The Lincoln Journal Star - Pete Ricketts' Views

Pete Ricketts' Views

The Lincoln Journal Star / April 16, 2006

Pete Ricketts says the United States is winning in Iraq and should stay the course, while recognizing military action may be a last-resort requirement in Iran.

"Use of military force should be on the table, but it should be our last course of action," Ricketts says.

In the meantime, he says, the United States should work with its international partners to convince Iran to give up any ambitions to develop a nuclear weapons capability.

"In North Korea, our hands are very much tied" in terms of the military option because that nation already possesses nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them, Ricketts says.

That must be prevented in Iran, he says.

Ricketts says he believes the United States is "winning in Iraq," adjusting tactics as it learns from its mistakes, and successfully pursuing "the historic opportunity to introduce democracy in the Middle East."

"I absolutely support that policy," he says.

If the United States is successful in Iraq, he says, the resulting economic and democratic growth may give people in the region a new sense of hope and tamp down the terrorist threat.

"If people have hope, they won't be so interested in blowing themselves up or flying airplanes into buildings."

Already, Ricketts says, the new democratic experiment has resulted in a 70 percent voter turnout and the economy is growing.

"But this is not a short-term project," he says.

U.S. forces need to remain in Iraq "until military leaders on the ground say the Iraqis can defend themselves," Ricketts says.

In wartime, and especially in the new kind of war waged against terrorists, Ricketts says, he's inclined to make sure the president has the power he needs to protect the nation.

"It's a brand new world and I'd rather err on the side of the president" in any argument over presidential power, he says.

"It's a different kind of war and we need to rethink the way we fight it," Ricketts says.

"It's appropriate that the Congress oversee, but the president has the power to wage war and the duty to keep the country safe."

As for the argument over the president's authority to engage in domestic intelligence surveillance, Ricketts says: "I don't believe terrorists should have the expectation of privacy."

Ricketts, who stepped aside as chief operating officer of Ameritrade to enter the Senate race, says he's not convinced the U.S. military is overstretched, as some members of Congress argue.

"Members of the military are working very hard, but we're at war. I hear them talking about the importance of what they're doing in Iraq."

Ricketts said he recognizes multiple and extended active duty deployments "create a lot of personal hardship" for members of the National Guard and Reserve.

"But this is a time of war," he says, "and we appreciate their sacrifices."

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