Link , "dirty phase" Link , [In 2003, Biden spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the need of a continued presence in Afghanistan, stating that though "nation-building" was a "dirty phrase" to many in the administration at the time, it was necessary to avoid "chaos." Biden encouraged stronger actions on U.S. interests in the Middle East, saying, "With war clouds gathering over Iraq and an unacknowledged crisis looming in North Korea, public attention in Washington has shifted away from our unfinished business in Afghanistan." He continued, "In some parts of the administration, nation-building is still a dirty phrase, but the alternative to nation-building is chaos, a chaos that churns out blood-thirsty warlords, drug traffickers, and terrorists."]