From Amy Zalman, Ph.D.,
Your Guide to Terrorism Issues.
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^{For more 2008 candidates' views, see: 2008 Candidates on Terrorism, Iraq and Homeland Security}

Campaign Status:

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) declared his candidacy for president on February 10, 2007.

Also See:

• Barack Obama Profile (Liberal Politics, Deborah White)
• Obama's Announcement Speech

War on Terrorism:

Obama has funneled many of his comments about the "war on terrorism" through his concerns with human and civil rights issues that it has raised. His campaign website establishes both small weapons proliferation and potential nuclear terrorism as significant global issues the U.S. must attend to.

Obama responded in strong terms to the passage of the Military Commissions Act in September 2006, which granted the Bush Administration wide latitude to define what would constitute the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. He joined critique of the bill's suspension of habeas corpus for potentially innocent detainees with the accusation that the government was not addressing the actual issues:

"…We have Al Qaeda and the Taliban regrouping in Afghanistan while we look the other way. We have a war in Iraq that our own government's intelligence says is serving as Al Qaeda's best recruitment tool. And we have recommendations from the bipartisan 9/11 commission that we still refuse to implement five years after the fact."

Of related interest:

• Dealing with Detainees: Bush and Senate Agree to New Legislation
• Detainee Torture: Definitions, Reports, Legislation
• Military Commissions Act of 2006 (U.S. Politics, Kathy Gill)
• Obama's response to Military Commissions Act—Full Text

War in Iraq

Obama's opposition to the Iraq War from its outset is well-known, and the integrity of the stance has made him popular among anti-war voters.

In January, 2007, he introduced to the Senate an Iraq plan called "the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007." In his remarks introducing the bill to the Senate, Obama proposed a "phased redeployment of U.S. forces" that would conclude in March, 2008 ("redeployment" means that troops will restation on bases in countries near Iraq).

From Obama,'s point of view, the violence in Iraq is not a function of terrorist activity, but a "political conflict between Iraq's warring factions," as his Senate homepage announces.

Homeland Security

Obama has staked out a number of homeland security areas of particular focus, in his work as Illinois senator. These include:

• Chemical plant security
• Transit security
• Disaster response
• Terrorism risk insurance
• Nuclear waste
• Drinking water safety

He has introduced and had passed a number of related bills, which have been passed or incorporated into larger legislation. He also seeks greater homeland security grant funding for Chicago.

Also See:

• 2007 Cities Eligible for Federal anti-terror Grants

For more on Obama's views, See:

• Senator Barack Obama and U.S. Foreign Policy (Foreign Policy, Keith Porter)
• Obama on universal health care (U.S. Liberals, Deborah White)