But what I would say to my successor is that it is important not just to shoot but to aim. And it is important, in this seat, to make sure that you're making your best judgments based on data, intelligence, the information that's coming from your commanders and folks on the ground and you're not being swayed by politics.

I don't think that there's a hard-and-fast deadline. . . .What we have said all along is that this is not an open-ended process, we are not in this just to talk for talk's sake. . . . We expect prompt, concrete steps to be taken over the next couple of weeks.

Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

I just miss - I miss being anonymous.

I do have an obligation to make sure that I am following some of the rules. I can't simply ignore laws that are out there.

Moammar Gadhafi had more American blood on his hands than any individual other than Osama bin Laden.

As we look forward to the New Year, let's resolve to recommit ourselves to the values we share.