Sen. John McCain - October 19, 1993

There is no reason for the United States of America to remain in Somalia. The American people want them home, I believe the majority of Congress wants them home, and to set an artificial date of March 31 or even February 1, in my view, is not acceptable. The criteria should be to bring them home as rapidly and safely as possible, an evolution which I think could be completed in a matter of weeks.

Our continued military presence in Somalia allows another situation to arise which could then lead to the wounding, killing or capture of American fighting men and women. We should do all in our power to avoid that.
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Sen Strom Thurmon[b]...

Sen. John McCain - October 19, 1993

There is no reason for the United States of America to remain in Somalia. The American people want them home, I believe the majority of Congress wants them home, and to set an artificial date of March 31 or even February 1, in my view, is not acceptable. The criteria should be to bring them home as rapidly and safely as possible, an evolution which I think could be completed in a matter of weeks.

Our continued military presence in Somalia allows another situation to arise which could then lead to the wounding, killing or capture of American fighting men and women. We should do all in our power to avoid that.

Sen Strom Thurmond (R-SC) - October 5, 1993

It is past time for the Congress to come to grips with this sorry spectacle and force the administration to find a way out of the quagmire--before Somalia becomes the pattern for future United States missions with the United Nations.

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), October 7

The President's decision to extend our presence for 6 more months is totally unacceptable to me and totally unacceptable, I believe, to the Congress.

If the people of Texas--who are calling my phones every moment, who are sending me letters and telegrams by the hour--are representative of the will of the American people, the American people do not believe that we should allow Americans to be targets in Somalia for 6 more months. I cannot see anything that we would achieve in 6 more months in Somalia

Sen. Slade Gorton, October 6,1993 (R-WA)

We are in a disaster, Mr. President. If we had retreated earlier, we would h...

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), October 7

The President's decision to extend our presence for 6 more months is totally unacceptable to me and totally unacceptable, I believe, to the Congress.

If the people of Texas--who are calling my phones every moment, who are sending me letters and telegrams by the hour--are representative of the will of the American people, the American people do not believe that we should allow Americans to be targets in Somalia for 6 more months. I cannot see anything that we would achieve in 6 more months in Somalia

Sen. Slade Gorton, October 6,1993 (R-WA)

We are in a disaster, Mr. President. If we had retreated earlier, we would have left fewer dead Americans behind. It is time to retreat now and leave no more dead Americans behind and to learn the lesson that American power should be used only where we have a clear stake in a conflict, a clear goal to be achieved, the clear means to reach that goal, and the potential of clear support on the part of the American people.

Sen. Jesse Helms - October 6, 1993 (R-NC)

As a matter of fact, while we are at it, it is high time we reviewed the War Powers Act, which, in the judgment of this Senator, should never have been passed in the first place. The sole constitutional authority to declare war rests, according to our Founding Fathers, right here in the Congress of the United States, and not on Pennsylvania Avenue. I voted against the War Powers Act. If it were to come up again today, I would vote against it. I have never regretted my opposition to it.

Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) - October 6

What I cannot continue to support is the continuing endangerment of Americans in the service of a p...

Sen. Jesse Helms - October 6, 1993 (R-NC)

As a matter of fact, while we are at it, it is high time we reviewed the War Powers Act, which, in the judgment of this Senator, should never have been passed in the first place. The sole constitutional authority to declare war rests, according to our Founding Fathers, right here in the Congress of the United States, and not on Pennsylvania Avenue. I voted against the War Powers Act. If it were to come up again today, I would vote against it. I have never regretted my opposition to it.

Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) - October 6

What I cannot continue to support is the continuing endangerment of Americans in the service of a policy that remains absolutely mysterious and totally muddled.

That's because there are so many damnedable Republican lies we could spend the next few years covering them.

I think it was Republican cowardice to attack everyone under the guise of anti-patriotism instead of actually being honest with the American people about WMD's. Everybody should watch "Buying The War" presented by Bill Moyers Journal.

I think these are the things Jesse Helmes held dear to his heart and supported all his life:

In 1960 Helms took a job as a TV commentator, the position that would prove the real launching pad for his political rise. For 12 years he railed against “Negro hoodlums,” “sex perverts,” Dr....

That's because there are so many damnedable Republican lies we could spend the next few years covering them.

I think it was Republican cowardice to attack everyone under the guise of anti-patriotism instead of actually being honest with the American people about WMD's. Everybody should watch "Buying The War" presented by Bill Moyers Journal.

I think these are the things Jesse Helmes held dear to his heart and supported all his life:

In 1960 Helms took a job as a TV commentator, the position that would prove the real launching pad for his political rise. For 12 years he railed against “Negro hoodlums,” “sex perverts,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights “agitators,” and denounced welfare recipients, saying in one broadcast, “A lot of human beings have been born bums.”

Your comment is just like the majority of your clips and comments, baseless and without proof. I linked the Pew Research Poll that provides the data but you have nothing. Pathetic.

Solid Majority Favors Congressional Troop Deadline
36% Think Surge Will Work - Link

Summary of Findings

A solid majority of Americans say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they would like to see their representative vote for such legislation, compared with just 33% who want their representative to oppose it.

Democrats are...

Your comment is just like the majority of your clips and comments, baseless and without proof. I linked the Pew Research Poll that provides the data but you have nothing. Pathetic.

Solid Majority Favors Congressional Troop Deadline
36% Think Surge Will Work - Link

Summary of Findings

A solid majority of Americans say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they would like to see their representative vote for such legislation, compared with just 33% who want their representative to oppose it.

Democrats are united in their support of legislation calling for a U.S. troop withdrawal by August 2008, and most independents (61%) also favor this step. Most Republicans oppose this step, but there are substantial divisions within the GOP

>6 of 10 Americans want us to win in Iraq.

If that's the way that survey was worded, it sounds fishy to me. I imagine the other option was "I want us to lose in Iraq"

No one wants to "lose" this war. We want to do the right thing. Regardless of what you believe about why we went in, the fact is that we're there.

I bet, if pressed, most people want the fairy-tale that was painted for us at the beginning. We want to be the good guys who come in, oust the bad guys, and make things better.

Right now, most of us would settle for not being the bad guys anymore. That doesn't necessarily mean pulling out, but it does mean building trust, rebuilding infrastructure, and being patient and even c...

>6 of 10 Americans want us to win in Iraq.

If that's the way that survey was worded, it sounds fishy to me. I imagine the other option was "I want us to lose in Iraq"

No one wants to "lose" this war. We want to do the right thing. Regardless of what you believe about why we went in, the fact is that we're there.

I bet, if pressed, most people want the fairy-tale that was painted for us at the beginning. We want to be the good guys who come in, oust the bad guys, and make things better.

Right now, most of us would settle for not being the bad guys anymore. That doesn't necessarily mean pulling out, but it does mean building trust, rebuilding infrastructure, and being patient and even compassionate in the face of an angry, violent populace.

We need to transition to a peacekeeping, rebuilding, and humanitarian force.