Michael Mullen

“I am still of the view that the most significant threat to our national security is our debt.”

“My personal view is that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do.”

“Silence is not a strategy. We are not going to be silent.”

“No matter how local a conflict may be, the consequence of that conflict is global.”

“I have a responsibility to speak truth to power. I have to be as honest as I can.”

“We have been a country that has been fortunate to be protected by two oceans, but that is no longer the case. We are part of a global community.”

“The Haqqani network, for one, acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.”

“We can't kill our way to victory.”

“The military is a meritocracy. It's an open system that is alive and breathing.”

“Cyber is the new domain. It's a domain in which we're going to have to be prepared to operate and to defend ourselves.”

“I don't think Iran is a rational actor.”

“We've been at war for ten years; we've been fighting for our country. And we've been doing it with an all-volunteer force.”

“Our military can't do it alone. We need a whole-of-government approach.”

“There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our troops and their families.”