Published: October 09, 2008 11:51 am         

Roemer: Vote for Obama

National security is more than taking military action, according to former local Congressman Tim Roemer. National security also involves diplomacy, economics, sanctions when needed and education — here and abroad.

And for Roemer, who has worked with national security matters since serving as a representative for Indiana’s 3rd District from 1991 to 2003, Barack Obama understands that.

“We’re smarter in developing a multi-dimensional approach,” Roemer told a crowd of about 40 Tuesday afternoon at Goshen College.

Roemer has been busy stumping for Obama, giving talks about what he’s most familiar with — national security.

As a member of the 9/11 Commission, which studied the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Roemer said, “It wasn’t 19 Arab states, it wasn’t 19 armies, it was 19 students who attacked the United States.”

Attacks can come from anywhere and by any design, Roemer pointed out.

He said terrorists are not just found in the Middle East, and pointed to the bombings in London.

And although al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden tells his radical Islamist followers that it is their religious duty to obtain a nuclear weapon, there are other dangers.

SARS or an avian flu pandemic could be examples of bioterrorism. Terrorists could also cause havoc by hacking into the Internet, he said.

“There are all kinds of ways the United States can be attacked or threatened today,” he said.

And the United States needs a leader who can meet those challenges, Roemer said, adding that that man is Obama.

Obama, he said, leaves military options on the table, but he’s also aware that sometimes not using military force is a better option.

According to Roemer, Obama said that Iraq should not have been invaded because it was not part of 9/11, and Obama did not vote to invade Iraq. “He was right,” Roemer said.

The military should have been focused on Afghanistan, which was home to al-Qaida. “We should not have taken our eyes off the ball,” Roemer said.

Obama wants to focus on three critical areas of national security and then broaden areas from there, he said.

Economic security interests are among the three.

Obama, Roemer said, wants to make sure the nation is equipped to take on the many challenges coming at it.

Roemer also said the United States needs leaders who are going to be thinking long-term.

He pointed out that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned in 1921 of how “austere and blood-thirsty” Wasabis, Islamic extremists, were. The Wasabis wanted to kill men for smoking and women for walking down the street.

“Terrorists turn and pervert a beautiful religion,” Roemer said.

The five pillars of Islam are also beliefs that Roemer teaches his own children as a Roman Catholic.

Roemer also said that Sen. Obama has the understanding to deal with Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He wants to bring troops out of Iraq in a 16-month period, while still maintaining flexibility with military and political leaders.

He would then reposition brigades to Afghanistan, Roemer said. Because the current administration took the eye off of the ball, he said, troop commanders are saying that another 20,000 troops are needed in Afghanistan to quell the rise of extremists there.

Obama, according to Roemer, also wants the United States to play more of a role in building up countries through education and development.

Al-Qaida’s not offering to rebuild cities and to educate the poor in these countries. Instead, Roemer said, al-Qaida is teaching death and destruction to these young people.

“We cannot afford to have these young people sign up for jihad,” Roemer said.

He said that the United States needs a strategy to prevent people from getting on the “conveyor belt” to begin with and prevent the rise of extremism.

As for Pakistan, Obama has said that there are times the United States has to be proactive in going after people who want to kill troops, according to Roemer. “We’ve got to get these folks before they kill.”

And it’s a policy President Bush agrees with, Roemer pointed out.

In talking about Obama, Roemer said, “He’s been right on Iraq, he’s been right on Afghanistan and he’s been right on Pakistan. Three of the most difficult and complicated issues, Obama has been right on.”

Roemer also addressed several other topics on Obama’s platform. He said Obama wants to:

• Repair America’s tattered image.

• Equip people who have lost their jobs with skills to get jobs — maybe even providing some jobs through creating green technology.

• Moving forward with an energy policy and investing about $50 billion in a “Manhattan project” for energy.

• Improve the education system, using many current tools including No Child Left Behind.

• Work on fair and free trade. Roemer said he, as well as Obama, are extremely concerned about job losses in Indiana. Elkhart County has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state — which was about 10 percent in July.

What all these add up to is investing in people, Roemer said.

About Tim Roemer