A Charge To Keep: on Homeland Security


Lesson from Vietnam: no political wars

Our nation should be slow to engage troops. But when we do so, we must do so with ferocity. We must not go into a conflict unless we go in committed to win. We can never again ask the military to fight a political war. If America's strategic interests are at stake, if diplomacy fails, if no other option will accomplish the objective, the Commander in Chief must define the mission and allow the military to achieve it.
Source: "A Charge to Keep", p. 55. Dec 9, 1999

Supported Vietnam while a student in 1968, but not later

[At Yale in 1968], we discussed Vietnam, but we were more concerned with the decision each of us had to make: military service or not. I knew I would serve. Leaving the country to avoid the draft was not an option for me; I was too conservative and too traditional. My inclination was to support the government and the war until proven wrong, and that came only later, as I realized we could not explain the mission, had no exit strategy, and did not seem to be fighting to win.
Source: "A Charge to Keep", p. 50 Dec 9, 1999

Increase spending on military pay plus R&D

I support increased pay and better benefits and training for our citizen soldiers. Rebuilding America's homeland defenses is an urgent priority. I support deploying antiballistic missile systems to guard against attack and blackmail. And America should modernize its military capability. by investing in research and development to make our military more suited to the needs of the twenty-first century.
Source: "A Charge to Keep", p.239-240 Dec 9, 1999

  • The above quotations are from A Charge To Keep: My Journey to the White House, by George W. Bush.
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  • Click here for more quotes by George W. Bush on Homeland Security.
2016 Presidential contenders on Homeland Security:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Aug 15, 2024