Issue Position: Foreign Policy, Peace, and National Security

Issue Position

Jared believes in a strong national defense focused on actual threats to our security, and that neither our security nor our standing in the world is advanced when our military is engaged unnecessarily.

President John F. Kennedy once said, "The world knows that America will never start a war. This generation of Americans has had enough of war and hate... we want to build a world of peace where the weak are secure and the strong are just."

Sadly, after an unconscionable war of choice in Iraq and a tragically prolonged war in Afghanistan that should have ended years ago, our country has lost sight of Kennedy's ideal -- and we've also lost critical moral authority and credibility in the world.

On Iraq, Jared opposed the war from the beginning and spoke out against it on the Assembly floor. He applauds President Obama for keeping his promise to expeditiously bring our troops home from that country. On Afghanistan, Jared disagrees with the slow pace of troop withdrawal and will push the administration to end the war and immediately bring our troops home.

While honoring the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, Jared supports significant changes in our military and foreign policy. This includes downsizing and re-focusing our military on modern security needs instead of the costly global forward-positioning left over from the Cold War.

Jared believes it is imperative to our long-term security, economic and environmental interests that we eliminate our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels.

Finally, Jared believes that even during these turbulent economic times, the government must do all it can to continue the programs put in place to help veterans as they return to lead successful lives after having served their country. Jared is also committed to providing care for the tens of thousands who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and need critical services.

Jared's foreign policy priorities include:

Bringing our troops home and ending the war in Afghanistan immediately
Scaling back unnecessary global forward deployments
When our national security is at stake, giving diplomacy, international coalitions, and sanctions maximum support to avoid military conflict
Reducing our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels
Honoring the service of our veterans by taking care of their needs

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