The Afghan campaign has required a lot of base construction, aircraft refueling and several thousand American [personnel]. The costs have been in the general vicinity of $20 billion -- about one-quarter the cost of Desert Storm already -- and it will keep going.

You're demanding that the political system produces a miracle. Any plan that envisions complete American withdrawal in such a period of time is still a prescription for strategic defeat.

We responded to the hurricanes with between 200 and 250 medical, security and logistic support personnel as well as aircraft from the Army and Air Guard sides. This was huge for us because it came two weeks after the BRAC decided to take us off the base closure list, which would have taken the C-130s used to help following Katrina.

I think that the idea that you can simply let that situation fester and demand the North Koreans make good on their nuclear weapons program -- and eliminate it prior to any negotiations -- is not a sustainable policy.

I do not think the decision to invade [Iraq] was a mistake, ... I would agree with the Bush administration that Saddam was a nasty enough guy.

It is another indication that the predictions of high casualty levels that were mocked before the invasion have come to pass. The US numbers fluctuate, but they are still quite high. Iraqi security force casualties are higher than any time. The silver lining means the Iraqis are fighting [the insurgency] more, but the security trends don't show much reason for positive sentiment.