I strongly believe that the United States force posture in Afghanistan going forward should be shaped and resourced to enable you, General, to achieve your missions' objectives based on conditions on the ground.

The emergence of a National Unity Government under President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah has had an immediate impact on security in Afghanistan.

The United States has devoted significant resources to the Afghanistan campaign.

So this has been a long struggle, and every community in this country has seen the effects.

It strikes me there's three factors, here in Afghanistan, that were not present in Iraq.

The world walked away from Afghanistan once before, and it descended into chaos that contributed to the worst terrorist attack ever against our homeland.

This agreement is not based on trust. No arms control agreement is based on trust.

You feel good about the improvement that's been made over the last 5 years on that front.

I will tell you what, I will commit to come to you with a program that will lay out, together with all of those folks you have just named, a stronger approach on this.

Please, don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say----

Historically, we have always said that politics should end at the water's edge when it comes to American foreign policy.

[The Taliban] are not taking territory or meeting any strategic goals that they set out for themselves initially. They are going to take a district and they are going to lose it. They are going to take another district center and lost it…

The mission in Afghanistan that we have, as stated in the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force there, was, of course, to use force against all nations, organizations, and individuals deemed to have been involved in the…

I do believe that.

But we have diplomatic relations.

We remain as deeply committed now as I was in the very beginning to trying to work something between the Palestinians and Israelis.

A lot does depend on it. I agree with you.

Madam President, I might point out that not only are Delaware and Rhode Island both small and mighty, but they are small, mighty, and coastal, which is relative to the topic of my remarks this afternoon. I am now here for the 89th…