Israel Matzav: Debate: Sestak and Toomey on Israel

Monday, October 25, 2010

Debate: Sestak and Toomey on Israel

The two US Senate candidates from Pennsylvania - Joe Sestak(D) and Pat Toomey (R) (pictured) had a debate on Thursday night in Philadelphia. I couldn't find it on YouTube, so you'll have to read. Here's the part that dealt with Israel.

JIM GARDNER:

And you sir? Okay, thank you very much. We're going to talk about some foreign policy. Would-- should the United States either participate in a military action or approve either overtly or tacitly a military action by another country, for instance, Israel against Iran before that country develops the ability to use a nuclear weapon? And that question first goes to Mister Sestak, and you have 45 seconds.

JOE SESTAK:

Yes. I've patrolled those lanes out there in the military. I've operated with them, pre-Shah era as well as after the Ayatollah took over. War is the last thing you want to do. The military option, however, should never be taken off the table. But it should be on the back of the table.

And before we put men and women into harm's way, we should try diplomatically by making it hurt, as I voted for, for sanctions, on gasoline and others, to cut off, to make sure Iran does not-- because it cannot be permitted to have a nuclear weapon.

JIM GARDNER:

But if it comes down to military action, would you do that to prevent Iran from getting a military--

JOE SESTAK:

It is the last option I would support, but yes-- you would not take in these 45 seconds-- I would not be against what is necessary in order to do it. But we are far from that period right now.

JIM GARDNER:

Mister Toomey?

PAT TOOMEY:

I-- I think it's unacceptable for the United States to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. This is a very, very dangerous regime. It's a security threat to the United States, and it's an-- existential risk to our good friend and ally, Israel. Joe and I have differed on this.

I urge the toughest possible-- economic sanctions on Iran very early on. Joe refused to co-sponsor the legislation. Voted for it in the end, but wouldn't put the pressure on that we needed. Instead, he allied himself with that small, very extreme element of the House that is least-friendly to Israel, in fact, in some ways hostile to Israel, and urged the administration to pressure the Israeli government to ease the blockade of Gaza. A very big mistake. We should not be pressuring the Israeli government to make them-- security concessions. They'll make the concessions as they see fit for their own security. [Toomey is referring to J Street and the Hamas 54 letter, which Sestak signed. I wish he had just come out and said it. CiJ]

JOE SESTAK:

As I said, truth is the first casualty. I arrived in Congress at the... I carried...for all that period of time, they never placed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on the terrorist list. And my efforts of shaping that legislation finally got convinced-- convinced the Bush administration to place the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on the terrorist list, and we could cut off their finances, where they're funding a Hamas and Hezbollah that we were opposed to in my....

JIM GARDNER:

Mister Toomey? You have 15 seconds of rebuttal.

PAT TOOMEY:

Well, as-- as I said, I-- I think Joe has-- allied himself with an extremist element in-- in the House. Speaking as he did to an organization that-- embraces Hamas-- I think was extremely imprudent. [That refers to Sestak speaking to CAIR. Again, I wish he had mentioned the name. CiJ] Putting pressure on the Israeli government. When you consider the enormous security risks that is-- Israel-- occurs.

JIM GARDNER:

Thank you, sir.

PAT TOOMEY:

It-- it's a big mistake.

JIM GARDNER:

If you feel like you don't need to take your rebuttal, you'd be helping us by (LAUGHTER) letting it go. George?