2007 State of the Union address: on War & Peace

George W. Bush: We will not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons

Hezbollah t The result was a tragic escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal that continues to this day.

The United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran, and made it clear that the world will not allow the regime in Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons. With the other members of the Quartet--the UN, the European Union, and Russia--we are pursuing diplomacy to help bring peace to the Holy Land, and pursuing the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security.

George W. Bush: 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Baghdad & Anbar

We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq--a plan that demands more from Iraq’s elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission. Our goal is a democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law and is an ally in the war on terror.

We are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. And in Anbar province we are sending an additional 4,000 US Marines, with orders to find the terrorists and clear them out. We did not drive al Qaeda out of their safe haven in Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe haven in a free Iraq.

James Webb: Bush took us into this war recklessly; we predicted chaos

James Webb: Bush can join us in ending war, or we will show him the way

Eisenhower took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people & for the health of our relations around the world. We call on this president to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way

James Webb: US has patiently endured a mismanaged war for 4 years

Like so many other Americans, we have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country. On the political issues--those matters of war and peace, and in some cases of life and death--we trusted the judgment of our national leaders. We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed us--sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.

James Webb: Shift toward diplomacy & leave Iraq in short order

The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq’s cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.