It was in our power to set high price for our blood, a price too high for the Arab community, the Arab army, or the Arab governments to think it worth paying.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Libya has had to put up with too much from the Arabs for whom it has poured forth both blood and money.
After all, we paid great prices because of the virtual partitioning of Iraq.
The Arab League tells us to go in and take out Qaddafi. We've spent billions of dollars already with respect to the Arab League. Billions of dollars, because they told us to do it. Why aren't they paying for it? They don't like Qaddafi, Qaddafi's been a terrible thorn in their side.
So while I will never minimize the costs involved in military action, I am convinced that a failure to act in Libya would have carried a far greater price for America.
I think this is really a defining moment for the Arab world. The problem is, it is all going to be about blood, sweat and tears. In certain countries it may be just sweat, and in some countries sweat and tears, and in some countries, as you can see, a lot of blood. I think initial instability is something that we are all extremely nervous of.
'Arab Labor' was light, snappy. We got emotional over things, but from a safe place, from the terrace.
Autonomy was shopped to us. We looked at the price and thought it was absurdly high.
Mr. Chairman, the price for continuing this war is too high, not only in budgetary terms, but in American lives, Iraqi civilian casualties blamed on America and in the steady increase in the terrorist ranks that this war is provoking around the globe.
The Arab nations must be on our side. And if we catch them financing, if they funnel money to IS, that's when sanctions and other actions have to kick in.
Despite spending trillions of dollars and spilling the blood of thousands of Americans, we remain in servitude to Arab oil.