JAMES G. STAVRIDIS

In any insurgency there will be people who are irreconcilable and who pose a clear and present threat to the U.S. and our allies.

You can't kill your way to success in a counter insurgency effort. You have to protect the people, get the civil military balance right, train the locals, and practice effective strategic communications.

I would not be surprised to see Syria break apart entirely.

Eighty-five percent cannot read when they enter the security forces of Afghanistan. Why? Because the Taliban withheld education during the period of time in which these men and women would have learned to read.

I've never been in a 'Twitter fight,' though I've witnessed my fair share. I do enjoy vigorous and informed debate, but the benefit is lost when the exchange becomes a series of petty ad hominem attacks. I don't see much value in it.

I tend to gravitate toward reporters who cover all aspects of the story: from personal aspects to the big picture that answer the 'so what' of a story.

Wikipedia, every day, is tens of thousands of people inputting information, and every day millions of people withdrawing that information. It's a perfect image for the fundamental point that no one of us is as smart as all of us thinking together.

I am a huge consumer of social networks, and I utilize Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I'm interested and am learning more about Tumblr and other visually dominant sites.

What's the third largest nation in the world after China and India? It's the Facebook nation - 430 million people on Facebook.

Thinklogical's systems play a key role in the delivery and visualization of mission critical data used every day by military and intelligence communities worldwide.

In the 21st century, we can't create security by building walls.

Some have called Afghanistan 'the graveyard of empires,' and it probably is the graveyard of empires.

It's probably worth noting that although I'm ethnically Greek, my grandfather was actually born in Turkey and came through Greece on his way to the United States.

When I get up, the first thing I do is open up Gmail and check my personal email.

I don't think anyone would look at Colombia today and say that it is failing. This positive outcome is an example of the effective application of smart power - it is succeeding.

A grand bargain [with Russia] will not be achieved in a sweeping package that comes together at a single point in time. While attractive to contemplate, such a sudden strategic outcome is a chimera. Our best hope is in saying we will confront where we must but cooperate where we can.

As cyberweapons and cyberattacks increase in scale and intensity, it will be difficult to defend against them all.

Russian strategy seems to center on maintaining Putin's popularity at home; building a strong military capacity in special forces, nuclear weapons, and advanced submarines; pressuring nearby nations to join various defense and customs pacts dominated by Russia; and pushing back on the U.S. wherever convenient.

Sleep is a key part of the requirements for resilience and good decision-making.

The most important thing I learned was the value of personal friendships and working cooperatively with your peers - the Academy has a saying, 'cooperate to graduate,' and that remains a very important central core in my thinking today.

We are excellent at launching Tomahawk missiles; we need to get better at launching ideas.

I grew up as a baseball player, and given my modest size, it was always clear that I would end up playing in the infield.

Controlling President Trump seems incredibly difficult.

Getting enough sleep makes us better family members, friends, lovers, drivers, writers, cooks, and pretty much everything else that is of importance in our lives.

Rested commanders are the best commanders.