Despite agreeing with the invasion of Iraq, Republicans vying for the nomination to be Illinois’ next U.S. senator are split over whether more troops should be committed and the Bush administration’s anti-terrorism strategies.
Several of the five top GOP candidates raised concerns about the effectiveness and fairness of the USA Patriot Act and other efforts to blunt terrorism on the home front in response to Tribune questions about their views on national security matters.
Most said if they were in Congress now they would defer to the Pentagon’s judgment on necessary troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Glenview businessman Andy McKenna Jr. said he would have serious concerns if a decision were made to send more U.S. soldiers there, noting that they remain targets of hostile fire.
State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger of Elgin said he felt the nation’s color-coded terror alert warning system is confusing and in need of an overhaul. He also said the bounty on the head of Osama Bin Laden should be doubled.
McKenna and Rauschenberger are running in the March 16 GOP primary against investment banker-turned teacher Jack Ryan, dairy owner Jim Oberweis and former Air Force Gen. John Borling. The five candidates are vying to replace Republican Peter Fitzgerald, who is retiring, in a race that could decide the balance of power in the Senate.
McKenna said he supports the current policy of rotating troops, including reservists, in and out of Iraq to avoid prolonged tours of duty. But he is troubled by the idea of sending additional troops to stabilize that nation, as some have suggested may be necessary.
“Since our troops remain a target of insurgents in Iraq, we should not put any more troops in harm’s way than is necessary to achieve the goals of our mission,” he said.
While President Bush has maintained that power in Iraq will be turned over to a new civilian-controlled government by June 30, many of the Republican candidates seemed skeptical that the country will be stable enough to keep that schedule.
“Let’s see what happens, but I think June may be overly ambitious,” said Oberweis, of Aurora.
Borling, of Rockford, said the occupation of Iraq should end when “a democratically elected government rules Baghdad.” At the same time, he had doubts about whether that could be achieved along Bush’s timeline.
“The sooner the better, but control should not be handed off until it can be done the right way,” he said. “I would not hold June 30 as a hard and fast deadline.”
Most of the Republican candidates also had at least modest concerns about how the administration’s Patriot Act has invaded the rights of citizens.
Ryan, of Wilmette, said that before the Patriot Act expires at the end of next year, the president and Congress should scrutinize how well it has worked and how fair it has been.
“Appropriate adjustments should be made … specifically any suspension of civil liberties, including the ability to jail an American citizens without filing formal charges,” Ryan said.
Rauschenberger was more blunt in expressing dismay.
“I am uncomfortable about some aspects of the act,” he said. “Specifically, provisions denying U.S. citizens the right … to counsel and provisions dealing with secret trials.”
Oberweis, on the other hand, called the act a reasonably response to terrorism and said he had no concerns about it.
“I believe the critics of the Patriot Act are severely overwrought,” he said.
All of the Republican candidates said they felt that the U.S. is safer today than before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Still, many said the government could do better.
Rauschenberger said the terrorism alert program is confusing and wants to reduce it from five colors to three: green, yellow and red. He also suggested the government intensify its effort to catch Bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, by raising the reward for information leading to his capture “from $25 million to at least $50 million.”
Ryan questioned whether seaports and nuclear power plants are truly safe from terrorism. And Oberweis, echoing one of his main campaign themes, said the Bush administration must take a stronger stand on preventing illegal immigrants from crossing U.S. borders. He also said he would be reluctant to back any new policies to increase U.S. involvement with Latin American countries.
All of the Republicans expressed support for Bush’s $87 billion spending bill to rebuild Iraq. At the same time, many felt that at least some of the money should have been a loan rather than a bailout, noting the increasing size of the federal budget deficit. And many were wary of dedicating even more dollars for reconstruction.
“I would be more hesitant to devote new funds to rebuilding Iraq … given the deficit and the competing need for infrastructure investments at home in Illinois,” McKenna said.
Bush’s decision to use force to oust Saddam Hussein has helped curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, most of the candidates agreed.
“Pakistan, North Korea and any other nuclear power need to know that any nuclear attack on our allies or our interests will be met with similar force,” Rauschenberger said.
Candidates Oberweis, McKenna and Rauschenberger expressed general support for the president’s policies regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but thought he should take a harder line on the Palestinian Authority, which they associated with extremists and terrorists (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
Borling was more diplomatic.
“Israel is a friend and we need to assist her and the Palestinians,” Borling said. “Some solutions come hard and only after exhaustion.”
