Political Quotes

“I know we want to get back to our friend from Washington State, but people remember in the first Gulf War, which cost $60 billion, the United States paid $5 billion of that $60 billion and we were part of a larger international effort that included members of the armed services of Syria, Egypt, and other Arab-Muslim countries. Today we are bearing 95 percent of the cost and well over 90 percent of the, shall we say, the blood and the force presence in Iraq. So the contrast is stark. What is also stark is if you look at both the war in Kuwait, the first time, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, all have been very successful strategies in the post-Cold War era, where America with its allies fought the war, but America was a partner in the rebuilding of the society. And it worked successfully, especially in Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor. Why you would take a successful playbook like that, throw it out, when everybody, regardless of what their position was on the war prior to the war, everybody said the war would be easy, the peace would be hard, you need a plan. How you commit 150,000 to 175,000 American troops, $180 billion worth of our resources, and not have had a plan on the peace, this was not Monday morning coaching.”