Will Hurd

“The war against Islamic extremism will be long. They are in it for the long haul, which means that we have to be also.”

“Russia is an adversary not just of the United States but of freedom-loving people everywhere.”

“During my time in Pakistan, I was asked to lead an expedition to Azad Kashmir following a devastating earthquake in 2005 that claimed the lives of 80,000 people.”

“The U.S's first ballistic missile test was a complete disaster. The Atlas Missile Program, which began in the early 1950s, attempted its first ballistic missile launch on June 11, 1957. The rocket flew for 24 seconds before blowing up. It took two more years before the first successfully armed test flight took place.”

“Mitt Romney had it right in 2012 when he told President Barack Obama that Russia was 'without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe.'”

“Having served in both Pakistan and India, I'm familiar with how their nuclear armament influenced regional stability.”

“Despite unprecedented levels of technological advancement and the interconnectedness of the world, the pursuit of truth in the realms of foreign policy and national security remains a critical issue. This is because the level of 'noise' that must be sifted through has also reached an unprecedented size and scope.”

“ISIS takes a long-term approach to its apocalyptic war with West - we have to do the same.”

“As a former CIA operative, I have seen first-hand that not every nation we buy energy from has America's best interest in mind.”

“We must have real debates where disagreements exist, listen to each other, not shy away from ideas different from our own and treat people with respect.”

“Instead of debating whether or not Russia attempted to influence the 2016 elections - in ways that ranged from encouraging incorrect voting methods to promoting fake rallies to sharing false election stories - Americans should be debating how to counter this activity.”

“Russia has demonstrated it is not committed to genuine partnership with the United States.”

“The United States and our allies will not prevent countries from doing business with Chinese companies like Huawei on the basis of security concerns alone, though there are a number of them. We must provide an alternative service or product that is better, more secure and less costly. We need to respond by out-innovating our opponent.”

“The government adoption of AI will not bring about a government being run by robots. Instead, our government will continue to be run by people, with help from algorithms dramatically improving government services for all Americans.”

“The members of the National Clandestine Service of the CIA are called the collectors of last resort. They are tasked to seek the truth when all other avenues of intelligence collection have failed.”

“Strengthening our position so that countries can purchase their energy from us and not our adversaries moves us a step closer to a very important goal - North American energy security.”

“What we need is a 'Smart Wall' to solve our 21st century border problems. A Smart Wall would use sensor, radar and surveillance technologies to detect and track incursions across our border so we can deploy efficiently our most important resource, the men and women of Border Patrol, to perform the most difficult task - interdiction.”

“To ensure that the free world continues to set the rules of the road in the global economy, America and its allies must work together to continue to be the world's centers of innovation and technological advancement.”

“In fact, building a wall from sea to shining sea would be the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border.”

“U.S. energy policy is about far more than jobs and the economy. It is a critical component of our foreign policy.”