Political Quotes

“a couple of weeks ago I submitted an article for the prestigious military magazine on military affairs, ``Proceedings.'' In that article, I outlined the slippery slope that we are presently on with respect to our deteriorating national defense and where I think we should be going, what I think we should be doing, my opinion, and what future actions should be taken. Mr. Speaker, my staff mentioned to me tonight when they read the article, and I had mentioned service leaders who had not spoken up over the past several years, ``Do you think people will think you are referring to Chuck Krulak, the Commandant of the Marine Corps?'' And I said, ``Absolutely not.'' Mr. Speaker, I am down here on the floor tonight to make sure that folks understand that that is not the case, because Chuck Krulak is one of the finest Marine Corps Commandants and one of the finest Marine warriors of this century. I think of Chuck in the great tradition and legend of guys like Chesty Puller and Gimlet I. Butler, great Marines, and Chuck's own father, Brute Krulak, who is one of the great Marine warriors of all time. I talked, Mr. Speaker, about the deteriorating infrastructure of national security and the fact that just a few years ago, when we won Desert Storm, we had 18 Army divisions. We are now down to 10. We had 24 fighter air wings. We are now down to 13. We had 546 naval ships. We are now down to 346.”