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 Copy Share Image
But as we move from this period of what many Iraqis regard as perceived occupation, we need to move towards one of partnership. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
Capturing any member of any terrorist cell or any insurgent cell that we may happen to come across is always very, very valuable, and… — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
As far as Zarqawi is concerned, there is a network of extremists; it's not just Zarqawi. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
And over time, I think, as Iraqi security capacity builds, you'll see American and coalition presence there decline. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
The United States is the most powerful nation on Earth and it just can't walk away from the Middle East and central Asia and… — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share
You know as well as I do that counterinsurgency is a very nuanced type of military operation. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
But my Arabic is pretty good. It's good enough to have conversations with people, to understand what they say, to understand what they're feeling. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
We need to make it very clear to the Iranians, the same way we made it clear to the Soviet Union and China, that… — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
And so I think that if the person has the funds, the network, and the equipment to do this, and also the experience, which… — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
The power to prevent violence is a power that no police force seems to have anywhere in the United States. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
So, these political activities will create friction in and of themselves, and in this environment of friction there'll be additional violence. — John Abizaid Copy Share Image
