important to me that my departure not be used in any way to diminish the accomplishments of this news division.

The world is a scarier place, and we're also living in a time when international news is once again incredibly important. We have to figure out how to cover it all.

It's important to me that my departure not be used in anyway to diminish the accomplishments of this news division,

It seems fitting to be spending my final days at work on one of the biggest stories of the year, ... I am confident I leave behind an extremely capable . . . experienced team.

For me it was pretty easy, ... get involved in legislation, except this.

It was wrong for Mr. Arnett to grant an interview to state-controlled Iraqi TV, especially at a time of war, and it was wrong for him to discuss his personal observations and opinions in that interview,

I've concluded that it's time to move on to a new challenge,

The Today show remains number one; Meet the Press continues to set the standard on Sunday; and Dateline is still the most innovative newsmagazine on television, with as many as four or five hours in a single week. After years of flux, we've stablized and improved the programming at MSNBC. There is more work to be done, but we've taken positive steps just as we did at MSNBC.com. We've added depth and diversity to the best television newsgathering team ever assembled. I hope you all share the pride that I have about NBC News.

Reflecting on all of this, I've concluded that it's time to move on to a new challenge,

I also found myself missing the opportunity for the kind of creativity that I've had in previous jobs,