My experience is that if the military didn't want to use force and was confronted with a president that did, the military would come back with what I would call the 'bomb Moscow' scenario. They would say it had to be done with conditions that were so extreme, you obviously wouldn't do it.

I think the idea that you would do everything you can to prevent what is coming at you by way of something very disruptive - a 9/11 - it's a no-brainer.

I learned in business that you had to be very careful when you told somebody that's working for you to do something, because the chances were very high he'd do it. In government, you don't have to worry about that.

The civilized world has a common stake in defeating the terrorists.

Before you get mugged by reality, take out an insurance policy. It's the Reagan way.

You don't get gushers of revenue by raising tax rates. You get it through expansion.

The higher the classification of secrecy, the quicker you will report it.