operations and maintenance of the military.[6]
- In 2005, Chafee voted in favor of HR 1268 - Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2005 to increase funding for the families of military personnel killed in combat, procurement of combat supplies, military research and other defense costs.[7]
National security
- At the first Democratic debate, October 13, 2015, Lincoln Chafee called for changing the approach to the nation's approach to the Middle East. Chafee said, “We've got to stop these wars. You have to have a new dynamic, a new paradigm. We just spent a half-billion dollars arming and training soldiers, the rebel soldiers in Syria. They quickly join the other side. We bombed the...And also we just bombed a hospital. We've had drone strikes that hit civilian weddings. So I would change how we -- our approach to the Middle East. We need a new paradigm in the Middle East.”[8]
- When asked on Morning Joe how he would handle ISIS, Chafee responded, “My view is that we have to do what we did in the Cold War and build strong alliances, and that’s how you deal with threats. Containment worked in the Cold War. Go back to what worked.”[9]
- In an interview with Huff Post Live on April 16, 2015, Chafee stated that although he “care[s] deeply about civil liberties,” he does not regret his vote for the Patriot Act.[10]
- Chafee served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in 2005.[11]
- Chafee has been a strong opponent of the Iraq War. Chafee wrote on his exploratory committee website, “The tragedies of the Iraq War are manifold; lost and injured lives, hundreds of billions of squandered tax dollars, the difficulty of providing just and proper care for our brave veterans, but maybe the most tragic, the loss of American credibility. I commit to the repair needed to all the harm done. Our credibility will be restored when we respect our world partners and truly listen when they speak. In a world of nuclear weapons, the United States must make international decisions with brains and not biceps.” Chafee was the only Republican to vote against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. [12][13]
International relations
- On October 19, 2015, Lincoln Chafee tweeted that the European Union should offer $3 billion to Turkey to help them take in Syrian refugees."EU countries can't agree on #refugee distribution so offer $3B to Turkey. Turkey needs the help, and I'm for whatever works at this point," Chafee said.
- Chafee is a member of the Advisory Council of J Street, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[14] In a speech at Brown University in 2007, Chafee expressed support for Israel as an ally, and encouraged greater American involvement in the peace process there.[15]
- In a November 2014 interview with WPRO, Chafee described himself as “an advocate for the United Nations.”[16]
- Chafee suggested tension with Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine and major arms sale to Iran could be traced back to a diplomatic error by Hillary Clinton. Chafee described the incident, “In the early days they tried to restart with Russia and she presented the Russian foreign minister with the restart button. And they got the Russian word wrong. They said, 'This means over-charge,' and it was an insult.”[17]
- Chafee has vehemently criticized the vote against the Levin Amendment in 2002, which would have required approval from the United Nations before authorizing force in Iraq. In an op-ed published five years later in The New York Times, Chafee wrote the vote against the Levin Amendment and for the Iraq War Resolution ignored multilateralism and warnings from the United States’ Near Eastern allies.[18][19][20]
- Chafee served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee’s Near East Subcommittee.[21]
- In 2003, Chafee voted against HR 1828 - Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003, which authorized sanctions on Syria. Prior to the vote, Chafee expressed concern on the Senate floor that “cracking down on an Arab nation ultimately harms [American] interests in many very important parts of the world.”[22]
Epidemic control
- Lincoln Chafee was critical of strict quarantines for medical workers returning from West Africa during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. In response to the mandatory 21-day quarantines instituted in New York and New Jersey in October 2014, Chafee urged caution, “The idea of a blanket quarantine for people who come back could possibly have a negative consequence of essentially disincentivizing people from wanting to go there.”[23]
- Chafee co-sponsored S 1765 - Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2001 and voted for HR 3448 - Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.[24][25]
ISIS and terrorism
- When asked on Morning Joe how he would handle ISIS, Chafee responded, “My view is that we have to do what we did in the Cold War and build strong alliances, and that’s how you deal with threats. Containment worked in the Cold War. Go back to what worked.”[26]
Syrian refugees
- On October 19, 2015, Lincoln Chafee tweeted that the European Union should offer $3 billion to Turkey to help them take in Syrian refugees."EU countries can't agree on #refugee distribution so offer $3B to Turkey. Turkey needs the help, and I'm for whatever works at this point," Chafee said.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Lincoln + Chafee + Foreign + Affairs
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Morning Joe, “Chafee: We should be talking with Iran,” April 10, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, “Iran Policy: Foolhardy and Dangerous,” June 5, 2008
- ↑ Providence Journal, "Chafee roused by Democratic debate, despite criticism of his performance," October 17, 2015
- ↑ WPRO, “Exclusive: One-on-one with Governor Lincoln Chafee,” November 20, 2014
- ↑ National Governors Association, “Letter to the President Regarding Army National Guard,” February 28, 2014
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.Amdt.2737 to S.Amdt.2707,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “H.R.1268 - Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The CNN Democratic debate transcript, annotated," October 13, 2015
- ↑ Morning Joe, “Chafee: We should be talking with Iran,” April 10, 2015
- ↑ Huff Post Live, “Chafee: 'In General, We Went In The Right Direction' With Patriot Act,” April 16, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, “Chafee to Serve on Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Chafee 2016 Exploratory Committee, “Policy,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “H.J.Res.114 - Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ J Street, “Advisory Council,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Brown University, “President Bush’s Road Map to Middle East Peace: A Promise Unfulfilled,” February 12, 2007
- ↑ WPRO, “Exclusive: One-on-one with Governor Lincoln Chafee,” November 20, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, “Lincoln Chafee accuses Hillary Clinton of diplomatic clumsiness, says ‘America loves an underdog’,” April 16, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, “The Senate’s Forgotten Iraq Choice,” March 1, 2007
- ↑ Congress.gov, “H.J.Res.114 - Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.Amdt.4862 to S.Amdt.4856,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Chafee 2016 Presidential Exploratory Committee, “Meet Lincoln Chafee,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Government Publishing Office, “Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 163, Pages S14405-S14417,” November 11, 2003
- ↑ WPRI, “Chafee’s Ebola remarks puts him at odds with NJ Governor,” October 28, 2014
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.1765 - Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2001,” accessed May 4, 2014
- ↑ Congress.gov, “H.R.3448 - Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002,” accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Morning Joe, “Chafee: We should be talking with Iran,” April 10, 2015
