RAYMOND T. ODIERNO

I made the decision when I was promoted to colonel that I would no longer vote in national elections because I feel that its my job to serve the Commander in Chief.

Anybody who has experienced war will never want to do it again unless they have to. But if we’re going to do it, we have to be damn good at it.

Our profession is built on the bedrock of trust - the trust that must inherently exist among Soldiers, and between Soldiers and their leaders to accomplish their mission in the chaos of war. Recent incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment demonstrate that we have violated that trust.

You've got to hae ground forces that are capable of going after them and rooting them out.

Everything in the Middle East are linked to each other.

We went in there [the Iraq War invasion] with a complete misunderstanding, regionally and inside Iraq, of what was going on. I don’t ever want that to happen again.

We still have people out there who tolerate sexual harassment and sexual assault….This [Rape in the Army] is my most important priority. I am not kidding. I am not kidding.

Human interaction in a complex environment is key to our [military] success in the future.

The Arabs are victims. You have Shia Arabs, under Arabization under Saddam Hussein, who were forcibly moved up there... You have Kurds who were displaced by these Arabs that were moved up there by Saddam Hussein. Kurds have been displaced from Kirkuk for hundreds of years.

It’s very important that the American people believe in us [the military].

The Arabs are victims. You have Shia Arabs, under Arabization under Saddam Hussein, who were forcibly moved up there... You have Kurds who were displaced by these Arabs that were moved up there by Saddam Hussein. Kurds have been displaced from Kirkuk for hundreds of years.

All along, American policy has been, 'We don't establish a Kurdistan.'

I made the decision when I was promoted to colonel that I would no longer vote in national elections because I feel that its my job to serve the Commander in Chief.

We still have people out there who tolerate sexual harassment and sexual assault….This [Rape in the Army] is my most important priority. I am not kidding. I am not kidding.

Anybody who has experienced war will never want to do it again unless they have to. But if we’re going to do it, we have to be damn good at it.

It’s very important that the American people believe in us [the military].

Everything in the Middle East are linked to each other.

Human interaction in a complex environment is key to our [military] success in the future.

We went in there [the Iraq War invasion] with a complete misunderstanding, regionally and inside Iraq, of what was going on. I don’t ever want that to happen again.

You've got to hae ground forces that are capable of going after them and rooting them out.

Our profession is built on the bedrock of trust - the trust that must inherently exist among Soldiers, and between Soldiers and their leaders to accomplish their mission in the chaos of war. Recent incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment demonstrate that we have violated that trust.