
Entry 066Oct 11, 2000
“I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building.”66
66Governor George W. Bush, Governor of Texas; Republican presidential nominee, Second presidential debate, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., October 11, 2000. Source
Why it’s on the record. As president he invaded Iraq and committed the U.S. to rebuilding it. On February 26, 2003 he said 'Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including our own.' Troops stayed in Iraq until December 2011 and in Afghanistan until 2021.
On the record
Bush criticized Clinton-era Somalia and Haiti as nation-building missions and promised a 'humble' foreign policy.
- Said by
- Governor George W. Bush, Governor of Texas; Republican presidential nominee
- Where
- Second presidential debate, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C.
- When
- Oct 11, 2000
- Source
- Second presidential debate, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., October 11, 2000