This week, the eight candidatesseeking the Republican Party'spresidential nomination debated national securityand foreign policy issues.CNN and two conservative research groups,the American Enterprise Instituteand the Heritage Foundation,organized the debate in Washington.One issue was American aid to Pakistan.Texas Governor Rick Perry said he would cut that aidunless the Pakistani government made changes.RICK PERRY: "The bottom line is thatthey have showed us time after timethat they can't be trusted and until Pakistan clearly showsthat they have America's best interest in mind,I would not send them one penny."Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota disagreed.She said the aid is requiredto secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons.She also said Pakistan shares intelligencewith the United States about al-Qaida.MICHELE BACHMANN: "Whatever our action is,it must ultimately be about helping the United Statesand our sovereignty, our safety and our security.''Another question was whether, as president,the candidates would support an Israeli attackto prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.Businessman Herman Cain gave the first answer.HERMAN CAIN: "I would first make surethat they had a credible plan for success."Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House of Representatives,said he would support military actionagainst Iran only as a last choice.NEWT GINGRICH: "I think replacing the regimebefore they get a nuclear weaponwithout a war beats replacing the regime with a war,which beats allowing them to have a nuclear weapon.Those are your three choices."On Monday, the United States, Britain and Canadaeach announced new steps to pressure Iran.Still, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney saidPresident Obama has not been strong enough on Iran.MITT ROMNEY: "Put in place the kind of crippling sanctionsthat stop their economy.I know it is going to make gasoline more expensive.There is no price that is worth an Iranian nuclear weapon."During the debate, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman saidit was time for most American troopsto come home from Afghanistan.JON HUNTSMAN: "We haven't done a very good job definingand articulating what the endpoint is in Afghanistanand I think the American people are getting very tiredabout where we find ourselves today."Mitt Romney said he opposed a quick withdrawal and,as president, would follow the advice of his military commanders.MITT ROMNEY: "This is not time for America to cut and run."Most of the candidates saidthey supported the extension of the anti-terrorism lawknown as the Patriot Act.However, Representative Ron Paul of Texas saidthe law is "unpatriotic because it undermines our liberties."Several of the presidential hopefuls warnedagainst deep defense cuts.That could happen now that a twelve-member"supercommittee" in Congress failedto agree on long-term deficit reductions.Another issue was illegal immigration.Mr. Gingrich disagreed with many of the other candidates.He said he was "prepared to take the heat in saying:Let's be humane in enforcing the law."NEWT GINGRICH: "I don't see how the party that saysit's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policywhich destroys families that have been here a quarter century."This week, Newt Gingrich took the lead in national opinion pollsfor the first time in the race for the Republican nomination.Mitt Romney was a close second, and Herman Cain was third.The nationally broadcast debate this week was the eleventhso far among the Republican candidates.The first voting in the primary season will take place on January third.On that day, Iowa will hold its political meetingsknown as caucuses. The general election is next November.And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.