Kevin de Leon Quotes
While we need to provide leadership and stability to the world, we should do that through diplomacy.
De León, Kevin. "Debate with Dianne Feinstein." Public Policy Institute of California, 17 Oct. 2018.
In his younger days Jinnah was considered one of the greatest of the Indian Politicians in the Congress Party and all of India. Even though he was a Muslim, his leadership and political philosophy was appreciated by educated and politically active Indians of all faiths and casts. He was also so considered by the English Viceroy and his staff and noted by the politicians in England as a man who could bring Indians together without regard for religious or socio-economic status. He underwent a number of personal tragedies and changed radically until he was not only a sectarian Muslim leader but threatened and facilitated Islamic terrorism against all the other religions. Jinnah's flip flop on this point led to one of the great massacres and tragedies in human history" The Nightingale of India
Turkey had just defeated a Greek invading army with bitter atrocities on both sides. The two countries were bitter enemies. His colleagues thought Ataturk had lost is sense of reality to even suggest such a thing. 50 years later Greece and Turkey were both in NATO.
At the time, Fascist Germany and Japan were aggressively attacking other nations who were trying to mobilize to stop their Fascist ideas of world domination. In America, unlike after WWII, many of the Republican Party Leaders were then isolationists and were adamant that we should not expand our military capability. They wanted to spend no more money on defense. ER and her husband wanted to increase defense spending to increase our military readiness and provide arms to England, China and others who were trying to defend against the Axis. They were castigated as ‘War Mongers’ by the isolationists. ER went to the people to explain that without spending on military strength, there would be no peace. Ironically, the conservative forces who criticized Mrs. Roosevelt as a war monger for building up our military, after WWII when the Cold War began, they criticized her for not being enough of a hawk and not sufficiently supporting the military and aggressive foreign policies.
When there is a serious problem with another country and it appears that military force may have to be used, he and most sophisticated policy makers argue that we should always try diplomacy first. If that does not work, then the military option is still open. If it does work, war or other military action is always available as an option. When politicians do not want to try diplomacy, it is usually that they have an ulterior motive for war and/or military force. Some urge caution with this principle in all cases as sometimes it gives the enemy time to regroup and rearm and he gets stronger by stringing out the negotiations with no intention of a diplomatic solution. In some other cases, as Iran in the second decade of the 21st century when they were suspected of developing a nuclear weapon. The Israeli right wing and some American conservatives wanted no delay in use of military force as that might allow the Iranians to complete an operational message. President Obama and most Americans favored strong economic sanctions with diplomacy first.
Kevin Alexander Leon, known professionally as Kevin de León, is an American politician serving as the Los Angeles City Councillor for District 14 since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 50th President pro tempore of the California State Senate from October 15, 2014 to March 21, 2018. A member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, he is the first Hispanic American to hold the former position in over 130 years.
