Richard Shelby Quotes

We should be proud of liberating the 26 million people in Iraq and should remember that this is why it is important to stick it out to it's successful conclusion.

We came to Iraq to liberate them and to make our world a safer place.

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

It is overly optimistic to think that we can take a country that has emerged from under a totalitarian regime with its institutions of civil society and create a beacon of democracy within five years. If we try to transform Iraq into a democracy, we will need more and more troops over time because we will have to quell nationalistic revolts.

We must remain steadfast in our commitment to our troops, and to those fighting for a free and democratic Iraq because freedom makes our country and the world a safer place.

We have to bring stability to Iraq, otherwise we will be faced with a future dilemma of sending our loved ones into harms way to stop a civil war or the rise of a new tyrant born from the instability that we created.

If we have a chance of succeeding and bringing stability and democracy to Iraq, it will mean learning from our mistakes, not denying them and not ignoring them.

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

Is military occupation likely to be the midwife of democracy?

Iraq and Afghanistan are now democracies and they are allies in the cause of freedom and peace.

Our armed forces will fight for peace in Iraq, a peace built on more secure foundations than are found today in the Middle East. Even more important, they will fight for two human conditions of even greater value than peace: liberty and justice.

I'm concerned about getting Iraq on its feet.

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.

What our men and women in uniform are doing is providing for the Iraqi people and other surrounding nations the opportunity to see, to taste and to experience the democracy that equals freedom and ultimately justice.

The U.S. cannot impose freedom, security, and unity in Iraq by force.

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

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

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?

History will judge the war against Iraq not by the brilliance of its military execution, but by the effectiveness of the post-hostilities activities

At the end of the day we want to bring stability and hope to Iraq. That's the only way to defeat terrorism.

Iraq is no diversion. It is a place where civilization is taking a decisive stand against chaos and terror, we must not waver.

We can be proud of our record as an international beacon of liberty. From fostering democracies in Eastern Europe to the stabilization of Iraq and Afghanistan, we have been true to that calling and helped spread freedom to oppressed peoples everywhere.

We remain in Iraq because we know that sometimes liberty needs some nursing before it can grow on its own.

Let's win the peace and democracy the good people of Iraq so richly deserve after decades of tyranny.

We are not going to abandon Iraq.