Second Debate Transcript: Page 5

Oct. 11 --

LEHRER: Well, let’s keep — let’s stay on the subject for amoment. New question, related to this. There have been — I figuredthis out — in the last 20 years, there have been eight major actionsinvolving the introduction of U.S. ground, air or naval forces. Letme name them: Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia,Bosnia, Haiti, Kosovo. If you had been president, are any of thoseInterventions — would any of those interventions not have happened?

GORE: Can you run through the list again?

LEHRER: Sure. Lebanon.

GORE: I thought that was a mistake.

LEHRER: Grenada.

GORE: I supported that.

LEHRER: Panama.

GORE: I supported that one.

LEHRER: Persian Gulf.

GORE: Yes, I voted for it, supported it.

LEHRER: Somalia.

GORE: Well, of course, and that, again — no, I think that thatwas ill-considered. I did support it at the time. It was in theprevious administration, in the Bush-Quayle administration, and Ithink in retrospect the lessons there are ones that we — that weshould take very, very seriously.

LEHRER: Bosnia.

GORE: Oh, yes.

LEHRER: Haiti.

GORE: Yes.

LEHRER: And then Kosovo.

GORE: Yes.

LEHRER: We talked about that.

Want me to do it with you? Go through each one?

BUSH: No.

(CROSSTALK)

LEHRER: … be Lebanon.

BUSH: No, I’m fine. I’ll make a couple of comments.

LEHRER: Sure. Absolutely. Sure.

BUSH: Somalia. Started off as a humanitarian mission thenchanged into a nation-building mission, and that’s where the missionwent wrong. The mission was changed. And as a result, our nationpaid a price.

And so I don’t think our troops ought to be used for what’scalled nation-building.

I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war.I think our troops ought to be used to help overthrow a dictatorthat’s in our — and it’s in our — when it’s in our best interests.