I have a reputation for speaking my mind. I like to think my candor and bluntness will give you the answers.
The United States does not view our authority to use military force against Al Qaeda as being restricted solely to 'hot' battlefields like Afghanistan.
We are a nation of laws, and we will always act within the bounds of the law.
We are in this business, whether it be intelligence or the government, to protect freedom, democracy and liberty, not to violate that.
We will use all lawful tools at our disposal, and that includes authorities under the renewed PATRIOT Act. We firmly believe that our intelligence gathering tools must enable us to collect the information we need to protect the American people.
I'm neither Republican nor Democrat. I've worked for the past five administrations.
I go to bed at night worrying that I didn't do enough that day to make sure I protect the American people.
Any American who joins al Qaeda will know full well that they have joined an organization that is at war with the United States. Any American who did that should know well that they in fact are part of an enemy... and that the U.S. will do anything that is possible to destroy that enemy to save American lives.
Terrorism needs to be fought against and certainly delegitimized or attacked, but some of the underlying grievances that might in fact lead individuals astray to terrorism cannot be ignored.
How you define a problem shapes how you address it.
We're trying to be very careful and precise in our use of language, because I think the language we use and the images we project really do have resonance. It's the reason why I don't use the term jihadist to refer to terrorists. It gives them the religious legitimacy they so desperately seek, but I ain't gonna give it to them.
The men and women of the CIA are a national treasure.
It's not that the system is broken, but clearly there are ways to improve the system, strengthen it, to make sure that we can put together the various bits and pieces of information in a way that allows us to stop every single terrorist out there.
Poverty does not cause violence and terrorism. Lack of education does not cause terrorism.
As a former career intelligence professional, I have a profound appreciation for the value of intelligence. Intelligence disrupts terrorist plots and thwarts attacks. Intelligence saves lives.
The president's priority is to protect the safety and security of the American people. That's the physical security of the American people as well as the prosperity of the American people.
I think the rule should be that if we're going to take actions overseas that result in the deaths of people, the United States should take responsibility for that.
Al-Qa'ida is the antithesis of the peace, tolerance and humanity that is at the heart of Islam.
