2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library: on War & Peace

John McCain: Don't let enemy lay in the weeds until we leave

Q: [To Romney]: Sen. McCain has said that you supported a timetable for a phased withdrawal from Iraq. Is that true?

ROMNEY: Unequivocably, absolutely no. I have never, ever supported a specific timetable for exit from Iraq. Sen. McCain pointed to an interview when I said that our president and their prime minister should have timetables and milestones. [When asked what I'd do with a bill with] a date specific to withdraw, I said I'd veto it.

McCAIN: Well, of course, he said he wanted a timetable. In April 2007, the buzzword was "timetables." Governor, the right answer to that question was "no," not what you said, that Maliki and the president should enter into some kind of agreement for, quote, "timetables."

ROMNEY: Why don't you use the whole quote, Senator?

MCCAIN: The actual quote is, "We don't want them to lay in the weeds until we leave."

ROMNEY: What does that mean?

MCCAIN: It means a timetable until we leave. If we weren't leaving, how could the enemy lay in the weeds?

Source: [Xref Romney] 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library Jan 30, 2008

John McCain: Support the surge and bring troops home with honor

We are going to be there for some period of time, but it's American casualties, not American presence. We've got troops right next door in Kuwait. We'll probably have them there for a long time. We have troops in Bosnia. We've had troops in South Korea for some 50 years. We need to protect America's national security interest. We are succeeding. We're going to support this surge. We're not going to talk about timetables or anything else; we're going to talk about winning and what's necessary to win. I'm the only one that said that Rumsfeld had to go and the Petraeus strategy is the one that can succeed. That's because I have the experience, the knowledge, and the judgment. It's not American presence, because America, as the world's superpower, is going to have to be a lot of places in the world. It's how they come home. As president, I will follow in this tradition of sticking to my principles no matter what and bring our troops home with honor. Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008

Mike Huckabee: Leave Iraq with victory and honor, however long it takes

We need to leave with victory, and we need to leave with honor. The reason we need to is because, if we leave a bigger mess in Iraq than is there now, it is not just going to affect Iraq. It's going to affect the rest of the Middle East. It will erupt in a completely destabilized environment into which that vacuum is exactly the kind of situation that al Qaeda can build a strong base. Iran would love to be able to see a destabilized Iraq, because they've been fighting in Iraq and for Iraq for a long time. If we leave it vulnerable, all we've done is create a situation that the rest of the world is going to have to be back into sooner or later for all of our interests. We don't want to be there for 100 years, but however long it takes to get out of there with victory and with honor, we owe it to those who have gone to make sure that they did not go in vain. We need to make sure that future sons and daughters of the US don't have to go back and do it over. Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008

Mitt Romney: Never, ever supported specific timetable for exit from Iraq

Q: [To Romney]: Sen. McCain has said that you supported a timetable for a phased withdrawal from Iraq. Is that true?

ROMNEY: Why don't you use the whole quote, Senator?

MCCAIN: The actual quote is, "We don't want them to lay in the weeds until we leave."

ROMNEY: What does that mean?

MCCAIN: It means a timetable until we leave. If we weren't leaving, how could the enemy lay in the weeds?

Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008

Ron Paul: How many men are you willing to let die in Iraq?

How many men are you willing to let die for this, for something that has nothing to do with our national security? There were no al Qaeda there. It had nothing do with 9/11. There was no threat to our national security. They never committed aggression. It's unconstitutional. It's an undeclared war. We have these silly arguments going on about who said what when. It's time to debate foreign policy and why we don't follow the Constitution and only go to war with a declaration of war. Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008

Ron Paul: The Iraq war is driving the US into bankruptcy

Q: Do you agree with McCain's statement that the US might need to have US troops in Iraq for as long as even 100 years?

A: I don't even think they should have gone, so keeping them for 100 years, where's the money going to come from? The country is in bankruptcy. When I listen to this argument, I find it rather silly, because they're arguing technicalities of a policy. They agreed with going in; they agreed for staying, agreed for staying how many years? These are technicalities. We should be debating foreign policy, whether we should have interventionism or non-interventionism, whether we should be defending this country or whether we should be the policemen of the world, whether we should be running our empire or not, and how are going to have guns and butter? The '70s were horrible because we paid for the guns and butters of the '60s. Now we're doing the same thing. Nobody even seems to care. The dollar is crashing, and you're talking about these technicalities about who said what when?

Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley Jan 30, 2008

The above quotations are from 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, on Jan. 30, 2008, the eve of Super Tuesday. Click here for definitions & background information on War & Peace. Click here for more quotes by John McCain on War & Peace. Click here for more quotes by Mitt Romney on War & Peace.
*2008 Presidential contenders on War & Peace:*
*Republicans:* Chmn.John Cox Mayor Rudy Giuliani Gov.Mike Huckabee Sen.John McCain Rep.Ron Paul Gov.Mitt Romney Sen.Fred Thompson	*Democrats:* Sen.Hillary Clinton Sen.John Edwards Sen.Mike Gravel Sen.Barack Obama	*Third Parties:* Independent: Mayor Mike Bloomberg Green: Rep.Cynthia McKinney Socialist: Brian Moore Independent: Ralph Nader
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