6th District candidates debate how to handle terrorism

Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam and his 6th District Democratic challenger, Michael Mason, agree the United States needs to keep a close eye on the Islamic State terrorist group, but they disagree on exactly how to address the problem.

Last month, Roskam, of Wheaton, supported President Barack Obama's plan to arm and train rebels in Syria to fight ISIL, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or eastern Mediterranean area.

Roskam said, however, his support for the measure was “very reluctant,” and he only voted yes because doing nothing would have “emboldened” ISIL and that was “not an option.”

His reluctance, he said, involves the administration's approach to its entire foreign policy.

“I think that we're here because we have a foreign policy that has been based on President Obama's personality,” he said. “He has inserted his personality as a foreign policy tool, whereas others have used personalities to augment the strength of the United States.”

Roskam pointed to Obama's 2009 speech in Egypt, in which Obama said he was seeking “a new beginning” between the U.S. and Muslims around the world.

“I think that communicated weakness and ambiguity and a level of naiveté that was pretty significant,” Roskam said.

Mason, a retired U.S. Postal Service executive from Naperville, said he is mostly pleased with Obama's strategy regarding ISIL, but he is hesitant to agree with the arming of rebels in Syria.

“I think the approach that he's taken with building a coalition, and particularly building a coalition with some of the Arab nations, it's the way to go,” he said.

However, Mason isn't supportive of any long-term combat that would involve American troops.

“We just got out of a long war in Iraq, and we're still in Afghanistan. I don't think we're ready to commit another 10 years and 5,000 lives at this point,” he said.

“Obviously we need to protect ourselves, but at this point, ISIL is probably more threatening to the surrounding states in the Arab region than they are to us,” he said.

Roskam, on the other hand, thinks troops were pulled out of Iraq too quickly, which he believes may have partially contributed to ISIL's ascension.

“That's the great regret,” he said, adding that now there are only limited ways to work with the Iraqi administration. “But the fact of the matter is, we're in this situation today, ISIL had to be defeated and we're going to need a coalition to do it,” he said.

The 6th Congressional District stretches from Naperville to Tower Lakes and includes parts of DuPage, Kane, Cook and Lake counties.