Clearly, Russia has lied to the world about what's going on in Ukraine. They have clearly violated the cease-fire agreements.

The United States has to be a leader in the world, because the problem is: If we are not leading, nobody else will.

China is a major power in the Pacific and I think we are dealing with some common threats in that region: the whole issue of Korea and the stability of Korea, the whole issue of nuclear proliferation, the whole issue of providing free access to our ships that are operating in that area.

My experience is that the director of the FBI is particularly important to just how aggressive an investigation will be into an issue. And once you remove James Comey, it creates a vacuum at the top. And the fundamental issue will be whether or not there is support at the highest levels within the FBI to continue to conduct that investigation. That's going to be the question mark.

The terrorism from 9/11 has metastasized. It's metastasized in Iraq and Syria, in Nigeria, in Somalia, in Yemen and in other places in North Africa. We need a very comprehensive strategy to deal with that threat.

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

Well, the United States is a Pacific power. And we have always had a presence in the Pacific.