Quite frankly, in all sincerity, I am literally very glad you asked me that question. Prior to this encounter when I have been asked, I would find myself remembering what those who died before us, our founding fathers, would say.

Under the circumstances, notwithstanding any changes down the road or in the future, and of course, not forgetting what was preceded before, I would say this unequivocally and with the utmost clarity, the answer to your question is not an easy one, or one that should be dealt with lightly or without the presence or forethought most, if not all, of us would aspire to achieve or strive to perfect.

There uncertain visibilities that face us when we decide to approach, or begin to form plans to approach this point. We cannot and should not be ambiguous, nor unequivocal, because of the vast implications before we go down the road toward solving this issue.

As you can imagine, my staff, along with generals, and other military officials and officers, have spent thousands of countless hours preparing for this question under the most difficult circumstances because it might be impossible or very difficult to bring to a satisfactory conclusion. Compromises have been made to enable us to determine an acceptable way for the American people to be reassured. Because of many misfortunes and squandered opportunities, some fruitful and some fruitless.

As you can imagine, and many Americans, and our allies and others across the world, this has greatly changed our lives and the lives of those who have given their lives so that we may live.