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" The tragedy is that political leaders failed so badly at delivering what Iraqis clearly wanted - and for that, a great deal of responsibility lies with Prime Minister Maliki. "
David Petraeus
Political
Great
Responsibility
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" 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. "
David Petraeus
Challenges
Responsibility
Government
" America is not in decline. "
David Petraeus
Decline
America
" The Middle East is not part of the world that plays by Las Vegas rules: What happens in the Middle East is not going to stay in the Middle East. "
David Petraeus
Vegas
Going
Middle
" 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. "
David Petraeus
Down
Society
Place
" We will win again in Iraq; I do think that Iraq can definitely be handled. I think that it can be kept intact. "
David Petraeus
Kept
Win
Again
" I had the privilege of serving in uniform with British forces in Cold War Europe, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the greater Middle East. "
David Petraeus
War
Cold
Serving
" Every civilian's death diminishes us, collectively. "
David Petraeus
Every
Death
Collectively
" We periodically note that there are no silver bullets, there are no magic formulas, there's no single action or component of the overall... comprehensive civil-military approach. "
David Petraeus
Magic
Action
Single
" People often ask, why aren't you reading about what it is you're working on right now? And the truth is, you only get three pages a night before your eyelids close. "
David Petraeus
Truth
People
Reading
" At least from a national security standpoint, none of the problems the U.S. and U.K. face will become easier to solve if the U.K. is out of the E.U.; on the contrary, I fear that a 'Brexit' would only make our world even more dangerous and difficult to manage. "
David Petraeus
Security
Problems
Fear
" 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
Country
Bad
You
" The bottom line is that Daesh's defeat requires not just hammering them on the battlefield but, simultaneously, revived political reconciliation with Sunnis. "
David Petraeus
Political
Line
Defeat
" There is no question in my mind that a 'Brexit' would deal a significant blow to the E.U.'s strength and resilience at exactly the moment when the West is under attack from multiple directions. "
David Petraeus
Moment
Mind
Resilience
" I do talk to individuals still in the business of tracking individuals in the homeland and abroad. A lot of them have felt that they were hanging on by their fingernails a bit in terms of tracking all the potential threats out there. "
David Petraeus
Hanging
Potential
Talk
" Mubarak would meet with me when I was at Central Command. He would lean and put his hand on my knee, as if a father figure, and say, 'General, don't ever forget the Arab Street. Listen to the Arab Street.' I'd like to go to him now and say, 'Mr. President, what about that Arab Street, what's that all about?' "
David Petraeus
Me
Father
Street
" 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. "
David Petraeus
Country
You
Got
" 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
Us
Tide
" The situation in Iraq was dire at the end of 2006, when President George W. Bush decided to implement the surge and selected me to command it. Indeed, when I returned to Baghdad in early February 2007, I found the conditions there to be even worse than I had expected. "
David Petraeus
Me
Situation
President
" 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
Me
Moment
" I am not a politician, and I will never be, and I say that with absolute conviction. "
David Petraeus
Will
Say
Politician
" Iraq does have many, many different tensions. "
David Petraeus
Tensions
Many
Different
" We cannot kill or capture our way out of an industrial-strength insurgency. "
David Petraeus
Out
Way
Our
" Leading the coalition military effort during the surge in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 was the most important endeavor - and greatest challenge - of my 37 years in uniform. "
David Petraeus
Important
Effort
Challenge
" 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
He
Me
Professional
" We're all outriders out there, and what we have is all these large number of tasks - that's the herd; that's all the cattle - a whole bunch of individual, hundreds if not thousands of projects at any given time ongoing that we're trying to complete. So we're trying to keep the cattle herd, keep it all just going in the right direction. "
David Petraeus
Direction
Time
Right
" The challenge of Mosul and Nineveh is the considerable number of ethnic groups, religious sects, tribes, and other elements that make up the province. "
David Petraeus
Ethnic
Up
Religious
" The progress in Iraq is still fragile. And it could still be reversed. Iraq still faces innumerable challenges, and they will be evident during what will likely be a difficult process as the newly elected Council of Representatives selects the next prime minister, president, and speaker of the council. "
David Petraeus
Difficult
Process
Challenges
" 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
" I think it's reality that Iran is going to have influence in Iraq. All elements of Iraq accepted that. "
David Petraeus
Influence
Iran
Reality
" The Orlando terrorist is an example of someone who was in the sights of law enforcement but never crossed the threshold from pre-criminal to criminal behavior and, thus, was not tracked adequately before this horrific act. "
David Petraeus
Someone
Behavior
Law