July 3, 2014 - Breitbart News spoke with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN), candidate for president of the United States in 2012, about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Islamic State jihadist terror group, the Muslim Brotherhood, Putin’s Russia, America’s border security issues, and what her plans are following retirement in 2014.
Breitbart News: Tell us about House Resolution 622, a bill you introduced to suspend aid to the Palestinian Authority. Would you say this issue is more prevalent than ever considering the recent deaths of the three Israeli teenagers at the hands of Palestinian Hamas operatives?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
The issue has gone on for a long period of time because many in the Palestinian government have done nothing but promote terrorist rhetoric, allow for terrorist actions, and carry out terroristic threats. We saw the most recent example in the kidnapping and murders of the three Jewish teenagers.
The motive was as simple as the three boys being Jewish, that's what this is all about. Its really part and parcel of the thinking in the Palestinian Authority. All a person has to do is look at what has been taught to Palestinian children in the schools, what is on the television shows – particularly for children, but also geared towards adults.
The message of the Palestinian Authority is very clear: Israel has no right to exist. They plan to annihilate the Jewish people and move them out of their physical territory. They have no problem doing so through violent means. Almost on a daily basis, that message is sent through the Palestinian government and broadcasted onto Palestinian media.
Whether it's television, print, radio, or internet, the calls to violent action are clear, concise, and well-documented. What happened to the three Jewish teenagers is a direct result of the incitement that has gone on not just recently, but since the inception of the modern Jewish state of Israel in 1948.
House Resolution 622, sponsored by Trent Franks and I, says that as long as Hamas is part of the unity government, the United States needs to defund the Palestinian Authority.
Breitbart News: What is the Israel Solutions Caucus?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
We’ve already met with the Israeli Solutions Caucus, and our very first guest was Caroline Glick, author and columnist for the Jerusalem Post. She has written a book called The Israeli Solution, in which she advocates for a One-State Solution. I think that she is bringing up an excellent argument because the Two State Solution that has been promoted over several decades by both Republicans and Democrats just hasn’t worked.
We have hit a dead end with it, and it holds up the idealistic thought that the Palestinians are willing to live side-by-side with Israel. There is no historic precedent for this. If you look at the Hamas charter, Article 7 calls for the extermination and annihilation of the Jewish race. They have never amended that article in their charter.
How can Israel be expected to give up 40% of its land for peace? This is a country that is only the size of New Jersey. How could they be expected and pressured to give up the land to people whose stated goal is to wipe out the Jewish people? If Israel gives up more land, like they did in Gaza with the Oslo Accords, abandoning their homes and business, it will result in failure.
The land-for-peace format has never worked.
Just take a look at the Palestinian culture. Look at what the Palestinians teach their children. They name parks and soccer fields after suicide bombers, honoring them as martyrs for the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian Authority even goes as far as to routinely fund the families of suicide bombers.
People have various solutions for how to advance peace, and that’s what the Israel Solutions Caucus is all about. We are a forum for new ideas. The current two-state solutions, premised on the fact that the Palestinians want a peaceful state, has been an outright failure. What we need to do is have a realistic foreign policy and allow members of congress to hear other ideas besides the two-state solution.
Breitbart News: Should the Muslim Brotherhood be designated as a terrorist group by the United States?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
I’m working on legislation to do exactly that. I’ll be introducing the bill very shortly. The Muslim Brotherhood is a violent terrorist organization. Egypt wisely designated them an FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization), and the United States needs to do the same. The US needs to defund, sanction, do everything we can to delegitimize the Muslim Brotherhood.
Breitbart News: How should US foreign policy react to the advances of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Sunni jihadist terror group? Do they pose a threat to US national security interests?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
The group formerly called ISIS or ISIL has now renamed themselves the Islamic State(IS). Their leader, Baghdadi, has hopes to establish a caliphate. This is an organization so violent that even Al Qaeda has refuted them.
There is no question that if they continue down this path, unchecked, they will target Western interests in both Europe and North America. If we do nothing, this region will become a staging ground for attacks against the United States.
We must do everything we can to prepare ourselves and defeat their intent to attack us. We need to defeat the ideology of Islamism, the ideology of Jihad. We need to explain to the American people what is going on, what is wrong, and we need to attack the ideology.
Breitbart News: What’s your take on Vladimir Putin’s Russia? Is Moscow’s aggressive activity a concern for the United States?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann: Without a doubt. Putin is extremely aggressive. As Breitbart readers know, Putin went unimpeded into Crimea and has taken over Crimea. He is now in Eastern Ukraine with heavy weapons and tanks. I believe he wants to reconstitute the former Soviet Union and return Russia to its glory years.
He is expanding his military options. Additionally, Moscow is involved in cyber warfare against western interests. There is a very large conglomerate in Russia, an oligarchy system of cartels based upon corruption. We are dealing with a very aggressive regime that seeks to dominate militarily and economically, and they don’t play by the rules.
Putin responded to President Obama’s statements and actions by estimating that he had a green light and that the President would not push back against Moscow. The calculation Putin has made: why not take everything they can? As a former KGB officer, he is acting accordingly.
Breitbart News: Why does it seem like the Republican Party is no longer associated with its strong, robust platform on national security matters? Are we losing the fight to the isolationists and pacifists within the party?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
We need to stop the political correctness regarding who the enemy is and what the enemy wants.
We have failed to recognize the ideology of the radical Islamic enemy. No one wants to feel like they are being mean to Muslims. The Republican party has willingly blinded its eyes to the grand jihad and the strategy of the Islamists. We have engaged in this false dichotomy of the so-called moderate Muslim groups.
They have never deviated from their plan: to construct a violent global caliphate. Unfortunately, both parties have bought into the false PC view of who the enemy actually is. We will win this war by first knowing, appreciating, and understanding who the enemy actually is. We need to do this on three fronts: through our military, intelligence capacity, and through our policy makers.
We need to open our eyes and recognize that the United States has suspended belief in reality of who the enemy is. We have to understand the great depth of the goals of our enemies.
Breitbart News: If you had the ear of President Obama, what would you tell him? What would be different if you were commander-in-chief?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
The United States right now is in the worst foreign policy posture we have had in my lifetime. What we need to do is let the world know that there is a new sheriff in town and we will not tolerate the Islamists who seek to destroy us. We also need to secure our border. It isn’t just Mexicans and Central Americans that are coming in, there are also suspected terrorists entering our country.
We need to announce to those who seek the global caliphate that we intend to defeat them. The doctrine President Obama espoused in his June 9, 2009 speech in Cairo will no longer be the position of the United States. Our position should be to preserve the sovereignty of the United States and to defeat all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
We should use any means necessary to bring down those who seek to bring down the United States. Additionally, Iran needs to understand that there is zero tolerance for them acquiring nuclear weapons. If I was commander-in-chief, I would eliminate their nuclear program if they refused to do so themselves. If we must, I would do so through kinetic means. I would let our enemies know: If you are thinking about acquiring nuclear weapons, don’t expect your efforts to be successful.
Breitbart News: What are your plans following your retirement from the House in 2014?
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:
I am very excited to move forward. I will be fully engaged within the national spectrum. I will be involved in writing, speaking, perhaps teaching, and supporting various campaigns. I’m looking forward to a full plate and a full-court involvement in the issues of the day. I don’t intend to go anywhere. The times we are living in are too consequential. For the sake of my children and grandchildren, and for the sake of our country’s future, I intend to continue to make my voice heard on a national
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