As the daughter of a 25-year veteran of the armed forces I am incredibly thankful for the sacrifices our women and men have made in Iraq and continue to make in Afghanistan.

Ten years ago U.S. defence investment represented almost half of all defence expenditure in the whole alliance. Today it is 75%. This increasing economic gap may also lead to an increasing technology gap which will almost hamper the inter-operability between our forces.

Technology is similarly just a catalyst at times for fundamental forces already present.

Today the forces of competition technology and globalization have converged to spur innovation and to transform the way business is done in the securities industry.

We're competing with everything: the beach the mall bookstores. Libraries are in a transition right now caught between two forces the old ways and technology. Libraries are under a lot of pressure to provide both.

I claim Dickens as a mentor. He's my teacher. He's one of my driving forces.

The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it.

In view of China's growing military strength and intentions the best way to safeguard Asia's permanent peace and prosperity is to have all Asian countries join forces with other democratic countries in the world to form a global community of democracies.

It was helpful to have the American troops there in great strength. They knew there'd be consequences if they didn't move back. Now there has been some removal of the foreign forces.

I dare say there may be some men and women in the Armed Forces who are so decent that they would say: Give the Iraqi people money we do not want to be paid back. That is the strength of our country.