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To leave Afghanistan as a playground for terrorists and adventurers was simply not possible anymore.

As you will recall, soon after the 9/11 attacks, an international coalition led by the United States conducted an impressive campaign to defeat the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other associated extremist groups in Afghanistan.

It's the role of a government to defend its soldiers and its citizens.

It is the job of our military to protect America and to hunt down and kill those who would threaten to murder Americans.

We didn't do anything wrong, but among the lessons learned, given the magnitude of the problems we now face in Afghanistan, a major U.S. force on the ground would convince the world we were in for the long-haul recovery of a country devastated by 21 years of warfare.

It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on U.S. soil.

By fighting a limited, defensive war, America permitted the enemy to endlessly re-supply their field armies.

The United States was an innocent victim after September 11. It had never attacked or occupied Afghanistan. So therefore it had no choice but to go after the aggressors.

I believe that this is a different war than America has ever fought in the past. It is a non-conventional war. It means that you've got to use every tool you've got available to you.