Three big assumptions proved wrong: one, that the Iraqi people would welcome us as liberators; two, that oil would soon pay for Iraqi's rebuilding; and, three, that we have plenty of troops, weapons, and equipment for the postwar situation. — John Spratt Copy Share Image
With no other security forces on hand, U.S. military was left to confront, almost alone, an Iraqi insurgency and a crime rate that grew worse throughout the year, waged in part by soldiers of the disbanded army and in part… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
And it raises a fundamental question: How long can we move the world in one direction while we move in another direction, and do… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
As costs mount, in lives and dollars, it is natural to second guess, but one lesson I hope we have learned is that the… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
Three big assumptions proved wrong: one, that the Iraqi people would welcome us as liberators; two, that oil would soon pay for Iraqi's rebuilding;… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
Since the Pentagon underestimated the number of troops required after the end of hostilities, we were not prepared to prevent looting or to guard… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
We would take a little bit of money out of a huge increase in ballistic missile defense and put it in a place where… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
With no other security forces on hand, U.S. military was left to confront, almost alone, an Iraqi insurgency and a crime rate that grew… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
We developed during the 1990s a series of budget process rules that helped us bring to heel these deficits, diminishing every year and moving… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
Our country, the United States of America, may be the world's largest economy and the world's only superpower, but we stretch ourselves dangerously thin… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
I am not disputing the need for this money. What I am disputing and calling attention to is the fact that we are taking… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
Just a few short years ago in the year 2000, the last full fiscal year of the Clinton administration, this country was running a… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
What we are effectively doing, I say this to the young people of America whom my colleagues represent, is leaving our children and grandchildren… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
Domestic discretionary spending on education and health care and the environment has been growing at 2 to 3 percent a year. He says we… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
Without the Guard and Reserve, our active duty troops could hardly deploy. — John Spratt Copy Share Image
The young in this country, and you fellows are young by my reckoning, have a right to be concerned about the course that our… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
This war so far has cost us $125 billion and counting, because largely we decided to do it on our own, with only the… — John Spratt Copy Share Image
