Michael G. Mullen

The United States and the international community have sacrificed an extraordinary amount--in lives and resources--for the Afghan people.

I believe that a stable Afghanistan, one that denies our enemies a safe haven, will prevent future attacks from Afghanistan on our country like those experienced on 9/11.

I know you share my conviction that, having shed the blood we shed in places like Mosul, Fallujah, Tikrit, and Basra, we owe it not just to the Iraqi people, but to the memory of those who never made it home, to get this partnership right…

the greatest threat to our national security is our debt

In the back end of previous conflicts, we were able to contract our equipment inventory by shedding our oldest capital assets, reducing the average age of our systems. We cannot do this today because of the high pace and duration of combat…

Our review will be based on strategy and risks, not simply budgetary math.

The presence piece of this is so powerful in so many ways, and it's enduring, and it prevents conflicts.

The cumulative stress of 9 years of war is substantial and growing.

We remain a Nation at war on multiple fronts.

I believe that our debt is the greatest threat to our national security.

climate change . . . not only could produce a humanitarian crisis, but also could generate conditions that could lead to failed states and make populations more vulnerable to radicalization.

our debt is our greatest national security threat.