Roby: US Must Act in Iraq
By Brad Harper
Montgomery Advertiser
Thursday, August 14, 2014

Rep. Martha Roby called Thursday for the United States to take stronger action to stop extremists in Iraq, saying the group is "pure evil" and threatens homeland security.

"What the American people want to know is that the leadership they've elected, regardless of party, is willing to step up and lead when it comes to this crisis in Iraq," Roby said, drawing applause from a crowd of business leaders and local elected officials.

Roby, R-Montgomery, said airstrikes and humanitarian efforts aren't a strong enough response to the upheaval swirling around the group known as the Islamic State or ISIS.

"As the United States of America we are choosing to not be a lead when it comes to foreign policy," she said. "Somebody's going to step in to fill that void, and in this instance it's really bad guys.

"Nobody wants another war. I don't want another war. But we have a responsibility when it comes to stopping these awful terrorists."

One of those in attendance at the breakfast event suggested that "Muslims killing Muslims" was a good thing and that the United States should send them more guns. Roby responded by mentioning that children and Christians are being affected and that "these people would be here (attacking) us if they had the opportunity."

In Alabama's Capital City as part of a speaking tour, she covered the economy, border control and the veterans healthcare crisis.

She advocated for patient-centered community care, which could allow Veterans Affairs patients to have more access to private care, and promised to continue to pursue the issue.

Multiple people in the crowd asked about the investigation into the 2012 attack on an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, suggesting that the compound would have been better protected if high-ranking Democrats were present. Roby said investigators must take a non-partisan, fact-finding approach to the investigation or that it would lose all legitimacy.

But when speaking about the economy, she admitted that "we have a divisive government." She blamed the Democrat-controlled Senate for not taking up bills that she said could improve the economy, and said the federal government "is inserting themselves more into people's lives and making it more difficult."

"It might be a little bit easier if we won some elections," Roby said.