Political Quotes

“any action by a strong, sovereign Nation such as ours, which I say with humility is a leader in the world in so many issues of foreign policy, can be used as a precedent. But I say to my friend, what is the precedent of inaction? I have given some comments about the League of Nations here earlier today. Throughout the history of the League, it is documented inaction, from Mussolini's attack on Abyssinia in the 1930s, to other operations militarily, naked aggression--inaction. So what is the precedent of inaction, if our President and our Nation does nothing collectively with Great Britain, in the face of this crisis? So, of course, it would be a precedent. But the times have changed. I also put a list in the Record the other day of some 13 instances where Presidents of our United States, going back as far as 1901, have instituted--you might characterize it, as I do, as preemptive; I certainly so characterize it--preemptive strikes in the use of the military, the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.”