British - Politician | June 19, 1952 -
Failure in Afghanistan would have profound consequences for our national security. It would undermine the NATO alliance structure that has been the bedrock of Britain's defence for the last 60 years... I will not allow this to happen on my watch.
Bob Ainsworth
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I have strengths, and I have weaknesses. I don't pretend to be able to write a great thesis or doctorate - I have no pretensions in that direction.
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We need a leader able to project his or her personality and present our policies in today's media environment. All this is true - but we also need a leader capable of building a team, inspiring loyalty from colleagues, and one genuinely open to ideas.
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Despite the increasingly presidential style of political leadership in our country, teamwork is essential.
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I got a tooth bust by somebody who decided they didn't like me and I thought the moustache hid a scar on my lip. It's true that people were told facial hair was not appreciated by the British public, but I just decided to keep the moustache.
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On the back benches, you can have your say but no power to do anything.
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We in the West walked away from Afghanistan at the end of the Cold War and left it as a country devastated socially and armed to the teeth. If we do that again, there will be consequences.
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I never expected to be Defence Secretary. It's a great privilege.
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I come from a pretty tough background and I learned a long time ago not to be bothered.
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My heroes are the non-commissioned officers. If I had another life that's what I'd be - a regimental sergeant major or a similar rank. That's where the spirit of the armed forces is.
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Stalin's policies pushed the world into the Cold War. Putin has the potential to be equally as dangerous.
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We have tended in politics in this country to concentrate on the domestic, on the here and now - the 'what's in it for me'.
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