"I opposed the war in Iraq because it was the wrong war at the wrong time, not because I believe American force should never be used. I laid out my position clearly in my address to the Council on Foreign Relations last week. Military intervention in Liberia represents an appropriate use of American power.

"I will not apply a one-size fits all approach to American foreign policy. We bear a special responsibility in world affairs as the world's only superpower. There is a time and a place for military action. In Iraq, we launched a war at the wrong time. In Liberia, we are called on to keep the peace, and the time to act is now."