Despite this effort to divest it, General Welch has said it is the best airplane in the world at what it does.

I certainly hope that all three of you will be confirmed very expeditiously--that you will look at whatever action we can take to support the Syrian refugees who clearly are facing a very dire future.

Is this something that we expect to be discussed as part of that dialogue?

No one has been held accountable. Who's been held accountable for the failures? And if you look at this intel report, it's very clear that the intelligence community, according to this report, provided ample strategic warning that our…

One of the comments you made was about Prime Minister Abadi and efforts that he was making in Iraq to reach out to the Sunnis.

I believe that the sooner we can get the sequester reversed, the better off we are.

I wonder if you could define how long we have to solve this problem before it becomes long-term irreversible.

I would like to start, Admiral Harris, with you, and thank you for taking the time to come in and meet with me.

It's still not clear to me what you're saying about what circumstances would suggest that lethal assistance is the best course of action.

It's very hard to do long-term strategic planning with short-term budgeting.

Will the Army's Regionally Aligned Forces initiative provide additional opportunities for collaboration?

the importance of separating the military from politics and a general willingness to achieve the aforementioned objectives.

How do we impress upon the Afghan civilian leadership the importance of maintaining professional and cohesive security forces as we draw down and after we depart?

You mentioned in your testimony that there are risks associated with stepping aside and allowing Sunni and Shite groups to continue to engage each other in armed conflict.

Lieutenant General Votel, is there a process in place for SOCOM to coordinate with the general purpose forces to reduce duplication and maximize efficiency?

This includes the concept of civilian control of the military, adherence to rule of law and the implementation of processes, systems, and organizations which ensure transparency, accountability, and oversight.

In my prior life I was an Attorney General, and as I look at this and all of you testifying today...

It seems to me, obviously, this is an area we need to weigh in on and make sure that we have some clear rules here because of all of the issues at stake, both within the Constitution and also safety issues, et cetera.