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QUESTION: On Afghanistan, it is believed in certain circumstances and (inaudible) so this was also the opinion of General Petraeus that to be effective, we should also engage Iran. What is your view about this and about the level of forces in Afghanistan, do you expect the members of NATO in Europe to do more in terms of manpower? Question number two --

ADM MULLEN: I think as I said in my statement, opening statement, with respect to Afghanistan a regional approach is critical. And it includes not just Afghanistan, but Afghanistan and Pakistan. I also believe that India plays an important role here. And certainly Iran, as a bordering state, plays a role as well. And to the degree that we are able to dialogue with them, find some mutual interests, there is potential there for moving ahead together. But I really leave that to the diplomats to lead with that dialogue. I have said for many, many, months I think it was - it's been - it is important to engage Iran. Iran is unhelpful in many, many ways in many, many areas. And so I wouldn't be overly optimistic at this point. But there are mutual interests and I think that that might offer some possibilities.

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QUESTION: Admiral Mullen, Sebastian Walker from Al Jazeera here. What do you see as the single biggest challenge facing the U.S. military? Do you see Afghanistan or Iraq or maybe the nuclear threat from Iran? What's the single biggest challenge facing the U.S. military? And can you also speak a little bit about the threat that you see still remains from al-Qaida?

ADM MULLEN: I think the top priority for us right now is Afghanistan and Pakistan. And I think President Obama has made that clear. And you see that emphasized, and you will see that emphasized, in terms of where the military will be engaged. I mean, we've talked for weeks now about General McKiernan's additional request for forces. We've looked at planning options to support that, even though all those decisions have not been made yet. And all that, to me, sends a very strong message that Afghanistan and Pakistan are at the top of the list. The assignment or - the selection of former Ambassador Holbrooke to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan, I think, is another very strong signal. So that's at the top of the list right now.

The issue with respect to Iran developing nuclear weapons is still of great concern to me. I consider it to be -- to that possibility to potentially be very destabilizing in a region that doesn't have a lot of stability right now, although we're working in a more positive direction. Overall, if you consider the stability that has been created in Iraq, compared to certain - where we were a year or 18 months ago.

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QUESTION: You've spoken a lot about Iran, both the threat it poses and the need for engagement. And I'm wondering about the option of the use of military force and whether, with the new administration, there's been new thinking about that possibility and how indeed you see the possibility of that sort of action.

ADM MULLEN: I don't think the new administration has taken any options off the table, including military force. And I have believed for a long time that that's a very important part of the overall - if you have options, that that's a very important part of it - the ability to back it up. I believe it's got to be last resort, and so in that regard it's - again, I've seen nothing that would indicate that that's changed at all.

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