You need to learn what people have done, but you need to learn where they have failed... Usually when they fail it is in the execution.

Being in charge sometimes means making people mad. Some days you have to overrule even the best advice, because you think it is not right.

If everybody trusts one another, then the person who didn't prevail will faithfully execute the decision as if it was their idea.

The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise. In my experience, the people closest to the problems are often in the best position to see the solutions. The key here is to empower and not be the bottleneck.

One of the fondest expressions around is that we can't be the world's policeman. But guess who gets called when suddenly someone needs a cop.

The United States is not looking for a way to launch war.

Change of regime with respect to Iraq had nothing to do with this; it had everything to do with the fact that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. And at the time change in regime as a policy came into effect in 1998, it was seen as the only way to compel Iraq to get rid of its weapons of mass destruction.