Charles Rangel: “I didn't come down here, my colleagues, to talk about General MacArthur, but I guess I knew of him better than anyone in…”

“I didn't come down here, my colleagues, to talk about General MacArthur, but I guess I knew of him better than anyone in this room. General MacArthur was called out of Korea. He was the commander of the entire Armed Forces there, and left us in the Second Infantry Division completely surrounded by the Chinese in November of 1950. The last I remember, he was called back by the Commander in Chief, Harry Truman, for defying his direction. So with all due respect to the great late general, this is hardly a time to talk about what soldiers have to do when they defy authority. I want to thank those who have given us an opportunity today to express ourselves under question of life and death. Very few people have this responsibility, yet those here in this House, you didn't get elected to do this, but today you have to decide whether or not you want this war to continue and how many people have to die before it is stopped. You here talk about me supporting a draft, but I challenge anyone to tell me that their feelings about this war in Iraq would not be different if they thought that their loved ones, their family, their community, would be placed in harm's way. Whether you are for or against the war, or no matter how you voted, when you see the casualties mounting up, when you visit the hospitals and see young dedicated people without their skulls, their faces, their legs, their arms, you don't have to know any of these kids to start crying.…”