Colin Powell:

Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.

Peter Baker:

Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., who ran the C.I.A. interrogation program, said Sunday that critics now assailing the agency were pressing it after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to do whatever it took to prevent a recurrence. "We did what we were asked to do, we did what we were assured was legal, and we know our actions were effective," Mr. Rodriguez wrote in The Washington Post.

Rebecca Brock:

People say to me, "Whatever it takes." I tell them, It's going to take everything.

Jose A. Rodriguez Jr.:

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, lawmakers urged us to do everything possible to prevent another attack on our soil. Members of Congress and the administration were nearly unanimous in their desire that the CIA do all that it could to debilitate and destroy al-Qaeda. The CIA got the necessary approvals to do so and kept Congress briefed throughout. But as our successes grew, some lawmakers' recollections shrank in regard to the support they once offered.

Rebecca Brock:

You can't even remember what I'm trying to forget.

Skyler Preszler:

Mom, we killed women on the street today. We killed kids on bikes. We had no choice.

Lawrence D. Freedman:

There are no sure lessons. Yet there are always choices.