I think that succeeding in Afghanistan requires partnership built upon the strong relationships that we have with the Afghan Government, national security forces, and above all the local populace.

It's essential that our strategy in Afghanistan is centered on protecting the Afghan people from the Taliban.

I believe that the stability of Afghanistan is dependent upon the stability of Pakistan.

We need to enable the Pakistan army and the Frontier Corps with the capacity and capability to conduct sustainable direct action missions.

Our troops and resources in Afghanistan must be used to build trust with the Afghans.

The financial crisis in the commercial mortgage backed securities market has negatively impacted the traditional firms that have credit enhancement capabilities.

The MHPI program authority is slated to expire in 2010. What can we do to assist the Army and DOD to ensure that this program remains in effect after 2010?

It is important that we replace the M4 with a new state-of-the-art weapons system that meets the operational requirements of our military in theater.

Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) in 1996 as a tool to help the military improve the quality of life for its servicemembers.

I believe that the Army needs to establish the protocol that the contract management be established directly between the Army and the uniform treatment vendor.

We have to focus on this more aggressively.

These issues have to be addressed now.

How do you plan on interacting with China to accomplish mutual objectives given the communication constraints?

I think we have to take advantage of that.

I understand that we are slow in getting the civilian numbers up and going, and obviously, it has to be secure in order to do that.

It was certainly educational for me to be there, but to see the terrain that our military is working on.

Thank each and every one of you for your comments, and I look forward to working closely with you.

In our meeting with President Karzai last week, he emphasized the importance of defining the mission in Afghanistan and to work with Pakistan on the other side of the border.