I am not a politician, and I will never be, and I say that with absolute conviction.

Iraq has gone from being on the brink to being on the mend, and it clearly has some big advantages.

The Islamic State fighters in Mosul are dead men walking and I think they increasingly know it.

Political progress will only take place if sufficient security exists.

Progress in Iraq has always been about teams of people and teams of teams - and ultimately about young men and women, Iraqi as well as people from the coalition.

If you don't want to have to kill or capture every bad guy in the country, you have to reintegrate those who are willing to be reconciled and become part of the solution instead of a continued part of the problem. And then, above all, the resources.

We obviously don't want to cause problems for the Afghan government, President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan people. In fact, we want them to support our efforts on their behalf and not see us as unwelcome occupiers.