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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October/November
2007
Volume 13 - Number
1/2 |
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Emergency Management policy position of Presidential
candidate Mitt Romney
By Ashutosh Madhukar The former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s Emergency
Management Policy as of now has been limited to only terrorism risks. The
issues on top of his agenda are:
- Combating Nuclear Terrorism - Confronting Radical Jihad Combating Nuclear Terrorism In his opinion, Iran’s ambition to develop nuclear weaponry is a very serious threat. His reasoning is that Iran has a virtually inexhaustible supply of clean natural gas for energy and they have refused offers to supply nuclear fuel for their power. Obviously, their nuclear ambition has nothing to do with clean energy. [As claimed by Iran that they are developing nuclear capability to meet their energy needs] “Some people, of course, think that it’s possible to live with a nuclear Iran. That thinking is based on the theory that Iran, once it’s granted the privilege of becoming a member of the nuclear club, that it will be a responsible actor. Neither their words nor their actions justify that kind of thinking.” (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks AtYeshiva University, 4/26/07) Confronting Radical Jihad Jihadism – violent, radical, fundamental Islam – is this century’s nightmare. It follows the same dark path as last century’s nightmares: fascism and Soviet communism. Many still fail to comprehend the extent of the threat posed by radical Islam, specifically by those extremists who promote violent Jihad against the United States and the universal values Americans espouse. Radical Islam has one goal: to replace all modern Islamic states with a worldwide caliphate while destroying the Unite States and converting all non believers, forcibly if necessary, to a fundamentalist form of Islam. Merely closing our eyes and hoping that Jihadism will go away is not an acceptable solution. U.S. military action alone cannot change the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of Muslims. In the end, only Muslims themselves can defeat the violent radicals. But we must work with them. The consequences of ignoring this threat – such as a radicalized Islamic actor possessing nuclear weapons – are simply unacceptable. “I think many of us still fail to comprehend the extent of the threat posed by radical Islam, by Jihad. Understandably, we focus on Afghanistan and Iraq. Our men and women are dying there. We think in terms of countries, because we faced countries in last century’s conflicts. But the Jihad is much broader than any one nation or nations. Jihad encompasses far more than the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. For radical Islam, there is an over-arching conflict and goal - replacing all modern Islamic states with a caliphate, destroying America, and conquering the world.” (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At The George Herbert Walker Bush Presidential Library, 4/10/07) Reference: 1. http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/4_Challenge3_Combating_Nuclear_Terrorism.pdf 2. http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/3_Challenge2_Confronting_Radical_Jihad.pdf |