If America is to succeed in responding to these 21st Century challenges, our political system cannot continue to bog down in the mire of partisan gamesmanship.

The president of the United States is the commander in chief, and the people who work with him at the National Security Council are his arm in working with the Defense Department. And, quite frankly, they have responsibility for all of the government. We are one component of the government.

Iraq was a war of choice, like Vietnam.

I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president.

This is eventually how Syria will be resolved - through a political settlement.

I'm the first secretary of defense that's had to deal with sequestration. I've prepared two budgets that deal with sequestration. And you bring the chiefs together, the leadership of this enterprise together, to work through, how do we then take these cuts? Where do we apply those cuts? Readiness is the first thing that suffers.

You can't just drop the 82nd Airborne into Baghdad and it will all be over.