I went to graduate school as a lieutenant colonel after I had been in the army for 12 or 13 years. I learned so much from all the great management theorists. It gave me a greater understanding of my army experience and showed me the gaps in my knowledge.

Everybody makes bad decisions. I am sure I have made my share of them over 40 years of service. Or I have made good decisions and have been overruled. The real challenge, when you are overruled, is to remember who the boss is and don't take it personally.

It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.

I think you can improve on that natural ability with training and exposure to great leaders of the past and to management theories.

Free speech is intended to protect the controversial and even outrageous word; and not just comforting platitudes too mundane to need protection.

The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.

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.