We need to have a commander-in-chief who knows what she is doing.

I can't spend a lot of time worrying about the numbers at home. I've got to focus on the mission.

Protecting Afghan civilians is the cornerstone of our mission.

We dont want the Taliban to put down roots, or the al Qaeda to put down roots in Afghanistan that can facilitate Afghanistan becoming - once again - a launching pad for international terrorism.

Planning is really the hallmark of any large military formation, and it's typically a weakness in new formations and new armies.

There is a direct line relationship between what happened in Afghanistan in the work up to 11 September 2001 and what we're doing in Afghanistan today.

We dont see that the Taliban ultimately can succeed, and its a combination both of what the international community can do to support Afghanistan, not just in the short term, but over the long term.