Six questions a veteran of Iraq and Af’stan would like to ask the candidates in tomorrow’s presidential debate

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By Andrew Person

Best Defense department of veterans & politics

To Romney:

1. You've said on numerous occasions
that you would oppose any tax increases. But you've also supported a two
trillion dollar increase in defense spending. Democrats on Capitol Hill have
said they will not agree to waive the mandatory defense cuts set for the end of
the year without increases in revenue. If faced with a choice between increased
taxes and cuts to defense spending, which would you choose?

2. During the primary campaign,
you took the position that the US should not negotiate with the Taliban but
instead "we should defeat the Taliban." Neither you nor any of your
five healthy strong sons have ever served a day in the military. Do you think
taking such a position during the primary, a position that if applied as policy
would necessarily involve more troops losing lives and limbs, is easier since
you have no direct experience with the pain military families have suffered as
a result of this war?

3. The mother of the former Navy
Seal killed in Bengazi on September 11th asked you to stop using her son's
death for political purposes on the campaign trail. Did you apologize to her?

To Obama:

1. In most respects our war in
Afghanistan seems to be a strategic failure, despite some clear tactical
victories around the country. In your view, do the military advisors who
advocated a surge/counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan still have
credibility? Would you rely on their advice in a second term?

2. Under your Administration the
US spent more in real terms on military spending than at any time since WWII.
Yet in many respects the Pentagon and the defense industry have squandered the
investments through failed program development, cost overruns, etc. During a
second term, what steps would you take to hold the defense industry accountable
and use American tax dollars more effectively?

3. You supported a health reform
bill that specified what level of profits a health insurance company can make.
Would you consider a similar requirement for the defense industry?

J. Andrew Person served as a U.S. Army officer and paratrooper from
2001-2006, including year-long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He studied
foreign policy at Georgetown University and spent five years working on Capitol
Hill. He is now a fellow with the Truman National Security Project and is
attending law school at the University of Montana in Missoula.