Political Quotes

“this is an important--no, a critical debate. It is right that we have it. I stand here as one who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1994, voted for Desert Storm, and has always believed that the first federal dollar spent each year should go to the military. These men and women provide for our ultimately security. However, I am prepared to vote against this particular resolution. It will not be a happy vote. I will be in the minority. I sadly will not stand with my President, a man I admire so much. Yet as with literally the thousands of votes cast in this chamber, I've found that following one's instinct is the most honest, if not always the most politically popular, approach. What we're discussing is all unknown territory. We're talking about the future--and that talk, out of necessity, means guesses, estimates, and personal interpretation. The one thing we do know is that since September 11, 2001, we are living in a new world. It's an unsettling world requiring different defenses--secrecy, stealth operations, armies without uniforms--but maybe of greatest importance, an adhesive-like working relationship with our friends. Following 9/11 we were told that the enemy was terrorism in all its forms. The al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden would be hunted down, Afghanistan was to be stabilized and rebuilt, and we were to work closely with our allies and near-allies. We could not go it alone. Now we hear that priorities have changed. Iraq is the prime target.”