In 2001, we didn't have an army; we had remnants of a dissolved army that had no hope. Our generals had literally become busboys.
President Truman made his name by looking into contracting. And that's how integrity within the military procurement started in the United States.
If al-Qaida, all apologies to Microsoft for the analogy, is Windows 1, Daish is Windows 5.
There's no place for mob justice in Afghanistan.
Particularly the mark for success for us would be that a woman can not only walk in the streets of every major city, but can go from one province to another without any hindrance.
The first principle of tackling corruption is that you do not engage in it and you have the will to confront it.
If election is your goal, you're never going to engage in reform. Reform has to be your goal. Election is the means. You run for office in order to do something, not in order to perpetuate yourself.
Politicians have become extraordinarily conservative, but our times require imagination and bold action.
I have a strange - because there's no other way probably of describing it - uh, temper. I'm a very difficult taskmaster. I don't wait.
You know, America has profoundly shaped me, and I have two American children and unbelievably rich friendships so it will always be a source of joy and good memories.
We develop sentiments that we are only going to work with people like us. But you don't build up a nation by working with people like you. You overcome a history of conflict by reaching out to people very much unlike you.
Sovereignty of Afghanistan must be accepted categorically by Pakistan so that we can move forward.
As long as I am president, the rights of women will be protected.
The privileged elites are part of the globalization moment that we live in.
We've had a difficult legacy of 40 years, and cleaning up is not going to be a one day job. But we are engaged in a systematic effort, we have not allowed formation of new militia groups, and we are reforming the local police systematically so that there won't be abuse.
Crisis for others is a source of despair. For me, it's an opportunity to bring reform.
President Karzai was an accidental president. There was no paradigm for the conditions he faced, because no one could have imagined 9/11. He had to improvise under very difficult conditions to hold this country together.
The key demand for me from the public across the 34 provinces is to transform the state into an instrument of the rule of law, transform the economy into a productive system and change the education system.
I want to differentiate between stability and security: Stability comes from the hearts of people and acceptance of the judicial system. Security comes from the barrel of a gun and the threat of the use of force.
At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan.
