I know the sacrifices that they've had to go through to help you reach the position that you're in.

I had a political position and an advisory position, but I was a part of an administration and I was identified with that administration.

There was a poll last year during the campaign that showed more than 70 percent of the troops in Iraq believe we should be out within a year.

Right, but that would be a doable articulation of where we want to end up?

The removal of combat troops from the streets of Iraq?

The issue of the attitudes of people who are serving is in my view not wholly appropriate to the political debate.

I think we up here and the senior military are the fiduciaries of the goodwill and the service of those people.

I think it's a serious problem in a lot of different ways.

political considerations have to come in play.

when you have a uniformed military individual making political judgments and giving political advice to a political administration.

there is not a military solution, there is a political solution.

I just think that is something that should be said for the record.

My belief is that in terms of our national strategy with Iraq the successful end point would be a time when there are no longer United States combat forces on the streets of Iraq.

I would submit that if those other individuals were properly doing their job, this position wouldn't be necessary.

These 15-month deployments are going to wreck the Army.

Timely responses to questions from people appearing before this committee are an essential function of what we do up here.

we need to get back to the goal of a 2-to-1 rotational cycle for our troops.

I would like the opportunity to pursue that at the subcommittee level.