One of the greatest criticisms of our nation and our use of the military is that we never act for anything other than our own best interests. Senator Biden said in last night's debate, "Where we can, America must." I think he is right. I believe our military can be a force for good and it can be used to save lives. I believe we can use our military for the right reasons. I believe we can use our power and wealth as a nation for the right reasons. And Senator Biden summed this up best when he said those five powerful words that I think should guide us as a nation when it comes to helping our own people, as well as people elsewhere, in need: "Where we can, America must."
Question: "What action do you commit to that will get these children back home to a safe Darfur and not letting it be yet another empty promise?"
COOPER: "Senator Biden, in the past, you’ve talked about NATO troops. What about American troops?"
SEN. JOE BIDEN: "Absolutely, positively. Look, I’m so tired of this. Let’s get right to it. I heard the same arguments after I came back from meeting with Milosevic: We can’t act; we can’t send troops there.Where we can, America must. Why Darfur? Because we can.
We should now. Those kids will be dead by the time the diplomacy is over.
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I’ve been to that camp. I walked through that camp. You know what happened when I landed?
When I landed and the dust settled, a young African aid worker came up to me and he looked at me and he said, ‘Thank you. Thank you, America, for coming.’
You don’t understand — they think we can save them. And guess what? We can. Twenty-five hundred American troops — if we do not get the 21,000 U.N. troops in there — can stop the genocide now. I have called for a no-fly zone. Everybody agreed, but you need troops on the ground."
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