I think you also understand that one of the key things that's got to be done in Iraq is to build a mentality of understanding that the military needs to be subordinate to civilian control and respectful of its own people.
John AbizaidEverybody needs to understand that I learned Arabic from the United States Army as a second language. I never spoke it at home.
John AbizaidThe power to prevent violence is a power that no police force seems to have anywhere in the United States.
John AbizaidCertainly our goal is to leave Iraq, but we can't leave Iraq with our forces until we know that the Iraqi security forces are capable and efficient enough to defend the sovereignty of the nation.
John Abizaid