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General Petraeus is not a miracle worker. He can not be successful unless the president creates greater confidence within his own team about the decisions which the president has himself made.

There's no way we can get to the bottom of Benghazi without David Petraeus.

General McChrystal had to go. Whatever his virtues as a strategist and commander, the 'Rolling Stone' interview fatally compromised his ability to represent the United States in dealing with allies and to act within the circle of people who must make decisions in Afghanistan.

A few months into my research, General Petraeus, who was then leading Central Command, invited me to go for a run with him and his team along the Potomac River during one of his visits to Washington. I figured I could interview him while we ran.

To get an Army that's already fighting a war to change in stride to a total different military strategy on the ground - and to get everybody on the same page - was accomplished by the sheer force of Dave Petraeus' will.

What we achieved under General Petraeus up through 2011, and defeating this threat that we faced out there, I mean, once we decided to come out of there, we squandered an enormous opportunity that, frankly, the military did actually provide our nation and provided the Middle East.

We need a great president.

Decisions! And a general, a commander in chief who has not got the quality of decision, then he is no good.

Any president is going to need extremely good advisers.

We'll look to the fall and if there is a new president and a new Senate that's part of a Congress willing to change, that's the next step.