In Desert Storm, we had too many troops; in Afghanistan probably not enough for the major commitment we have made.

I think the new generations in America, the America's youth, no longer care about Vietnam. They don't want to hear any more about it.

You have to look at the history of the Middle East in particular. It has been one of failure and frustration, of feudalism and tribalism.

Let them march all they want, as long as they continue to pay their taxes.

We didn't do anything wrong, but among the lessons learned, given the magnitude of the problems we now face in Afghanistan, a major U.S. force on the ground would convince the world we were in for the long-haul recovery of a country devastated by 21 years of warfare.

More often than not, Americans and Westerners overestimated the power and capability of the Soviet Union.

I am in control here, in the White House.