Ted Rall Quotes

I would hope that we have in place the adequate resources to become an army of occupation because you’re going to walk into chaos

I just think it would be unrealistic to suggest we're going to eliminate every last domestic insurgent in Afghanistan. Certainly, the history of the country would indicate that's not a very realistic objective, and I think we have to have realistic objectives.

The bottom line is that after we defeat the armed forces of Iraq, that we will want to and need to provide stability throughout that country.

We're not going to spread democracy at the business end of a M16 held by a 23 year old Marine.

The concept of military readiness is well understood, but readiness for what happens after the fighting stops is just as important.

We have to go in and win this war quickly, and then be prepared to help stabilize Iraq over an indefinite period, five to ten years, at a minimum, I believe, using a large fraction of American forces. This is a major undertaking that likely would require a total of 150,000 troops and could stay above 100,000 for several years

Someone should tell the president that U.S. forces would need to be in Iraq for two to five years, and they will not have an easy time there.

You’re going to have to occupy Iraq for years and years. The idea that democracy will suddenly blossom is something that I can’t share...Are Americans ready for this?

Necessary to keep Iraqi army intact for a specified period of time. Serves as a ready resource pool for labor-intensive civil works projects

We’re not going to need as many people to do peacekeeping as we needed to fight the war.

I'm a believer in the Afghan people, so I support an increase in forces there.

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

Americans, we passionately believe, are a humane people. We showed that in restoring wounded economies abroad after World War II, even those of our enemies, Germany and Japan.

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

Our opponent and many in Congress criticized our decision to end the Iraq war.

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.

When you decide to get involved in a military operation in a place like Syria, you've got to be prepared, as we learned from Iraq and Afghanistan, to become the government, and I'm not sure any country, either the United States or I don't hear of anyone else, who's willing to take on that responsibility.

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.

Development is a lot cheaper than soldiers.

Sure we won the war, but the peace we’re losing badly.

There are two things that will always be difficult for a democratic people to do: to start a war and to finish it

I don’t think that Americans should die to make Iraq free. What are we going to do? Have these endless wars of altruism?

We don't have the temperament to be an occupying power.

[The Kosovo intervention] would set a dangerous precedent to commit our troops to fighting civil wars for independence in every corner of the world.

These [food] surpluses can be made a far more potent means of combating the spread of Communism than the hydrogen bomb.