My role and my obligation was to conduct criminal investigations.

The country was not focused on terrorism before September 11th.

Collecting intelligence information is like trying to drink water out of a fire hydrant. You know, in hindsight It's great. The problem is there's a million dots at the time.

The State Department said the countries that are most stealing our best ideas also are our best allies.

The problem was with Bill Clinton, the scandals and rumored scandals, the incubating ones and the dying ones never ended. Whatever moral compass the president was consulting was leading him in the wrong direction. His closets were full of skeletons just waiting to burst out.

The American people must be willing to give up a degree of personal privacy in exchange for safety and security.

I wanted all my visits to be official. When I sent the pass back with a note, I had no idea it would antagonize the president. I found out years later that it did.