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I think that we have to do our job well, investigate thoroughly and then describe very honestly what we see to the Security Council. And some of the things might please people there and other things may not please the people.

But I would say if the Security Council is only relevant if it agrees with the United States, then we have come a long way in a direction that I do not like very much.

My job is to give the president and secretary of defense military advice before they know they need it.

As far as missile defense is concerned, a very thorough consultation process is underway.

I think anybody in our - in the, in the national security apparatus has, has got to take full cognizance of their responsibility for the safeguarding of classified information.

It won't be a question of how well-trained or well-equipped the army is but one of the authority it serves.

I think we look to the military as something that protects our shores.

I've been subject to how many security clearance procedures and I must say as irritating as some people may find them I think they are absolutely essential to making sure that people who work in sensitive positions in the national security field in our government are entirely loyal to the United States.

However, I think, first of all, that what's happening in Sierra Leone is going to have the great influence on those governments who will be asked to provide forces to the Congo. Second, of course, the Security Council has no professional military advice organized in any way.

My basic feeling about military intervention is that it should be a last resort, undertaken only to stave off large-scale bloodshed.