Vice presidential debate: Questions that should be asked … and probably won’t

Tonight’s vice presidential debate presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan on domestic and foreign policy policy will hit six topics over the course of an hour and a half. Moderator Martha Raddatz of the ABC News can’t possibly get in all the questions on the minds of Americans.  

Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute: Foreign policy has been largely absent from the stage in this election, but in many ways, the job of the Vice President has been to wrangle especially challenging national security issues. Vice President Biden, that portfolio has included Iraq, a country which you once suggested be divided in three. But Iraq seems to be headed in the wrong direction. Do you and the administration believe, having chosen to exit Iraq in 2011, and with Maliki aiding Assad in Syria and answering to many demands from Tehran, that Iraq is an administration success story? Mr. Ryan, you rarely addressed the question of Iraq when on the Hill, what would you have counseled the president to do differently?

For other VP debate questions on the minds of policy experts, visit the Washington Post.

Also Visit
AEIdeas Blog The American Magazine
About the Author

 

Danielle
Pletka

  • As a long-time Senate Committee on Foreign Relation senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia, Danielle Pletka was the point person on Middle East, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan issues. As the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI, Pletka writes on national security matters with a focus on Iran and weapons proliferation, the Middle East, Syria, Israel and the Arab Spring. She also studies and writes about South Asia: Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.


    Pletka is the co-editor of “Dissent and Reform in the Arab World: Empowering Democrats” (AEI Press, 2008) and the co-author of “Containing and Deterring a Nuclear Iran” (AEI Press, 2011). Her most recent study, “Iranian influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” was published in May 2012. She is currently working on a follow-up report on U.S.–Iranian competitive strategies in the Middle East, to be published in the summer of 2013.


  • Phone: 202-862-5943
    Email: dpletka@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Alexandra Della Rocchetta
    Phone: 202-862-7152
    Email: alex.dellarocchetta@aei.org

What's new on AEI

image Unleash the private sector
image The difference it will make
image How the R&D tax credit is like duct tape
image From Beijing to Jerusalem
AEI on Facebook
Events Calendar
  • 20
    MON
  • 21
    TUE
  • 22
    WED
  • 23
    THU
  • 24
    FRI
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Free beer: Liberating libations from ‘Bootleggers and Baptists’

Join us for a discussion of the history and future of federal and state alcohol regulation and competition, followed by a reception with beer, wine, and spirits.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
NCLB sanctions: Tests taken, lessons learned

Join education scholars and practitioners for a discussion about the latest NCLB research and its implications for future education policy.

Thursday, May 23, 2013 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Competing visions of the common good: Rethinking help for the poor

What shared commitments do we have as citizens and neighbors to care for one another? How can a proper ordering of America’s political economy enable the most people to have the best life? At this event, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), a longtime champion of human rights causes, and AEI President Arthur Brooks will join Wallis in addressing these and other questions.

No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled today.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.