On whether President George W. Bush would follow his advice

'Senator, I'm not coming here to be a bump on a log and not say exactly what I think ... There is still only one president of the United States. He will make the final decision.'

On Iran

'Military action against Iran would be an absolute last resort. I think that we have seen in Iraq that once war is unleashed, it becomes unpredictable. And, I think that the consequences of a conflict, a military conflict, with Iran could be quite dramatic. And therefore, I would counsel against military action.'

On the way ahead

'The list of tactics [on Iraq], the list of strategies, the list of approaches, is pretty much out there. And the question is: Is there a way to put pieces of those different proposals together in a way that provides a path forward?'