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John Spencer on War & Peace
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Congress should've known that war in Iraq would not go well
Q: Do you regret voting to authorize the Iraq war?
CLINTON: I regret the way the president used the authority that Congress gave him. But if we knew then what we know now, there never would have been a vote, and there never would have been a war.
I don't believe in do-overs in life. I made the best judgment at the time.
SPENCER: Maybe they don't know in Congress what they're voting for, when they send people to war. Maybe they should think about what a war is. Wars do not go well. Mrs.
Clinton is playing the blame game. It's all about blame-President-Bush. You can't do that in a war. We are struggling, but we must prevail. We must win the war.
Q: Shouldn't the government have focused more on Afghanistan instead of going to Iraq?
SPENCER: I think our government focused pretty well in Afghanistan. And did an outstanding job in Afghanistan. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. That's counter-productive. We must move forward, and stop the blame game.
Source: NY 2006 Senate Debate, moderated by Bill Ritter
Oct 22, 2006
Keep option for a nuclear pre-emptive first strike in Iran
Senator Clinton and I differ on how to stop these evil men [the leaders of Iran] from arming themselves with nuclear weapons. She rightly calls that 'unacceptable.' But while talking tough, Senator Clinton voted against nuclear Bunker Buster bombs our
military would need to destroy the underground nuclear facilities the Mullahs have. The fact is that we can't take a preemptive strike off the table; yet, that's what Senator Clinton is effectively doing by fighting against Bunker Buster bomb.
Source: Press release, "Iran"
Jan 17, 2006
Criticizing the President brings comfort to the enemy
Spencer gives President Bush high marks for "bringing the war on terror where it belongs - the other side of the world." He also criticized senators who have questioned the president's handling of the war. "It's very comforting to
the enemy to have high-profile senators saying that our president doesn't know what he's doing," Spencer said. "I would not conduct myself like that no matter who the president was."
Source: Brian McGuire, The New York Sun
Dec 27, 2005
Anti-war climate after Vietnam kept him away from college
Spencer said his approach to the military is based largely on experience. Spencer spent one year in Vietnam as a platoon leader. He planned to go back to college when he returned, he said, but turned around because of the anti-war climate on campus.
He said the experience colored his view of Senator Kerry. "I knew of him back then and have the appropriate feeling of him to this day. He's a terrible, terrible guy. He came back, went before Congress and lied and continues to do so."
Source: Brian McGuire, The New York Sun
Dec 27, 2005