U.S. Sen. Isakson talks terrorism, military cuts, Syrian refugee, more

If Johnny Isakson had his way, every eligible person in America would cast a vote this November, the U.S. military would surgically remove the terrorist threat in the Middle East, federal regulations would be changed to help businesses succeed, and Syrian refugees would be housed closer to their homeland instead of allowed to mass immigrate to the U.S.

The U.S. senator from Georgia, a staunch Republican and highly respected lawmaker, also would not allow any refugees — Syrians or otherwise — to be housed temporarily at U.S. military bases such as Fort Benning, which has free space on Kelley Hill following a mandated troop reduction within the last year that cost the installation a combat brigade.

Those were among the remarks and observations made by Isakson during his brief stop in Columbus earlier this week, which included a business roundtable discussion with management at Columbus Bank and Trust, an affiliate of Synovus Financial Corp. The two-term senator, 71, who is seeking re-election this fall, also picked up endorsements from the U.S. and Georgia Chambers of Commerce. A former Atlanta real-estate executive, he also has served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Here are some of Isakson’s thoughts on various topics:

What’s at stake in the current election?

“This is going to be an important race for our country. Everything’s up for grabs this coming November. We’re obviously going to have a change in administrations because we have a two-term limitation on our president. We have a United States Senate that’s in play. We could go either way, and your activity and your turnout in that vote will make a world of difference in who has the majority. We have a number of competitive races in the House. ... So your active involvement in this election is key. I tell my children that democracy is not a spectator sport; it’s a participatory sport. You need to turn out and make sure you vote, because if you don’t, then you’re abdicating your responsibility to somebody else. You don’t know who they’re going to pick.”

What were his thoughts on the recent Republican National Convention in Cleveland, which he attended the first day to address the Georgia delegation?

“There were some great speeches and some great proposals in terms of empowering the free-enterprise system. If we don’t make it possible for someone to seek a reward by taking a risk and run a business to provide jobs and opportunity, we’re going to be run by a nation of people that don’t take a risk, don’t look for opportunity, and don’t provide jobs. Business is the key cornerstone of the American Republican Party and it has been for years. America is all about business. I tell everybody when I go in the door (to visit or speak somewhere), I thank you for the taxes you pay. If it wasn’t for business, there would be no government. It’s not the other way around. It’s very important for us to make sure we make the regulatory burden fair so that you have a level playing field, that the competition is determined by the job you do, not by a government regulator saying you’re right and somebody else is wrong.”

What’s the state of the Republican Party and the convention process?

“I’ve been in Republican politics since 1974. When I was first elected, there were only 19 Republicans in Georgia elected to public office. Custer had better odds than we had. So I’ve kind of been through the process in the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s, the first decade of the 2000s and now. It’s always been raucous, it’s always been competitive, it’s always had its share of characters. But in the end, it’s always ended up nominating good people who get elected, and when those people serve they do a good job. I think what you’re seeing at the Democratic Convention and the Republican Convention is partisan politics at its best. (It’s) people who spend most of their life waiting for conventions. The conventions, for rank and file activists, are what they work four years to go to for four days. So it’s going to be entertaining for both Republicans and Democrats.”

What about Fort Benning and the military overall being hit by automatic federal cuts?

“Benning has been hurt, as we all know, by sequestration, where the automatic cuts that are going on to carry out the $2.1 trillion cut we mandated in 2013 are being done in an arbitrary, across-the-board fashion, which is much more difficult on the military than it is on any agency of government. And Benning has taken its share of hits. Everybody that jumps out of an airplane in the United States military, regardless of their service, they go through Fort Benning. We got the Armor (school) moved down here from Fort Knox a few years ago during the last BRAC (base realignment and closure process). That was good for Columbus and good for Fort Benning. But, right now, Fort Benning is not at full strength. We need to build our military back. Our military is at its lowest level than it has been in years. The Navy — we have less ships than we had prior to World War II. The average airplane flying in the Air Force today is 26 years old. The United States Army today has 450,000 end strength right now. It used to be 525,000. So everywhere you can find cuts taking place ... and it’s hurt our military. But they continue to do the greatest job of any military in the world. We’ve got to restore that money so we can have the best fighting force in the world.”

What does he think about the fight against terrorism and the group ISIL (aka ISIS) in the Mideast?

“The current administration’s policy in terms of containment of terrorism is wrong. In the last eight years we’ve tried to contain something that’s a cancer. You’ve got to cut it out. It’s time that we deploy the military forces that we know we have to take ISIL out and kill the leadership of ISIL, and the faster we do it, the safer our world is going to be. That’s going to mean making sure we’re making the investment in our military to carry out the option. We all must remember, when we finally decided to get Osama bin Laden, 13 SEALS went in the middle of the night into Pakistan, got Osama bin Laden and all of his computers, and came and left, and they didn’t open up a Band-Aid. They were surgically effective and we’ve got to use that effectiveness in our special forces to go after the leadership of ISIL and make sure we cut it out. Containment is not enough.”

On the federal budget through and after the presidential election?

“Right now, when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, there will be a continuing resolution. We’ll continue spending at the same level it was last year into next year and until probably the first of March. When the new administration comes in in January, the first act of business will be to do an appropriations bill and fund our military. I think it’s going to be the number one priority of the next administration.”

Can Fort Benning get more missions and personnel?

“We’re working every day with the Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs (of Staff) to find niche missions that we can bring to Benning or (Fort) Stewart or Moody (Air Force Base) or any of the other bases in Georgia. And we’re working hard on that.”

What’s the possibility that Syrians or other refugees could be housed at Fort Benning?

“I don’t think it’s possible at all. In fact, we have a refugee dispersement mechanism in this country that allocates refugees based on the percentage of population in each state. … So no one state like Georgia, no one place like Benning would have a disproportionate number assigned to them, No. 1. No. 2, our military bases should never be used for internment camps or refugee camps whatsoever. That needs to be done by the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and the State Department. So Benning would never be in consideration for that. ... Our military bases are for training our soldiers and housing our soldiers, not for housing refugees from other countries, period.”

What’s the status of Syrian refugees?

“I have said all along that if I could do it, I would like for us to do in Syria and the Middle East what we did in Kenya, where we created a camp for Somalian refugees who came out of Somalia and Mogadishu, where they were able to get nourishment and food and hydration and security and shelter close to their home country, so that when the hostilities end, they can go back home. I would rather that Syrians have a camp somewhere near Syria to wait out the violence until (the country is) restored and then be able to go back home to Syria rather than bringing them over to the United States.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "U.S. Sen. Isakson talks terrorism, military cuts, Syrian refugee, more."