…another elequent warning speech on the Senate floor:

“…Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent
months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one
of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has
changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is
disputed, our intentions are questioned.

Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand
obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam
Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine
of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say
that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any
corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We
assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a
result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.

We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security
Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by
lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.

After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more
than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America’s image
around the globe….

A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to
debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores
of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in
Iraq.

What is happening to this country? When did we become a nation which
ignores and berates our friends? When did we decide to risk undermining
international order by adopting a radical and doctrinaire approach to
using our awesome military might? How can we abandon diplomatic efforts
when the turmoil in the world cries out for diplomacy?

Why can this President not seem to see that America’s true power lies
not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire?…

I along with millions of Americans will pray for
the safety of our troops, for the innocent civilians in Iraq, and for
the security of our homeland. May God continue to bless the United
States of America in the troubled days ahead, and may we somehow
recapture the vision which for the present eludes us.”