“One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed.”
"It Didn't Work" http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200602241451.asp in National Review Online (2006-02-24).
Context: One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed.... Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough. No doubt they are latently there, but they have not been able to contend against the ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols.
The Iraqis we hear about are first indignant, and then infuriated, that Americans aren't on the scene to protect them and to punish the aggressors. And so they join the clothing merchant who says that everything is the fault of the Americans.
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William F. Buckley Jr. 43
American conservative author and commentator 1925–2008Related quotes
“The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.”
Resignation letter to President George W. Bush, dated (2 November 2004)
“Television has changed the American child from an irresistible force into an immovable object.”
Source: Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Time (1977), p. 324
Of his father
Sons Come and Go, Mothers Hang in Forever (1976)
In support of the Danish participation in the invasion of Iraq http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/09/nyt-protects-the-fogh-machine/ (2003)
1960s, State of the Union Address (1966)
Context: Last year the nature of the war in Vietnam changed again. Swiftly increasing numbers of armed men from the North crossed the borders to join forces that were already in the South. Attack and terror increased, spurred and encouraged by the belief that the United States lacked the will to continue and that their victory was near. Despite our desire to limit conflict, it was necessary to act: to hold back the mounting aggression, to give courage to the people of the South, and to make our firmness clear to the North. Thus. we began limited air action against military targets in North Vietnam. We increased our fighting force to its present strength tonight of 190,000 men. These moves have not ended the aggression but they have prevented its success. The aims of the enemy have been put out of reach by the skill and the bravery of Americans and their allies—and by the enduring courage of the South Vietnamese who, I can tell you, have lost eight men last year for every one of ours. The enemy is no longer close to victory. Time is no longer on his side. There is no cause to doubt the American commitment. Our decision to stand firm has been matched by our desire for peace.
“If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.”
