There [in Afghanistan] is also a growing insurgency threat from al-Qaida, the Taliban and other extremist elements, some of which comes from the tribal areas of Pakistan, as well as from the Northwest Frontier province and Baluchistan.

The fact is that Iran doesn't want to see the Taliban come back any more than do most Afghan citizens.

People often ask, why aren't you reading about what it is you're working on right now? And the truth is, you only get three pages a night before your eyelids close.

Fighting in cities is a totally different endeavor than obviously fighting out in the open.

The job of the leader is to get the big ideas right.

Don't forget Yemen, where there are also extremist elements, as we saw recently.

If you look at casualties, you find countries that had much higher loss rates per capita than the US. Denmark comes to mind, the United Kingdom, they have suffered heavy losses at various points, the Germans as well.