Political Quotes

“Would the Senator yield for a question? From the Senator's perspective--as the Senator has been on this committee a long time, he has served in the military, and he is the ranking Republican on the committee--in the Senator's judgment, based on the obligations we have--and I know the Senator has openly and aggressively condemned waste and abuse in the Defense Department--but does the Senator think the Defense Department can maintain its responsibilities with this cut? Mr. McCAIN. I would respond to my friend, through the Chair, that I don't think in the dangerous world in which we live that we can afford to have the smallest Air Force in history, the smallest Navy since before World War II, and the smallest Army since before World War II. Most importantly, we have to continue to modernize and we have to continue to invest, as my friend from Alabama knows. The fact is we have a crisis with Iran, we have a rising challenge with increasing activities of China, we have an unsettled North Africa, we have an Arab spring going on all over the Middle East, and all of these present a compelling argument for us to be prepared to meet contingencies. If we were having this debate a year and a half ago, Ben Ali is in power in Tunisia, Qadhafi is in power in Libya, Mubarak is in power in Egypt, and there would not be a bloody civil war taking place in Syria. So where will we be, I ask my friend from Alabama, a year and a half from now? I don't know.…”