Robert C. Byrd: “The war in Iraq was not a defensive war. It was a preemptive attack.”

Could I impose on the chairman and the ranking member just briefly? What is the current monthly cost of operations in Afghanistan, and how much of the $25 billion in this budget request is for operations in Afghanistan?

Will these funds be sufficient to address the complaints that we have heard, and that you heard also, Mr. Secretary, when you were visiting there, that our troops are scrounging for armor in trash dumps?

It seems to me that we ought to at least bow to the Constitution as we enter into this temple of the destructive doctrine of first strike.

I fully agree and I compliment you and our ranking member.