Bring Them On
“ My answer is, bring them on. We’ve got the force necessary to deal with the security situation. ... We’re not going to get nervous, and we’re not leaving until we accomplish the task.”—President Bush, on militants attacking US forces in Iraq, White House news briefing, July 2.
Clinton Likes Clark
“ While I cannot take sides in the Democratic primary, I believe Wes, if he runs, would make a valuable contribution because he understands America’s security challenges and domestic priorities. I believe he would make a good President.”—Bill Clinton on retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, Associated Press, June 27.
Newt Strikes Again
“ The State Department is far too busy being ineffective to bother fixing its internal structures in order to become more effective.”—Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, Foreign Policy, July/August 2003.
Newt’s Targets
“ I have no idea what prompts those such as former Rep. Newt Gingrich to go after the people at State; maybe the President and Secretary of State proved too difficult as targets. I know our people well, both Foreign and Civil Service. But I don’t recognize the people portrayed in Mr. Gingrich’s attacks on State.”—Grant Green, undersecretary of state for management, Washington Times, July 6.
His Favorite Headline
“ Gen. Tommy Franks Quits Army To Pursue Solo Bombing Projects.”—Headline in The Onion, a satirical online newspaper, June 11. (Franks thought it was funny.)
Misled on Iraq
“ There is an abundance of clear and unmistakable evidence that the Administration sought to portray Iraq as a direct and deadly threat to the American people. But there is a great difference between the handpicked intelligence that was presented by the Administration to Congress and the American people when compared against what we have actually discovered in Iraq.”—Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), in remarks on the Senate floor, June 24.
Give It Time
“ One of the challenges facing the coalition is finding Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs. We are still early in the process, and the task before us is sizable and complex. Major combat operations ended less than 10 weeks ago. The Iraqi regime had 12 years to conceal its programs—to move materials, hide documents, disperse equipment, develop mobile production facilities, and sanitize known WMD sites—including four years with no UN weapons inspectors on the ground. Uncovering those programs will take time. The coalition did not act in Iraq because we had discovered dramatic new evidence of Iraq’s pursuit of WMD; we acted because we saw the existing evidence in a new light—through the prism of our experience on 9/11.”—Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Senate Armed Services Committee testimony, July 9.
Which Wars Does He Watch?
“ The Air Force has taken a starring role in recent years primarily through bombing missions in support of ground forces. ... Just as the Air Force is slowly weaning itself from the excitement of air-to-air engagements, so the Navy is learning to live in a world in which ship-to-ship battles are increasingly rare. Like that of the Air Force, the primary function of the Navy these days is support of ground operations.”—Journalist-author Max Boot, Foreign Affairs, July/August.
Tiger Support
“ I strongly support all of our troops, and my thoughts and prayers have been with them and their families from the outset. I’m extremely happy to have been able to be a part of this program to help the morale of the troops.”—Golfer Tiger Woods, participating in ESPN’s “Jocks to GIs Direct” e-mail program, Air Force Print News, July 8.
Not To Reason Why
“ Even when the military is right, democratic theory intervenes and insists that it submit to the civilian leadership that the polity has chosen. Let civilian voters punish civilian leaders for wrong decisions. Let the military advise against foolish adventures, even advising strenuously when circumstances demand. But let the military execute those orders faithfully. The republic would be better served even by foolish working than by enlightened shirking.”—Peter D. Feaver, Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil–Military Relations.
Breaking the Force
“ After criticizing the Clinton Administration for overdeploying and overusing the country’s military in the 1990s, the Bush Administration is now doing exactly the same thing—except on a much larger scale. Hordes of active duty troops and reservists may soon leave the service rather than subject themselves to a life continually on the road. Much more than transforming the armed forces or relocating overseas bases, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld must solve this problem before the Bush Administration breaks the American military.”—Michael O’Hanlon, Brookings Institution, Washington Post, July 3.
No Habeas the Corpus
“ The fact that we have not yet located huge deposits of weapons of mass destruction does not mean they do not or did not exist. After all, we have not yet found Saddam Hussein or his remains—but not even Democratic Presidential candidates or the New York Times contend that he did not exist.”—Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Wall Street Journal, July 18.