Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria are listed last.

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

Clinton, Hillary (D) - Con Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator (D-NY), in an article titled "Ending the War in Iraq" on her official candidate website (accessed Aug. 15, 2007), stated: "Even those who are implementing this [Iraq] policy of the president's cannot tell us it will make America more safe, nor that it will lead to the kind of political decision-making that we have to expect from the Iraqis themselves." Aug. 15, 2007 Hillary Clinton

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Gravel, Mike (Lib) - Con Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator (D-AK), in an Oct. 19, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated: "The opposite is true. The world is more dangerous as a result of the War in Iraq. The US military is bogged down in a war costing the taxpayers 2 billion dollars a week. I advocate a full military withdrawal from Iraq." Oct. 19, 2007 Mike Gravel

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Keyes, Alan (Ind) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Alan Keyes, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, stated during the Sep. 27, 2007 Republican presidential debate in Baltimore, MD: "I think the most important thing to remember is that our efforts in Iraq and elsewhere right now that followed in the wake of September 11 aren't an effort to defend black people, white people, Jewish people, Christian people, et cetera. They're an effort to defend the United States of America from a deep and terrible threat that came against us in disregard of the fundamental ? the fundamental moral principle that is supposed to govern all international affairs, all wars that are conducted by countries, and that is that you do not consciously target innocent human life." Sep. 27, 2007 Alan Keyes

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McCain, John (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ), stated in an article titled "April 11 Speech on Iraq" on his official candidate website, (accessed Oct. 24, 2007): "America has a vital interest in preventing the emergence of Iraq as a Wild West for terrorists, similar to Afghanistan before 9/11. By leaving Iraq before there is a stable Iraqi governing authority we risk precisely this, and the potential consequence of allowing terrorists sanctuary in Iraq is another 9/11 or worse. In Iraq today, terrorists have resorted to levels of barbarism that shock the world, and we should not be so naive as to believe their intentions are limited solely to the borders of that country. We Americans are their primary enemy, and we Americans are their ultimate target... Our defeat in Iraq would constitute a defeat in the war against terror and extremism and would make the world a much more dangerous place. The enemies we face there harbor the same depraved indifference to human life as those who killed three thousand innocent Americans on a September morning in 2001... Some argue the war in Iraq no longer has anything to do with us; that it is a hopelessly complicated mess of tribal warfare and sectarian conflict. The situation is complex, and very difficult. Yet from one perspective it is quite simple. We are engaged in a basic struggle: a struggle between humanity and inhumanity; between builders and destroyers. If fighting these people and preventing the export of their brand of radicalism and terror is not intrinsic to the national security and most cherished values of the United States, I don't know what is." Oct. 24, 2007 John McCain

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McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - None Found ProCon.org emailed the McKinney campaign on Mar. 26, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Apr. 11, 2008.

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Nader, Ralph (Ind) - Con Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, stated in his June 28, 2005 "A Guide to the President's Speech," cowritten with Kevin B. Zeese and published on the LewRockwell website: "The truth many Americans want to hear from the President, but are very unlikely to hear, is that the war and occupation of Iraq was not based on available intelligence, that our continued presence in Iraq is counterproductive to the safety of Iraqis and the United States, and that a responsible withdrawal from Iraq ? of both U.S. military and corporate interests ? with continued humanitarian and economic support is the most likely way to bring stability and democracy to the country." June 28, 2005 Ralph Nader

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Obama, Barack (D) - Con Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-IL), in a Sep. 12, 2007 article titled "Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Turning the Page in Iraq" on his official candidate website, stated: "Perhaps the saddest irony of the Administration's cynical use of 9/11 is that the Iraq War has left us less safe than we were before 9/11. Osama bin Ladin and his top lieutenants have rebuilt a new base in Pakistan where they freely train recruits, plot new attacks, and disseminate propaganda. The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan. Iran has emerged as the greatest strategic challenge to America in the Middle East in a generation. Violent extremism has increased. Terrorism has increased. All of that is a cost of this war." Sep. 12, 2007 Barack Obama

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Paul, Ron (R) - Con Ron Paul, U.S. Representative (R-TX), stated at the Sep. 5, 2007 FOX News Republican Presidential Primary Debate: "And going into Iraq and Afghanistan and threatening Iran is the worst thing we can do for our national security. I am less safe, the American people are less safe for this." Sep. 5, 2007 Ron Paul

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN OR WHO NO LONGER MEET OUR CRITERIA     Biden, Joe (D) - Con Joe Biden, U.S. Senator (D-DE), stated in an article titled "It's Bush's War but it's America's Future" on his official candidate website (accessed Nov. 2, 2007): "It is the President's time - and his responsibility - to answer a question that the general carrying out his policies in Iraq could not answer: is pressing ahead with the war making America safer? Based on everything we heard this week from the President's surrogates and everything I have seen and heard during my eight trips to Iraq, the answer is no. The President's strategy in Iraq is not succeeding. It is not making America safer. Doing more of the same would be a disaster." Nov. 2, 2007 Joe Biden Top      Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date Top    Dodd, Chris (D) - Con Chris Dodd, U.S. Senator (D-CT), stated in an article titled "Dodd Speaks in Support of Legislation to Redeploy Combat Troops From Iraq" on his U.S. Senate website (accessed Nov. 1, 2007): "...[O]ur current course has failed to make Iraq safer, has failed to make America safer, and so must change dramatically." Nov. 1, 2007 Chris Dodd Top    Edwards, John (D) - Con John Edwards, former U.S. Senator (D-NC), stated in an Aug. 17, 2007 cbsnews.com article titled "John Edwards Speaks Out" by Liz Halloran: "The war in Iraq has not made us safer; it has made us less safe." Aug. 17, 2007 John Edwards Top      Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date Top    Giuliani, Rudy (R) - Pro Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, stated on "Rudy on Iraq," a Youtube.com video of Rudy Giuliani speaking in New Hampshire on Aug. 17, 2007 on C-SPAN: "The fact that they are engaging our military there [Iraq], I believe is helping to keep us safe here. I think that if we had not done that, if we had not done Afghanistan and Iraq, there is no way of knowing, but, we gotta look at the results. Everybody on September 11, September 12, September 13, thought we'd be attacked many times after that [Sep. 11, 2001]. Not only did everyone think that, everybody told me that... If they hadn't made those sacrifices [U.S. Military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq] I believe we'd be in much greater danger than we are." Aug. 17, 2007 Rudy Giuliani Top      Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found     No position found as of Oct. 31, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Huckabee campaign on Oct. 10, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.   Top      Hunter, Duncan (R) - None Found     No position found as of Nov. 5, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Hunter campaign on Oct. 10, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.   Top    Imperato, Daniel (3rd/I) - Con Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, issued the following statement through his press secretary, Joseph Oddo, in a Nov. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org: "No." Nov. 30, 2007 Daniel Imperato Top    Kubby, Steve (3rd/I) - Con Steve Kubby, founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in an Oct. 29, 2007 email to ProCon.org: "No" Oct. 29, 2007 Steve Kubby Top    Kucinich, Dennis (D) - Con Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative (D-OH), in a press release titled "Kucinich: The Administration's Military Victory Is a Foreign Policy Failure," dated May 1, 2003: "The Administration, with its policy in Iraq, has isolated the United States from the international community and threatens to make our country less safe not more safe." May 1, 2003 Dennis Kucinich Top    McEnulty, Frank (3rd/I) - Con Frank McEnulty, President of Our Castle Homes, in an Oct. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated: "No, I believe that the war in Iraq may, in the long run have the opposite effect in that it has made us even more of a target. In addition, I also believe that because of the war in Iraq not as many people are willing to go out of their way to help us as there were prior to the war in Iraq. After 9/11 and through our invasion of Afghanistan, we had tremendous world support. That support was dealt a severe blow by our going into Iraq and it will take a long time for us to build it back up again." Oct. 30, 2007 Frank McEnulty Top    Richardson, Bill (D) - Con Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated in an Aug. 24, 2007 press release titled "Governor Bill Richardson Issues Response to Hillary Clinton Statement": "Our failed policy in Iraq is making us less safe. Our ports are less safe. Our cities are less safe. Our transportation systems are less safe." Aug. 24, 2007 Bill Richardson Top      Tancredo, Tom (R) - None Found     No position found as of Nov. 1, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Tancredo campaign on Oct. 10, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.   Top      Romney, Mitt (R) - None Found     No position found as of Oct. 25, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Romney campaign on Oct. 10, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email.   Top    Smith, Christine (3rd/I) - Con Christine Smith, founder and former President of Dreams of Freedom, Inc., stated in a Nov. 12, 2007 email to ProCon.org: "No. On the contrary, I believe we have increased our risks by enraging millions more against us. I will end U.S. government meddling in the affairs and conflicts of foreign nations...only that foreign policy will make us safer." Nov. 12, 2007 Christine Smith Top    Thompson, Fred (R) - Pro Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator (R-TN), stated in a June 5, 2007 Hannity & Colmes FOX News interview: "What people don't think enough about is what if we had not gone into Iraq. You know, after defying the UN 17 times, after corrupting the oil-for-food program and the UN itself, and defying the US, Saddam would have been there, the new king of the hill in that part of the world, with his murderous sons still putting people in human shredders, still a threat to his neighbors, still developing his plans for a nuclear capability. I mean, he had those plans. He had the technical expertise. Whether he had them on one particular day or not is almost irrelevant. Especially today, looking at what Iran is doing, he certainly would have had his hands or been working assiduously toward getting the capability of nuclear weapons. And that's what we would have been faced with had we not done that. Going in there and deposing him was a good thing." June 5, 2007 Fred Thompson Top      Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date

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