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Remarks by General (ret.) James L. Jones at the Atlantic Council of the United Sates, Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Today it's a particular pleasure for me to introduce General Jim Jones, who is not only an extraordinary leader but is my successor of the chairman of The Atlantic Council. He now heads the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, after serving as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and as 32nd Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
For the last couple of months, General Jones has served as chair of the Independent Commission on Security Forces of Iraq and presented his report this week to -- last week, it was -- to Congress. He's here today to share with us his conclusions and what they mean for the way ahead in Iraq.
Here to make sure that the general answers the tough questions that you all are likely to throw at him is The Atlantic Council president, Fred Kempe, who was a veteran journalist and editor for 25 years with The Wall Street Journal -- will moderate the discussion after General Jones's introductory remarks.
General Jones?
GEN. JONES: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Henry
And when I asked Fred what the -- how the program would be shaped, he said, "Well, 10 minutes of remarks and 45 to 50 minutes of questions," and I said, "I'd much prefer the other way around." (Laughter.)
I'd like to acknowledge a couple of people that are here. One, the former Defense minister of Spain, Mr. Martino --
Q (Off mike.)
GEN. JONES: -- of Italy -- pardon me, excuse me -- Italy --
Q (Laughs.)
GEN. JONES: -- yeah, all right, time goes by; you -- (inaudible) -- apologize -- who is a very great supporter of the alliance and a great friend to the United States. And we're grateful for your presence, Minister. Thank you.
And the recently retired vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Ed Giambastiani. Ed, it's good to see you tonight.
You know, to start things off on a light note, some of you know who know me know that I particularly like inter-service humor. So I wanted to share a story that may be a true story, about an Air Force captain who narrowly escaped serious injury recently -- this is from a newspaper clip that I found this morning -- when he decided to try horseback riding, even though he had never had any lessons or any prior experience.
So he mounted the horse unassisted, and the horse immediately sprang into action. As it galloped along at a steady and rhythmic pace, the captain began to slip from the saddle. In terror, he grabbed for the horse's mane, but he couldn't get a firm grip. He tried to throw his arms around the horse's neck, but he began to slide down the side of the horse anyway.
The horse galloped along, seemingly impervious to its slipping rider. Finally losing his frail grip, the captain attempted to leap away from the horse and throw himself to safety, but unfortunately his foot became entangled in the stirrup. He was now at the mercy of the horse's pounding hoofs as his head struck the ground over and over and over.
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