I think there's a whole lot of circle-the-wagons that go on.

At what point in time does it get to your level, and you say, 'Wait a minute, something is not right here'?

It's really hard to figure out who to blame when something goes terribly wrong and taxpayer money is wasted at unprecedented levels.

There's this sense that, the commanders have their military mission, which I'm very respectful of.

I have looked into how many Antideficiency Act (ADA) violations have actually been punished in DOD.

I think it's close to 20,000 people, from best I can tell. That's a lot of people--20,000 people.

It's clear that the military is taking this very seriously.

DOD has been on the high-risk list for GAO since 1990.

Senator McCaskill. Thank you all for your service. I appreciate it very much.

Senator McCaskill, your points are very well taken, and I have a major awareness that I will need a lot of help.

I think you are going to see this around the country, unfortunately, General.

Is there a plan for what happens if this doesn't work, if the Iraqi brigades don't show up, if the police personnel don't stand up, if this is not successful--is there a plan, going forward?

I am very aware, as I think many Americans are at this point, of the serious problems that we have in the area of acquisition and contracting in Iraq.

I'm aware of that, and I'm encouraged by it.

I think you've been very candid today. I think we all value that highly. Thank you. I think you've done a great job today, and I wish you the very best and safety.

Thank you and we all wish you, not just Godspeed, but success and health.

It was an election, and that election confirmed the strong foundation we have in this country for the democratic process.

I am not sure we are the right people to advise the Iraqis on how to spend their money.