We are engaged in a “Battle of Ideas” on a world-wide scale. This battle pits American Values; including democracy, freedom, and respect for individual rights, against totalitarian governments and violent extremists who intend to force others to do what they want by the use of violence. I am confident that our values will triumph. I have seen Communism defeated, not by war, but by our reliance on our values and the clear evidence that our values produce a better way of life. As a nation, we must trust in the values that have been captured in our Constitution, and by relying on those values, we will continue to win the “Battle of Ideas”.

As we come into conflict with other nations and non-state actors who threaten our way of life, we should engage them will all elements of national power: Diplomatic, Economic, Information, and Military. As a combat veteran, I can tell you that military force should only be used as a last resort. We should start with diplomacy, and engage diplomatically with all parties to resolve conflicts in a mutually beneficial way before the conflicts rise to a level where violence is used.

Make no mistake; we have real enemies who wish us harm. There are those, like Al Qaeda, who have already risen to the level of violence. Once violence is used, we have no choice but to respond with the appropriate level of force to ensure that any threat to our country is defeated. This not only will end the threat from those who attacked us, but will also serve as a deterrent to others and reinforce our diplomatic efforts. For those who wish to use violence, weakness encourages attack, whether that weakness is real or perceived. But our first goal should be to resolve conflicts before violence is used.

The basis for our eventual victory in this Battle of Ideas is those values embedded in our Constitution. For that reason, we should hold fast to those values and the rule of law. Moving away from those values works counter to our goals. Torture is not an American Value. Coercive interrogation and indefinite detention without trial are unconstitutional and illegal. They are the tactics of our enemies, the totalitarian governments and violent extremists we seek to defeat. Use of those tactics has set our nation back in the Battle of Ideas, and it will take considerable effort to regain the moral high ground that we used to take for granted.

To regain the moral high ground, we will need to hold accountable those who have violated the law. Torture is illegal. The Geneva Conventions are part of the U.S. Code. We should conduct an investigation to determine who did what. Once we have established the facts, we should follow those facts wherever they lead, with criminal prosecutions where crimes have been committed. It is unfair that soldiers from the 6th District are in jail, while those in Washington who authorized similar acts are not. The rule of law should apply equally to all.

GUANTANAMO

We must close the detention center at Guantanamo as soon as possible. It has become a primary recruiting tool for violent extremists. They point to the history of torture and the lack of trials for inmates, and accuse America of hypocrisy, because we have abandoned our Constitutional values. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the facility is in violation of our Constitution. If we believe in the values stated in our Constitution, there can be no argument. Guantanamo must be closed.

Any terrorist being held there should be transferred to a Federal prison and tried in Federal Court. We currently hold many domestic terrorists in Supermax prisons already, and no prisoner has ever escaped from a Federal Supermax prison, so we can hold them safely. The current environment at Guantanamo has made it an ideal situation to further radicalize the prison population, as prisoners are separated only by chain-link fences permitting unlimited conversation. A more restrictive environment, such as that found in a Federal prison would reduce the opportunity for radicalization. Our Constitution requires that all people be given a fair trial. We need to have faith in our system, and hold true to our values.

Anyone who has been a combatant, and fought against U.S. forces, is not entitled to a trial. They should be transferred back to the country in which they were captured, and detained until the conflict is over or they agree to cease fighting. Military forces have routinely captured and processed prisoners. There is no reason that we should handle prisoners differently today than we have for the last two centuries.

There are some detainees at Guantanamo who are not combatants or terrorists. They have been questioned and determined to be innocent. Those persons should be released. Ideally, they should be returned to their country of origin. In cases where return to the country of origin would result in their persecution or death, such as the case with Uigar separatists from China, the detainees should be released to a neutral third party country.

Guantanamo must be closed. While some legal and logistic issues exist, they can be overcome. There is no excuse for failing to follow our laws.

IRAQ

Iraq should and can be secured by Iraqis. Iraq has a democratically elected government, and they will only learn to govern if we let them govern themselves. We should support Iraq’s military and law enforcement forces with training, but they must learn to do the job themselves. We should assist the Iraqis with diplomatic support to achieve compromises between conflicting interest groups to resolve complicated issues such as how to share oil revenues and how to ensure protection for ethnic minorities; but they need to develop compromises which will be acceptable to all Iraqis.

I support President Obama’s plan for transitioning Iraq to Iraqi control. We should:

• Remove all combat troops from Iraq by August 2010
• Remove combat troops from urban areas by summer 2009
• Work with other nations in the region to ensure stability
• Support this effort with humanitarian and financial assistance

AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN

Al Qaeda and its supporting organizations continue to operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan and use that base to plan attacks in other parts of the world. This situation cannot be permitted to continue. The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan require U.S. support to enable them to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and its partners. We will need to provide that support to ensure the safety of America and our citizens.

While we should support the democratically elected governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, we should not be expected to do their job for them. Our role should be to partner with the local governments and enable the local government to maintain their control after our departure. In doing this, we should follow the following principles:

• Focus on Information Operations to separate Al Qaeda from the local population
• Use military force with precision. We cannot use 500 pound bombs which destroy several buildings to engage a single person. This technique causes an unacceptable level of civilian casualties. We must engage with precision, which requires a viable force on the ground, with the mobility required to move quickly to the point of conflict.
• Both of the preceding operations require precise intelligence. Intelligence support will be decisive in any successful operation.
• We must assist with economic development appropriate to the existing society and infrastructure. Micro loans and agricultural support will be more effective than large scale development projects. While development of road and communications infrastructure will be required to facilitate our military operations, those sorts of projects should not be regarded as the primary form of economic development. To be long-lasting, economic development must be a natural progression of existing cultural and social norms, and the existing norms do not rely on travel.
• We must assist with education, particularly literacy, and promote education for both boys and girls. Literacy for females is the primary determinant of long term economic development, as they pass the expectation of this knowledge on to the next generation.

WHAT’S NEXT

We must plan beyond our current conflicts, anticipating an adaptive enemy and the possible emergence of other competitors.

• Al Qaeda – We must expect that Al Qaeda leadership will relocate when we begin to achieve success in the AF/PAK region. We should anticipate where they will relocate to and ensure that we are setting conditions world-wide where their arrival will result in immediate reporting to U.S. forces.
• North Korea – North Korea’s recent nuclear testing and missile launches are direct and serious violations of existing agreements. We should work diplomatically to ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed. The immediate stoppage of all economic and humanitarian aid would be an appropriate response. Funds which would have been used for that aid should instead be used to initiate a Voice of America style program to inform the North Korean people that their hardships are due to Kim Jong Il’s irresponsible acts.
• Russia and China – We should engage diplomatically, while being prepared for both of these nations to attempt to establish themselves as peer competitors to the U.S.
• Cuba – Fidel Castro is nearing the end of his reign. We should open all diplomatic and economic exchanges. Castro’s communism will collapse when faced with free market exchange.