The primary and most important responsibility of government is to protect the people from harm. The United States has enemies who wish to cause us great harm and destruction, and we must be able to guarantee the American people that our enemies will not succeed. We must continue to keep America’s enemies on the defensive and off-balance. We must not allow the enemy to achieve victory, either in Afghanistan or Iraq, and thereby establish sanctuaries empowering them to attack America with impunity – like they were able to before September 11, 2001.
America’s enemies are not confined solely to the two existing theaters of war. America and her allies face challenges from state sponsors of terrorism elsewhere. The possibility of a dictatorship in Iran acquiring weapons of mass destruction poses great dangers to our friend and ally Israel. “FARC” terrorists’ receipt of sanctuary by governments in South America poses grave dangers to our friend and ally Colombia. That is why I will continue to support U.S. military and economic support for both those key U.S. allies, and why it is so dangerously irresponsible for the Majority Congressional Leadership to have denied Congress the opportunity to even vote on the U.S. – Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
With respect to Cuba, my position is clear: No unilateral concessions. I will continue to firmly oppose the lifting of any sanctions, in law or in regulation, on the Cuban dictatorship, until all political prisoners are freed; all political parties, labor unions and the press are legalized; and free, multi-party elections are scheduled.