I know that young people sometimes, caught up in the moment, make some very foolish decisions.

Al Qaeda still remains a threat.

You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on.

Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take risks and that we know that we have the support of the government and we have the support of the American people in what we're doing.

The consequence could be that we would have an escalation that would take place that would not only involve many lives, but I think it could consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret.

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.

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