Jon Huntsman - Homeland Security
Reagan Debate
In September of 2011, Governor Huntsman participated in the Republican debate at the Reagan library. He stated that the there was a fortress mentality on homeland security in the US.
WILLIAMS: Mr. Cain, along these same lines, Majority Leader Eric Cantor has said that federal disaster aid -- this has been a big discussion of late -- shouldn't be given out unless there are kind of concurrent spending cuts to offset the cost. Do you join in on that?
CAIN: I believe that there's enough money to go around. And I believe that, yes, you can find the concurrent spending cuts in order to be able to do that. No, don't eliminate FEMA. Let's fix FEMA. Let's fix Homeland Security.
There's a responsible way for the federal government to do the things that it should do. Running organizations like the TSA, I would agree with Representative Paul, no. Having the federal government responsible for trying to micromanage Medicare, no, trying to micromanage education, no. The federal government is not good at micromanaging anything. This is why I believe in empowering the states to do more and limit what the federal government does with regard to those kinds of program.
WILLIAMS: Governor Huntsman, you know, the upside to this is, I guess, you could fly with your shoes on. The downside is, who does the job the next day?
HUNTSMAN: Let me just say, while this is an important discussion that we're having, we've spent about 15 minutes now on homeland security. The greatest gift we could give this country on the 10th year anniversary, Rick, is a Homeland Security Department that really works, that doesn't give people a sense when they walk through they're going to get shaken down, a department that doesn't make us all feel like there's a fortress security mentality that is not American. And I've got to say there's something wrong with that.
But I'm guessing there are a whole lot of people tuned in around this country who are saying, why are we spending all this time talking about the smaller issues? We've got 14 million people unemployed. We've got millions more in this country who are so dispirited they've quit looking. This is a human tragedy that we're talking about, moms and dads and families that completely go without.
And all I would ask the people here and the people tuning in around this country, look at where we stand in terms of how we are going to get this country back on its feet.
And I just want to point out that we have offered -- based on where I've been and what I have done -- as governor of a state where we became number one in job creation, where we fixed the economy, made it the best economy for business in this entire country. We've got to get back on our feet.
This is a crisis situation. While all these other issues are important, let's not lose sight, folks, of the bottom line here. We've got to get back in the game as a country. We've got to make this economy work.
CNN National Security Debate
On November 22, 2011 Governor Huntsman participated in the national security debate on CNN. In that debate, he was asked about the PATRIOT Act and states that while the US should be careful relating to civil rights, he supports the need for such legislation.
BLITZER: Governor Huntsman, where do you stand on the Patriot Act? Do you believe it's un-American, as Congressman Paul has suggested?
HUNTSMAN: I think we have to be very careful in protecting our individual liberties. We forget sometimes that we have a name brand in this world. And I have seen it shine living overseas. And when our light shines based on the values that we live up to and represent, it moves people, it moves countries, it moves events like nothing else can.
We are a nation of values. And forever, like what we're trying to do in this debate tonight, we'll try to find that balancing act between our individual liberties and security. But we also have to remember as we're talking about security, I see Tom Ridge in the audience here, a great former secretary of Homeland Security. He will tell you, he will tell you that we cannot secure the homeland out of Washington, D.C., itself. We've got to make sure that we have partnerships with governors and mayors, that this is a national effort.
No longer can we compartmentalize intelligence. Those are the old days. Today we've got to share. We've got to make sure that we are prepared as a people, we are prepared not only as a federal government, but we're prepared as well as a local government in a collaborative and sharing kind of relationship.
CBS Foreign Policy Debate
On November 11, 2011 Governor Huntsman participated in the CBS foreign policy debate. He was asked about torture and discussed his opposition to torture and waterboarding.
Scott Pelley: Let's give-- let's give-- Governor Huntsman an opportunity to take 30 seconds on that question.
Jon Huntsman: Thank you. Gets a little lonely over here in Siberia.
Rick Santorum: Tell me about it.
Jon Huntsman: First of all, let me thank the sailor on the ship. I have two boys in the United States Navy. And all they wanna do is go on to fight, protect, and defend the great freedoms that we share in this country. This country has values. We have a name brand in the world. I've lived overseas four times. I've been an ambassador for my country three times. I've lived overseas and done business.
We diminish our standing in the world and the values that we project which include liberty, democracy, human rights, and open markets when we torture. We should not torture. Waterboarding is torture. We dilute ourselves down like a whole lot of other countries. And we lose that ability to project values that a lot of people in corners of this world are still relying on the United States to stand up for them.
2012 Campaign Website Statements
RENEWING AMERICA'S LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD
Counter Terrorism
Following the attacks of September 11, the United States invaded Afghanistan to deny the future use of that country as a safehaven to terrorists. In many respects, we have been successful: we removed the Taliban from power, drove Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups into hiding, degraded the ability of terrorists to train freely and plot attacks against our homeland, and our intelligence and military forces killed Osama Bin Laden across the border.
These successes notwithstanding, there are still terrorists active throughout the world who seek to attack America. Whereas the focal point of the war on terror was more easily identified in the past, now the United States must have evolving strategies and capabilities to deal with threats emanating from a more diverse geography, including Yemen, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan and the Asia-Pacific. The best defense is a good offense. We will not relent in finding these terrorists where they hide and eliminating the threat they represent.
Al-Qaeda and other groups have evolved since 9-11 in response to our efforts against them, and we must adapt accordingly. Terrorist networks have become more diffuse, their modes of operation have become more difficult to detect, and the sophistication of their potential means of attack is growing. They are being creative in considering new ways to target our economy, our security, and indeed our daily psyche. Whether employing technical means such as cyber attacks and the targeting of critical infrastructure, or crude one-man shooting sprees in crowded public venues, we must be as flexible in our prevention as they are in their execution. Above all, we cannot allow these groups to acquire and employ weapons of mass destruction.
President Obama broke a pledge to close Guantanamo Bay prison facility; this flawed approach to leadership leaves us all uncertain as to the future of not only Gitmo, but a multitude of matters that impact our security. The professional men and women who take this fight to the enemy on our behalf should not have to wonder whether they'll later be prosecuted by the justice department for doing their jobs in good faith. And Americans should know that their government has a constitutionally sound plan for dealing with terrorists who seek to kill them.
Protecting the United States today requires that the President take the initiative on several fronts. Our military and intelligence services must transform and adapt; we must be more creative in the tools we can bring to bear in the fight; we need relationships overseas where terrorists hide; and we need to make clear to the American people that the White House has a plan.
Jon Huntsman Priorities:
The U.S. force structure is still in many respects a relic of the Cold War. As our overall posture is "right-sized" we must equip our military, intelligence community and special forces to agilely target the threat anywhere and anytime.
Creative approaches to countering the terrorist threat. The U.S. should increasingly employ creative means to disrupt terrorist networks, such as cracking down on finance networks, improving information operations, investing in new ISR technologies, and taking forward-thinking and calculated risks in building a 21st century intelligence apparatus.
Partnership with friends and allies. We should continue to train Afghan security forces to address their native threats, and our aid to Pakistan should be firmly quid pro quo, based on Islamabad's genuine efforts to counter terrorism. Our treaty allies can be further encouraged to share intelligence and develop their own capacity for action against terrorist networks as we form prudent relationships with groups and governments wherever terrorists hide.
Keeping us safe and maintaining our values. Guantanamo Bay is an imperfect solution. But we must keep enemy fighters off the battlefield, maintain mechanisms to derive useful intelligence from detainees, and have a suitable detention facility until individual cases can be adjudicated. But it is also a priority that as we defend ourselves, we maintain our international legal commitments, and more importantly, abide by the spirit and letter of our Constitution. This includes ensuring that our counterterrorism professionals acting in good faith and within their duties need never doubt whether their own government will turn on them.