Jon Huntsman - Pakistan
CBS Foreign Policy Debate
On November 11, 2011 Governor Huntsman participated in the CBS foreign policy debate. He discusses the problems with Pakistan.
Scott Pelley: Governor Huntsman-- as we sit here, there is a crisis in Europe over debt, particularly in Italy and in Greece. And there is the threat of contagion onto Wall Street and U.S. banks. How do you prevent the Euro crisis from becoming a problem in the United States?
Jon Huntsman: The-- lemme just-- on Pakistan for one second. Because it's pretty clear. There's one man in charge in Pakistan. I've negotiated with the Pakistanis before, both in government and in business. They're a tough bunch. General Giani's (PH) in charge. He's head of the military, which is head of I-- ISI. It isn't President Zardari, make no mistake about that. And I'd say you don't have a choice.
Then I would pick up the phone and call Special Operations Command in Tampa and say, "I've got a job for SEAL-- SEAL team number six. Prepare to move." You don't have a choice. When you have a loose nuke, you have no choice. And we have to take charge. That's called leadership, and that's what I would do as president.
With-- with respect to Europe, we have two problems. One, Europe is our second largest export market. $240 billion we export to Europe every year, second only to Canada, $250 billion a year. As-- if Europe goes down, as a metastases spreads, they're gonna buy less. And we're gonna lose jobs unless we can find other markets-- as those exports begin to diminish. That's gonna be problem number one, and we need to prepare for that.
Number two, it's gonna spread throughout the banking system to the point where it's gonna hit us and the United States. And with banks that are too big to fail in this country, we're in deep trouble.
CNN National Security Debate
On November 22, 2011 Governor Huntsman participated in the national security debate on CNN. He asserts that the Pakistani military is controlled by the leading General and not the President. He refers to the country as a failed nation-state that should keep everyone awake at night.
BLITZER: Governor Huntsman?
HUNTSMAN: Let me just say that as we talk about foreign policy, let's be reminded that in order to have an effective foreign policy we need a Washington that works.
Today we have a president who can't lead. We have a Congress that can't even figure out how to balance our budget. They need term limits, by the way. We've gotta get our house in order if we...
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. We've gotta get our house in order if we're gonna expect to get anything done overseas because when our light shines we can influence the rest of the world.
Pakistan is a concern. That's the country that ought to keep everybody up at night. You have not President Zardari in charge but General Kayani over the military, which also is responsible for ISI.
You've got the youngest demographic of the 160 million people in Pakistan. You've got a Midrasha movement. You've got over 100 nuclear weapons. You've got trouble on the border.
You've got a nation-state that is a candidate for failure. And I say it's a haven for bad behavior. It's a haven -- it's -- it's a haven for training the people who seek to do us harm. And an expanded drone program is something that would serve our national interest.
I think it must be done. And I think it must be consistent with recognizing the reality on the ground of what we need out of Afghanistan -- we don't need 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.
We don't need to nation-build in Afghanistan when this nation so desperately needs to be built.
BLITZER: We're gonna get to Afghanistan.
HUNTSMAN: But we need something. We need something in Afghanistan.
2012 Campaign Website Statements
RENEWING AMERICA'S LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD
The Way Forward in Afghanistan-Pakistan
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, the United States invaded Afghanistan to prevent Al-Qaeda terrorists from continuing to train freely and plot attacks against our country. Our brave men and women in the U.S. military and intelligence community can be proud of their accomplishments: Al-Qaeda has been largely driven from Afghanistan, the Taliban has been removed from governing power, and Osama Bin Laden has been killed. Yet, our mission has evolved into an ill-advised counterinsurgency campaign which continues to carry heavy costs in terms of blood and treasure.
Counterinsurgency strategies applied in Iraq have not been nearly as effective when tried in Afghanistan where conditions differ considerably. Remnants of the Taliban take refuge in the ungoverned spaces of northwest Pakistan. The Pakistani intelligence services appear to be actively hedging bets by supporting terrorist activities that target Americans in Afghanistan. And our partner government in Kabul lacks the capacity and perhaps even the will to fight for their fledgling democracy. It is unclear that any amount of time or resources committed to the conflict by the United States would render our efforts in Afghanistan effective.
Pakistan is an important country that we ignore at our own peril. It is the sixth most populous country in the world, has the dangerous mix of a young median age and low GDP, has a demonstrated nuclear weapons capability, and has directly or indirectly been a sponsor of terrorist networks and proliferation activities. If Pakistan is unstable, we will all be less secure.
Our relationship with Pakistan is purely transactional. Going forward, our interests would be best served if Pakistan becomes a genuine partner in fighting terrorism, and contributes constructively to Afghanistan's future as a more stable multi-ethnic democracy. For Pakistan to pursue that course, they need to understand Washington will not give blank checks. Our assistance should be quid pro quo based on the decisions Pakistan makes. This does not commit us to saving Pakistan – a job we are not fit for at this juncture in our history. This does commit us to a course that gives us the best chance to keep America safe and allows us to focus on our priorities at home.
Jon Huntsman Priorities:
Exit Afghanistan: After a decade of fighting and thousands of American lives lost, it is time to bring our brave troops home.
Shift to counter-terrorism mission. Our remaining presence should be committed to ensuring that Afghanistan will not be a base for Al-Qaeda and other potential terrorists who target the U.S. and our allies. A counterterrorism strategy, involving small, nimble Special Forces and intelligence teams, would thwart efforts by terrorists to reestablish a presence in Afghanistan. At the same time, the United States should continue to train Afghan military and police forces and help build governmental capacity so that responsibility for the counterterrorism campaign can be turned over as quickly as reasonably possible to the Afghan government.
Only Pakistan can save Pakistan. The Pakistanis must be made to understand a hard quid pro quo: future U.S. assistance will be tied to Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorists, curb proliferation, and the extent to which they contribute in constructive ways to Afghanistan’s future.