2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library: on War & Peace

John McCain: Don’t let enemy lay in the weeds until we leave

ROMNEY: Unequivocably, absolutely no. I have never, ever supported a specific timetable for exit from Iraq. Sen. McCain pointed to an interview when I said that our president and their prime minister should have timetables and milestones. [When asked what I’d do with a bill with] a date specific to withdraw, I said I’d veto it.

McCAIN: Well, of course, he said he wanted a timetable. In April 2007, the buzzword was “timetables.” Governor, the right answer to that question was “no,” not what you said, that Maliki and the president should enter into some kind of agreement for, quote, “timetables.”

ROMNEY: Why don’t you use the whole quote, Senator?

MCCAIN: The actual quote is, “We don’t want them to lay in the weeds until we leave.”

ROMNEY: What does that mean?

MCCAIN: It means a timetable until we leave. If we weren’t leaving, how could the enemy lay in the weeds?

John McCain: Support the surge and bring troops home with honor

Mike Huckabee: Leave Iraq with victory and honor, however long it takes

Mitt Romney: Never, ever supported specific timetable for exit from Iraq

ROMNEY: Unequivocably, absolutely no. I have never, ever supported a specific timetable for exit from Iraq. Sen. McCain pointed to an interview when I said that our president and their prime minister should have timetables and milestones. [When asked what I’d do with a bill with] a date specific to withdraw, I said I’d veto it.

McCAIN: Well, of course, he said he wanted a timetable. In April 2007, the buzzword was “timetables.” Governor, the right answer to that question was “no,” not what you said, that Maliki and the president should enter into some kind of agreement for, quote, “timetables.”

ROMNEY: Why don’t you use the whole quote, Senator?

MCCAIN: The actual quote is, “We don’t want them to lay in the weeds until we leave.”

ROMNEY: What does that mean?

MCCAIN: It means a timetable until we leave. If we weren’t leaving, how could the enemy lay in the weeds?

Ron Paul: How many men are you willing to let die in Iraq?

Ron Paul: The Iraq war is driving the US into bankruptcy

A: I don’t even think they should have gone, so keeping them for 100 years, where’s the money going to come from? The country is in bankruptcy. When I listen to this argument, I find it rather silly, because they’re arguing technicalities of a policy. They agreed with going in; they agreed for staying, agreed for staying how many years? These are technicalities. We should be debating foreign policy, whether we should have interventionism or non-interventionism, whether we should be defending this country or whether we should be the policemen of the world, whether we should be running our empire or not, and how are going to have guns and butter? The ‘70s were horrible because we paid for the guns and butters of the ‘60s. Now we’re doing the same thing. Nobody even seems to care. The dollar is crashing, and you’re talking about these technicalities about who said what when?