“The secretary believes the president and his national security team have spent an extraordinary amount of time and effort considering and preparing for the full range of contingencies with respect to Iran.”

“This improvement to the system has nothing to do with Russia and everything to do with Iran.”

“We are adjusting our system to make sure our forces and our allies are protected from that changing and growing threat. Just as the threat has developed, so too has our technology. We believe we have a more flexible, capable system to deploy to protect our forces and friends in Europe.”

“"[Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is seeking] a way to better balance an individual family's privacy concerns with the right of the American people to honor these fallen heroes [and] is disposed, leaning, tilting towards trying to do more, if possible..."”

“The Russians know full well that our European missile defense system is not capable of defeating their...ballistic missile arsenal. Rather, it is meant to counter Iran’s growing missile threat. And we have bent over backwards to invite the Russians to partner with us to defeat this common threat.”

“This may be one of those cases where countries that have had a reluctance to contribute forces, in particular combat forces, may be able to take part in this mission through a financial contribution to the development of the Afghan National Army.”

“The faster we get the (Afghan army) to the size and strength they need to be, the less they depend on us for providing security, and God knows we operate far more expensively than the Afghan national security forces do.”