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On Guard

Sen. Gary Peters discusses Homeland Security Committee trip abroad.

Keri Guten Cohen I Story Development Editor

D

emocratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters
traveled to Israel, Saudi Arabia,
Turkey and Vienna with seven
other senators last month on behalf of the
Senate Homeland Security Committee.
They met with top officials to discuss
national security issues, including the
threat from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS), progress on implementing the Iran
nuclear agreement, and strategies to coun-
ter Iran and fight global terrorism.
Peters sat down with the JN to discuss
takeaways from his trip, but before address-
ing international issues, he spoke of the
Flint water crisis.
He spoke of the need to “broaden the
net” of services to include wrap-around
programs, comprehensive Head Start
programs, reading interventions and infra-
structure in the wake of “irreversible dam-
age.”
“The state just announced a $500 mil-
lion surplus, so why is the city of Flint,
a city basically without any resources,
paying $2 million to be hooked up to the
Detroit system?” he said. “That needs to
be reimbursed. And why are they charging
residents for water they can’t use? You can
[fix] all that immediately. Why is [Gov. Rick
Snyder] not doing it?”

Peters said, “We did discuss Hezbollah, an
extension of Iran operating in a place that
presents clear and present danger to Israel.
Part of our discussions dealt with some of
the military resource support for the IDF.”

ISRAELI SECURITY
In Israel, Peters met with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven
Rivlin and other high-ranking government
officials to discuss the ongoing threats
from Iran and its proxies as well as terror-
ism and violent extremism in the region.
The senator also discussed the U.S.-Israel
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on
strategic cooperation and the development
of anti-tunnel technology to detect under-
ground terror tunnel networks.
“Netanyahu said he thought the [MOU]
negotiations went well and that we would
see a resolution he would be pleased with,”
Peters said. “He reiterated his security
concerns as he does whenever I hear him
speak. The takeaway is that Israel has
always lived in a very dangerous neighbor-
hood and has always faced a lot of threats;
now they are more diffuse and complicated
than in the past.”
Peters, who is a staunch supporter of
Israel, said Netanyahu also talked about
additional resources needed given the
Iran deal and concerns about additional
resources that may be available to Iran.
Asked about terrorism from Hezbollah,

IRAN DEAL
In meetings with International Atomic
Energy Agency leaders in Vienna, Peters
said he felt pretty confident that Iran is
making great strides in meeting the agree-
ment. Its stockpile of enriched uranium
has been shipped to Russia where it will be
under 24/7 surveillance.
“The IAEA felt very comfortable with
what they have in place and that they are
going to be able to watch it in an unprec-
edented way,” Peters said. “They will be
enhancing their eyes on the ground and
looking for technology to provide 24-hour
surveillance. That will occur in Russia as
well with the stockpile.”
The other action, he said, was to pour
concrete into the Iranian reactor that cre-
ates plutonium. “If you look at the two
pathways, it’s either enriched uranium or
plutonium, and both pathways have been
shut down. The IAEA feels very comfort-
able with that. In the short run, the world is
a little safer today than before.”
Peters, who said he was torn about
the Iran deal, but voted for it because
it addresses short-term concerns, said
the other takeaway is that Iran must be

36 February 4 • 2016

ductive and fits the story line that this is
a war against the U.S. The Sunni Muslim
countries need to provide those forces.
“It’s not going to be a military solution
that wins the day,” he said. “The military
creates the space for us to have a diplomatic
political solution, but the military by itself
cannot deliver that, and never has.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters

watched constantly.
“We understand they cannot be trusted
nor should we ever trust them when it
comes to actually abiding by the agree-
ment,” he said. “And I think it was clear
from our meeting with the IAEA that they
have to be very vigilant and have to keep
watch.”
He also explained that Iran keeping to
the nuclear agreement is very separate from
Iran’s terrorist activities.
“It’s very important to separate those,” he
said. “There are clear areas we will not tol-
erate; Hezbollah would be in that category.”

ISIS CRISIS
Peters emphasized that the threat from
ISIS is being taken very seriously by the
government. ISIS operates differently from
a traditional terrorist group, more like a
quasi-state that has territory, collects taxes,
generates revenue and pays for services in
parts of Iraq and Syria, he explained.
“That space allows them to train terrorist
and launch terrorist operations from that
territory,” Peters said. “We have to take that
territory away from them. That takes air-
strikes; the last number we have is 10,000
airstrikes against ISIS positions. It is clear
we are engaged and very aggressive.
“To take back territory, you have to have
ground troops to do that, and I have not
supported [sending] U.S. ground troops,
nor do most U.S. people. It’s counterpro-

SAUDI ARABIA
Regarding ally Saudi Arabia’s funding of
fundamentalist Islamists, Peters said there
is concern about the general financing abil-
ity to use Saudi banks and financial institu-
tions to move money around to support
terrorist activities.
“We need to be more aggressive,” he
said. “I understand the Saudi government
is much more forthcoming and helpful
in that regard. We had briefings from the
treasury department and it’s definitely high
on the list of priorities. The Saudis have to
be part of the solution and not contribute
to the problem. They are an ally, but a very
complex ally.”

SYRIAN REFUGEES
Peters says the government should continue
its refugee program, the most robust of
any screening for people coming to this
country.
“It’s part of our values,” he said. “We have
always accepted people who are persecuted
and fleeing violence.”
He emphasized that the refugee screen-
ing is the most difficult path, an 18-month
process that starts with vetting at the
United Nations, which then recommends
refugees to specific countries. The U.S. has
let in 2,000 Syrian refugees out of a pool of
17,000 recommended by the UN.
Peters says he feels the odds of a terrorist
making it through the huge pool of total
refugees in this program is slim. Instead, he
sees that loopholes must be tightened in the
visa waiver screening program, saying that’s
the path of least resistance.
“We have to plug other places where
people can come in,” he said.
During the interview, Peters also gave his
endorsement of Hillary Clinton in her bid
for the presidency.
“She is very strong in her support of
Israel and has not shied away about being
critical of the president when she disagrees
on some policy issues,” he said. “I believe
she will be good for Israel. I like her foreign
policy experience, and think it will be help-
ful.”

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