The U.S. and Iraq will work together next year to shift Iraqi resources from unproductive subsidies to productive uses that enable Iraqis to earn livelihoods.

The national unity government will need to implement a program that brings all Iraqis together, builds a happy future for the people of Iraq, and gets Iraq to stand on its own feet.

Iran is undertaking a massive effort to expand its influence in southern Iraq. At the same time, that influence decreases the more the political process in Iraq progresses.

I constantly signal to the Iraqi leaders that our patience, or the patience of the American people, is running out.

The U.S. and Iraq will work together next year to shift Iraqi resources from unproductive subsidies to productive uses that enable Iraqis to earn livelihoods.

The Sunnis continue to see themselves, possibly for nostalgic reasons, as the most influential group and want a stronger central government - quite unlike minorities in other countries. The circumstances here are far more complex than many people in Washington imagine.

I consider the modernization of the Middle East the central challenge of our time. This region behaves as if it were disturbed, if you'll excuse the clinical expression.