Strategy

Senator John McCain, Republican

"When I voted to support this war, I knew it was probably going to be long and hard and tough, and those that voted for it and thought that somehow it was going to be some kind of an easy task, then I’m sorry they were mistaken. Maybe they didn’t know what they were voting for." 

"We’ve made mistakes in Iraq, we all know that we have. [But}the result of our withdrawal will be chaos. Do we have to do a lot better? Yes. Does the Iraqi government have to be better and the economy better? Yes. But unless you establish security, you cannot have political and economic development.  Opposes timetable for withdrawal

Senator Barack Obama, Democrat

I know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors.  I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.

October 2002