“We’ve failed to appreciate the connection between our national security and our economy… We can’t simply afford to ignore the price of these wars.”

“I will use the money we’re no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work rebuilding roads and bridges and schools and runways.”

“…What I’ve emphasized is that preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon… it is profoundly in the security interests of the United States, and that when I say we’re not taking any option off the table, we mean it.”

“Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.”

“It is up to the Syrian people to choose their own leaders, and we have heard their strong desire that there not be foreign intervention in their movement. What the United States will support is an effort to bring about a Syria that is democratic, just, and inclusive
for all Syrians.”

“We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement. All the stuff they asked for, we’ve done.”

“I will not cut the military budget. I will instead expand our essential weapons programs and our active-duty personnel.
I do these things not so that we have to fight wars, but so that we can prevent wars.”

“I will not hesitate to impose new sanctions on Iran, and will tighten the sanctions we currently have.”

“In Afghanistan, I will pursue a real and successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014… The route to more war—and to potential attacks here at home—is a politically timed retreat that abandons the Afghan people.”

“In Syria, I will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets.”

“As I have said many times, it is critical that we redouble our efforts to secure the borders. That means both preventing illegal border crossings and making it harder to illegally overstay a visa.”

“If we want to secure the border, we
have to make sure we have a fence, technologically, determining where
people are, enough agents to oversee it, and turn off that [jobs] magnet.”