Political Quotes

“this whole debate we are having now with Senator Kerry, what we did with Senator McCain's amendment earlier, and what I am trying to do, is a healthy debate about where we are going as a nation, how we prosecute the war on terror, and what kind of value set we are going to adopt. One thing we need to understand as a nation and we need to understand in the Senate, in my opinion, is that the attack of 9/11 was an act of war. It was not a criminal enterprise. That is an important statement to make. Every Senator needs to understand in their own mind: Was 9/11 and were those who planned it and those who blew up the people in Jordan yesterday common criminals or are these people engaged in acts of terrorism and war? Let it be said clearly, in my opinion, that the United States is at war with al-Qaida and associate groups, and we have been since 9/11. When a country such as the United States is at war, we have a rich tradition of following the law of armed conflict, of living up to the Geneva Conventions and all other international treaties that regulate the conduct of war. We have a moral imperative as a nation not to lose our way in fighting this war. Using tactics of one's enemy is no excuse in defeating one's enemy. It is clear to me from Abu Ghraib backward, forward, and other things we know about that at times we have lost our way in fighting this war.…”