I refuse to use terms like 'optimist' or 'pessimist' and instead prefer 'realist.' David Petraeus More Quotes by David Petraeus More Quotes From David Petraeus 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. David Petraeus iraqweaknessart The job of the leader is to get the big ideas right. David Petraeus leaderjobsideas When you enlisted into the armed forces you swore to support and defend a Constitution that did not yet fully apply to you. You chose to endure the same sacrifices as your fellow comrades in arms to preserve the freedom of a land that was not yet fully yours. You accepted that you might have to pay the ultimate price on behalf of a nation to which you did not fully belong. Now, you will officially become citizens of the United States, a country to which each of you has already borne true faith and allegiance in your hearts and your deeds. David Petraeus sacrificeheartcountry 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. David Petraeus warcountryyears If you don't want to have to kill or capture every bad guy in the country, you have to reintegrate those who are willing to be reconciled and become part of the solution instead of a continued part of the problem. And then, above all, the resources. David Petraeus guywantcountry Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters - all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing. David Petraeus generationstechnologyenergy Progress in Iraq has always been about teams of people and teams of teams - and ultimately about young men and women, Iraqi as well as people from the coalition. David Petraeus iraqteammen I just don't know whether it was all destroyed years ago - I mean, there's no question that there were chemical weapons years ago - whether they were destroyed right before the war, (or) whether they're still hidden. David Petraeus wmdwarmean I am not a politician, and I will never be, and I say that with absolute conviction. David Petraeus absolutesconvictionpolitician After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. David Petraeus judgmentmarriedyears Every civilian's death diminishes us, collectively. David Petraeus civiliansdiminish We obviously don't want to cause problems for the Afghan government, President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan people. In fact, we want them to support our efforts on their behalf and not see us as unwelcome occupiers. David Petraeus effortgovernmentpeople I think no commander ever is going to come out and say, 'I'm confident that we can do this. David Petraeus commanderscan-dothinking The Sunni Arabs began to realize that they had made a huge mistake by not voting in the election of 2005 and by not being part of the new Iraq. They had reasons for this: They were effected by the disestablishment of the military and by de-Baathification (the dismantling of Saddam Hussein's party) in winter 2007-2007. They increasingly recognized that their future lay in being part of the solution rather than a continuing part of the problem. David Petraeus partymilitarymistake Political progress will only take place if sufficient security exists. David Petraeus sufficientprogresspolitical Even the Interior Ministry in Riyadh was hit. Since then, the Saudis have employed a very intelligent and comprehensive approach to counter al-Qaida, including precise operations based on good intelligence, changes in their corrections facilities, superb strategic communications programs and a host of other initiatives - all of which, together, have helped Saudi Arabia achieve impressive results in their fight against extremists. David Petraeus communicationintelligentfighting Money can be a very important form of "ammunition," although we should never forget that when you're being shot at the most important ammunition is real ammunition. David Petraeus never-forgetimportantreal US forces have been increased [in Afghanistan ] from some 21,000 to about 31,000 over the past two years and a number of coalition countries have also increased their forces, there still are not sufficient troops. David Petraeus twocountrypast The fact is that Iran doesn't want to see the Taliban come back any more than do most Afghan citizens. David Petraeus irancitizenswant 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. David Petraeus importantremembercountry
