I'm Living The Dream.

Iraq Has Gone From Being On The Brink To Being On The Mend, And It Clearly Has Some Big Advantages.

The Art Of Coalition Command - Whether It Is Here In Afghanistan, Whether It Was In Iraq Or In Bosnia Or In Haiti - Is To Take The Resources You Are Provided With, Understand What The Strengths And Weaknesses Are And To Employ Them To The Best Overall Effect.

I Did A Week-long Assessment In 2005 At (then Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld's Request. Following Our Return, I Told Him That Afghanistan Was Going To Be The Longest Campaign Of What We Then Termed "the Long War."

President Obama Has Said That Our Aspirations Should Be Realistic. We Are Not Going To Turn One Of The Poorest Countries In The World, That Was Plunged Into 30 Years Of War, Into An Advanced, Industrialized, Western-style Democracy. What We Want To Achieve Is Afghanistan's Capacity To Secure And Govern Itself.

Don't Forget Yemen, Where There Are Also Extremist Elements, As We Saw Recently.