NATIONAL SECURITY:
Including Nuclear Proliferation and Supporting Our Military
John McCain has said:
“It is time for the United States to show the kind of leadership the world expects from us, in the tradition of American presidents who worked to reduce the nuclear threat to mankind.
Our highest priority must be to reduce the danger that nuclear weapons will ever be used. [To that end,] we must:
--continue to deploy a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent, robust missile defense and superior conventional forces
--seek to reduce the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number possible
--enter into a new arms control agreement with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons
--bring China in to line with the practices of the other four nuclear weapon states recognized in the Non-Proliferation Treaty
--work to see China move toward a moratorium on the production of additional fissile material
--continue America’s current moratorium on testing and begin a dialogue with our allies to identify ways we can move forward in limiting testing in a verifiable manner
--only support the development of any new type of nuclear weapon that is essential for the viability of our deterrent, that results in making possible further decreases in the size of our nuclear arsenal, and furthers our global national security goals
--cancel all further work on the so-called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator
--move quickly to negotiate a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty and improve the ability to interdict the spread of nuclear weapons and material under the Proliferation Security Initiative
--increase funding for American nonproliferation efforts
--strengthen and enhance the Non-Proliferation Treaty
--Increase IAEA funding and enhance the intelligence support it receives
--actively engage both India and Pakistan to improve the security of their nuclear stockpiles and weapons materials
--limit the further spread of enrichment and reprocessing
--support international guarantees of nuclear fuel supply to countries that renounce enrichment and reprocessing
--support establishing international nuclear enrichment centers and an international repository for spent nuclear fuel
The United States cannot and will not stop the spread of nuclear weapons by unilateral action. We must lead concerted and persistent multilateral efforts.”
—May 27, 2008 Speech, University of Denver
The McCain website (http://www.johnmccain.com/) states:
John McCain’s Homeland Security strategy is to:
--prevent those [disaster] incidents we can,
--prepare for and respond to disasters of all kinds, and
--improve the recovery process for disaster victims.
To meet this challenge, McCain will:
--bring into his Administration strong management at the federal level experienced in combating terrorist risks and in disaster response and recovery
--rely on existing relationships, and insist on forging stronger partnerships, with state and local officials
--work with the private sector and an informed citizenry to safeguard our security
He will also “create a single, principal point of oversight and review for homeland security” as recommended by the 9/11 Commission
To promote international cooperation, McCain will:
--enhance our intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities
--pursue comprehensive reform of our intelligence gathering efforts
--ensure that intelligence is used effectively to protect the American people
To promote cooperation between federal and local authorities, McCain will:
--work to share information the federal government has in a timely way with state and local law enforcement authorities
--continue to push for federal funding to be allocated to state, local and tribal governments on a risk assessment basis and with accountability oversight
--ensure that allocations to state and local authorities are based upon a risk assessment of those areas that face greatest risk and demonstrate both a need and a plan for utilizing the funds to address the risks
--require that local authorities in large cities be required to share information with federal authorities, justifying the large federal subsidies they now receive
To responsibly secure our borders, McCain will:
--secure our land borders, ports and airports by delivering the adequate funding to those agencies charged with protecting our borders so that we have the most state-of-the-art technology and the sufficient personnel to meet the challenges we face
--require that border-state governors certify that the border is secure
--strengthen the process of screening both individuals and cargo before they enter our ports and airports by utilizing the appropriate mix of:
--dedicated manpower
--state-of-the-art technology
--reliable information analysis, and
--sturdy physical barriers as well as
--a comprehensive, layered and risk-based supply chain security strategy for cargo
--continue to work with Mexico and Canada on shared approaches to:
--stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling
--facilitate the free flow of commerce across our borders
To protect America’s technology, McCain will:
--step up counter-proliferation efforts regarding our sophisticated technology and weaponry
--work collectively with foreign allies to make sure Iran [cannot] transform nuclear energy technology into weapons of mass destruction through strict sanctions
To pursue catastrophic event preparedness and response, McCain will:
--ensure that government response efforts operate immediately and effectively
--ensure that there is a unified plan and the necessary assistance to help states and localities deal with disaster
--appoint strong leaders with experience in disaster management
--ensure all members of his Administration understand the importance of disaster management and are held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities in this area
--leverage private sector expertise in recovery efforts by:
--complementing Government-run Emergency Operations Centers across the nation with Business Operations Centers and
--passing laws to provide sufficient liability protections to encourage companies to act as a ‘force multiplier’ for the government during disaster response and recovery efforts
To support First Responders, McCain will:
--provide for interoperable communications between emergency responders and officials in their own city or county and with surrounding cities and counties
--expand the available radio spectrum to enable more reliable and immediate communication capacity
To protect critical infrastructure, McCain will:
--provide an effective framework for protecting the numerous areas of the country’s critical infrastructure
--ensure that all states and municipalities that are responsible for water supply or storage function adequately secure those systems in a manner that eliminates any risk of devastating contamination
--ensure that chemical facilities develop Security Vulnerability Assessments and adopt Site Security Plans that identify and address security vulnerabilities
--protect critical information infrastructure and enhance cyber security
To address our energy vulnerability, McCain will:
--decrease our dependency on foreign oil through his Lexington Project (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/17671aa4-2fe8-4008-859f-0ef1468e96f4.htm)
To protect public transportation, McCain will:
--continue to fight to strengthen the safety and security of our nation’s transportation system, including its rail network
To support the Military Commissions Act (MCA), McCain will:
--establish a process to bring detained Al Qaeda terrorists to trial
To support our military, McCain will:
--maintain our military leadership
--retain our technological advantage
--ensure that America has a modern, agile military force able to meet the diverse security challenges of the 21st century
--ensure that the men and women of our military remain the best, most capable fighting force on Earth—and that our nation honors its promises to them for their service
--strengthen the military
--shore up our alliances
--ensure that the nation is capable of:
--protecting the homeland
--deterring potential military challenges
--responding to any crisis that endangers American security
--prevailing in any conflict we are forced to fight
--enlarge the size of our armed forces to meet new challenges to our security
--modernize the Armed Forces by:
--procuring advanced weapons systems
--addressing force protection needs to make sure that America’s combat personnel have the best safety and survivability equipment available
--adapting our doctrine, training, and tactics for the kind of conflicts we are most likely to face
--promoting a new mix of military forces, including civil affairs, special operations, and highly mobile forces capable of fighting and prevailing in the conflicts America faces
--continue to fight for improved military pay and benefits, and an improved quality of life for military families
--ensure that benefits for deployed Reservists and National Guardsmen are brought in line with our active-duty military forces
--continue to protect increased benefits for America’s veterans
--remain an unwavering champion for the rights of military retirees and their families
To promote better defense spending, McCain will:
--support significant reform in our defense acquisition process to ensure that dollars spent actually contribute to U.S. security
--continue to fight pork-barrel spending to ensure that military funds are spent where they are needed most
To battle extremists and terrorists, McCain will:
--ensure that America has:
--the quality intelligence necessary to uncover plots before they take root
--the resources to protect critical infrastructure and our borders against attack
--the capability to respond and recover from a terrorist incident swiftly
--ensure that the war against terrorists is fought intelligently, with patience and resolve, using all instruments of national power
--lead this fight with the understanding that to impinge on the rights of our own citizens or restrict the freedoms for which our nation stands would be to give terrorists the victory they seek
To promote effective missile defense, McCain will:
--deploy effective missile defenses to:
--reduce the possibility of strategic blackmail by rogue regimes and
--secure our homeland from the very real prospect of missile attack by present or future adversaries.
--not trust in the “balance of terror” to protect America, but will work to deploy effective missile defenses to safeguard our people and our homeland.
—Issues: Homeland Security and National Security
The Republican National Committee (RNC) Platform (http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/) states:
The RNC believes our next president must preserve all options [when] dealing with present conflicts and future crises.
The RNC opposes:
--amnesty
--reinstating the draft
The RNC supports:
--public-private partnerships to safeguard critical infrastructure, especially in the energy industry
--continued removal of barriers to cooperation and information sharing
--reducing the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number consistent with our security requirements and working with other nuclear powers to do the same
--ending the production of weapons-grade fissile material
--improving our collective ability to interdict the spread of weapons of mass destruction and related materials
--ensuring the highest possible security standards for existing nuclear materials wherever they may be located
--developing and deploying national and theater missile defenses to protect the American homeland, our people, our Armed Forces abroad, and our allies
--increasing the ranks and resources of our human intelligence capabilities
--integrating technical and human sources
--getting information more quickly to the warfighter and the policy maker
--reauthorizing and phasing in the E-Verify system—an internet-based system that verifies the employment authorization and identity of employees
--guaranteeing to law enforcement the tools and coordination to deport criminal aliens without delay—and correcting court decisions that have made deportation so difficult
--enforcing the law against those who overstay their visas
--imposing maximum penalties on those who smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S.
--requiring cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement and real consequences, including the denial of federal funds, for self-described sanctuary cities
--welcoming refugees from troubled lands
--providing for the Armed Forces
--significantly increasing our Armed Forces
--retaining combat veterans
--caring for injured veterans of war
--supporting our military families
--providing returning veterans opportunities for education, job training, and employment options
--expanding the GI Bill
--holding the Veterans Administration accountable for tangible results and steady improvement of its services
--reforming the defense budgeting and acquisition process to control costs and ensure vigorous and fair competition
—Section on National Security (http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/NationalSecurity.htm)
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