“If the Iraqis fail to implement the reforms, if they fail to get a han...” — Leon Panetta Quote

If the Iraqis fail to implement the reforms, if they fail to get a handle on the violence, there's nothing the United States can do, militarily or otherwise, that can solve those problems. They have to assume the primary responsibility to govern themselves.

Frankly, my fundamental beliefs have not changed.

My whole life has been dedicated to public service.

I mean, the Taliban, my view is that they have been weakened. We have not seen them able to conduct any kind of organized attack to regain any territory that they've lost. We've seen levels of violence going down.

When you cut a half-a-trillion dollars from the defense budget, it affects almost every area in the defense budget.

This may sound mad, but you sort of assume that no one's going to watch what you do. You go on set, have a lovely time, and then you forget anyone's going to see it. So it's always a bit of a shock to be recognized. I get terribly embarrassed.

I don't think you need to get married necessarily. Girls just assume they will get married and have babies, but that isn't the right thing for everyone.

Whenever I say I made a record in the garage, people just assume that I have, like, a Lear jet parked in there or something. But really there's old luggage, a couple of bikes. It's big enough to put one minivan in. That's it. No dartboard. I'm so not macho.

I never assume anyone will see or like things I do, honestly!