Joe Biden

“ If the President had leveled with the American people from the start and if the Administration’s policies and planning weren’t so off the mark, there wouldn’t be so much doubt about the President’s leadership now.
The President is still not leveling with the American people.
Instead of laying out the strategic stakes in Iraq, he argues that Iraq is the front line in the war against terrorism, and that we’re better off fighting the terrorists in Baghdad than in Boston.
That’s a false choice designed to appeal to the most basic fears of the American people. ”

“ A foreign policy that thinks bigger and does better, motivated not by fear, but by opportunity. Because for all the difficult challenges we face, the opportunities before us are limitless and within our grasp. ”

“ The best way to change course across the board is to elect a Democratic president who will act wisely, not react rashly, and embrace a foreign policy of enlightened nationalism.
A foreign policy based on a comprehensive strategy - including military might - but not excluding our diplomatic, economic and political power. A foreign policy that reflects our values and our history as a strong nation founded on unshakeable principles. ”

“ In the end, we will be judged by how well we marshal the forces of civilization to combat international terrorism.
We will be judged by how well we work with others to eliminate the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ”

“ It is my view that we cannot conduct foreign policy at the extremes. ”

“ Because our military power dwarfs that of other countries – we spend more on defense than the rest of the world combined — this Administration believes that alliances and international institutions are more of a burden than a benefit. ”

“ Our failure also would undermine America’s strategic interests by enhancing the power and influence of extremists in Iran, endangering moderates and modernizers from Jordan to Turkey, risking the collapse of Pakistan, and making even bleaker the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We have to show the staying power to write a different future.
The place to start is by securing the informed consent of the American people for finishing what we started in Afghanistan and Iraq. ”

“ I do not question the motives of either the neo-conservatives in this Administration who discount the value of alliances and the international institutions we’ve built or the pure multilateralists in my own Party who believe that we can only exercise power if we get the world’s approval first.
It is my view that we cannot conduct foreign policy at the extremes. ”

“ The plain truth is that even if we succeed perfectly in Iraq, the terrorists will be fighting on dozens of other fronts. If we fail in Iraq, they will continue to fight us there as well.
Besides getting the consent of the American people. how do we build staying power?
We should adopt a more enlightened approach, informed by the lessons of the 1990s in the Balkans and beyond.
A more enlightened approach would empower experts in our own government to plan for post-conflict security and reconstruction ahead of time, not on the fly. ”

“ We will be judged by how well we inspire the world to deal with epidemics and pandemics that can kill millions around the world.
We will be judged by how well we lead those who side with us as modernity and globalization are assaulted by fundamentalism and intolerance. ”

“ Much of the country is in the hands of warlords, the Taliban is regrouping, reconstruction is way off track, and Afghanistan is the world’s number one producer of opium. The proceeds will fund new tyrants and terrorists. Our failure to win the peace in Afghanistan risks being repeated in Iraq. ”

“ Indeed, we have everything to gain.
By demonstrating we’re prepared to act without the world and even against its collective will we can silence America’s critics and create a bandwagon effect among reluctant allies. ”

“ We spend a pittance on global education – about $200 million a year. Meanwhile, the madrassas fill the heads of students with hate, but also fill their stomachs with food and put clothes on their backs. ”

“ Not by imposing democracy from the outside with force, but by helping to build its institutions from within by promoting good governance, the rule of law and transparency, political parties, independent media, secular education, private enterprise, and civil society. ”

“ We have fewer friends. And we’re running out of time and resources to get it right. It is long past time for the President to understand that the advice he has received has been wrong advice, that none of the assumptions on the neo-conservative side have proven to be true. ”

“ It would require new international laws that allow us to stop lethal cargoes anywhere on the high seas or in the skies, not just bilateral agreements limited to the territorial waters and air space of the participating countries. ”

“ The devastating punch we took on September 11th still reverberates throughout American society. ”