Political Quotes

“I thank my leader on the Democratic side. Yesterday I visited Guantanamo Bay, along with my colleague, Senator George Allen of Virginia. RADM Harry Harris, commander of the Joint Task Force in Guantanamo, spent most of his day giving us a very informative briefing and a tour of the facilities. I thank the admiral, and I thank all the soldiers and sailors at Guantanamo for their service to our country. They are great Americans doing a difficult job in a dangerous place. I met with several young men and women from Illinois. I had lunch with them. As I always do, I left with even greater respect for our men and women in uniform. They are truly our best. They deserve our gratitude every single day. I am old enough to remember the Vietnam war. It was a divisive war politically, and our divisions were taken out on the soldiers. That should never happen again. We can debate the policies of the United States on the floor of the Senate, but we should never debate the courage and commitment of our men and women in uniform. It is beyond reproach. For some time, I have been critical of the Bush administration's policies on interrogation and detention. I believe these policies are not true to American values. They have hurt our efforts in the war on terrorism. They put our brave men and women in uniform at even greater risk. Let me be clear. My criticism of the administration's policies does not reflect in any way on the fine men and women in the military.…”