One of the principal qualities that you need as national security adviser is trust, the trust of the president. And that depends on truth and it depends on honesty.

My impression is that Putin feels that he can basically manipulate the West to do what he ultimately wants to achieve, and that he feels he's gotten away with it so far, and that all he has to do is basically play the same game.

I don't think I should penalize people who were doing their duty.

Iran is isolating itself from the rest of the world.

I think the primary message to the world is that the United States is going to remain the strongest military power in the world.

Obama really does recognize the threats that are out there; I think he understands the world. He understands the role of America in that troubled world.

Caution is an important quality in a leader, but it has to be caution followed by decision. Caution followed by ambivalence can be a weakness.