Peter Baker War Quotations

One side thinks the president'€™s request for war-making powers is too brazen and even reckless. The other side thinks it is too spineless and probably ineffectual. 'It does not seem to have resonated with anyone,' said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and a member of the Intelligence Committee. 'I haven't found any colleague who'€™s been enthusiastic about it.'

WASHINGTON - Ever since President Obama ordered American warplanes to begin bombing terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria last year, members of Congress have insisted on having a say in the matter. The president, they declared, could not, or at least should not, take the country back to war without the input of the nation's elected representatives.

With this unlikely stop, Bush showed he would go almost anywhere to enlist or retain partners in his shrinking coalition of the willing. The president received a warm welcome here, days after the South Korean government embarrassed him during his visit by announcing the withdrawal of one-third of its forces from Iraq.