Liz Saville Roberts: “I wish to read a statement by Winston Churchill which I think has application to the inquiry we are conducting in the…”

“I wish to read a statement by Winston Churchill which I think has application to the inquiry we are conducting in the Intelligence Committee and the whole issue in regard to the credibility and the timeliness of intelligence prior to the war in Iraq. Sir Winston Churchill said this upon hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor: Silly people, that was the description many gave in discounting the force of the United States. Some said they were soft, others that they would never be united-- Let me repeat that. That they would never be united, that they would never come to grips. They would never stand bloodletting. Their system of government and democracy would paralyze their war effort. Let me repeat that. Their system of government and democracy would paralyze their war effort. Now we will see the weakness of this numerous but remote, wealthy and talkative people. Referring to Americans. But, I have studied the American Civil War fought out to the last desperate inch. American blood flowed in my veins. I thought of a remark made to me 30 years before: The United States is like a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lighted under it, there is no limit to the power it can generate. It is a matter of resolve.”