Security, Defense, and Foreign Policy

Senator Lieberman firmly believes that Iran’s illicit nuclear activities are another source of concern. In September 2009, the existence of a covert uranium enrichment plant in Iran, built into a mountain outside the city of Qom, was revealed. The secret construction of this facility, whose size, configuration, and location are inconsistent with a peaceful energy program, fits into a broader pattern of deception and concealment by the Iranians about their nuclear activities that stretches back over two decades. With this latest disclosure, the evidence all points to one inescapable conclusion – Iran is trying to acquire a military nuclear weapons capability. A nuclear-armed Iran would likely provoke other states in the region and beyond to pursue their own atomic arsenals – and let there be no doubt – the more proliferated the Middle East, the more likely a nuclear weapon will someday fall into the hands of terrorists.

Senator Lieberman believes that the current leadership of Iran will only consider stepping back from the nuclear brink when they are convinced that if they fail to do so, there will be consequences so severe that the continuity of their regime will be threatened. Should engagement fail, the Senator believes that we must be prepared to impose multiple sanctions, with multiple partners, implemented simultaneously.

With the goal of giving President Obama the authority to impose precisely these kinds of sanctions, Senator Lieberman introduced the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (S. Res. 908), together with Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). The logic of S. 908 is simple: although Iran is blessed with immense oil reserves, Iran lacks the capacity to meet much of its domestic demand for gasoline and other refined petroleum products. Consequently, Iran must rely heavily on imports for as much as 40 percent of its gasoline needs. The legislation would enable the President to impose new economic sanctions on firms that are involved in the export of gasoline and other refined petroleum products to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Senator Lieberman is especially encouraged that three-fourths of the Senate has agreed to cosponsor the legislation, representing a vast bipartisan coalition that includes both some of the most liberal and most conservative members of the Senate. Senator Lieberman is likewise encouraged that the Senate Banking Committee unanimously passed the bill in October 2009 and that the House counterpart of S. Res. 908 was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last month.

In addition to addressing the threat of a nuclear Iran, Senator Lieberman believes that we must take seriously the violent words of the Iranian regime and its acts of domestic repression. In the wake of the Iranian presidential election on June 12, 2009, Senator Lieberman joined Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ted Kaufman (D-DE), as well as others, in introducing the Victims of Iranian Censorship (VOICE) Act. This legislation is designed to strengthen the ability of the Iranian people to get access to news and information and to overcome the electronic censorship and monitoring efforts of the Iranian regime. On July 23, 2009, this legislation was unanimously adopted as an amendment to the fiscal year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (S. Amdt. 1775 to S. 1390).

Senator Lieberman supported President Obama’s good faith effort to engage directly with the Iranian government, believing that peaceful diplomacy is the preferred way to end Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. However, Senator Lieberman views engagement as a tactic, not a strategy and maintains that the United States cannot allow the Iranian government to ensnare us in a process without end, while they continue to advance toward a nuclear breakout. Senator Lieberman has been clear about his belief that time is not on our side: every day the United States waits, the Iranian regime advances closer to its goal – and the task of persuading them through peaceful means to turn back becomes even heard, and the odds of success, even slimmer.

For more information on Senator Lieberman’s position on Iran, please see this speech he delivered at a forum co-hosted by the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution and an opinion piece he published in the Wall Street Journal

The War in Afghanistan

Senator Lieberman believes that we are engaged in a difficult war in Afghanistan that is absolutely essential to America’s national security. Although he is deeply concerned about the trajectory of our war effort in Afghanistan, and the deterioration of security there, as the insurgency has grown in both size and sophistication in recent years, Senator Lieberman is also confident, however, that we can still reverse Afghanistan's downward spiral and prevent it from again becoming a safe haven for the terrorists who struck us on September 11, 2001.

Unfortunately, the United States does not have enough troops in Afghanistan today to provide the kind of sustained security that is necessary for success in counterinsurgency. For this reason, Senator Lieberman strongly believes that the United States must commit the “decisive force” that General Stanley McChrystal, our Commander in Afghanistan, called for in August 2009 and supports President Obama’s pledge to send additional American forces to Afghanistan. Senator Lieberman has argued that more troops will not guarantee success in Afghanistan, but a failure to send them is a guarantee of failure.

In order to win this conflict, Senator Lieberman believes that the United States must also match its surge in troop strength with a surge in the strategic coherence of our war effort. As we have learned in Iraq, success in counterinsurgency requires integrating military and civilian operations into a seamless strategy. Unfortunately, in Afghanistan there is no such nationwide, civil-military campaign plan to defeat the insurgency. This must change.

Senator Lieberman also believes we must increase the number of civilian experts in Afghanistan who are just as important for reconstruction and counterinsurgency. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul needs to be transformed and expanded, with the necessary resources and the explicit mission to work side by side with the military at every level. Further, the civilian presence must be ramped up outside our embassy – at the provincial, district, and village levels, embedding non-military experts among our troops as they move in.

Senator Lieberman believes that America’s efforts to stabilize Afghanistan must be met by cooperation and progress on the part of the Afghan government. On the one hand, this means a major expansion in the size of the Afghan National Army – an increasingly professional and capable force whose success is our own best long-term "exit strategy" from Afghanistan. On the other hand, in addition to building up their own security forces, the Afghans must also take tough action to combat the pervasive corruption that is destroying the legitimacy of their government and fueling the insurgency.

Furthermore, as it stands, almost all of Afghanistan’s neighbors are interfering in its internal affairs, including by providing weapons and funding to insurgents. Senator Lieberman believes we must help “harden” Afghanistan against malign external influence by strengthening its institutions at both the national and local levels, so that Afghans can stop their neighbors from using their country as a geopolitical chessboard.

It is Senator Lieberman view that success in Afghanistan requires a sustained surge of American political commitment to the mission. Although the Senator believes we are fortunate that the Afghan war still commands bipartisan support in Congress and among the American people, as more troops are deployed to the region and casualties rise, this consensus will be tested. Senator Lieberman maintains that the U.S. government has a special responsibility to prepare the American people for the tough path ahead in this war. In particular, it is critical to recognize that, even if we start doing everything right, success in Afghanistan will not come easy. On the contrary, it will be long, costly, and hard; and conditions are likely to get worse before they get better.

Senator Lieberman strongly believes that success in Afghanistan is possible – and absolutely critical for America's own national security. Afghanistan is where the attacks of 9/11 were plotted, where al Qaeda made its sanctuary under the Taliban, and where they will do so again if given the chance. Moreover, if Afghanistan once again becomes a failed state, it threatens to destabilize neighboring Pakistan – where a fragile government is already battling Islamist insurgents, who hope to seize control of its nuclear weapons. For these reasons, Senator Lieberman believes that the United States has a long-term interest in the stability of Afghanistan. He is deeply committed to supporting the United States’ mission in there and ensuring that, no matter what happens in Washington, our men and women in uniform get the support they need and deserve.

For more information on Senator Lieberman’s position on Afghanistan, please see this speech he delivered at the Brookings Institution and remarks he offered at a symposium hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ending the War in Iraq

As a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Lieberman is following ongoing developments in Iraq closely. Senator Lieberman recognizes that the war in Iraq has been a difficult and divisive chapter in the history of our nation, and regrets the numerous mistakes and missteps committed in its prosecution. With the leadership of President Obama, however, Senator Lieberman is hopeful that Americans can set aside whatever differences divided us and come together as a country – regardless of party affiliation – in support of a decent outcome in Iraq.

On February 27, 2009, President Obama outlined what Senator Lieberman believes is a reasonable plan for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, based on the extraordinary progress our brave men and women in uniform have made there over the past two years. The President’s plan will remove all U.S. combat brigades from Iraq by August 2010, followed by an interim force of 35,000 to 50,000 troops that will train and mentor Iraqi Security Forces, conduct targeted counterterrorism missions, and protect our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq. According to the Status of Forces Agreement the United States has negotiated with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

In his February 2009 address, President Obama also emphasized that he will remain attentive to conditions on the ground in Iraq and listen carefully to the recommendations of his military commanders. Should conditions in Iraq change, the President has rightly indicated that he is prepared to adapt his plan.

Senator Lieberman is hopeful, however, that security conditions in Iraq will continue to improve and that our courageous troops can leave behind a stable and democratic country. Thanks to the efforts of our brave soldiers, violence in Iraq is dramatically down; and political progress has begun to take root.

Ending the Genocide in Darfur

Senator Lieberman believes that stopping the genocide in Darfur is a critical responsibility for the United States and other like-minded nations, arguing that "If we fail to do more to prevent the death and suffering of millions of vulnerable and isolated people, we are turning our backs on the fundamental humanitarian values of our societies, and forgetting the lessons of our history." In 2004, the Senator co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that first identified the brutal actions of the Janjaweed militia in Darfur as genocide.

Since 2005, the United States has provided more than $5 billion in humanitarian aid and development assistance to the people of Darfur and to refugees in who have fled to the neighboring country of Chad. In Senator Lieberman’s view, however, the effort to resolve the crisis in Darfur has been systematically undermined by two factors: the deliberate opposition of the Sudanese government, and the failure of the international community to summon the necessary political will and muscle to overcome it.

Senator Lieberman believes that the United States must hold the Sudanese government accountable for its role in supporting the violence in Darfur and obstructing humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of the people of Darfur. The Senator has been frustrated by the international community’s failures to overcome the obstructionism of the Sudanese government and lack of political will. Although the UN Security Council authorized over 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur in late 2007, less than 17,000 peacekeeping personnel have been deployed so far. The international community also failed to contribute key tactical elements of the force, including 24 helicopters that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has termed indispensable to the peacekeeping mission.

As a result, Senator Lieberman cosponsored S. Res. 432, which was introduced by then-Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and passed unanimously by the Senate in February 2008. This resolution calls on members of the international community, including the United States, to provide the peacekeeping mission the utility and tactical aerial vehicles it needs.

Because the conflict in Darfur has spilled beyond its borders, with the Sudanese government sponsoring internal rebellions against the neighboring governments of Chad and the Central African Republic, Senator Lieberman cosponsored S. Res. 470, which was passed unanimously by the Senate in February 2008, and calls on the relevant governments and responsible international stakeholders in Chad, the Central African Republic, and Sudan, to devote ample political commitment and material resources toward a negotiated solution to these cross-border conflicts.

Senator Lieberman supports the Obama Administration’s commitment to achieving three central strategic objectives in its policy toward the Republic of Sudan: an end the genocide in Darfur; a negotiated lasting peace between North and South Sudan; and assurance that Sudan will not provide a safe haven for terrorists. While he does not oppose exploring a policy of national engagement with the government of Sudan, Senator Lieberman believes that any attempt at diplomatic engagement must be combined with clear benchmarks and a timetable to hold Sudan’s government accountable.

Senator Lieberman joined a bi-partisan group of Senators who wrote to President Obama on June 29, 2009 to express the need to assess the viability of punitive measures and prepare for them to be realized in the event that Khartoum does not negotiate in good faith. These measures would include but are not limited to: “multilateral targeted sanctions against those responsible for continued violence and an expanded and enforced arms embargo.”

In 2007, Senator Lieberman cosponsored the Sudan Divestment Authorization Act (S. Res. 831), which was introduced by Senator Durbin (D-IL) and a bipartisan group of senators, including then-Senator Obama (D-IL). The Sudan Divestment Authorization Act would have authorized States and local governments to prohibit the investment of State assets in any company that has a qualifying business relationship with Sudan; unfortunately, this important measure did not pass before the 110th Congress adjourned.

Senator Lieberman has also taken steps to urge countries like China to exercise their influence to stop the genocide in Darfur. In addition to raising the genocide in Darfur in meeting with Chinese official in Beijing and with the Chinese ambassador to the United States here in Washington, Senator Lieberman cosponsored S. Res. 203, passed unanimously by the Senate in July 2007, and calls on China’s government to use its economic leverage over the Sudanese regime to end the violence in Darfur.

Senator Lieberman firmly believes that we must not lose sight of the unfortunate reality that the government of Sudan has proven repeatedly to be an untrustworthy negotiating partner. Should negotiations fail, Senator Lieberman believes that the United States must never rule out more muscular steps that will compel the government of Sudan to operate as an honest partner and produce concrete progress on the ground that advances Sudan toward peace and security.

Advancing the Middle East Peace Process

Senator Lieberman believes that the United States should continue to take an active role in negotiating a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Specifically, he maintains that a two-state solution – in which Israel lives side by side in peace with a democratic Palestinian state – ultimately provides the only appropriate framework for resolving this longstanding challenge.

To this end, Senator Lieberman appreciates the Administration’s decision to appoint former Senator George Mitchell, a seasoned and experienced negotiator, as special envoy for the Mideast, tasked with reinvigorating the peace process between Israel and its neighbors.

While the United States has a vital role to play, the Senator believes that ultimately Israelis and Palestinians, themselves, will need to make tough decisions to ensure lasting peace and security. In particular, no peace is possible in the Middle East unless the Palestinians are absolutely willing to renounce terrorism, accept previous agreements with Israel, and recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Senator Lieberman has acknowledged that finding common ground with regard to Israel’s settlement activity is clearly one component that must be addressed within the broader framework of peace talks. However, he does not believe that Israeli settlements are the main obstacle to peace today, nor should we treat them as such. Rather, the central obstacle to peace in the region is the extremists, like Hamas and Hezbollah, and their state sponsor, Iran.

To counteract state-sponsored extremism, Senator Lieberman strongly believes the United States must continue to provide robust support for states who share our interest in regional peace and our democratic values. In this pursuit, Israel is a key partner for the United States in the Middle East. The State of Israel is a longstanding and vital ally of the United States. The United States was the first country to recognize Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, and every president since Harry Truman has acknowledged the special bond that exists between our two nations. It is a friendship rooted not only in shared interests, but in shared values – the values of democracy, freedom of opportunity, and the rule of law. The relationship between the United States and Israel is especially important today, as both of our societies confront threats of transnational terrorism and rogue states that seek weapons of mass destruction.

As a co-chair of the Senate Friends of Jordan Caucus, alongside Senators Inouye (D-HI) and Gregg (R-NH), Senator Lieberman continues to look for ways to strengthen bilateral relations with likeminded nations and advance the cause of regional peace and security.

Homeland Security

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Senator Lieberman has worked assiduously to oversee the Department of Homeland Security and ensure that first responders and preventers are provided with the resources they need to do their jobs.

For more information on Senator Lieberman's work on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee click here or to visit the committee's web site, click here.