Political Quotes

“I just wanted to go over the language of the provision itself and what it does because the operational and tactical control that is vested in the President and his subordinates in the American chain of command is a very precious thing not just to people that are in the military forces but to their parents, to their families, to the people who rely on somebody who is accountable for that young person who may be in a life or death combat situation. I want to point out to my colleagues that we do not detract from the President's ability to, on a very limited basis, cede that operational and tactical control to, yes, a foreign commander if it is a unique situation; but we require a certification. It is a thorough certification. First, with respect to David Jones, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs and his problems with this certification, if the President does not have time to give the certification well in advance, which is what we would like to have, because we want the White House to think about this, we want them to think it through, then he can give it after he has made the deployment.”