#it

But the truth of the matter is that there is there is an opportunity for them to participate in the economic and political future of the country and certainly in the security life of the country. ↗

— John Abizaid

#country #economic #future #life #matter

Certainly our goal is to leave Iraq, but we can't leave Iraq with our forces until we know that the Iraqi security forces are capable and efficient enough to defend the sovereignty of the nation. ↗

— John Abizaid

#certainly #defend #efficient #enough #forces

Clearly the Secretary of Defense, my boss, would like nothing better than to get Osama bin Laden and to get... to ensure the complete defeat of al-Qaida, because we know that al-Qaida is planning operations against the United States even as we speak here. ↗

— John Abizaid

#because #better #bin #boss #clearly

Everybody needs to understand that I learned Arabic from the United States Army as a second language. I never spoke it at home. ↗

— John Abizaid

#army #body needs #everybody #home #i

It's also natural in that part of the world to blame what people view as the... as the most important authority in the region, and that currently is the United States of America. ↗

— John Abizaid

#america #authority #blame #currently #important

It's clear to me now that we've got to reach out to the Arab Sunni community in particular in an effort to cause some moderate political activity to take place so they join the future of Iraq. ↗

— John Abizaid

#arab #cause #clear #community #effort

So, these political activities will create friction in and of themselves, and in this environment of friction there'll be additional violence. ↗

— John Abizaid

#additional #create #environment #friction #political

Undoubtedly, there are members of the former regime that are cooperating in some fashion and then there are extremists that are within Iraq that are cooperating with them. ↗

— John Abizaid

#extremists #fashion #former #iraq #members

We'll try to include Iraqi officers in our staffs. We will do everything we can to empower Iraqi security forces to stand up on their own and operate where they can alone. ↗

— John Abizaid

#empower #everything #forces #include #iraqi

We've got to ensure that the quality and the capability of these forces will be good enough to withstand the challenges that the insurgents and the terrorists will present to the new Iraqi government. ↗

— John Abizaid

#challenges #enough #ensure #forces #good