Political Quotes

“Mr. President, last night, the Defense Department announced that 1,000 additional troops would be deployed to the Middle East. This is the second deployment of 1,000 or more troops in the past 30 days, ostensibly to deal with Iran's increased activity in the region. Despite these two announcements, the President has yet to address the Nation about these developments. The President has yet to articulate a strategy about American involvement in the region. He has yet to send a single military commander to testify before the Armed Services Committee. And he has yet to explain what his policy of ``maximum pressure'' on Iran is supposed to achieve. All we have heard is the Secretary of State, our chief diplomat, rattling the sabers of war. As U.S. troops again prepare to deploy to the Middle East, this administration has an obligation to explain to the American people exactly what is happening and why. If they have a case, they must make it public. Americans are rightly skeptical and tired of endless wars in the Middle East--a reticence that many on the Republican side don't seem to share. Americans know that smaller actions have a tendency to escalate into larger actions even when there is no congressional authority and no check. The administration has offered to send various officials to give classified briefings, but, frankly, that is not nearly good enough. We have learned a hard truth from our experience in Iraq--that the drums of war start beating behind closed doors.…”