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" I think carpet bombing is an absolutely tremendous idea if the enemy accommodates you by laying himself out like a carpet in the middle of the desert without any civilians or infrastructure around him. Sadly, the Islamic State has learned that that is a losing proposition and does not accommodate us in that way. "

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" Ethno-sectarian violence is a particular concern in Iraq, as it is a cancer that continues to spread if left unchecked. "

David Petraeus

Concern

Violence

Spread

" We can put a stake through the heart of Islamic State as an army. We can put a stake through the heart of its leaders. You can take away its territory. But you can't put a stake through the heart of the ideas, of the ideology, that sadly, tragically, still has some attraction for some small numbers in the Islamic faith. "

" The bottom line is, you really have to commit to something if you're going to be successful in it. "

" I really started to get a sense of how, if you will, special Zarqawi was, I guess, sort of midway through 2004. "

" Reconciliation is what takes place, of course, at higher levels. President Karzai has been very clear about the red lines for reconciliation, accept the constitution, lay down their weapons, cut their ties with al Qaeda and essentially become productive or at least participating members of society in that regard. "

" At a certain point, you have to take the rearview mirrors off the bus and focus forward, and that's what we've sought to do. "

" Like a nuclear disaster, the fallout from the meltdown of Syria threatens to be with us for decades, and the longer it is permitted to continue, the more severe the damage will be. "

David Petraeus

" You have to keep on disrupting. If you let up the pressure, then al-Qaeda senior leadership will come back. "

" We cannot kill or capture our way out of an industrial-strength insurgency. "

" During the surge in Iraq, we were able to roll back the tide of al-Qaeda and associated insurgents because we succeeded in mobilizing Iraqis - especially Sunni Arabs - to join us in fighting against the largely Sunni extremist networks in their midst. "

David Petraeus

Against

Tide

" Iraq's Sunnis need to be brought back into the fold. They need to feel as though they have a stake in the success of Iraq rather than a stake in its failure. "

" I've been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the Oval Office in a difficult moment, without any pleasantries, and said, 'I'm asking you as your president and Commander in Chief to take command of the international security force in Afghanistan.' The only response can be, 'Yes, Mr. President.' "

David Petraeus

You

Moment

" But clearly, this is what this is about. It's about pushing the security bubble out. It's about rooting out every last guy, so that there's not even somebody who can fire a single, solitary RPG round from some little qalat out here. "

" In many... cases, of course, the Arab Spring has brought about instability rather than greater stability. And rather than bringing about government that is more representative and more responsive to the people, you're seeing, frankly, the opposite, or you're seeing all-out war. "

" America is not in decline. "

David Petraeus

Decline

America

" 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. "

" If you're asked, you've got to serve - put aside any reservations based on campaign rhetoric... and figure out what's best for the country. "

" Every civilian's death diminishes us, collectively. "

" Needless to say, innumerable challenges exist in all areas of governance, and much more needs to be done to help the Afghan government assume full responsibility for addressing the concerns of ordinary Afghan citizens. "

" I don't comment directly on actions or statements of candidates. "

" There were very few people who were both intercollegiate athletes and Star Men. "

" Nothing means more to those in harm's way than the knowledge that their country appreciates their sacrifices and those of their families. "

David Petraeus

Way

Knowledge

" Life is a competitive endeavor. "

" We all have to strive to learn what motivates us, learn from our experiences, and what feels right and what feels wrong. There's a strong component over the years to having formal processes that help to identify lessons that need to be learned, and actions that need to be taken. In other words, how do you find the big idea? "

" Needless to say, it was the greatest of privileges to serve with the selfless men and women - Iraqi and American and those of our coalition partners, civilian as well as military - who did the hard, dangerous work of the surge. There seldom was an easy period; each day was tough. "

" There is not a military commander alive today who is genetically predisposed to say that he has enough ISR and assets, and particularly not in the Central Command theater. "

" I can't for the life of me think of the link between Iraq and why a fruit vendor self-immolates in Tunisia and cracks this seemingly solid crust that turns out to be so fragile that societal unrest touches off. "

David Petraeus

Life

Why

" 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. "

" A certain degree of intellectual humility is a good thing. "

" The president and I sat down in the Oval Office, and he expressed very clearly that what he wants from me is my best professional military advice. "

David Petraeus

Professional