Dick Durbin Quotes

We can stay in Afghanistan and stabilize the situation, or we can get out and win, or we can get out and lose.

I have never believed you go to war in Iraq, you go to war in Afghanistan, and believe that you can deal with those battlefields, those countries, in microcosms, or narrow channels.

It is in American and Afghan interests for the U.S. to stay in Afghanistan so it doesn't turn into Iraq circa 2014, with the Taliban controlling much of the country while hosting a strong presence of ISIS and al-Qaeda as well as every other jihadist group of note.

I think we need to just be very clear about what we're trying to do in Afghanistan. Frankly, we're not trying to create the perfect democracy. We're never going to create some ideal society. We are simply there for our own national security.

Perhaps we underestimated the challenges in Afghanistan in the past. That's why we are now strengthening and intensifying our commitment.

To leave Afghanistan as a playground for terrorists and adventurers was simply not possible anymore.

I don’t think our troops ought to be used for what’s called nation-building. I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war.

America's foreign policy lacks the backbone to do the right thing in Afghanistan - which is leave.

Like Vietnam, Afghanistan was never about troop levels; it is about how troops are utilized.

Our troops shouldn't be mired in taking land for the Afghan military, providing force protection and fighting a permanent insurgency.

We must be honest in acknowledging that neither Germany nor the U.S. has the luxury of assuming that we can skate by on half-measures in Afghanistan and Pakistan and not risk suffering the consequences.

For the security of the UK, it matters a lot for Somalia to become a more stable place.

Our troops are committed to bringing security to Iraq while its government matures. American forces will continue to accomplish their mission with caution, precision and honor with the thanks of a grateful nation.

If I have any choice I would prefer Western Troops.

In Iraq we must succeed. Failure is not an option.

I believe there should be no arbitrary date set for withdrawal and yet no permanent, unending deployment. No cut and run, yet measured progress in helping a people who want to be free without an illusion of overnight success.

I believe sincerely that we should bring in U.N. peacekeepers and bring our troops home.

It's very unlikely that we're going to send more troops to Iraq. We are going to have to train the Iraqis faster and harder.

It's not the job of the U.S. military to do nation-building or produce democratic utopias.

We don't see that the Taliban ultimately can succeed, and it's a combination both of what the international community can do to support Afghanistan, not just in the short term, but over the long term.

The Afghan security forces will always have the help of the U.S. American military to ensure that Afghanistan never fails.

You know, I agree with President Obama that in Iraq and Afghanistan, at some point in time, we have to take the training wheels off and we have to allow those countries to stand on their own two feet.

I don't think we would have had to be an occupying power if we had done the right thing in 1991.

I want the troops from Great Britain and the U.S. to be successful, but by the same token, Afghanistan has always been a screw-up.

I applaud President Obama's decision to begin a partial withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan. However, I believe that we must go further and have a full withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops.