Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.

One thing appears reasonably certain, and that's that those who make allegations of a culture of deception, of intimidation or cover-up need to be extremely careful about such accusations.

The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.

There are a lot of things that are said by people in the military, or civilian life, or in the Congress, or in the Executive Branch, that are their views. And that's the way we live. We're a free people. And that's the wonderful thing about our country.

Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.

I think we ought to have a new rule: You can ask two questions, and then we can pick the one we want to answer.