In just the past week, violence has flared in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Russia invad ed Georgia. Pakistan's president resigned instead of being impeached.
Thanks to this kind of instability, the next U.S. president must have a tremendous sense of judgment and foresight when carrying out this nation's foreign policy. Thinking through the consequences of state ments, relationships and grudges is mandatory for a respected statesman.
So if the past is prologue, then Sen. John McCain's comments about the most important foreign policy decision of the Bush administration-the Iraq invasion-reveals how the Republican presidential nominee would respond to crises. Looking back at these state ments, one thing's for sure-McCain can't be accused of being psychic, well informed or diplomatic.
Here are some examples of McCain's statements about the necessity of going to war and how it would be conducted:
"These [terrorist] networks are well-embedded in some of these coun tries [such as Iraq, Iran and Syria]. We're going to have to prove to them that we are very serious, and the price that they will pay will not only be for punishment but also deterrence."-
Sept. 12, 2001
"There is some indication, and I don't have the conclusions, but some of this anthrax may-and I emphasize may-have come from Iraq....If that should be the case, that's when some tough decisions are gonna have to be made."-Oct. 18, 2001 "But the fact is, I think we could go in with much smaller numbers than we had to do in the past.
But any mili tary man worth his salt is going to have to prepare for any contingency, but I don't believe it's going to be near ly the size and scope that it was in 1991."-Sept. 15, 2002 "We're not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we're not going to have a bloodlet ting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies."-Sept. 29, 2002
"He [Saddam] has developed stocks of germs and toxins in sufficient quantities to kill the entire population of the Earth multiple times. He's placed weapons laden with these poi sons on alert to fire at his neighbors within minutes, not hours, and has devolved military authority to fire them to subordinates. He develops nuclear weapons, with which he would hold his neighbors and us hostage."-October 2002, on the Senate floor
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"I think the victory will be rapid, within about three weeks."-Jan. 28, 2003
"We cannot keep our forces indef initely staged in the region. Were we to attempt again to contain Saddam, we would eventually have to withdraw them."-Feb. 13, 2003
"There's no doubt in my mind, once these people are gone, that we will be welcomed as liberators."- March 24, 2003
"It's clear that the end is very much in sight."-April 9, 2003
"I remain confident that we will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."-June 11, 2003
"The mission was necessary, achievable and noble. For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, [President] Bush deserves not only our support, but our admira tion."-2004 Republican Convention speech
"We're either going to lose this thing or win this thing within the next several months."-Nov. 12, 2006 "I still say setting a date for with drawal is chaos, genocide, and we'll be back, because Al Qaeda will then suc ceed."-Feb. 17, 2008
"As you know, there are Al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they're moving back into Iraq."- March 17, 2008
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