Mike Pence vice presidential campaign, 2016/ISIS
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
The 2016 presidential candidates quickly took to Twitter and their websites to release statements expressing their support for the people of France after members of the Islamic State (ISIS) killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350 during a terrorist attack that occurred at six separate locations in Paris on November 13, 2015.[1] After statements of support and condolence were issued, the candidates shifted to policy and politics, each explaining how they would handle ISIS as commander-in-chief.
The terrorist attacks changed the topic of CBS' November 14, 2015, Democratic primary debate from the economy and domestic issues to foreign policy and ISIS. Hillary Clinton sought to demonstrate that, as a former secretary of state, she was the candidate with the most foreign policy experience and in the best position to handle ISIS. Her Democratic presidential rivals, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Md.), criticized her vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq, which Sanders said led to the rise of ISIS.[2]
Republican candidates criticized President Barack Obama's strategy for handling ISIS and for saying hours before the attack that the terrorist group was "contained." GOP candidates also accused Clinton—a former member of the Obama administration—for playing a role in the growth of ISIS, a point that was repeated frequently on the campaign trail.[3][4]
The terrorist attacks in Paris shifted the focus of the 2016 presidential race from domestic issues to the threat that ISIS posed.
See below what Mike Pence and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about ISIS and terrorism.
Pence on ISIS and terrorism
- During the 2016 vice presidential debate on October 4, 2016, Pence said, "Iraq has been overrun by ISIS because Hillary Clinton failed to renegotiate ... a status of forces agreement." Later on October 4, 2016, PolitiFact called Pence's claim "mostly false." The fact-checking website said that Pence was accurate in that 2011 negotiations between the Obama administration and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to keep troops in Iraq failed. Military commanders pushed for more forces than President Obama was prepared to commit to Iraq, along with immunity from prosecution by Iraqis for American troops, and Iraqi leaders were not inclined to move against Iraqi citizens who wanted American troops to leave. PolitiFact said that Pence's claim "puts too much emphasis on Clinton’s role, when the key decisions and discussions took place between the White House itself and Iraqi leaders."[5]
- On October 4, 2016, during the vice presidential debate, moderator Elaine Quijano asked, "Two hundred fifty thousand people, 100,000 of them children, are under siege in Aleppo, Syria. Bunker buster bombs, cluster munitions, and incendiary weapons are being dropped on them by Russian and Syrian militaries. Does the U.S. have a responsibility to protect civilians and prevent mass casualties on this scale, Governor Pence?" Pence replied in part, "I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue—I should say, to be involved—in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime to prevent them from this humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Aleppo." During the October 9, 2016, presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz asked Donald Trump if he agreed with Pence's response and Trump replied, “He and I haven't spoken, and I disagree.” Trump also said, "I think you have to knock out ISIS."[6][7]
- Pence said on October 4, 2016, during the vice presidential debate, "Syria is imploding. You just asked a very thoughtful question about the disaster in Aleppo. ISIS is headquartered in Raqqa. It is—ISIS from Raqqa has overrun vast areas that, at great sacrifice, the American soldier won in Operation Iraqi Freedom."[8]
- On August 14, 2016, Pence told CNN that Donald Trump was being "serious" and not sarcastic when he called President Obama the "founder" of ISIS. "I think he was being very serious," Pence said. "He was making a point that needs to be made, that there is no question that the failed policies of President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the wider Middle East, created a vacuum within Iraq in which ISIS was able to arise."
- Read what the 2016 presidential candidates and other vice presidential candidates said about ISIS and terrorism.
| The 2016 Republican Party Platform on ISIS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Mike + Pence + ISIS + terrorism
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "Paris victims: From all over the world and all walks of life," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Rivals at Democratic Debate Attack Hillary Clinton," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Obama refugee plan targeted after attacks," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Republicans see post-Paris vulnerabilities for Clinton," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ PolitiFact, "Mike Pence: Hillary Clinton failed to keep U.S. troops in Iraq," October 4, 2016
- ↑ Slate, "Mike Pence Takes Donald Trump’s Side in His Public Disagreement With Mike Pence," October 10, 2016
- ↑ Mother Jones, "Mike Pence Insists He and Trump Totally Agree on Syria," October 10, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The Mike Pence vs. Tim Kaine vice-presidential debate transcript, annotated," October 5, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 24, 2016
