I believe we've... we've worked very hard with the Iraqis to build a better place ever since the fall of Saddam's government.

The United States is the most powerful nation on Earth and it just can't walk away from the Middle East and central Asia and the Horn of Africa.

And so I think that if the person has the funds, the network, and the equipment to do this, and also the experience, which is the key factor, then they can be quite deadly.

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.

Everybody needs to understand that I learned Arabic from the United States Army as a second language. I never spoke it at home.

It's clear to me now that we've got to reach out to the Arab Sunni community in particular in an effort to cause some moderate political activity to take place so they join the future of Iraq.

So, these political activities will create friction in and of themselves, and in this environment of friction there'll be additional violence.