Words matter. These are the best John R. Allen Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
There is a direct line relationship between what happened in Afghanistan in the work up to 11 September 2001 and what we’re doing in Afghanistan today.
Planning is really the hallmark of any large military formation, and it’s typically a weakness in new formations and new armies.
To ISIS and others: We will defeat you.
My fellow Americans, from the battlefield to the capitals of our allies and friends and partners, the free peoples of the world look to America as the last best hope for peace and for liberty for all humankind, for we are the greatest country on this planet.
To those acting against peace, civilization and the world order: We will oppose you.
And the narrative for the Taliban that they can wait us out is a flawed narrative. I think that the unambiguous international support for Afghanistan has been a very powerful message. You know, that was the message that came out of the NATO summit. We will not abandon Afghanistan.
I can’t spend a lot of time worrying about the numbers at home. I’ve got to focus on the mission.
We’re probably going to see some post-2014 military presence – some U.S. presence and a NATO presence – and while we’ve got much work to do in the next 29 months, we’ll have additional time later for the continued professionalization of the Afghan security forces.
I seek as much as I can to mitigate risk.
Al Qaeda has significance beyond its numbers, frankly. And so for us, our 24-hour-a-day objective is to seek out those al Qaeda cells. And, as we seek them out, to target them and eliminate them. And we’re doing that 24 hours a day.
We don’t see that the Taliban ultimately can succeed, and it’s a combination both of what the international community can do to support Afghanistan, not just in the short term, but over the long term.
Protecting Afghan civilians is the cornerstone of our mission.
Afghanistan is going to be here a long time, and what’s critical is that Afghanistan’s relationship with its neighbors are, to the maximum extent they can be, constructive and operationally useful.
We will oppose and resist tyranny as we will defeat evil.
And across Afghanistan, every single day, Afghan soldiers, Afghan police and ISAF troops are serving shoulder-to-shoulder in some very difficult situations. And our engagement with them, our shoulder-to-shoulder relationship with them, our conduct of operations with them every single day defines the real relationship.
You know, great powers don’t get angry, great powers don’t make decisions hastily in a crisis.
We don’t want the Taliban to put down roots, or the al Qaeda to put down roots in Afghanistan that can facilitate Afghanistan becoming – once again – a launching pad for international terrorism.
To our allies and our friends and our partners. Listen closely. We are with you. America will not abandon you.
To our enemies – to our enemies – we will pursue you as only America can. You will fear us.
Al Qaeda has come back. Al Qaeda is a resilient organization. But they’re not here in large numbers. But al Qaeda doesn’t have to be anywhere in large numbers.
