Should Turkey be able to enter Iraq or other countries unilaterally in search of its enemies? - 2008 Election - ProCon.org

Explore Pros & Cons of Controversial Issues

2008 Election

Last updated on: 6/3/2009 10:28:00 AM PST

Should Turkey be able to enter Iraq or other countries unilaterally in search of its enemies?

Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.

Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position.

(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)

Democratic Party

Republican Party

3rd Parties / Independents

Con

Not Clearly
Pro or Con

Obama, Barack

McCain, John

Baldwin, Chuck (Cst)

Barr, Bob (Lib)

Inactive Candidates

Candidate Summary Chart

Not Clearly
Pro or Con

None Found

McKinney, Cynthia (Grn)

Nader, Ralph (Ind)

_____________________________________________

Should Turkey be able to enter Iraq or other countries unilaterally in search of its enemies?

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

Baldwin, Chuck (Cst) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Chuck Baldwin, Founder and Minister of the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, issued the following statement through his Communications Director, Mary Starrett, in an Aug. 11, 2008 email to ProCon.org:

"The US should not be involved or determining negotiations between foreign governments or organizations." We must disengage this nation from the international entanglements which generate foreign hatred of these United States, and are used as the excuse for terrorist attacks on America and its people."
Aug. 11, 2008 Chuck Baldwin

(Lib) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Barr campaign on July 22, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Aug. 19, 2008.

McCain, John (R) - Con

John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), in a Oct. 25, 2007 press release titled "Address to International Relations Forum in Des Moines," stated:

"A unilateral, large-scale Turkish military intervention would destabilize northern Iraq and spur the fragmentation Turkey wishes to avoid. At the same time, we must work seriously to rein in PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] terrorism that is a legitimate concern of Turkey."
Oct. 25, 2007 John McCain

McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Cynthia McKinney, former US House Representative (D-GA), issued the following statement through her Press Secretary, John Judge, in a Nov. 1, 2008 email to ProCon.org:

"The principles of the UN Charter allow immediate actions in self defense until the matter can be brought to the Security Council for some resolution. The actions of other countries are not the purview of the United States as a final arbiter. All countries should be guided by the same principles against wars of aggression. Enemies need to be defined carefully in this international context, as should war."
Nov. 1, 2008 Cynthia McKinney

(Ind) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Nader campaign on Mar. 26, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Apr. 11, 2008.

Obama, Barack (D) - Con

Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), stated in an article titled "Barack Obama: Turning the Page in Iraq" on his official candidate website (accessed Mar. 13, 2008):

"Prevent the War's Spread Beyond Iraq: To prevent spillover -- in particular, Turkish or Iranian adventurism -- the Obama plan would promote a regional compact that would ensure commitments by Iraq's neighbors to non-intervention and to Iraq's territorial integrity."
Mar. 13, 2008 Barack Obama

INACTIVE CANDIDATES

(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear
below in black and white and in alphabetical order by party.)

Democratic Party				Republican Party				3rd Parties / Independents
	Biden, Joe (Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008)	None Found			Brownback, Sam (Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007)	None Found			Gravel, Mike (Withdrew on May 27, 2008)	None Found
	Clinton, Hillary (Suspended campaign on June 7, 2008)	Not Clearly Pro or Con			Gilmore, Jim (Withdrew on July 14, 2007)	None Found			Imperato, Daniel (No longer met criteria on Mar. 21, 2008)	Pro
	Dodd, Chris (Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008)	None Found			Giuliani, Rudy (Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008)	None Found			Keyes, Alan (No longer met criteria on June 23, 2008)	None Found
	Edwards, John (Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008)	None Found			Huckabee, Mike (Withdrew on Mar. 4, 2008)	None Found			Kubby, Steve (No longer met criteria on Mar. 21, 2008)	Not Clearly Pro or Con
	Kucinich, Dennis (Withdrew on Jan. 25, 2008)	None Found			Hunter, Duncan (Withdrew on Jan. 19, 2008)	None Found			McEnulty, Frank (No longer met criteria on Mar. 21, 2008)	Pro
	Richardson, Bill (Withdrew on Jan. 10, 2008)	None Found			Paul, Ron (Withdrew on June 12, 2008)	Con			Smith, Christine (No longer met criteria on Mar. 21, 2008)	None Found
	Vilsack, Tom (Withdrew on, Feb. 23, 2007)	None Found			Romney, Mitt (Withdrew on Feb. 7, 2008)	None Found
					Tancredo, Tom (Withdrew on Dec. 20, 2007)	None Found
					Thompson, Fred (Withdrew on Jan. 22, 2008)	None Found
					Thompson, Tommy (Withdrew on Aug. 12, 2007)	None Found

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

Biden, Joe (D) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date.

Clinton, Hillary (D) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), stated in a July 10, 2007 article titled "Iraq: Speech at the Temple for the Performing Arts in Des Moines" on her official candidate website:

"And as President, I will work to ensure a stable and peaceful relationship between Turkey and the Kurds in Northern Iraq, both of whom are our friends and allies. We must not permit a conflict between these two allies to become another consequence of the Iraq war."
July 10, 2007 Hillary Clinton

Dodd, Chris (D) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date

Edwards, John (D) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008; no position found as of that date

Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date.

Giuliani, Rudy (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Gravel, Mike (Lib) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Gravel campaign on Mar. 11, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Mar. 21, 2008.

Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Mar. 4, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Hunter, Duncan (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 19, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Imperato, Daniel (Ind) - Pro

Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, stated in a Mar. 11, 2008 telephone interview with ProCon.org:

"If there are people, Kurds, or [other] people attacking or approaching Turkey in any diligent or terrorist way, I feel that Turkey has a right to defend itself...
If those...people or terrorists have attacked Turkey in the northern border, and they want to go in and take those terrorists out, I think that the United States goes in and does the same, so I think that they should be able to go and protect their nation and rid the terrorists. I do think that any attack on any nation should be done on a global basis and there should be a congress of nations that doesn't support war in any nation."

Mar. 11, 2008 Daniel Imperato

Keyes, Alan (Ind) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Keyes campaign on Mar. 26, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Apr. 11, 2008.

Kubby, Steve (Lib) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

Steve Kubby, founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Mar. 12, 2008 email to ProCon.org:

"That's between Turkey and those other countries. The primary considerations are getting US troops out of the line of fire in that region and getting the US disentangled from those arguments entirely."
Mar. 12, 2008 Steve Kubby

Kucinich, Dennis (D) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 25, 2008; no position found as of that date.

McEnulty, Frank (Ind) - Pro

Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Mar. 19, 2008 email to ProCon.org, stated:

"Yes. If a country allows criminals or terrorists within their borders to operate against another country and do nothing to stop these activities then the country under attack has every right to take care of the problem themselves."
Mar. 19, 2008 Frank McEnulty

Paul, Ron (R) - Con

Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), in a Feb. 25, 2003 LewRockwell article titled "Buying 'Friends' With Foreign Aid," stated:

"Turkey wants more than our money, however. It also wants to control the Kurdish population in northern Iraq. The Kurds in both Iraq and Turkey desire an independent Kurdish state, which the Turkish government fiercely resists. Turkish officials want an agreement that will allow thousands of their soldiers to advance into Kurdish northern Iraq on the heels of American forces. This would be a shameful insult to the Kurdish people, who at least have been consistent foes of Saddam Hussein."
Feb. 25, 2003 Ron Paul

Richardson, Bill (D) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 10, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Romney, Mitt (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Feb. 7, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Smith, Christine (Lib) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Smith campaign on Mar. 11, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Mar. 21, 2008.

Tancredo, Tom (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Dec. 20, 2007; no position found as of that date

Thompson, Fred (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Jan. 22, 2008; no position found as of that date.

Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found

Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date

Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found

Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date.

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