Dealing with Iran

Marina Kats understands that we cannot ever allow rouge states such as Iran to dictate the course of events in the world because our lives and our freedoms are at stake. She does not support preventive warfare, attacking another sovereign country without having first been provoked. Marina, however, is wise enough to understand that we all must learn from the lessons of history. For example, opposing Hitler in the 1930’s, could have precluded World War II in the 1940’s. The Iranian leader sounds very much like the Hitler of our times. He wants to kill the Jews, he wants to wipe Israel off the map, and then he wants to destroy the United States of America and Western culture. He has referred to Israel and the United States respectively as the Little Satan and the Big Satan. Marina Kats will never passively sit by and let any of these things occur. She will take a proactive approach in Congress ensuring that we act first to prevent a disaster. She understands, as well, that it is our responsibility to determine how much of what Ahmadinejad is bellowing is just hot air and what is truly an actionable threat on the part of the Iranian government. She, therefore, fully supports bolstering our intelligence agencies (CIA, NSA, and DIA) and giving them the full powers they need to fulfill their vital missions to protect the citizens of the United States of America. Early-on, in the conflict with Iraq, our intelligence failed us to some degree and, thus, we cannot afford to have such failures repeat themselves in Iran. The stakes are just too great. The development of deployable weapons of mass destruction by an unstable regime --- that supports international terrorist organizations, has supported our enemies in Iraq by providing them with weapons that have killed our soldiers, and is hell-bent on destroying us and our closest allies --- can reasonably be construed as a provocation of the highest magnitude on the part of the extremist government of Iran.

Marina Kats will work with the governments of the United States, Israel, and our Arab allies to ensure through every means possible that Iran never obtains the ability to deploy any weapon of mass destruction.

Marina Kats will only support the deployment of American military personnel into harms way so long as she is satisfied that their missions and the determination of the U.S. leadership at the highest levels of government are always guided by two overarching goals: (1)—we must unconditionally defeat the enemy, and (2)—the loss of American blood must be minimized. Marina will further require that these two goals be met through the use of crushing force against the enemies. She will never support allowing our troops to enter any conflict “holding back our fists”, with the unrealistic hope that we won’t get hit back hard in return. History has shown that such hesitation to use massive force always leads to protracted conflicts. Marina Kats believes that the use of overwhelming force is the only way to win convincingly, and it also sends a clear message to any other potential advisories that they might meet the same fate should they challenge the United States with violent aggression. This is exactly the message radical Islamists need to hear form the United States. It’s the only message they understand, and it is the message that Marina Kats is more than willing to send to our enemies.

The U. S. Role in Iraq

Marina Kats believes that it is essential for our nation to fully support the fledgling democratic government in Iraq. Marina understands that setting precise time tables, as opposed to using clearly defined milestone objectives, to determine the schedule for the U.S. to withdrawal its troops from Iraqi soil would be a grievous mistake both strategically and morally. The enemies of the Iraqi government are also the enemies of the United States of America. Should the U.S. withdrawal its troops prior to the time when the Iraqis are: a) completely capable of governing themselves and - most importantly - b) completely able to provide for their own national security; the door would left wide open for terrorist entities such as Al Qaeda and terrorist states such as Iran to cannibalize the democratic Iraqi nation by provoking sectarian tensions and promoting a civil war.

An unstable Iraq would upset the delicate balance of power in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region that is so crucial to maintain. A premature American withdrawal would result in Iraq deteriorating into a bloody cesspool providing the perfect breeding grounds for future generations of radical terrorists hell-bent on destroying the U.S., Israel, and any other state that holds freedom and liberty as cherished values.

For these reasons Marina Kats has and will support the “Surge” that is helping us win the war in Iraq; “we must remain resilient in this theater and bring the conflict to a satisfactory conclusion by ensuring that the democratic Iraqi government annihilates the radical extremist elements that seek its ruin. In such a situation, I don’t believe that we can set an absolute timetable for the complete withdrawal of our military personnel.”

Marina Kats also understands that the cost of the war in Iraq has taken a great toll on the American treasury and she does believe that the financial cost of the war can still be offset by the sale of Iraqi oil. She supports an informal “oil for freedom” policy. The Iraqi nation has one of the richest reserves of oil to be found anywhere on earth. One way in which the war was originally going to be funded was through the proceeds generated from the sale of Iraqi oil, but this has never come to fruition. It is not too late now. Marina Kats believes that the people of the United States deserve this, and it would be especially appreciated in this era of high fuel prices and uncertainty in future oil supplies. The United States has given the Iraqi people the precious gift of freedom and exterminated a terribly vicious dictator along with his entire regime. Therefore, as part of the newly-negotiated agreement that will replace the UN-sanctioned role at year’s end, our nation deeply deserves to get some compensation for all of our many sacrifices of precious American blood and treasure to accomplish this end for the Iraqi people. Thus, for example, an Iraqi Air Force does not exist; it is appropriate that our armaments be purchased rather than bequeathed, as the country builds a complete military force.

Marina supports strengthening the US-led effort to stabilize Iraq, whether it is through the UN or through any other entities (such as NATO or a coalition-of-the-willing).  This would include supporting Iraq’s effort to hold regional elections, for such action would enhance international recognition of Iraq’s achievements.  As a result, it is anticipated that other countries will supplement efforts to satisfy ongoing humanitarian missions such as promoting national reconciliation, facilitating regional dialogue, and helping refugees resettle and prosper