Political Quotes

“today the Committee on International Relations had a hearing on the Iraq transition. Actually, it was not so much a hearing as a briefing. While interesting, the real need for the Committee on International Relations and other committees of appropriate jurisdiction is policy development and oversight. I hoped ours would be the first in a series of oversight on the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. Deferring to the administration might have been understandable, if questionable, in the aftermath of September 11, but certainly not today. Congress cannot afford to be a rubber stamp, nor can we continue to rely on the media to embarrass us to action. Had we held today's hearing 2 years ago, Iraq, our troops, the world and American taxpayers would be better off today. We would have clarified that the challenge was never to win the battle and remove Saddam Hussein. That was a given, once the might of the United States was unleashed. The real challenge was winning the peace. For that, sadly, the leadership of the United States was unprepared.”