The most stupid mistake a counter-insurgency operation can make is alienating the population. If you alienate the population, you're finished.

It does surprise me that intelligent people in the 21st century could claim that if you respond to the terrorists with force, you spawn terrorism, but if you appease them, you somehow tame them. This argument, as I said, is very interesting, and very surprising.

I know more now than I did in the past about the process of democratization. I know more about the pitfalls.

The most stupid mistake a counter-insurgency operation can make is alienating the population. If you alienate the population, you're finished.

Spending one hour with Isaias is far more worthwhile, rewarding and enlightening than reading ten books

Of course everybodys thinking evolves over time.

The EU report speaks for itself. The statement in my view shows that the mission has turned out to be something worse than a farce, ... We shall in the coming days and weeks see what we can do to expose the pack of lies and innuendoes that characterise the garbage in this report.