Able Quote by David Petraeus

“There are some ideas that will translate from Iraq to Afghanistan and there are many that will not. The first lesson of counterinsurgency, in fact, is that every situation is truly unique, has its own context, its own specific set of factors - and you have to understand that context in enormous…” quote by David Petraeus — Download Open image

“There are some ideas that will translate from Iraq to Afghanistan and there are many that will not. The first lesson of counterinsurgency, in fact, is that every situation is truly unique, has its own context, its own specific set of factors - and you have to understand that context in enormous detail to be able to craft a sound and comprehensive approach.”

David Petraeus

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Able Afghanistan Approach Comprehensive Counterinsurgency Crafts Details Enormous Every Situation Factors Facts Firsts Ideas Iraq Lessons Situation Sound Translate Unique

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There [in Afghanistan] is also a growing insurgency threat from al-Qaida, the Taliban and other extremist elements, some of which comes from the tribal areas of Pakistan, as well as from the Northwest Frontier province and Baluchistan.

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The job of the leader is to get the big ideas right.

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Over the last few years they have done a superb job in their fight against al-Qaida. As you may recall, our embassy in Jedda (in Saudi Arabia) was overrun some four years ago and a number of foreign workers went home because of violence against them.

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After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair.

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The president and I sat down in the Oval Office, and he expressed very clearly that what he wants from me is my best…

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Don't forget Yemen, where there are also extremist elements, as we saw recently.

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If you look at casualties, you find countries that had much higher loss rates per capita than the US. Denmark comes to mind, the…

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I will not ever run for political office. I can assure you.

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Political progress will only take place if sufficient security exists.

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Even the Interior Ministry in Riyadh was hit. Since then, the Saudis have employed a very intelligent and comprehensive approach to counter al-Qaida, including precise operations based on good intelligence, changes in their corrections facilities, superb strategic communications programs and a host of other initiatives - all of which, together, have helped Saudi Arabia achieve impressive results in their fight…

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