«If you pull troops out too quickly now, and you see the situation in Iraq collapse before the midterm elections, the impact is going to be far more serious than if you keep the troops in at reasonable levels.»

«Logically, you do regroup after something like this and you~ don't go forward with the existing schedule,»

«Iraq might be a far easier opponent than its force strengths indicate. But it also is potentially a very serious military opponent indeed,»

«Whatever happens, both the campaign and the new government that will take over have to address the issue of federalism, have to address money, have to address national versus provincial versus local power which is different from provincialism and federalism. They have to address the role of religion in politics, the constitution forces the new government to do that. So what we're talking about is a period, which to put it mildly, is already troubled which will last through mid-December when the election occurs and then almost certainly is going to last another three months while a government takes over. And this is the reality whether people would like to spin this into a symbol of democracy or not.»

«There's so much spin in these numbers. A lot of facts get disguised. . . . Total manpower is meaningless. The army is the key force in direct combat.»

«I think everybody would agree they're under-equipped.»

«What could tear things apart is a strong civil war.»

«The Yemeni central government has done what it can, but it is very weak. It is not a matter of the government not trying. But there are limits to it can do.»

«I am somewhat surprised when I hear statements from people at the political level that the insurgency is somehow declining when the command inside Iraq says just the opposite,»

«They have begun to realize that when you focus only on the U.S. it gives the impression that the U.S. doesn't care about Iraqis.»