Politician Trivia

I've heard several politicians recently make firm statements about Iraq and whether or not the US should set a deadline to get out. I was curious whether or not these politicians are consistent in what they say. I just find it odd that almost all Republicans favor the war and almost all Democrats are opposed. Shouldn't there be more independent thinkers like Joe Lieberman or Chuck Hagel? So I searched around to see what I could find on the Internet.



Do you know who made these 10 Quotes?
(Answers at the bottom... Hint: 4 from Republicans; 6 from Democrats)


A) "If Hussein has chemical and biological agents, and I believe he does, he would have no incentive not to use them then, if he knew he was going to be killed anyway and deposed."

B) "I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long (U.S. troops) will be involved and when they will be withdrawn....Victory means exit strategy and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

C) "These arbitrary limits (setting a deadline for military withdrawl) are not going to be helpful."

D) "I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now....There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory...There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our overextended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today."

E) “We have to be able to convince the American people that this (military action) is in our interest. I don't think you need much of an imagination, though, to know what happens if all of this gets out of hand.…I think we can avoid that with a little preventative medicine. That's what this is all about. It's preventative, and I think it will work.”

F) He "views it (Congress setting a deadline for military withdrawl) as a legislative overreach on the powers of the presidency."

G) "What if someone had listened to Winston Churchill and stood up to Adolph Hitler earlier? How many people's lives might have been saved? And how many American lives might have been saved?...We have to take a stand now. If we don't do it now, we will have to do it later."

H) "In my judgment, it's a question of whether it's wise to set a deadline, and we might as well address that issue first and foremost....Now, if the sponsors of the language in this bill want to strike that deadline, we have a totally different situation. But the deadline is there, it is July of next year, unless Congress changes its mind. That creates between now and then, a very dangerous period of uncertainty and instability, which ...creates danger for our forces, that period of uncertainty is very dangerous because ... (they) are going to seek to arm themselves for the day in which we leave. "

I) (in regards to setting a deadline for military withdrawl) "signs of impatience can be misinterpreted as symptoms of weakness. We cannot afford that in a region where weakness attracts vultures."

J) "whether or not there was an exit strategy. I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation-building. I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders."


Obviously, these quotes were cherry-picked. The situation was different (all refer to Kosovo with the exception of Clinton's comment (a) about Iraq). But it is interesting to see what politicians said in the past.

A) President Bill Clinton (D-AR) (September 9, 2003)
B) President George W. Bush (R-TX) (April 9 & June 5, 1999)
C) Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) (Sept 15, 2000)
D) Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) (April 1999)
E) Seanator Tom Daschle (D-SD) (1999)
F) Scott McClellan, for the Bush campaign (R-TX)(May 2000)
G) President Bill Clinton (D-AR) (March 22, 1999)
H) Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) (May 17, 2000)
I) Sec. of State Madeleine Albright (D)
J) President George W. Bush (R-TX) (October 3, 2000 debate)