“There will not be enough soldiers to ensure the security of the country. But will the US still be permitted to kill terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan with un-manned drones? That could worsen the situation in the neighboring states and they could view Afghanistan as a threat.”

We should have built a State in Afghanistan with an army and a police force first.

Now the United States has to ensure that Afghanistan does not immediately collapse after being left to itself in 2014.

There is no way the Americans are going to be able to carry out a full scale war against Iraq and at the same time maintain the same kind of pressure on the Al Qaeda network in countries as diverse as Indonesia, Philippines, and Pakistan, as well as in Europe.

There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years.

The Pashtuns are angry at the Americans because, one, they’re still being bombed, and two, they perceive that the Americans are backing the Tajik faction, which controls the army and security forces in Kabul.

The Americans make their usual recommendations. They want to train the army for the fight with the rebels. US special forces are already in Mali.

I think within a year or so, perhaps, if 9/11 had not happened, in Afghanistan would have been a very broad-based general uprising against the Taliban.

The fact that there are no longer large units of Al Qaeda running around means you don’t need B-52s.

George W. Bush and Tony Blair made the promise that they would not tolerate failed states because they could become a haven for terrorists. And today? The number increases.

People like myself were saying the Taliban would be driven out very swiftly from the north of Afghanistan, but given that their main support base was in the Pashtun belt, there would be greater resistance there. That didn’t happen.

The Bush administration thought that once there is a democracy, everything else will fall into place. If today you speak to the architects of the 2001 Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, they will tell you that instead of being fixated on elections.

If Afghan soldiers continue to kill American soldiers as is happening these days, it can hardly be assumed that they will stay in Afghanistan in the long term. And what role are they to play?

Despite all the dire predictions made in 2001, the Afghans have given the international community, its aid workers and soldiers a large window of opportunity to repair the damage done by 25 years of war.

The Soviets held to the tradition of colonialism. They raped the country and killed many people. But they also built dams, electrical power plants, streets, and technical schools.

The Taliban had become deeply unpopular and were actually discarded by the Pashtun population almost as quickly as they were in the north. I don’t see the Taliban coming back in any way.

The West would be well advised to change its approach towards failing states. At present, no major power can find the correct ways and means – and the numbers of failing states are increasing.

Any athlete knows that it is the start that ensures a good finish.

Let me be clear: Any new approach must ensure the integrity of the game.

Our veterans deserve the very best, and that means ensuring that America’s veterans receive high-quality services and cares when they come back home.

And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.

Nobody and nothing will stop Russia on the road to strengthening democracy and ensuring human rights and freedoms.

I will ensure that Japan keeps getting better, better this year than last year, and better next year than this year.

A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before.

Communication is not about speaking what we think. Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean.