Political Quotes

“Absolutely, positively not. Because of the, as some view them, arcane rules of the Senate, the Senator has to make his point by asking me questions. I would be delighted to yield him some time to speak to this directly as well. What we are both saying is, this is a fool's errand. This is a foolish undertaking. Let me lay it out, if I may. And then I will be delighted to save some time for my friend from Arizona, who is not only a good personal friend, but a person for whom I have great respect on all matters, particularly foreign policy. The first reason this would be such a profound mistake is that rebuilding Iraq an Iraq that is secure and self-sufficient, whole and free is going to require tens of billions of dollars over many years. While Iraq's long-term economic promise is good, its short-term prospects are bleak. This is something we don't focus on. Iraq's annual oil revenues in the first 5 years after Saddam is out--God willing--are projected to be no more than $15 billion. Iraq is saddled, as they should be, with U.N. sanctions, an estimated $61 billion in foreign debt, and $200 billion in reparation claims through the U.N. Compensation Committee. So the idea that we can thumb our nose at the rest of the world and say, we don't need you in there helping us, is profoundly mistaken.”