Congress from page 15
I would not support imposition of any
agreement by the Quartet.
Peters: The United States can help achieve
a peace agreement between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority by brokering direct
talks without preconditions.
However, the one and only precondi-
tion that must exist is that the Palestinian
Authority must recognize Israel's right to
exist as a Jewish state with secure bor-
ders. A lasting peace can only be achieved
through direct negotiations, so an agree-
ment should never be imposed by the
United States or the Quartet.
To further promote peace, the United
States can also use its leadership in the
world to help ensure that an agreement is
accepted by the broader Arab and Muslim
world, because if extremists continue to
support acts of terrorism against civil-
ians, that will undermine any agreement
reached through negotiations.
JN: How should the U.S. deal with
Lebanon given its instability and
Hezbollah's significant military and
political role?
Peters: Lebanon is an area of concern
because of the destabilizing presence of
Hezbollah and the influence of Syria and
Iran. Like llamas in Gaza, the military and
political role of Hezbollah is a threat to
Israel.
Sadly, just as Israel's withdrawal from
Gaza was met with constant rocket attacks
from Hamas, so too was Israel's with-
drawal from southern Lebanon met with
constant rocket attacks from Hezbollah.
Since those attacks began four years ago,
Israelis throughout northern Israel have
lived in fear every minute as the threat
of constant rocket fire from southern
Lebanon endures.
In the same way that support for Hamas
among Palestinians in Gaza threatens
hope of progress, so does the support
Hezbollah receives from Lebanon. The
United States must work to achieve a
Lebanon free from the destabilizing influ-
ences of Hezbollah and Syria, so that it no
longer threatens Israel's security.
Raczkowski: The United States, Israel and
all free countries must stand united in refus-
ing to capitulate to or negotiate with terrorist
organizations like llamas and Hezbollah,
their sponsors and their networks, no matter
how the rest of the international community
may feel.
Their goals and methods are anathema to
humanity itself and we must never legitimize
the groups or their goals and methods.
16 October 21 • 2010
I support legislation now wending its
way through Congress that would demand
greater accountability of U.S. funding to
ensure that American dollars are not fun-
neled to groups that intend us or Israel
harm.
IN: How critical is it that Iran does not
get nuclear weapons, and what should
the U.S. do to ensure it doesn't?
Raczkowski: It is imperative for the
safety of Israel, the Middle East region
and the entire world that Iran be pre-
vented from gaining possession of nuclear
weapons.
The fact that the Obama administra-
tion has allowed the Iranian government
to continue developing the capability to
build nuclear weapons of mass destruc-
tion under the guise of "diplomacy" while
imposing meaningless, ineffective sanc-
tions on that country is testimony to the
president's inexperience and naivete in
managing U.S. foreign affairs.
It is also an abdication of our nation's
longstanding role as a leader in facing up
to global terrorist threats. The existen-
tial threats to Israel posed by Iran and
its proxies today are America's threats
tomorrow.
No nation has the right to deny Israel
what is every nation's entitlement — a
country's fundamental obligation to
defend itself from annihilation.
Peters: As part of my U.S. Navy reserve
duty, I spent time near the Straits of
Hormuz. I know firsthand what a stra-
tegic choke point that is for the world
economy.
That is why a nuclear Iran is a threat to
not only regional stability, but also world
security. It is also clear that the Iranian
threat to Israel is urgent, existential and
unacceptable.
The United States must act swiftly and
strongly to ensure that Iran never obtains
nuclear capability, which is why I cospon-
sored three pieces of legislation (the Iran
Sanctions Enabling Act; Iran Refined
Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009, and the
Accountability for Business Choices in
Iran Act) that were included in the final
Iran sanctions bill passed by Congress
earlier this year. And I recently joined
with other members of Congress to spon-
sor legislation to ensure they are strongly
implemented.
Peters: Fighting terrorism has always
been a core mission of the United States,
but it took on added significance after
tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Having
the best trained, best equipped fighting
force in the world acts as a strong deter-
rent against those who would support or
harbor terrorists overseas and ensures we
are always prepared to strike against any
threat.
We must strengthen our foreign and
domestic intelligence in order to root out
terrorist threats before they materialize.
Our borders must be safe and secure,
and I support efforts to hire more border
patrol agents to protect our homeland.
Finally, the United States must use its
economic and military might to support
countries that face the threat of Islamist
terrorism on a daily basis and not be
afraid to use sanctions and other meth-
ods to pressure regimes that threaten the
safety and security of the United States or
its allies.
This issue is too important for par-
tisanship; Democrats and Republicans
must work together to fight the threat of
terrorism at home and abroad.
Raczkowski: We need to:
• Identify our enemies in the war on
radical Islamic terror; to protect ourselves
we need to acknowledge who our enemies
are.
• Remove any kind of timeline on with-
drawing combat troops from Afghanistan.
• Close our borders to illegal immigra-
tion, strengthen penalties and enforce
laws that bar people and companies
from hiring illegal immigrants and then
address the issue of what to do with ille-
gal aliens already in the U.S.
• Support our men and women in the
military and make certain they have the
equipment, the number of troops, the
means and the full power and commit-
ment of the United States behind them
to accomplish their mission and return
victorious.
• Restore and maintain America's domi-
nance in global intelligence capabilities.
• Make effective adjustments to troop
deployments based on guidance from
senior military commanders, not politi-
cians, Ivy League theorists and armchair
critics (as an Army officer, I have seen
this kind of backbench activity too many
times).
member of ALS of Michigan — Lou
Gehrig's disease, I understand and have
witnessed firsthand the desperation that
life-threatening diseases place on patients
and families. I stand behind research that
follows ethical and legal avenues, and I
am staunchly in favor of ethical stem-cell
research.
Peters: Embryonic stem-cell research
should certainly be expanded, and I am
deeply concerned about the impact of
the federal courts' decision to ban federal
funds for embryonic stem-cell research.
This is research that has the potential to
save lives and create jobs. This decision
highlights the need for Congress to act in
order to ensure certainty for scientists,
researchers and companies who are com-
mitting to doing this research in America.
This research has the potential to save
lives for Oakland County residents and to
create jobs and diversify the economy in
our region as it has in Israel, which has
great progress with stem-cell research.
This research is being done in Haifa,
Israel, and Ann Arbor, Mich. I look for-
ward to it being done in Oakland County
as well.
JN: Should Roe v. Wade be overturned
or changed? Why or why not?
Peters: I oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. I
strongly support a woman's right to choose
and am a member of the pro-choice caucus.
I have also supported legislation that seeks
to reduce the number of unintended preg-
nancies, which is a goal shared across the
ideological spectrum.
I believe this is best accomplished
by promoting family planning services,
increased access to emergency contracep-
tion, teenage pregnancy prevention pro-
grams and comprehensive sex education.
Abortion should be safe, legal and rare;
and it is a private and personal choice that
should be made between a woman and
her doctor, not politicians in Lansing or
Washington.
Raczkowski: I believe that every life, from
conception to natural death, should be
cherished and celebrated as God's gift.
Therefore, I support adoption as the best
choice to give the most vulnerable among
us the chance to fulfill their dreams; and I
oppose abortion except to save the life of
the mother.
IN: Should human embryonic stem-cell
IN: What should be done to protect
Americans against both homegrown
and foreign Islamist terrorism?
research be expanded, restricted or
ended? Why?
Raczkowski: As a long-time board
JN: Would you support federal dollars
and resources being used to revitalize
and right-size Detroit as a model of 21st
century urban renewal? Why or why not?