I wouldn't even know - and I spent three years in the CIA - I wouldn't even know how you'd start a covert action program in a place like Iran. It would be extraordinarily difficult.

So, I think even in Saudi Arabia there is movement. And we have to remember that over the years they've stabilized the oil price and that is tremendously important for the economies of the world. I think we have no choice but to work with the government of Saudi Arabia.

And I argued with that intelligence estimate and I think it is a responsibility of policymakers to use their best judgment on the basis of the intelligence they've received.

The problem is that neither the M1 nor the M60 or indeed neither any tank, has sufficient ground pressure to drive a [bulldozer] blade into even marginally hard ground. They are not bulldozers, they are tanks, whether you are talking about the M1 or the M60's. So if you are going to dig in a tank, you need to have some kind of equipment.

These are all elements, but the main thing we can do in the Middle East is encourage the reformist elements.

Look at what the Omar of Qatar is doing, for example - the King of Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain. There are reform movements taking place, efforts to broaden the political participation of the populations of the region.

Intelligence is not a science.