Nobody should believe something just because an intelligence agent says it.

There are now two Syrias. One is run by men who fight for God, not democracy. The other is ruled by a secular but authoritarian regime accused of many crimes against its people. The choice between the two will not be decided at the polls.

The jihadists of ISIS wish to go back to what they see as a more pure form of Islam from the time of the Prophet and his companions. They believe in a literal interpretation of the Koran.

I'm in the government to make sure that if there's an opportunity to make peace, it won't be missed.

Those memories of living in a developing nation are part of who I am today and give me a profound understanding of the challenges of economic development - an understanding which will make my tenure as Peace Corps director, I hope, a very special one.

Before the Second World War, I believed in the perfectability of social man; that a correct structure of society produced goodwill; and that, therefore, you could remove all social ills by a reorganisation of society. It is possible that I believe something of the same again; but after the war, I did not because I was unable to.

When the war was over and the guys were back to shaving every day, the editor thought the Beetle Bailey strips were hurting their disciplinary efforts to get the guys back to routine.