Q: Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?
Q: So -- you don't care what the American people think?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective. And that's victory in Iraq, that's the establishment of a democracy where there's never been a democracy, it's the establishment of a regime that respects the rights and liberties of their people, as an ally for the United States in the war against terror, and as a positive force for change in the Middle East. That's a huge accomplishment.
Q: Are you certain of victory?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: You can't, say -- get up some morning and say, gee, the polls are critical of what we're doing, and quit. It doesn't work that way.
Q: Are you certain of victory?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I am.
Q: And what makes you so certain?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I am confident because I've worked over the years with both the Iraqi people that are involved, as well as the Americans that are involved; because I know the effort and the sacrifice that have been made by the men and women of the United States military; because I know and have watched people commit their lives in Iraq to this enterprise who have lost family members or been seriously threatened themselves by virtue of the fact they've been willing to sign on with Americans and be part of the enterprise.
There are millions of people all over the Middle East that have bet on America; that have been willing, for example, in Afghanistan, to participate in elections, to serve in their parliament, to get elected President, to sign up for the Afghan security forces. Same thing in Iraq. These are people that put their lives on the line every single day, and they're there because the United States is there, because we've made the commitment, because we've chipped in and sent our own forces to participate in this enterprise. And all of that goes up in a puff of smoke when the United States quits; when we decide all of a sudden, well, it's too tough; we're going to pack our bags and go home. That's not the way you achieve the change we're trying to achieve here.
It is hard. It has been difficult. No question it's been costly, in terms of treasure and life, but it's worth it. And we are going to get it right. As I watch events unfold, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, I am convinced that we are changing the course of history, and it was absolutely the right thing to do.
Q: Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?
Q: So -- you don't care what the American people think?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective. And that's victory in Iraq, that's the establishment of a democracy where there's never been a democracy, it's the establishment of a regime that respects the rights and liberties of their people, as an ally for the United States in the war against terror, and as a positive force for change in the Middle East. That's a huge accomplishment.
Q: Are you certain of victory?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: You can't, say -- get up some morning and say, gee, the polls are critical of what we're doing, and quit. It doesn't work that way.
Q: Are you certain of victory?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I am.
Q: And what makes you so certain?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: I am confident because I've worked over the years with both the Iraqi people that are involved, as well as the Americans that are involved; because I know the effort and the sacrifice that have been made by the men and women of the United States military; because I know and have watched people commit their lives in Iraq to this enterprise who have lost family members or been seriously threatened themselves by virtue of the fact they've been willing to sign on with Americans and be part of the enterprise.
There are millions of people all over the Middle East that have bet on America; that have been willing, for example, in Afghanistan, to participate in elections, to serve in their parliament, to get elected President, to sign up for the Afghan security forces. Same thing in Iraq. These are people that put their lives on the line every single day, and they're there because the United States is there, because we've made the commitment, because we've chipped in and sent our own forces to participate in this enterprise. And all of that goes up in a puff of smoke when the United States quits; when we decide all of a sudden, well, it's too tough; we're going to pack our bags and go home. That's not the way you achieve the change we're trying to achieve here.
It is hard. It has been difficult. No question it's been costly, in terms of treasure and life, but it's worth it. And we are going to get it right. As I watch events unfold, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, I am convinced that we are changing the course of history, and it was absolutely the right thing to do.
(post is archived)