Jon Huntsman - Iran
Summary
Governor Huntsman has stated that he would consider the use of force against Iran if they continue to develop weapons of mass destruction and pursue nucelar weapons.
In a radio interview, Governor Huntsman stated that the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran would be prompt his use of force if President.
In October of 2011, Governor Huntsman stated that he could not live with a nuclear Iran and would use force as President to intervene if Iran developed such a weapon.
WMUR Interview
In an interview with WMUR radio, Governor Huntsman stated that he would consider the use of force against a Iran if they develop weapons of mass destruction.
What do you do when Iran all of a sudden develops a weapon of mass destruction over the near year to year and a half? . . . Now, if ever there was a reason to consider using U.S. force, it would be in pursuit of situations like that.
Politico Foreign Affairs Speech
In October of 2011, Governor Huntsman gave a foreign affairs speech discussing numerous issues. In that speech, he stated that a nuclear Iran was not acceptable and that a possible nuclear Iran was one scenario where he would consider the use of force.
I cannot live with a nuclear-armed Iran. If you want an example of when I would use American force, it would be that.
CNN National Security Debate
On November 22, 2011 Governor Huntsman participated in the national security debate on CNN. Governor Huntsman states that sanctions will not work because China and Russia will not play ball. He also notes that Libya gave up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for peace and was eventually overthrown while other nations have developed those weapons and remained in power.
BLITZER: Governor Huntsman, let me bring you into this conversation.
We just got a question from Twitter. I'll read it to you.
"So many people view the Arab spring as a good thing. Given the recent violence in Egypt, do you worry this can go bad?"
And we've got some live pictures we're going to show our viewers out there of Tahrir Square in Cairo right now. Thousands of people are protesting the military regime in Egypt right now.
What do you say to this person who sent this -- this -- this Twitter message to us?
HUNTSMAN: His -- history will tell. We missed the Persian spring. The president failed on that front. We go into Libya, where, to my mind, we don't have any definable American interests. We've got Syria now on the horizon, where we do have American interests. It's called Israel. We're a friend and ally. They're a friend and ally. And we need to remind the world what it means to be a friend and ally of the United States.
And we have nuclearization in Iran. Centrifuges spinning. At some point, they're going to have enough in the way of fissile material out of which to make a weapon. That's a certainty.
We had a discussion earlier tonight about sanctions. Everybody commented on sanctions. Sanctions aren't going to work, I hate to break it to you. They're not going to work because the Chinese aren't going to play ball and the Russians aren't going to play ball.
And I believe Iran has already -- the mullahs have already decided they want to go nuclear.
Why?
They have looked at North Korea. They've got a weapon. Nobody touches them. They like at Libya. Libya gave up their weapon in exchange for friendship with the world. Look where they are.
So I say let's let history be our guide. We saw the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1919. We saw the region transform and make itself into something different. We saw changes in 1947.
I think we do our national interests a disservice by jumping in too soon and taking up sides with people we don't fully understand, Islamist groups, pan-Arab groups.
Our interest in the Middle East is Israel. And our interest is to ensure that Israel -- that Iran does not go nuclear.
References
[1] Website: Newsmax Article: Huntsman: I'd Attack Iran if It Gained Nuclear Arms Author: NA Accessed on: 10/28/2011
[2] Website: Politico Article: Jon Huntsman would consider preemptive Iran strike Author: Burns and Haberman Accessed on: 10/28/2011