“It represents a misreading of the nature of the problem. When we make these forces stronger, we make the underlying problem worse, not better. We're throwing gas on the political fire.”
“Turning over the responsibility for fighting the insurgents to local forces . . . threatens to exacerbate the communal tensions that underlie the conflict and undermine the power-sharing negotiations needed to end it.”
“Given that strengthening a military they view as their enemy strengthens their resistance creates political problems -- the first thing we need to do is slow down, rather than speed up.”