Political Quotes

“a week ago, I was the only Member of this body to vote against a mild resolution of support for our military operations in Iraq last week. I did so, Mr. President, because it seemed to me that our response fell between two more appropriate responses and, as a consequence, was totally ineffective and inappropriate. Mr. President, I felt last week--and I continue to feel the same way today--that we could have determined that in a civil conflict between two groups of fighting Kurds, one backed by Iraq and the other by Iran, that we had no interest, simply that we had no dog in that fight. On the other hand, by reason of the protection that we have provided for Kurds, however uncivil in their conduct to one another, we could also have responded militarily. Almost without exception, however, Mr. President, thoughtful academics, military scholars, and national security experts have felt that the United States should not use its Armed Forces in combat in response to a challenge from another nation without doing so disproportionately. What does that mean, Mr. President? It means that we should make absolutely certain when we use our Armed Forces that the cost exacted of an aggressor, of an enemy, is considerably greater, measurably greater, than the gains sought by that aggressor. If we don't use it with that philosophy, we almost certainly will be disappointed in the results of the use of our armed services and, of course, with respect to our national prestige.…”