Do you agree with me that the Iranians are trying to develop a nuclear program, not for peaceful purposes?

The ultimate security is partnerships; partnerships with people in the region who, if they had the capability to marry up with their will, they would fight back against these radical elements.

I think it would be a gross miscalculation on the Iranian part to believe that you can be involved in killing Americans and nothing comes your way.

One way to defeat radical Islam is to provide an education to young women and young men to give them the tools to fight back.

If the Iraqi Government requested additional troops to remain in 2012 in Iraq, do you think it would be wise for us to agree to that request?

Killing bin Laden was a seminal moment in the war on terror.

A security agreement with Afghanistan that provided for a continuing relationship and some kind of joint facilities and so on for training, for counterterrorism, and so on beyond 2014 I think would be very much in our interest.

The Afghan and Iraqi people have paid a very heavy price fighting for their freedom.

I believe that General Petraeus and all under his command--Admiral McRaven, all of your forces--have done a fantastic job of going from defense to offense.

This has to stop.

As a matter of fact, the operational tempo is probably unheard of maybe since World War II. Is that correct?

That takes us to missile defense and to suppress the Iranian nuclear threat could require some pretty sophisticated military capability.

I think I would echo Secretary Panetta when he was asked a question about this, and he said we are close to being able to strategically defeat al Qaeda.

When you look at World War II spending, you are right. We went up to 42 percent at the height of the war of GDP.

But my question is, it is not condition-based. As I understand the policy, all troops will be removed by the end of September.

This is not yet over. It is not even close. We still have a fight on our hands in places like Yemen and Somalia.

Do you think it is logical for this country to assume in the future that we are not going to have to use the Army in some kind of role in the future operations in the war on terror?

This is not a time to seek a peace dividend because we are nowhere near peace.