Bachmann on Israel, the 'Arab Spring' and America's Strategic Interests

Recently-declared presidential candidate Michele Bachmann here presents one of the strongest speeches a candidate has ever delivered on Israel. She addresses the importance of Judaism to her Christian faith, but– more importantly– outlines why, in the midst of so much media euphoria about an ‘Arab Spring’– Israel is still America’s best strategic investment in the Middle East. Even more importantly, Bachmann places her support for a strong Israel in the context of the same ‘Arab Spring.’

Her clear-headedness on this issue is a welcome addition to the GOP’s presidential field.

From Cairo to Bengazi, when Arab tyrants are challenged or toppled, it isn’t necessarily peaceful lovers of liberty who are rising up to replace them; rather, as happened in Iran in 1979, as these tyrannies are toppled, the populist forces most prevalent today harbor radical, illiberal values and interests that are antithetical to America’s values and interests…. Upholding American values doesn’t require us to support the rise to power of those who reject the bedrock notions of liberty, of individual rights, of freedom of religion that are the foundations of the American creed just because they manage to convince a majority of voters to support their intolerant message.”

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