Political Quotes

“In fact, the gentleman has opened up another area that I think is very important, and that is that we have utilized our Armed Forces, the remaining Armed Forces that we have, as world policemen. And these peacekeeping operations in Haiti, in the Bosnian theater, I think we have carried on now the Bosnian airlift longer than we carried on the Berlin airlift. In Africa and around the world, we are using our military forces, but not so much in sending them out with a military mission to win a war or battle and come back, but as peacekeepers. I think when the final bill is in, we will have spent about $1.7 billion until Haiti just on that peacekeeping operation. What that does to the gentleman's Rangers is it stretches them thin. It keeps your Rangers from spending as much time as they should at home. It also uses up the money that they have for training and for equipment repair and for spare parts and all the things that amount to readiness, it uses that money up. And let me tell you what Secretary Perry has said, to go through this analysis he has been giving for the past several days. He has been saying, you know, we are not going to sacrifice readiness. He was a little embarrassed by the three Army divisions last year to be found to be in less than a complete state of readiness. He said it is true money used for peacekeeping missions comes out of the hide of the military.”