At 78 years old, I am not surprised at much anymore. Germany has taken divergent positions before, so has France, so has England, so has the US.

The problem is the people who tend to be the best organized are the most radical and the most vicious.

When I served as US Ambassador to NATO in the 1970s, the center of gravity in Europe was France and Germany.

The coalition did not act in Iraq because we had discovered dramatic new evidence of Iraq's pursuit. We acted because we saw the evidence in a dramatic new light - through the prism of our experience on 9/11.

Certainty without power can be interesting, even amusing. Certainty with power can be dangerous.

What will follow will not be a repeat of any other conflict. It will be of a force and scope and scale that has been beyond what has been seen before.

Napoleon was asked, "Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?" He responded saying, "The victors.