There Is No Substitute for Victory (War is Hell, Let's Get On With It)

Interactive Wall Street Journal (subscription) ^ | 10-26-01 | Senator John McCain

[Petronski]

By John McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona.

War is a miserable business. The lives of a nation's finest patriots are sacrificed. Innocent people suffer and die. Commerce is disrupted, economies are damaged. Strategic interests shielded by years of patient statecraft are endangered as the exigencies of war and diplomacy conflict. However heady the appeal of a call to arms, however just the cause, we should still shed a tear for all that will be lost when war claims its wages from us. Shed a tear, and then get on with the business of killing our enemies as quickly as we can, and as ruthlessly as we must.

[Petronski]

Hoo-wah!

[Petronski]

Curahee!

[Lurker]

Already posted here

L

[Maceman]

When he's right, he's right.

[carpio]

BUMP

[Sabertooth]

There Is No Substitute for Victory (War is Hell, Let's Get On With It)

There is also no substitute for a formal Declaration of War.

The President and the Congress need to get on with it and perform their Constitutional duty.

The United States has never won a war it didn't declare.

[Marc Poor]

Pakistan has a legitimate interest in who rules its chronically unstable eastern neighbor.

Not to be too picky, but isn't Afghanistan Pakistan's western neighbor?

[Petronski]

Not to be too picky, but isn't Afghanistan Pakistan's western neighbor?

OMG, you're right! That's funny.

[Blood of Tyrants]

It is clear that to destroy bin Laden and his associates we will first need to destroy the regime that protects them. To achieve that end, we cannot allow the Taliban safe refuge among the civilian population. We must destroy them, wherever they hide. That will surely increase the terrible danger facing noncombatants, a regrettable but necessary fact of war. But it will also shorten the days they must suffer war's cruel reality.

I sincerely hope that Bush doesn't get squishy when it comes time to do what is ugly but necessary.

[fatrat]

i don't like mc cain but in this particular case he is exactly right. let's roll and get this over with as quickly as possible and then the state department can sort out what is left.

[ChinaThreat]

I agree, I thought he was mushy and voted against him in the SC primary (he got his but kicked here) but Im beginning to like his foreign policy ideas. I just hope Bush has got some kind of gameplan here because we seem to be softballing the Taliban.

[carpio]

BUMP

[HELLRAISER II]

This title say's it all, during war people die. Military people and Innocent Civilians alike, but like this guy says the Terrorists are responsible for their own Civilian casualities. There wouldn't be one Afghan dead from American bombings, had they not attacked us first. So to them & to you I say "Cry Havoc & let loose the Dogs of War." It is the only choice that we have.

[carpio]

BUMP

[DuncanWaring]

but isn't Afghanistan Pakistan's western neighbor?

Strictly speaking, kinda north-west.

Due west is Iran; the "eastern" border is generally India, with a small segment bordering China.

[anothergrunt]

I agree, I think McCain is a self promoting piece of politician poo. However, when he hits one right (like this) he knocks it out of the ballpark.

[Cicero]

This is the first intelligent thing McCain has said in several years. It's also the first time he hasn't tried to undercut Bush in the past year. Even after the election, McCain has assiduously avoided helping Bush in any way until now.

I have to think that the White House wrote this piece for McCain, and McCain agreed to deliver it. It just doesn't sound like his usual style. It's tough, but it's completely on the money.

If so, you have to give him credit for finally rallying around, after a year of treacherous obstructionism and self-concern. Finally he's shown himself willing to be part of the Republican (and American) team. Let's hope he continues to stay on board.

[carpio]

What he said.

[carpio]

BTTT

[carpio]

BTTT