I like guys who've never been there who criticize us who've been there, |
I volunteered for a year's duty in Vietnam. I was out in the field almost every single day. We took heavy casualties in my regiment the year that I was there. In my fitness reports, I was rated No. 1. My record is clear. |
It'd be a terrible mistake. It sends a bad message to our troops, and it sends a bad message to our enemy, and it sends a bad message to the Iraqis. |
It's different because there's no progress at all, |
Our troops have become the enemy. We need to change direction in Iraq. |
Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency, ... They are united against U.S. forces and we have become a catalyst for violence. The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. |
Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency. ... We have become a catalyst for violence. It's time to bring them home. |
People are unhappy about it, Republicans and Democrats. They all realize that the Iraqis aren't going to do any fighting until we decide that they're going to take over. As soon as the elections are over and the constitution is ratified, you're going to find American forces drawn down. The public's against it. The military's overextended. There's no place else to go. |
Questions about my record are clearly an attempt to distract attention from the real issue, which is that our brave men and women in uniform are dying and being injured every day in the middle of a civil war that can be resolved only by the Iraqis themselves. |
That's not the point. We want to protect our guys. This is all about our guys, and our moral standards and our moral standards in the world. |
That's why I say it's civil war. |
The guys in Congress are scared to death to say anything because they might be vilified, ... The soldiers can't speak for themselves. We sent them to war and, by God, we're the ones that have to speak out. |
The Iraqis are not against democracy, they are against our occupation. |
The military has done everything that was asked of them. It is time to bring the troops home. |
The public has turned against this war. And when the public turns against the war, Congress reacts to that. |