Today I weep for my country

Sen. Robert Byrd:

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... 

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? 

...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.