Eighty-five percent cannot read when they enter the security forces of Afghanistan. Why? Because the Taliban withheld education during the period of time in which these men and women would have learned to read. James G. Stavridis More Quotes by James G. Stavridis More Quotes From James G. Stavridis No one person, no one alliance, no one nation, no one of us is as smart as all of us thinking together. James G. Stavridis smart motivation inspiration Walls don't work. ... Instead of building walls to create security, we need to build bridges. James G. Stavridis wall motivation inspiration What's the third largest nation in the world after China and India? It's the Facebook nation - 430 million people on Facebook. James G. Stavridis india people world In any insurgency there will be people who are irreconcilable and who pose a clear and present threat to the U.S. and our allies. James G. Stavridis insurgency allies people Wikipedia, every day, is tens of thousands of people inputting information, and every day millions of people withdrawing that information. It's a perfect image for the fundamental point that no one of us is as smart as all of us thinking together. James G. Stavridis smart people thinking None of the threats to the global commons will be solved by building walls. James G. Stavridis building-walls building wall Some have called Afghanistan 'the graveyard of empires,' and it probably is the graveyard of empires. James G. Stavridis graveyard afghanistan empires Life is not an on and off switch. You don't have to have a military that is either in hard combat or is in the barracks. James G. Stavridis motivation inspiration military When I get up, the first thing I do is open up Gmail and check my personal email. James G. Stavridis email get-up firsts Thinklogical's systems play a key role in the delivery and visualization of mission critical data used every day by military and intelligence communities worldwide. James G. Stavridis data military play I am a huge consumer of social networks, and I utilize Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I'm interested and am learning more about Tumblr and other visually dominant sites. James G. Stavridis linkedin social-network learning-more The NATO treaty is crystal clear on this one: An attack on one nation shall be regarded as an attack on all of them. James G. Stavridis crystal attack nation clear You can't kill your way to success in a counter insurgency effort. You have to protect the people, get the civil military balance right, train the locals, and practice effective strategic communications. James G. Stavridis you effort success people After 37 years in the Navy, there were no further jobs in uniform, and it was my time to transition. But I wanted to continue to mentor and educate young people, which is, of course, a big part of being a senior officer in the military. James G. Stavridis uniform mentor time people Sleep is a key part of the requirements for resilience and good decision-making. James G. Stavridis key good resilience sleep I've never been in a 'Twitter fight,' though I've witnessed my fair share. I do enjoy vigorous and informed debate, but the benefit is lost when the exchange becomes a series of petty ad hominem attacks. I don't see much value in it. James G. Stavridis value fight debate enjoy We are excellent at launching Tomahawk missiles; we need to get better at launching ideas. James G. Stavridis need get better ideas As cyberweapons and cyberattacks increase in scale and intensity, it will be difficult to defend against them all. James G. Stavridis defend against will difficult Russian strategy seems to center on maintaining Putin's popularity at home; building a strong military capacity in special forces, nuclear weapons, and advanced submarines; pressuring nearby nations to join various defense and customs pacts dominated by Russia; and pushing back on the U.S. wherever convenient. James G. Stavridis building strong special home I would not be surprised to see Syria break apart entirely. James G. Stavridis surprised see syria break