Joe Biden: “I think what is really at the heart of this is what was said, if I am not mistaken, in a sort of dress rehearsal of this…”

“I think what is really at the heart of this is what was said, if I am not mistaken, in a sort of dress rehearsal of this debate--the Senator from Virginia and I appeared before a group of Connecticut voters who were down here at the request of one of our colleagues, Senator Dodd. He may remember my saying the real debate on the floor is going to be whether there should be NATO. The only thing I would like to state now, before I make my opening statement--in the context of a question so the floor hasn't been yielded to me; ordinarily I would not put it in the context of a question--is that isn't the real debate here, if there is no strategic rationale for expanding, if there is discussion questioning the strategic doctrine of NATO as it exists now, as Senator Bingaman said, and if there is no threat at all, as my friend from New Hampshire says, the real question is--this is a veiled way of us saying: Should we have NATO at all? If there is no threat to France, no threat to Germany, no threat to Poland, then obviously don't expand but also don't have NATO. If there is a threat at all to Germany or to France or the other 15 nations, or 13 nations, then there is clearly a threat to Poland or to the Czech Republic. You cannot have both. This call of no threat either present or anticipated, indicating there is no need to expand, I think, leads one to the conclusion that if they take that view, there should not be NATO.”