Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator for that answer. I completely agree with her. It is important to step back and perhaps state the obvious. Why do we capture enemy combatants? Why do we take prisoners of war? Two reasons, really. The obvious one is to get them off the battlefield against us so they can no longer attempt to kill Americans in uniform and, in the case of the war we are in with Islamist terrorists, to kill civilians. That is first--get them off the battlefield. The second purpose--and this has been the traditional purpose of taking prisoners of war as long as there has been warfare in human history, and all the more so now--is to gather intelligence from them that will assist us in defeating the enemy and protecting our goals and protecting the lives of our men and women in uniform. That traditional purpose for taking prisoners of war is all the more critical in the unconventional war we are in against a brutal enemy that doesn't strike from battleships or tactical air fighters or military tanks or even in uniform; they strike us from the shadows, and they strike civilians as well. It is very important to approach this amendment understanding that we are trying to increase, in a reasonable way, the capacity of those who work for us to protect our security and freedom to interrogate detainees that we have captured in the war against terrorism. One of the purposes is to gather intelligence, which will help us protect the lives of Americans and of our allies.…”