Dick Durbin Quotes

As Commander in Chief of the United States Military, I will never send our sons and daughters and our brothers and sisters to die in a foreign land without telling the truth about why they're going there.

And, if we lost, then who win? Did Al Qaida win? When on the floor of the House of Representatives they cheer - they cheer - when they pass a withdrawal motion that is a certain date for surrender, what were they cheering? Surrender? Defeat?

For three years now, our brave men and women in uniform have done everything their country has asked of them, yet President Bush still does not have a plan to win the peace in Iraq and bring our troops home.

The decision to go to war is the most important decision that I can make as a representative in Congress. As a veteran, I see any potential military action first through the eyes of the young men and women who volunteered to wear the uniform and would carry out such a mission.

Well, we've faced very difficult decisions and challenges in our country, every one of us have, as we - since September 11th, as we fought the war on terror, all of those decisions that the President had to make to put young men and women in harm's way.

During a time of war, we ask our troops to give their best even to the point of sacrificing their own lives. When compared against that, how much of a sacrifice is it for a president to engage in a possibly contentious debate with Congress about whether military action is a good idea?

I think the President ought to bring everybody that's in American uniform back because we're headed for war.

I'm not sure Americans are hesitant to do this again - to fight another war, because it looked to them like a courageous and terrific endeavor.

We know over very national survival is at stake; and we believe that we should support our troops, yes, and work for an outcome that results in victory.

I'd end all of the wars. I'd bring all of the troops home and make sure that they're taken care of for life - for what they did protecting our country.

Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire.

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

We are a nation at war - and we should act like it.

I think that you can honour the sacrifices of a common soldier without glorifying war.

I extend my deepest gratitude to our Armed Forces and first responders serving both at home and abroad in the war against terrorism.

Is it true that the American people are war-weary? Absolutely. We are tired of sending our sons and daughters to distant lands year after year after year, to give their lives trying to transform foreign nations.

Sending our young men and women into battle is perhaps the most serious course of action a Nation can undertake.

I agree with the British Legion that we have a responsibility to support our troops and support their families, particularly when we are asking people to do very difficult and dangerous things for our security.

When my dad was in Vietnam, we lost a parent for a year. Thank God we didn't lose a parent for good.

I agree with the President that second-guessing is not a strategy, but at the same time, I want to continue the dialogue that ultimately will lead to bringing all of our troops home.

War is fear cloaked in courage.

Politicians didn’t want to talk to their constituents about body bags that would be coming back.

A leader who does not hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

The best way to honor our troops, the less than 1% of our country's population who voluntarily put their lives on the line in service to our country, is by making sure that when they are sent into combat, it is the last option, not the first, and that the mission is worthy of their great sacrifice.

We are going to use the truth, and we are going to use it toward the end of winning the war; and we know what would happen to the American people if we lose it.