GOP Debate Sparks Conversation About the War in Afghanistan (ContributorNetwork)

During the first New Hampshire GOP debate, the Republican candidates seeking the presidential nomination were asked whether they would withdraw troops from Afghanistan if they were president.

Here is what they said, according to the debate transcript provided by the Washington Post:

* Jon Huntsman: "You know we've been at the war on terror for 10 years now, we've been in Afghanistan. And I say we've got a lot to show for our efforts and I, as president, would like to square with the American people on what we have to show for it. The Taliban is no longer in power. We've run out al-Qaida, they're now in sanctuaries. We've had free elections. Osama bin Laden is no longer around.

"We have strengthened civil society. We've helped the military. We've helped the police. I believe it's time to come home. And I would say within the first year of my administration, which is to say the end of 2013, I would want to draw them down. And I want to recognize Afghanistan for what it is. It is not a counter insurgency. I don't want to be nation building in Southwest Asia when this nation is in such need of repair."

* Mitt Romney: "We want to bring our troops home as soon as we possibly can. And I will, if I'm president, I will inform myself based upon the experience of the people on the ground that are leading our effort there. I want to make sure that we hand off the responsibility to an Afghan security force that is capable of maintaining the sovereignty of their nation from the Taliban. But I can tell you this, I don't want to do something that would put in jeopardy much of the hard earned success which we've had there."

* Newt Gingrich: "Afghanistan is a tiny piece of a gigantic mess that is very dangerous. Pakistan is unstable and they probably have between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons. Iran is actively trying to get nuclear weapons. I mean they go out and practice closing the Strait of Hormuz, where one out of every six barrels of oil goes through every day. ? And I think we need a fundamentally new strategy for the region comparable to what we developed to fight the cold war. And I think it's a very big, hard, long-term problem, but it's not primarily a military problem."

* Rick Santorum: "As Newt just said, you want to see what's going to happen, Jon, if we get out of Afghanistan. Let's just wait the next few weeks and months and see how things turn out when the United States isn't there and see how consequential our efforts were for the stability of that region. ??? (I would wait) until the security of our country is ensured. That's what the job of the commander-in-chief is. And you make that decision -- not the generals -- you make that decision based on an analysis of understanding how virulent the threat of radical Islam is."

* Ron Paul: "We went into Afghanistan. We went into Iraq. And now we're in Pakistan. We're involved in so many countries. Now they want to move on to Syria. And there's some in Washington now can't wait until they start bombing Iran. We have to change this whole nature. You know, something happened this week I thought was so encouraging. And it reminds me of how we finally talked to the Chinese. I mean, they had killed 100 million of their own people, but we finally broke the ice by playing ping-pong."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120109/pl_ac/10813721_gop_debate_sparks_conversation_about_the_war_in_afghanistan

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