Adam Kinzinger has just started his second term in the U.S. House, but he’s already becoming known for his foreign-policy expertise.
Last week the major and pilot in the Air National Guard and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee asked some probing questions of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed by Islamist terrorists at an unguarded house serving as a U.S. consulate.
Kinzinger wanted to know why diplomats in a dangerous area were not protected by armed Marines, and whether Clinton and President Barack Obama knew about the attack in real time.
On Wednesday night, the Channahon Republican was talked about favorably by, of all people, Lawrence O’Donnell, the ultraliberal MSNBC host. True, Lawrence did call him “Kissinger” once, and said the 16th is a swing district, which was news to me.
I caught up with Kinzinger before one of Rockford’s many self-congratulatory banquets began Thursday at Giovanni’s. Here’s most of our conversation, edited for space:
What did you take away at the end of the Senate and House hearings on Benghazi?
My real concern is the lack of coordination between the departments of Defense and State. The real questions are, did the president know, did he make a decision to stand down the U.S. military or send them, and what was the difficulty in getting them there? There was a seven-hour lull between attacks 1 and 2, and you have an Air Force base 1,000 miles away. We could have had a plane overhead in an hour.
Do you think you’ll get answers?
I think the State Department is probably very focused on fixing those situations. As far as resolution of what the president’s role was, I hope we’ll get an answer. We, as members of Congress, deserve answers but we also need to be respectful.
We have just sent Egypt’s (Muslim Brotherhood) regime 20 F-16s. Was that a good idea?
No. We should have held out. The administration followed through on an agreement signed a couple years ago with the Hosni Mubarak regime. We still continue to give Egypt aid, but that should be re-evaluated to the extent that Egypt is not agreeing with the peace accord with Israel. The scary thing is, the 20 F-16s we sent Egypt could be used against Israel or potentially the U.S.
Domestically we seem to go from the fiscal cliff to the debt ceiling, and people are frustrated to the point they’re not even paying attention. How do we get beyond these strategy games?
We hope the president comes to the table with us and really, as happened a year and a half ago, begins to explore how we can have a comprehensive way to solve this, so that we can have a long-time focus on the debt limit, begin to reduce spending and get us in a position to fiscal sanity. I’m tired of this. Every month, it’s some existential threat we’re facing, which we created ourselves.
You don’t get a vote on this, but what do you think of Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be secretary of defense?
I’m not a big fan of Chuck Hagel. I’m concerned about the message it sends to our ally Israel. ... I’m concerned about comments he’s made in the past about not being 100 percent opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, which would be devastating to the Middle East.
You’re a military man. What do you think of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s decision to fully integrate women into combat roles?
I cautiously support it. I know that since there are no front lines in combat anymore, women have been exposed to combat situations and performed exceedingly well. I’m assuming Leon Panetta’s done all the research on the cultural issues at play. But, that said, Israel has integrated women into combat roles very well, and they perform well.
So, should women be required to sign up with Selective Service when they turn 18, as all men must do?
That’s another question. I haven’t thought about it. It’s an interesting one, though. It’s a good point.
