I think the Iraqi people have shown extraordinary patience and courage in the last few months. They have really put a political system on the way to success, to a real democracy here.

The loss of innocent life is a tragedy for anyone involved in it, but the numbers are really very low.

As long as we're here, we are the occupying power. It's a very ugly word, but it's true.

I think there really is no shortcut to sovereignty.

Saddam spent 35 years stealing and wasting money, and all of these systems are very fragile and brittle, and you try to fix one thing and something else gets in trouble.

I think we Americans, of all people, understand the importance of a good, legal, constitutional framework as the basis of political life.

These people hate the United States, not for what we do, but for who we are and what we are.