Well, the reports are correct that we're conducting very robust military operations on the Afghan side of the border in areas where we think al-Qaida is operating and Taliban remnants are.

You know as well as I do that counterinsurgency is a very nuanced type of military operation.

[They can be used to react quickly to reports about Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the area, said J. Kelly McCann, a former Marine involved in special operations.] Intelligence is so fluid right now, ... To fit somebody in place in order to go kill them, you've got to be able to respond quickly for that information to be useful. So now with the Marines on the ground you're talking about a reaction time that's under an hour in some cases, maybe minutes.

We think that cross-border operations would be unwise.

I think you also understand that one of the key things that's got to be done in Iraq is to build a mentality of understanding that the military needs to be subordinate to civilian control and respectful of its own people.

Actually, our current military presence in Saudi Arabia could be described as more than merely symbolic. But it certainly is not as extensive as it was in the past.