Huntsman Wins Paper’s Nod, Defends Israel
Longshot Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman got a big boost when the Boston Globe endorsed his candidacy just days before the primary vote in nearby New Hampshire.
The paper cited the former Utah governor’s “vision for national unity.”
“The party has a chance to renew itself,” the paper wrote. “To blaze a path to bipartisan action on the budget, to introduce market-based solutions to health costs, and to construct a post-Iraq War network of alliances to promote global economic strength, knowing that true security comes from both peace and prosperity.”
Huntsman said Thursday that should be elected president, he will “fully promote and protect” the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Huntsman told Haaretz that his Israel policy would be based on a “deep, enduring friendship”, and emphasized that the alliance between the two would be based on “security, economics, and values.”
Huntsman also called Iran’s nuclear program the “most challenging transcendent threat of this decade”, and stated that he would consult very closely with Israel if provided with clear evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapon. Huntsman added that all options, including a military one, were on the table in order to deal with a nuclear Iran.
“I will be the president who will not be willing to accept a nuclear Iran,” said Huntsman. “I think it’s too dangerous for the region, I think it’s too dangerous given what they’ve said about Israel, and I would do whatever I needed to do as president to ensure they won’t become a nuclear power.”
Huntsman, who is gearing up for next week’s New Hampshire primary, started his week off in the city of Hampton, N.H., at the local Rotary Meeting. From there, he moved on to Durham, where he toured the “Goss International” printer press production plant, hand in hand with his wife Mary Kaye, and met with company’s workers. There he received t some applause and answered various questions on topics ranging from energy independence to Afghanistan.
“Its’ time for our troops to come home”, he said on Afghanistan. “It’s a counter-terror mission, not a nation-building exercise…. The world is better off when America is strong, and we are weak today. Afghanistan, Iraq is not our nation’s future.”
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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