A combatant is someone who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict. If a combatant follows the law of war, then they are considered a privileged combatant, and upon capture they qualify as a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention (GCIII). An unprivileged combatant is someone, such as a mercenary, who takes a direct part in the hostilities but who upon capture does not qualify for prisoner of war status.^[1]

Privileged combatants[link]

The following categories of combatants qualify for prisoner-of-war status on capture:

1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict
2. Members of militias not under the command of the armed forces, with the following traits:
   • that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
   • that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
   • that of carrying arms openly;
   • that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.
4. Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.

For countries which have signed the "Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts" (Protocol I), combatants who do not wear a distinguishing mark still qualify as prisoners of war if they carry arms openly during military engagements, and while visible to the enemy when they are deploying to conduct an attack against them.

Unprivileged combatants[link]

There several types of combatants who do not qualify as privileged combatants:

• Combatant who would otherwise be privileged, but have breached other laws or customs of war (for example by fighting under a white flag).
• spies, mercenaries,^[1] child soldiers, and civilians who take a direct part in combat and do not fall into one of the categories listed in the previous section, (for example "inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces" would qualify as privileged combatants).^[2][3]

If there is any doubt as to whether the person benefits from "combatant" status, they must be held as a POW until they have faced a "competent tribunal" (GCIII Art 5) to decide the issue.

Most unprivileged combatants who do not qualify for protection under the Third Geneva Convention do so under the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV),^[4] which concerns civilians, until they have had a "fair and regular trial". If found guilty at a regular trial, they can be punished under the civilian laws of the detaining power. The last time that American and British unlawful combatants were executed after "a regularly constituted court" was Luanda Trial in Angola in June 1976.

See also[link]

• Non-combatant
• Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} Under Article 47 of Protocol I (Additional to the Geneva Conventions) it is stated in the first sentence "A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war." On 4 December 1989 the United Nations passed resolution 44/34 the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries. It entered into force on 20 October 2001 and is usually known as the UN Mercenary Convention– International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries A/RES/44/34 72nd plenary meeting 4 December 1989 (UN Mercenary Convention). Article 2 makes it an offence to employ a mercenary and Article 3.1 states that "A mercenary, as defined in article 1 of the present Convention, who participates directly in hostilities or in a concerted act of violence, as the case may be, commits an offence for the purposes of the Convention." – International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries
2. ^ The relevance of IHL in the context of terrorism official statement by the ICRC 21 July 2005. "If civilians directly engage in hostilities, they are considered 'unlawful' or 'unprivileged' combatants or belligerents (the treaties of humanitarian law do not expressly contain these terms). They may be prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action".
3. ^ This point is found in Article 51.3 of the Geneva Conventions Protocol II "Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this section, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities". (Geneva Conventions Protocol I Article 51.3)
4. ^ The exceptions are: "Nationals of a State which is not bound by the [Fourth Geneva] Convention are not protected by it. Nationals of a neutral State who find themselves in the territory of a belligerent State, and nationals of a co-belligerent State, shall not be regarded as protected persons while the State of which they are nationals has normal diplomatic representation in the State in whose hands they are." (GCIV Article 4)

External links[link]

• Humanitarian Law & Armed Conflict

Mark Levin
Levin speaks at an Americans for Prosperity conference in 2011
Birth name	Mark Reed Levin
Born	(1957-09-21) September 21, 1957 (age 54) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Show	The Mark Levin Show
Station(s)	WABC
Network	Cumulus Media Networks
Time slot	6-9 p.m. EST
Style	Talk radio
Country	United States
Website	marklevinshow.com

Mark Reed Levin (born September 21, 1957) is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese. He is president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, has authored bestselling books and contributes commentary to various media outlets such as National Review Online.^[1]

Biography[link]

Mark Reed Levin was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Cheltenham High School after three years.^[2][3] After high school, Levin enrolled at Temple University Ambler including summer classes and graduated in 1977 at age 19, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.^[4] He also earned a juris doctorate from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1980.^[5]

Beginning in 1981, Levin served as advisor to several members of President Ronald Reagan's cabinet, eventually becoming Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and ultimately Chief of Staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese; Levin also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, and Deputy Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

He practiced law in the private sector and is president of Landmark Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm founded in 1976 and based in Leesburg, Virginia.

Levin is married to Kendall Levin.^[6] They have two children, Lauren (born 1988) and Chase (born 1991).^[7]

Levin has participated in Freedom Concerts, an annual benefit concert to aid families of fallen soldiers, and he uses his radio program to promote same.^[8][9] Levin is also involved with Troopathon, a charity which sends care packages to soldiers serving overseas.^[10]

In 2001, the American Conservative Union awarded Levin its Ronald Reagan Award.^[11]

Radio broadcasting[link]

Levin began his broadcast career as a guest on conservative talk radio programs. For many years he was a frequent contributor of legal opinions to The Rush Limbaugh Show, where Limbaugh referred to him on-air as "F. Lee Levin," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the famous defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. He was also a contributor to The Sean Hannity Show and eventually got a radio slot of his own on WABC, following Sean Hannity's program. Hannity has nicknamed Mark Levin "The Great One".^[12] Levin and Hannity remain frequent contributors to each other's programs.

Writer[link]

[edit] Men In Black: How The Supreme Court is Destroying America

Levin authored the 2005 book Men In Black: How The Supreme Court Is Destroying America, in which he advanced his thesis that activist judges on the Supreme Court (from all parts of the political spectrum) have "legislated from the bench." In her review of Men in Black, Slate magazine's legal correspondent and journalist Dahlia Lithwick wrote that "no serious scholar of the court or the Constitution, on the ideological left or right, is going to waste their time engaging Levin's arguments once they've read this book."^[13] In contrast, a review in the Defense Counsel Journal described Men in Black as "a forceful indictment of what Levin identifies as an increasingly 'activist' court for amending our national Constitution in the guise of construing it."^[14]

[edit] Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish

In 2007, Levin released a book about his dogs, Pepsi and Sprite. Specifically, the book was about Sprite, a Spaniel mix that his wife and son persuaded him to adopt from the local shelter in 2004. The book was titled Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish. Rescuing Sprite chronicles Sprite’s health deterioration in 2006 and how Levin and his family dealt with their loss.

[edit] Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto

Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto was released on March 24, 2009, and became a No. 1 New York Times best seller for eleven of twelve weeks,^[15] as well as No. 1 on Nielsen's BookScan.^[16] It comes in at No. 2 on Amazon.com's list of bestselling books of 2009.^[17] The book includes discussion of a variety of issues that, according to Levin, need to be addressed in the United States. Liberty and Tyranny has sold over one million copies according to Threshold Editions, the book's publisher.^[18] Former federal prosecutor and fellow National Review Online author Andrew C. McCarthy wrote of Liberty and Tyranny in The New Criterion:

We are in the high tide of America’s Leftist ascendancy: the Obama evisceration of individual freedom and installation of authoritarian collectivism—at warp speed, driven by an ambition that would have made Woodrow Wilson and FDR blush. Against this tidal wave, Levin offers not so much a defense as a plan of attack, a clarion call to roll back the seas of Change.^[19]

Taking a contrary view, Steve Almond of Salon wrote that

... the tantalizing beauty of a Mark Levin text resides precisely in this ability to attribute any crisis of State to its nefarious indulgences. The current economic meltdown, for instance, should not be blamed on the psychotic greed of Wall Street, but on the State's deranged need to throw money at the poor and undeserving.^[20]

[edit] Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America

Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America was released January 17, 2012. Amazon's publication notes describe this book as exploring "the psychology, motivations, and history of the utopian movement, its architects, and its modern day disciples – and how the individual and American society are being devoured by it."^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mark Levin Show, The Official Mark Levin Website
• marklevinshow Twitter feed
• Mark Levin on Facebook
• The Official Mark Levin Show Audio Rewind
• Landmark Legal Foundation
• Mark Levin is on the air from NationalReview.com
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with Levin, October 19, 2008

Jordan Sekulow (born July 14, 1982 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American lawyer, radio talk show host, Washington Post blogger and political consultant. In addition, he is the Executive Director at the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), an international public interest law firm and educational organization founded by his father, Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel for the ACLJ.^[1]

Education[link]

Sekulow graduated from George Washington University, receiving a bachelor's degree in political science. While there, he was a founding father of the Thetz Zeta chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He graduated with a J.D. from Regent University in 2009. Jordan also co-founded the Regent Journal of Law and Public Policy in 2008. Jordan has an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Georgetown University Law Center.^[2]

Radio and Television[link]

Sekulow is the host of The Jordan Sekulow Show, a daily talk show featuring prominent political guests such as Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain.^[3][4] It airs on WAVA AM 780 and Sirius and XM Satellite networks.^[5] Along with his father, Jay Sekulow, Jordan co-hosts Jay Sekulow Live!, a syndicated daily radio program that airs on nearly 850 AM and FM stations nationwide, as well as on XM and Sirius Satellite networks.^[6] He is the co-host of ACLJ This Week, a weekly television news program broadcast on TBN and Daystar.^[7][8]

Blogging[link]

On December 15, 2010, The Washington Post's On Faith blog introduced Jordan Sekulow featured blog, Religious Right Now, exploring "what social conservatives want."^[9]

Political Consultancy[link]

During President George W. Bush's 2004 Campaign, Sekulow served as the National Youth Coalition Director for the Bush-Cheney Campaign. In the 2008 Presidential Republican Primaries, Sekulow worked for Mitt Romney, serving as a Vice-Chair of his National Faith And Values Steering Committee.^[10][11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.jordansekulow.com
• http://www.aclj.org/

Duncan Hunter
Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services
In office January 4, 2003 – January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Bob Stump
Succeeded by	Ike Skelton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 52nd district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Duncan D. Hunter
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 45th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Dana Rohrabacher
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 42nd district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Lionel Van Deerlin
Succeeded by	Daniel E. Lungren
Personal details
Born	Duncan Lee Hunter (1948-05-31) May 31, 1948 (age 64) Riverside, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lynne Hunter
Children	Duncan D. Hunter Samuel Hunter
Residence	Alpine, California
Alma mater	Western State University College of Law San Diego
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Southern Baptist
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1969-1971
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	Rangers (75th Ranger Regiment)
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Bronze Star Air Medal Vietnam Service Medal

Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009.

Hunter was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee during the 108th and 109th Congress. Hunter sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States for 2008,^[1] but his campaign failed to attract significant voters or delegates in early primary and caucus states,^[2] and he dropped out after the Nevada Republican caucuses.^[3]

He was succeeded as Representative for the 52nd district by his son, Duncan D. Hunter.

Early life, education, military service, and family[link]

Hunter was born in Riverside, California to Lola L. (née Young) and Robert Olin Hunter.^[4] He graduated from Rubidoux High School in Riverside in 1966.^[5] He attended the University of Montana from 1966 to 1967,^[6] and then briefly the University of California, Santa Barbara,^[6] before being commissioned into the United States Army in 1969.^[7]

He served in South Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 during the Vietnam War^[8] in the Army Rangers' 75th Ranger Regiment, attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade.^[9] He participated in 24 helicopter assaults^[7] as well as in a small-number of night-time reconnaissance patrols.^[10] He held the rank of First Lieutenant,^[8] and was awarded the Bronze Star,^[7] Air Medal,^[8] and service ribbons such as the Vietnam Service Medal.^[8] He has said, "I didn't do anything special in the U.S. Army, but I served with very special soldiers I will never forget."^[8]

Making use of the G.I. Bill in 1973, he enrolled at the San Diego campus of the Western State University College of Law and earned a Bachelor of Science in Law and Juris Doctor in 1976. Hunter worked farming and construction jobs to supplement his income while finishing his degree. He was admitted to the State Bar of California on December 22, 1976,^[11] but has held inactive status since January 1, 1983.^[11][12]

Hunter married Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter's son, Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1976), a Captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and Afghanistan in 2007. On November 4, 2008, Duncan D. Hunter was elected to succeed his father as the congressional representative of the California's 52nd congressional district. Hunter has another son, Samuel.

Hunter's family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San Diego Southern Baptist Association. Hunter's Alpine, California home burned down during the October 2003 Cedar Fire. The loss topped $500,000, but insurance covered most of it.^[13] Hunter was critical of then-Governor Gray Davis's response to the fire.^[14]

He has a brother, John Hunter, who has worked as a weapons scientist.

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Initial election and re-elections[link]

In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially an underdog in a district where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 2 to 1. However, his attacks on Van Deerlin's record on national defense gained traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of the "Reagan revolution"; Van Deerlin had been the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963. After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he hasn't faced serious opposition since. His district was renumbered as the 45th District in 1983 and the 52nd in 1993.

In the 2006 general election, he defeated Navy veteran/minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit,^[15] a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi.

On March 20, 2007, Hunter announced that, as part of his presidential bid, he would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives in 2008.^[16] After his son, Duncan D. Hunter, announced his candidacy for his father's seat, the younger Hunter was recalled by the United States Marine Corps to serve in the Operation Enduring Freedom — Afghanistan. During Duncan D. Hunter's active service, his wife, Margaret Hunter, campaigned on his behalf. On June 3, 2008 Duncan D. Hunter won 72% of the Republican Primary vote and became the Republican nominee to replace his father representing the 52nd District.^[16]

House Armed Services Committee[link]

Hunter became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2002. As such, he sponsored legislation authorizing defense department fiscal year activities from FY2004 to FY2007. During consideration of the FY2006 Defense Authorization Act, Hunter offered an amendment to the bill clarifying enacted policy restricting women from direct combat units. Hunter's amendment codified existing Army policy enacted in 1994 under former Defense Secretary Les Aspin that prohibited women from submitting or migrating into combat units or operations. The amendment was subsequently withdrawn in order for a study to be conducted on the rationale and future implementation of the policy.^[17]

In November 2004, Hunter and Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner withheld their support for a bill creating a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) until specific conditions were met. Hunter argued that the military is the biggest consumer of intelligence and any reforms enacted, including the creation of a DNI, must not endanger the lives of troops on the battlefield. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which created the DNI position, was passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush later that year.

In a House Armed Services Committee hearing on November 9, 2005, Hunter strongly criticized a Defense Logistics Agency "prime vendor" buying program that led to the purchase of $20 ice cube trays and a tiny refrigerator for $22,797 (initially exposed by The State). Hunter stated that he wanted explanations from the companies in question and the government purchasing agents who had approved the purchases, accusing the latter of "absolute incompetence." He further stated that the purchases are "a real slap in the face to the guy making $13,000 a year who is engaged in a firefight in Ramadi," and claimed that "A fairly large amount of incompetence is embedded into the system."^[18][19]

On November 18, 2005, in response to Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha's resolution to terminate the deployment of United States forces in Iraq, to redeploy the forces already involved in Iraq, and to "pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy",^[20] Hunter and other Republicans drafted a two-sentence counter-resolution that read:

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

Democrats condemned the bill as a political stunt; they made much of the fact that Hunter himself didn't support his own resolution. The bill was defeated, 3-403, in the House of Representatives.

Hunter became ranking member of the committee when Democrats took control of the House in 2007.

On January 31, 2007, Hunter held a press conference on the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test, stating that it "represents the commencement of a new era of military competition in space." He contended that the United States' ability to engage in warfare depends heavily on its space assets, and opined that the country must take steps to "ensure our forces cannot be targeted through an adversarial space strike."^[21]

On April 25, 2007, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared "the war is lost", Hunter wrote "my highest obligation is, like yours, owed to our forces in uniform, especially during this time of war.... Given your position of leadership within the United States Government, I find your pronouncement of failure irresponsible and disserving to America's armed forces. In light of the fact that this statement has both been used by our adversaries and has exhibited a marked lack of leadership to U.S. troops, I call on you to resign your leadership position".^[22] Hunter further wrote that Reid's declaration "can have no effect but to demoralize the brave men and women, who are honorably fulfilling their mission in Iraq, and to encourage our adversaries.... Even if you sincerely believe it to be true, your pronouncement of failure will undoubtedly be used by terrorist leaders to rally their followers — inevitably leading to increased attacks on U.S. and coalition forces".

According to the July 2007 edition of Pacific Flyer, Hunter and Cunningham had pressured the Department of Defense to "... advise DARPA to put an immediate halt to bureaucratic delays and get on with the DuPont Aerospace DP-2 testing." The DP-2 is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing, or VTOL, aircraft designed by DuPont Aerospace to transport special operations forces, but has been repeatedly rejected by the United States Navy, United States Army, United States Air Force, NASA, and DARPA. The design, of which all four constructed models have crashed, has had $63 million appropriated to it since 1991, not including a suggested $6 million for fiscal year 2008. Despite the rejections and reports by multiple military and civilian experts that the aircraft will not fly or hover and will incinerate Special Operations forces rappelling out of the aircraft, Hunter has allegedly repeatedly added funding for the DP-2 in "earmarks" and defended the aircraft in recent testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology. Hunter received $36,000 in donations from DuPont Aerospace.^[23] According to his testimony before Congress,^[24] Hunter compared the lack of success of the DP-2 to the trials of perfecting the V-22 Osprey. He alleged that such long-term testing is necessary to keep American forces equipped with the best technology.

Other legislative actions[link]

Duncan Hunter's earlier congressional photo.

On December 8, 2006, Hunter introduced H.R. 6375, which would have required the defense department to post the purpose of all congressional earmarks in annual defense bills, along with the location and a grade according to the utility of the earmark.

Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors.^[25] Hunter states that The Right to Life Act "would legally define “personhood” as the moment of conception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment."^[26] Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned.^[27]

On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity."^[28] HR 6390 IH, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act",^[29] would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors", or specifically, "any pornographic communication, picture, image, graphic image file, article, recording, writing, or other pornographic matter of any kind",^[30] if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare."^[31]

In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles (23 km) of security fencing on the international land border separating San Diego County and Tijuana, Mexico. In 2005, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, citing crime statistics as measures of San Diego-Tijuana fence's success.^[32] After successfully adding an amendment to a House-passed^[33] bill that ultimately stalled in House-Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced by New York Congressman Peter T. King.^[34][35] He has said that if he becomes President, the 754-mile (1,213 km) double layer border fence will be built in less than 12 months.

Hunter repeatedly voted against international trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).^[36]

Cunningham/Wilkes[link]

Hunter was not implicated in the Duke Cunningham/Brent R. Wilkes congressional bribery scandal. In December 2005, Hunter directed that the contributions his campaign received from Wilkes and Wade be given to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.^[37] "We had options," said Bruce Young, treasurer for Hunter's re-election campaign. "We could keep the money, send it back, send it to the government or send it to a charity. We just felt that because of the situation, we would rather not have the money."^[38] More than 100 members of the House and Senate — Republicans and Democrats — accepted money from Wilkes, former MZM Inc. president Mitchell Wade, their relatives, employees or political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group.

2008 Presidential campaign[link]

On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. Throughout 2006, his Peace Through Strength PAC raised funds and ran advertising expressing his issues of border security and fair trade. Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007.^[39]

Wikinews has related news: Duncan Hunter, Presidential candidate, speaks to Wikinews

During 2007, Hunter did well in some county- and state-level straw polls, including a victory at the first GOP Texas Straw Poll on September 1^[40] but those results did not transfer to regular polls at national or state levels. Some major polls did not even list Hunter as an option along with Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Fred Thompson, or Rudy Giuliani.^[41] When national polls did list Hunter, he consistently got three percent or less support among Republicans.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter and aviation legend Chuck Yeager both endorsed Hunter as their choice for President, but Hunter received little support from the Republican establishment. Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who was also seeking the Republican nomination for President, stated that Hunter might play a role in a potential Huckabee administration, noting that he is "extraordinarily well qualified to be Secretary of Defense."^[42]

As the caucus and primary season got underway, Hunter began being excluded from Republican debate forums. On January 7, 2008, he held a press conference where reporters thought he would announce his withdrawal. Instead, he surprised pundits by first lambasting ABC News and Fox News not allowing him to participate in previous days' televised debates and then declaring that he would not withdraw from the presidential race: "I am not going to let some arrogant knucklehead executive in a glass office 10 stories above a mall in New York City decide the outcome of this election."^[43][44]

In the Iowa caucuses Hunter finished in seventh place with 524 votes, or one percent of the total. In the New Hampshire primary he finished in seventh and last place again with 1,220 votes, or less than one percent of the total votes cast. In the Wyoming caucuses he had his best showing, coming in third and scoring 1 delegate to the Republican National Convention. However, in the Michigan primary, Hunter once again placed last, coming in eighth behind "Uncommited" (which received 15,000 more votes than Hunter). On the last day of his campaign, Hunter won just two percent of the vote in the Nevada caucuses, and in the South Carolina primary he received only 0.2 percent of the vote, putting him in last place in both states. He withdrew from the race that night, on January 19, 2008. Hunter subsequently endorsed Huckabee for the Republican nomination.^[45]

Political positions[link]

Duncan Hunter is a self-described "true conservative". Hunter voted with a majority of the Republicans 88.7 percent of the time.^[46] He was a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Documentaries, topic pages and databases[link]

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile from SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Collected news stories and commentary from The New York Times
• Genealogy of Duncan Hunter
• Vote 2008: Duncan Hunter from PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• Duncan Hunter at the Open Directory Project