Verbatim

March 1, 2003

Osama Sets Example

“We’ve got to ask, why is this man [Osama bin Laden] so popular around the world? Why are people so supportive of him in many countries … that are riddled with poverty? … He’s been out in these countries for decades, building roads, building schools, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. … We have not done that. … How would they look at us today if we had been there helping them with some of that rather than just being the people who are going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?”—US Sen. Patty Murray (D–Wash.) to students at Columbia River High School, Vancouver, Wash. Dec. 18.

One World

“In an interdependent world, America can lead but not dominate. … What is America’s responsibility at this moment of its dominance? I believe it is to build a world that moves beyond interdependence to an integrated global community of shared responsibilities, shared benefits, and shared values. America must support the institutions of global community, beginning with the United Nations. … [The UN] must have our full support in building an integrated global community.”—Former President Bill Clinton, International Herald Tribune column (subtitled “One World”), Dec. 19.

Notice to the Neighborhood

“In these circumstances, we also cannot fulfill the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the basic clause of which is the obligation of nuclear states not to use the nuclear weapon against states which do not possess it.”—Pak Ui Chun, North Korea’s ambassador to Russia, quoted in the Washington Post, Jan. 1.

And That Solved the Problem

“It’s amazing that Bush’s defenders continue to accuse the Clinton Administration of causing this problem through cowardly appeasement in 1994. Amazing, because in 1994 Clinton gave the North Koreans to understand that its pursuit of nuclear weapons at its Yongbyon facility was unacceptable, and if they didn’t halt it, the facility would be attacked and destroyed. (Sure, fuel oil shipments and new power plants became an important carrot, but we mustn’t forget the stick that was part of the deal that defused the 1994 crisis.)”—Honolulu Advertiser editorial, Jan. 3.

Carrots and Sticks

“In 1994, faced with a similar challenge, the United States agreed to provide North Korea half a million tons of fuel oil annually and construct two civilian nuclear reactors in return for a freeze on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. … The agreement was front-loaded with benefits for North Korea, even allowing it to retain material to develop more nuclear weapons and advanced missiles that will soon be capable of striking the continental United States. In exchange, North Korea—a regime infamous for its deceit, hostility to the United States and its allies, and the megalomania of its ruler—provided a mere promise of future good faith. Regrettably, the Clinton Administration pursued a policy that was all carrot and no stick. … We clearly enjoyed a false peace from 1994 to 2002.”—Sen. John McCain (R–Ariz.), Weekly Standard, Jan. 20.

Carter Solution, One More Time

“The announced nuclear policies of North Korea and the American rejection of direct talks are both contrary to regional and global interests. Unfortunately, both sides must save face, even as the situation deteriorates dangerously. To resolve this impasse, some forum—perhaps convened by Russia or China—must be found within which these troubling differences can be resolved. The principles of the Agreed Framework of 1994 can be reconfirmed, combined with North Korea’s full and verifiable compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a firm US declaration of nonaggression against North Korea, so long as all agreements are honored.”—Former President Jimmy Carter, intermediary in negotiating the 1994 agreement, Washington Post, Jan. 14.

Some Underpaid, Some Not

“Our analysis will reveal that, in some cases, we are now paying folks more than their contemporaries in the private sector, and so it may be time to re-look whether or not [wage-growth-plus-a-half-percent] needs to continue for all pay grades all the time. … [Basic pay for] our most junior enlisted and our most junior officers is significantly better than the pay of [civilian] counterparts, based on age and experience and education levels on the outside.”—Charles S. Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, DOD briefing, Dec. 23.

All Week Long

“Many see the Air National Guard as a reserve force, a Cold War force, but no longer. The average pilot flies six to eight sorties a month. There’s no more weekend warrior stuff.”—Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, director of the Air National Guard, quoted by Associated Press, Jan. 7.

Franklin Delano Rumsfeld

“He is running the war on terrorism the way FDR ran World War II.”—Historian Eliot Cohen on Rumsfeld, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4.

Don’t Cut F/A-22

“I’m opposed to reducing the number of F-22s. If missile defense, the President’s pet project, keeps taking money away from programs like the F-22 that the nation needs desperately, I’ll vote against missile defense.”—Rep. Randy Cunningham (R–Calif.), Navy ace in Vietnam, on Air Force’s F/A-22 Raptor, quoted in Aerospace Daily, Jan. 10.

Drag Factor

“The People of Russia: Asset or Liability?”—Chapter title in “Assessing Russia’s Decline: Trends and Implications for the United States and the US Air Force,” Rand, 2002.