John McCain

I have the belief that the American people would not tolerate, nor would any of us, boots-on-the-ground.

You are aware that General Mattis and General Breedlove both testified that a fair amount of Assad's operational aircraft could be destroyed on the ground using standoff weaponry.

I believe that time has come for the United States to intensify the military pressure on Assad.

We must address this issue. But the American people have to be assured that there is not going to be a third wave.

We do not have a measurement of border security, period.

I cannot believe, it is beyond anyone's belief, nor anyone in the Senate that has worked on this issue, that you cannot come up with a measurement of the security of our border.

I share with all of my colleagues our appreciation for the great work that your people are doing.

We owe it to the people of this country that there not be a third wave 10, 15, or 20 years from now of a renewed number of people who have come to this country illegally.

Well, it sure is better than nothing, which is what you have come up with, Madam Secretary.

I think zeroing out the funding shows a lack of commitment to the idea of self-defense.

We owe that to the people of this country.

I am sure you heard that Senator Schumer and I met with the President yesterday and briefed him on our immigration reform proposal.

I hope we can get that information. I think the American people deserve it.

Production of Opium by Afghans is Up Again.

They do not have a safe haven in Pakistan?

Do you not understand, General, that one of the reasons why we are having so much difficulty in some areas is because the Afghans do not know what our commitment is?

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in your testimony, General, because they see what happened in Iraq.

I thought one of our objectives back in 2001 was to eliminate opium as a crop of interest.

Success cannot be just removing our troops.

We have a responsibility as well. For you to say, we are just going to see how things turn out, it will determine the size of the post-2014 force, I believe is a tragic and terrible mistake for which we may pay a very heavy price.

As we watch the situation unravel in Iraq because of our failure.

They are not sure of what the U.S. commitment will be, and many of them are making various accommodations for a repeat of what happened in Iraq.

I do think that there is profound bitterness toward us right now.

Without making the fragmentation of the country a self-fulfilling prophecy, we need a containment strategy.

At a minimum, let us do something that creates at least a safe haven.