Every Civilian's Death Diminishes Us, Collectively.

In Afghanistan You Are Not Rebuilding, You Are Building. There Is Very Limited Infrastructure And Extreme Terrain, With Deserts In The South And Mountains So High In Some Areas That Helicopters Don't Even Fly Well At A Certain Altitude Because The Air Becomes So Thin. The Country Has A Serious Problem Of Illiteracy, Especially After So Many Years Of War And Taliban Rule.

The Task [in Afghanistan] Is To Reduce Civilian Casualties While Still Not Hesitating To Respond To Enemies Who Are Trying To Kill Our Soldiers.

There Are Some Ideas That Will Translate From Iraq To Afghanistan And There Are Many That Will Not. The First Lesson Of Counterinsurgency, In Fact, Is That Every Situation Is Truly Unique, Has Its Own Context, Its Own Specific Set Of Factors - And You Have To Understand That Context In Enormous Detail To Be Able To Craft A Sound And Comprehensive Approach.

The President And I Sat Down In The Oval Office, And He Expressed Very Clearly That What He Wants From Me Is My Best Professional Military Advice.

Let's Remember That The Reason We Are There Is That We Have Vital Interests In Afghanistan, Hugely Important National Interests, As Do The Other Countries Involved.