"There are no two people in government who appreciate the gravity of the decisions that are being discussed and that will ultimately be made than the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States.

VOA: standard.2009.09.23

In July 2011, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the United States was "within reach of strategically defeating al Qaeda, " and that he believed of all al Qaeda affiliates, AQAP posed the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland.

CNN: Obama ramps up covert war in Yemen

Mr. LARRY WILKERSON: What I saw was a cabal between the vice president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made.

NPR: Ex-Powell Staffer Discusses Cheney Role in Iraq War

Baker, Hamilton and - until recently - Robert Gates, the man President Bush nominated last week to replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, believe that the United States can and should negotiate with terrorists, like the Iranian and Syrian regimes, over the future of Iraq.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Tragedy of errors