John R. Allen
Planning is really the hallmark of any large military formation, and it's typically a weakness in new formations and new armies.
We will oppose and resist tyranny as we will defeat evil.
I seek as much as I can to mitigate risk.
I can't spend a lot of time worrying about the numbers at home. I've got to focus on the mission.
Afghanistan is going to be here a long time, and what's critical is that Afghanistan's relationship with its neighbors are, to the maximum extent they can be, constructive and operationally useful.
Protecting Afghan civilians is the cornerstone of our mission.
Al Qaeda has come back. Al Qaeda is a resilient organization. But they're not here in large numbers. But al Qaeda doesn't have to be anywhere in large numbers.
Al Qaeda has significance beyond its numbers, frankly. And so for us, our 24-hour-a-day objective is to seek out those al Qaeda cells. And, as we seek them out, to target them and eliminate them. And we're doing that 24 hours a day.
You know, great powers don't get angry, great powers don't make decisions hastily in a crisis.
There is a direct line relationship between what happened in Afghanistan in the work up to 11 September 2001 and what we're doing in Afghanistan today.
We don't want the Taliban to put down roots, or the al Qaeda to put down roots in Afghanistan that can facilitate Afghanistan becoming - once again - a launching pad for international terrorism.
We're probably going to see some post-2014 military presence - some U.S. presence and a NATO presence - and while we've got much work to do in the next 29 months, we'll have additional time later for the continued professionalization of the Afghan security forces.
And across Afghanistan, every single day, Afghan soldiers, Afghan police and ISAF troops are serving shoulder-to-shoulder in some very difficult situations. And our engagement with them, our shoulder-to-shoulder relationship with them, our conduct of operations with them every single day defines the real relationship.
We're pursuing a strategic partnership with Afghanistan on the case of the United States and Afghanistan where we're going to push toward a future. It is the future that the Afghans desire with the United States. It is a future that the Afghans desire with the international community and we desire that as well.
We don't see that the Taliban ultimately can succeed, and it's a combination both of what the international community can do to support Afghanistan, not just in the short term, but over the long term.
There are tens of thousands of interactions every single day across Afghanistan between the Afghan troops and International Security Assistance Force. On most of those, every single day we continue to deepen and broaden the relationship we seek.
And the narrative for the Taliban that they can wait us out is a flawed narrative. I think that the unambiguous international support for Afghanistan has been a very powerful message. You know, that was the message that came out of the NATO summit. We will not abandon Afghanistan.
To our allies and our friends and our partners. Listen closely. We are with you. America will not abandon you.
To those acting against peace, civilization and the world order: We will oppose you.
To our enemies - to our enemies - we will pursue you as only America can. You will fear us.
To ISIS and others: We will defeat you.
America will honor our treaty obligations.
Every American in uniform, in the White House or at home - USA! USA! USA! - we must be a force for unity in America, for a vision that includes all of us. All of us. Every man and woman, every race, every ethnicity, every faith and creed, including the Americans who are our precious Muslims. And every gender and every gender orientation.
My fellow Americans, from the battlefield to the capitals of our allies and friends and partners, the free peoples of the world look to America as the last best hope for peace and for liberty for all humankind, for we are the greatest country on this planet.
Donald Trump has no credibility to criticize me or my record or anything that I have done. If he had spent a minute in the deserts of Afghanistan or in the deserts of Iraq, I might listen to what he has to say.Collection: Iraq
What we need to do is ensure that we don't create an environment that puts us on a track conceivably where the United States military finds itself in a civil military crisis with a commander in chief who would have us do illegal things.Collection: Military
What we do have to do, is listen to what Donald Trump's been saying about our military. He's called it a disaster. He says our military can't win anymore. That's a direct insult to every single man and woman who's wearing the uniform today.Collection: Military
We need to understand what we're saying matters.Collection: Needs
We dont want the Taliban to put down roots, or the al Qaeda to put down roots in Afghanistan that can facilitate Afghanistan becoming - once again - a launching pad for international terrorism.Collection: Roots
The thing that I'm always left with is this overwhelming desire for people to be rooted and the only way that they feel rooted is through another person.Collection: Overwhelming Desire
None of us wants any more war.Collection: War
There are problems in the world today.Collection: World
With Hillary Clinton as our commander in chief, our international relations will not be reduced to a business transaction. I also know that our armed forces will not become an instrument of torture and they will not be engaged in murder or carry out other illegal activities.Collection: Illegal Activities
We need to have a commander-in-chief who knows what she is doing.Collection: Needs
The best thing I ever did was give my family everything I could.Collection: Giving
We dont see that the Taliban ultimately can succeed, and its a combination both of what the international community can do to support Afghanistan, not just in the short term, but over the long term.Collection: Long
When we talk about carpet bombing ISIL, that's what it looks like, creating huge numbers of civilian casualties, which increases the numbers of refugees flowing out of the region, which increases the misery of the Syrian people.Collection: Creating
It's not possible to put into words the sense of loss and grief that comes to a family that loses one of their children.Collection: Children
One would think that if you're anonymous, you'd do anything you want, but groups have their own sense of community and what we can do.Collection: Technology
The Russians haven't helped us at all in the fight against ISIS. When you total up the numbers of sorties that have been going into Syria, aircraft attacks, if you will, going into Syria, when the Russians said they were going to assist, we got a very small number of Russian sorties.Collection: Fighting