Jack Keane

“Russia and China completely disagree with the international order that was established after World War II, and they're trying to take it apart right before our eyes.”

“I read people; that's one of my strengths. It's not that I can't be fooled, but I'm not fooled often.”

“I remember speaking to a sheik who came back into the political system in late 2008, laid down his arms. His troops became part of the Sons of Iraq, the so-called Sunni Awakening.”

“The success of ISIS is largely tied to the safe haven it has in Syria.”

“Aircraft are always going to be something that terrorists are interested in because you bring down an airliner, you have drawn the world's attention.”

“The Pentagon is a series of wedges. So you have - the outer wedge has windows on the outside, and then inside of that, it has windows with an alleyway; then there's another wedge with windows outside, windows inside. And we call them the E Ring, the D Ring, the C Ring.”

“I have a close association with Gen. Petraeus... What you get in Dave Petraeus is a very unique officer, a combination of intelligence, extraordinary depth of knowledge and understanding.”

“'Duty' is a refreshingly honest memoir and a moving one. Mr. Gates scrupulously identifies his flaws and mistakes: He waited too long, for example, for the military bureaucracy to fix critical supply issues like the drones needed in Iraq and took three years to replace a dysfunctional command structure in Afghanistan.”

“The fact to the matter is, we never developed a comprehensive strategy to deal with radical Islam. And the 9/11 commission said one of the things we must do is develop a global alliance to combat it.”

“In my own mind, it is profoundly disappointing to see what has occurred in Iraq given the sacrifice of our troops, given our commitment to removing Saddam Hussein and putting in place a fledgling government that would have a chance for a stable, secure Iraq.”

“ISIS itself, it draws its central belief system from the Koran and from the writings of the Prophet Muhammad. That is undeniable. And it's a medieval interpretation of it. It is a literal interpretation of it.”

“Here's the problem the Free Syrian Army has. They really want to topple the regime in Damascus, and this is where most of the fight takes place, between Aleppo and Damascus for the Free Syrian Army.”

“I have lots of concerns at working with Russia going against ISIS until we have agreements in terms of what Russia's behavior is going to be.”

“It's not that I can't be fooled, but I'm not fooled often.”

“We must take all that territory away from ISIS.”

“My involvement with Guantanamo began as vice chief of staff.”

“ISIS is at war with America, but America is not at war with ISIS - not the president, nor the Congress, and certainly not the American people.”

“We should be robustly assisting the Free Syrian Army with equipment and also with training.”

“In the early 2009, a campaign plan developed by Petraeus and General McChrystal to defeat the Taliban, they required a minimum force of 40,000. President Obama rejected that recommendation and provided 25 percent less. He also decided he would pull the force out in 12 to 15 months.”

“The Taliban has not, in my judgment, in any significant way changed their fundamental goal and objective, which is to take over Afghanistan and return to running that country. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't have negotiation talks with them. I think we should. But we've got to be clear-eyed about it.”