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Mike Bloomberg on War & Peace
Mayor of New York City (Independent)
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Supports Israel's military response to Gaza rocket attacks
Bloomberg is a strong supporter of Israel, where he visited often as mayor. In 2014, he defended Israel's right to respond militarily to rocket attacks from Gaza and flew his private jet to the country to show solidarity after US regulators temporarily
barred commercial flights there. He backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has denounced the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to punish Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, as "an outrage.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 24, 2019
Deep reservations that 2015 Iran nuclear deal wasn't enough
Bloomberg's views on the Middle East have focused on his ambivalence toward the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. He expressed "deep reservations" about the
2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying that its restrictions on Tehran's nuclear program didn't go far enough and blaming the Obama administration for "smearing" the deal's critics.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 24, 2019
Supported 2003 Iraq War, as response to 9/11
Bloomberg supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, framing it as a response to the 9/11 attacks.
He later grew critical of the war, though he consistently opposed congressional attempts to put a timetable on the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 24, 2019
No attractive military option against North Korean nukes
Bloomberg's brief comments on North Korea have focused on the need for strong U.S. alliances, which he says Trump has weakened. He says that dealing with a "rogue state" such as North Korea requires close relationships with other countries
in the region, and that Trump has undermined U.S. alliances. He says there is no "attractive" military option for responding to North Korea's nuclear program.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
, Dec 24, 2019
1960s: No burning passion to go war, but it was expected
During the 2004 campaign, the Daily News looked into Bloomberg's claim that he had tried to volunteer for military service in Vietnam. In his memoir Bloomberg wrote that [during the 1960s] he was "trying to do the right things--serve my country--
while also trying to maintain a measure of control over my life." His campaign literature rang with the same patriotic theme.
Years later, he sounded more practical than patriotic, like millions of others who tried to get through the Vietnam era in one piece, their reputations also intact.
"I don't know that anybody wanted to serve, that I wanted to serve," the mayor told
me. "I thought I had to and I was gonna go do it. Did I have a burning passion to go to war like some of these young kids do? No. But it was just what you were gonna do."
Source: Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics, by J.Purnick, p.113-114
, Sep 28, 2010
Nobody wants war to continue, but what happens next?
Nobody wants the war in Iraq to continue, but how are you going to pull out, and what happens next? You’ve got to be able to say, 'If pulling out of Iraq causes this, this is what I would do.' 'If staying in Iraq causes that, this is what I would do.'
Source: Grace Rauh, New York Sun
, May 8, 2007
Page last updated: Mar 11, 2020