The Afghan security forces will always have the help of the U.S. American military to ensure that Afghanistan never fails.

The training and equipping of Iraqi security forces should be accelerated.

All in all this is a victory for the security forces and for the settlers.

The President's focus on Social Security as a national problem demonstrates his willingness to lead where others have chosen to demagogue.

Our message must be clear -- reconstruction will only take place in those parts of Afghanistan where local players provide security and stability.

But the key shift in focus will be from counter-insurgency operations to more and more cooperation with Iraqi security forces and to building Iraqi security capacity.