“First of all, we occupied Afghanistan and Iraq and I'm not even talking about the past occupation of them, I'm just talking about currently. And we all know that occupations, in military terms, comes down basically to policing, so you have an army basically functioning as a police force in these foreign territories as part of foreign policy. I'm not knocking that down, I'm just observing.” KnowsFirstsPastForceTermTalkingMilitaryPolicyArmyPoliceIraqOccupationTerritoryAfghanistanForeign PolicyObservingKnockingPolice Force Author:Oren Moverman
“OK, so $1 trillion is what it costs to run the federal government for one year. So this money's going to run through September of 2016. Half of the trillion dollars goes to defense spending and the Pentagon. The other half goes to domestic spending - everything from prisons to parks. So there's also about 74 billion in there that goes to the military operations that we have ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria.” YearsGovernmentRunningHalfMilitaryCostDollarsPrisonIraqSpendingDefenseBillionsOperationsParksAfghanistanSeptemberSyriaFederal GovernmentOngoingOther HalfPentagonMilitary OperationsDefense Spending Author:Susan Davis
“We have a strong military deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. In countries like Syria, we need a diplomatic breakthrough to end the war. In Libya, the country must first of all be stabilized to stop IS. This means supporting the Libyan government, including in terms of security. We don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past in that country. The situation is extremely dangerous and the next days could be decisive.” WantNeedsFirstsMeanWarEndsCountryGovernmentPastNextStrongTermMistakeSituationSecurityMilitaryDangerousIncludingIraqRepeatsAfghanistanSyriaNext DayBreakthroughDiplomaticLibyaDeployment Author:Paolo Gentiloni
“I think our great task is to make certain that our young men and women in the military do not get sucked into never- ending, perpetual warfare within the quagmire of Syria and Iraq. And I will do my very best to make sure that that doesn't happen.” ThinkingMenHappensYoungCertainMilitaryMen And WomenTasksIraqYoung ManPerpetualWarfareSyriaNever EndingQuagmireMilitary Women Author:Hillary Clinton
“Iraq broke our back in terms of counterterrorism. There's no doubt about it. The first thing, though, that hurt us was the fact that the U.S. military was absolutely unprepared to do anything on 9/11 - or 9/12 or 9/13. And by the time we actually attacked Afghanistan, al Qaeda and the Taliban had dispersed.” FirstsFactsTermHurtDoubtMilitaryIraqBrokeNo DoubtAlsAfghanistanAl QaedaTalibanUnprepared Author:Michael Scheuer
“You cannot possibly expect even the most illiterate person on Earth to believe that you really want a democracy in Iraq while you are paying Mubarak $3 billion a year to pretend he doesn't hate Israel. And you're providing the military and diplomatic umbrella that protects the fascist government, if you will, of the al Sauds.” IfsWantYearsBelievePersonsGovernmentEarthHateDemocracyMilitaryProtectIraqIsraelBillionsAlsProvidingFascistsUmbrellaDiplomaticIlliterateMubarakIlliterate Person Author:Michael Scheuer
“The United States found dozens of billions of dollars for military action in Iraq, so it should certainly be able to find a few billions of dollars to get rid of weapons of mass destruction. I'll assume that since the most powerful nation - the United States - has promised to pay for much of this, then its word will be kept. If it isn't, I don't think we can have a true partnership.” IfsThinkingShouldStatesAbleActionFoundNationsUnitedPowerfulPayUnited StatesMilitaryWeaponsMassDestructionDollarsAssumingIraqBillionsMost PowerfulDozenPartnershipWeapons Of Mass DestructionMass DestructionMilitary Action Author:Mikhail Gorbachev
“One of the reasons why this country undertook military action in Iraq was that there are quite a few problems here, and perhaps attention needed to be deflected from those problems. It sometimes seems that the U.S. economy works successfully only if it gets a stimulus from the defense industry. So perhaps in addition to showing the power and the might of the United States internationally, another reason was to help the defense industry and to help the U.S. economy recover.” IfsCountrySometimesStatesReasonHelpingProblemSeemsMightActionUnitedAttentionUnited StatesEconomyMilitaryIndustryNeededIraqDefenseReason WhyStimulusMilitary Action Author:Mikhail Gorbachev
“We want to approach this in a multilateral way, talking with our friends, consulting with our security council colleagues in the United Nations, hoping to find a way to solve this peacefully, but at the same time recognising that unless the threat of military force is there, Iraq will not disarm.” WayWantForceNationsUnitedTalkingSecurityMilitaryApproachThreatIraqSolveColleaguesUnited NationsCouncilConsultingMilitary ForceSecurity Council Author:Colin Powell
“The U.S. can no longer be the sheriff for the whole world. We can't be everywhere, and we can't always use military boots on the ground. We have to plan with people who have boots on the ground.” PeopleWorldWholeUsePlansMilitaryIraqWhole WorldBootsSheriffs Author:Dutch Ruppersberger
“I think we ought to use the same formula that we used when we took out Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. We have unique resources that no other country has, especially in the air. Intelligence and the ability to find where things are. I think the governments need to get together, because this is getting very serious.” ThinkingNeedsCountryUseGovernmentTogetherUsedAbilityAirMilitarySeriousOughtUniqueResourcesIraqFormulasOther CountriesGet TogetherLibya Author:Dutch Ruppersberger
“We're making progress. Our military is assisting in Iraq. And we're hoping that within the year we'll be able to push ISIS out of Iraq and then, you know, really squeeze them in Syria.” KnowsYearsAbleProgressMilitaryIraqSyriaIsisAssisting Author:Hillary Clinton
“I think the key anecdote in the book is when Colin [Powell] and I were discussing Iraq. Colin was upstairs in the Treaty Room, in the residence. And he talks about his concerns about the use of military in Iraq. And I said I felt the same concerns, but it might be that we have to use it. In which case, he said, "I support you."” ThinkingSaidBookUseMightFeltRoomsCasesSupportMilitaryKeysConcernIraqTreatiesDiscussingAnecdotesUpstairsSupport YouResidence Author:George W. Bush
“The Sunni Arabs began to realize that they had made a huge mistake by not voting in the election of 2005 and by not being part of the new Iraq. They had reasons for this: They were effected by the disestablishment of the military and by de-Baathification (the dismantling of Saddam Hussein's party) in winter 2007-2007. They increasingly recognized that their future lay in being part of the solution rather than a continuing part of the problem.” MadeReasonProblemRealizingPartyMistakeMilitaryHugeSolutionsElectionLaysWinterIraqVotingContinuingSaddamHusseinNot Voting Author:David Petraeus
“We know about General John Kelly's military experience and his record there and being a decorated veteran of combat over in Iraq in particular. In fact, that's where I first met him was when Ramadi was shot to shambles during the surge era. We took a ride around there, even a minaret was shot in half and he pointed to that and said we were taking fire from that minaret. My son took that down with a 20 milimeter cannon. That's my first impression of John Kelly.” KnowsFirstsSaidFactsHalfRecordsFireMilitaryParticularSonMetsShotsIraqImpressionErasMy SonCombatVeteranCannonsFirst ImpressionShamblesMilitary Experience Author:Steve King
“There was sort of a negative association with the military. Maybe growing up in the South or being in a family with members of the military, I didn't have that negative connotation, but I did have this 'separate' connotation. I was ashamed to realize I had it and did not realize I had it until I was [in Iraq]. I was so impressed by the people I met over there and there was just a sense of connection and gratitude towards those people.” PeopleRealizingGrowing UpGrowingMilitaryGratitudeMetsMembersNegativeConnectionsSouthIraqAshamedAssociationImpressedConnotation Author:Stephen Colbert
“Because national borders are eroding, because of the growth of non-state actors. It's a different kind of a world. We are tied down by a tiny little country - Iraq. It's amazing, given the disparity in military economic strength. It's a world where most of the big problems spill over national boundaries, and there are new kinds of actors and we're feeling our way as to how to deal with them.” WorldWayKindLittlesDifferentCountryStatesFeelingsProblemBigsActorsGivenGrowthDealsEconomicMilitaryIraqTinyBoundariesBordersDifferent KindsTiedSpillsBig ProblemsDisparityNational Borders Author:Brent Scowcroft
“Who was it in Afghanistan who screwed up in Tora Bora and let bin Laden escape? It was the Bush Administration. Who leached all the resources, military and civil, from Afghanistan, creating the instability that we see there today in order to prepare for the misbegotten invasion of Iraq? It was the Bush administration. If there's a terrorist problem today, who is responsible now? Bush has not done the job.” IfsDoneProblemTodayJobsOrderMilitaryCreatingResourcesResponsibleIraqTerroristAdministrationAfghanistanInvasionBin LadenScrewed UpInstability Author:Sidney Blumenthal
“The British Labour Party has always had a very strong "Atlanticist component," with an obsequiousness to American policies, and Blair represents this wing. He's clearly obsessed with Iraq. He has to be because the overwhelming majority of the people of Britain oppose a military action. I've never known a situation like it.” PeopleActionStrongPartySituationKnownMilitaryPolicyMajorityWingsIraqBritishObsessedBritainLabourOverwhelmingVery StrongComponentsBlairLabour PartyMilitary ActionObsequiousness Author:John Pilger
“Bill Clinton kept funding Star Wars. He took the biggest military budget to Congress in history. He routinely bombed Iraq, and he kept the barbaric sanctions in place. He's really played his part. The George W. Bush gang has taken it just a little further.” LittlesWarStarsTakenMilitaryBillsClintonCongressIraqBudgetsGangFundingSanctionsBarbaricMilitary Budget Author:John Pilger
“The Bush administration has created an unimaginable catastrophe in Iraq. This should've been one of the easiest military occupations in history and they succeeded in turning it into one of the worst military disasters in history. They can't control it and it's almost impossible for them to get out for reasons you can't discuss in the United States because to discuss the reasons why they can't get out would be to concede the reasons why they invaded.” ShouldStatesReasonWould BeUnitedUnited StatesImpossibleWorstMilitaryIraqDisasterAdministrationReason WhyOccupationCatastropheUnimaginable Author:Noam Chomsky
“It would seem to be the case that pressure on Iran to acquire nuclear weapons is almost totally driven by their need for a deterrent capability to avoid the fate of Iraq, Libya. The use of American military force in Syria thus sends exactly the opposite message as supposedly desired to the leadership in Tehran - and to others. North Korea has been dealt with diplomatically because it has the bomb and might use it if provoked.” IfsNeedsHas BeensUseSeemsMightForceCasesFateMilitaryMessagesWeaponsOppositesPressureIraqDrivenNuclearBombsAcquireIranCapabilityNuclear WeaponsSyriaKoreaNorth KoreaLibyaProvokedMilitary ForceDeterrentTehranAmerican MilitaryMight Use Author:Richard A. Falk
“Currently, the United States has troops in dozens of countries and is actively fighting in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen (with the occasional drone strike in Pakistan). In addition, the United States is pledged to defend 28 countries in NATO. It is unwise to expand the monetary and military obligations of the United States given the burden of our $20 trillion debt.” CountryStatesFightingGivenUnitedUnited StatesMilitaryIraqBurdenDebtStrikesObligationDozenTroopsSyriaPakistanOccasionalMonetaryNatoDronesLibyaUnwiseYemen Author:Rand Paul
“One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards, had a negative effect on the viewing public. The military in Iraq specifically banned the photographing of wounded soldiers and coffins, thus sanitizing this terrible and bloody conflict.” WarEffectsMilitaryHigherTerribleLessonsConflictNegativeSoldierIraqVietnamBloodyWoundedVietnam WarCoffinsBannedDepictionLesson LearnedWounded Soldier Author:Walter Dean Myers
“Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism have reduced the pace of military transformation and have revealed our lack of preparation for defensive and stability operations. This Administration has overextended our military.” WarMilitaryTransformationIraqTerrorismAdministrationPreparationOperationsPaceStabilityAfghanistanWar On Terrorism Author:Barack Obama
“It matters not what your individual position is on either war we are currently prosecuting - in Iraq or Afghanistan - certainly we can all agree protesting at military funerals is a cruel and unnecessary hardship on our military families during their most difficult hour.” WarMatterIndividualDifficultHoursMilitaryPositionAgreeIraqHardshipFuneralAfghanistanUnnecessaryProsecutingMilitary Family Author:Solomon Ortiz
“When you decide to get involved in a military operation in a place like Syria, you've got to be prepared, as we learned from Iraq and Afghanistan, to become the government, and I'm not sure any country, either the United States or I don't hear of anyone else, who's willing to take on that responsibility.” CountryStatesGovernmentUnitedResponsibilityUnited StatesMilitaryWillingInvolvedPreparedIraqOperationsNot SureAfghanistanSyriaBe PreparedGet InvolvedMilitary Operations Author:Colin Powell