The United States leads the world in promoting human rights, individual liberty, and prosperity. Moreover, our primary responsibility as a nation is to protect and ensure the security of our homeland and all American citizens. Terrorism, radicalism and all that stand to oppress the freedoms we hold dear are great challenges we face at home and abroad.
Commitment to Actively Promoting a Strong U.S.-Israeli Relationship and Israel's Long-term Security
It is a strategic imperative and moral necessity for the United States to preserve its close relationship with the State of Israel. I traveled to Israel for a week in both 2010 and 2011. because I wanted to see, first-hand, the critical security challenges that Israel and America currently face together in the Middle East. These visits further made it clear to me why American leaders must have the courage to step forward, speak out, and publicly express solidarity with Israel—especially when Israel is forced to act to defend it's citizens from the many grave security threats posed by Israel's immediate neighbors. In these critical times, when many in the international community routinely target Israel for condemnation and attempt to delegitimize her very existence and humanitarian values, we must demand leaders who show that they stand firmly with our ally.
The United States must not distance itself from our historic allies in a misguided effort to engage our foes. Rather than pressure Israel publicly, we must work with our Israeli partners to halt Iran’s drive toward a nuclear weapon. We must also work with Israel to advance the peace process in a way that ensures Israel’s long-term security. In Congress, I back the democratically elected government of Israel and its work to keep its citizens secure. Though the United States can play an important role in the peace process, it is ultimately up to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to forge a lasting peace agreement through direct negotiations. No country, including the United States, can or should impose its own solution.
For our community, Israel is a local issue. Thousands of suburban Chicago students, families, and community leaders travel to Israel throughout the year. We are home to one of the largest and most passionate pro-Israel communities in America, and have truly been blessed with outstanding leadership on this issue in Congress. I have been proud to carry on in the tradition of the 10th District as an active and vocal leader in Congress on issues important to the pro-Israel community, and I will continue to work closely with Senator Mark Kirk to ensure that both the House and the Senate keep focused so that we can best face the inevitable challenges ahead in the Middle East. Our District needs and deserves a forward-looking, pro-Israel champion and I am proud to be that voice.
To read more about my views on Israel, please click HERE.
Standing Strong Against this Iranian Regime
Iran is responsible for grievous human rights violations, aiding and abetting terrorism throughout the world, and killing Americans. The United States must take strong and immediate actions to stop Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. A nuclear Iran is not just a threat to Israel, it is also a threat to the United States, Europe, and our allies around the globe. A nuclear Iran is simply unacceptable and is a red line that cannot be crossed - the gravity of a nuclear Iran cannot be understated, which is why I firmly believe that all options must always remain on the table.
I support the United States using diplomatic, political, and economic measures available to remove the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear weapons program. As such, I fully support tough, unilateral sanctions that strike the Iranian energy sector. I will continue to hold the President accountable to ensure that he implements these sanctions aggressively and quickly against those who support Iran’s nuclear program. I also support Congressional action to authorize state and local governments to divest from companies investing in Iran’s petroleum and natural gas sector.
As Congressman, I strongly support missile defense programs, specifically those meant to defend the United States, Europe, and Israel from Iran’s growing ballistic missile threat.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan would again become an unfettered terrorist training ground capable of perpetrating gross atrocities around the world if NATO and America withdrew now. The President must provide clear objectives to his military commanders, and follow their recommendations about how to achieve those objectives as quickly as possible. This means we should set benchmarks for operational success instead of timelines for withdrawal. I do not believe President Obama should have publicly announced the date to begin withdrawing troops. The enemy in that region is certainly capable of going underground for a defined period of time and reemerging after our date for departure.
North Korea
In this moment of transition for the North Korean leadership, from Kim Jong Il to his son Kim Jong-un, the United States must not lose focus on the extraordinary threat still posed by North Korea. Under Kim Jong Il, North Korea repeatedly demonstrated an overt and ominous will to defy the United Nations Security Council and international sanctions. The United States must be sure not to continue the policies that have failed over the past two decades to prevent North Korea from obtaining a nuclear capability, developing long range weaponry, and proliferating this technology among those that want to harm us. The notion that North Korea will give up international leverage for inducements is faulty. Kim Jong Il showed himself to lead a brutal and irrational regime, and we must be careful not be fooled by the reign of Kim Jong-un . Our efforts toward North Korea must be multidimensional: Deterrence, counter-proliferation alliances, and financial initiatives to degrade the authority of the tyrannical regime.
