John McCain

I think it is clear from an operational perspective that the withdrawal of U.S. troops at this point makes no sense.

I believe U.S. strategy should be to reduce those odds as much as possible and quickly force Gaddafi to leave power, rather than hoping we achieve that objective with minimal effort.

I am grateful for his remarkable career of public service and his willingness to serve in this new and very important capacity.

Don't you think it would be appropriate for us to do the same thing as far as Afghanistan is concerned?

We believe that the current plans are unrealistic, unworkable, and unaffordable.

I would prefer there to be no withdrawal until it is clear that the gains that we have made will not be reversed.

I believe such a presence is necessary, as Secretary Gates has argued.

I believe history will judge Secretary Gates' time as Secretary of Defense to have been truly exceptional.

I believe deeply in the tradition of strong, bipartisan national security leadership.

We face the challenge of rising and changing powers and nations in turmoil, particularly in the Middle East.

I could not agree with him more. Defense spending is not what is sinking this country into fiscal crisis.

May I just say, personally, I don't think it's loose talk on the part of the people on the ground in Libya, nor the Arab League, nor others, including the Prime Minister of England, that this option should be given the strongest…

As a veteran of several conflicts, isn't it true that if you tell the enemy that if they take certain measures, there will be reprisals--what I'm trying to say, if we tell the Libyans and Gaddafi that we are imposing a no-fly zone, that is…

I'm grateful for your extraordinary service and personal sacrifices throughout your career.

The human costs of combat have been great. But, I applaud the efforts of senior military leaders in DOD and the Army to provide the best medical care possible.

Do you believe that the Arab League and the people on the ground in Libya that are being attacked by Gaddafi's air assets should be listened to when they are asking for us to see that it is stopped?

I thank you for your willingness to take this assignment on, and look forward to your testimony.

Winning the current fights in Iraq and Afghanistan must continue to be the Army's priority.

I still don't quite understand why we would negotiate a contract that, if a contractor fails to meet its goals and we have to cancel the contract, we have to pay off the contractor.

One of your major responsibilities will be the issues of acquisition. A recently completed Decker-Wagner Army acquisition review paints a rather gloomy picture.

It is simply not affordable for us to continue business as usual the way we acquire weapons today.

The operation that killed Osama bin Laden... has also given us the greatest chance since September 11 to disrupt, dismantle, and to defeat al Qaeda.

Do you believe those figures to be accurate?

To my knowledge, no one besides Private First Class Manning has been held responsible for Wikileaks. Is that correct?

As Senator McCain pointed out earlier, one of the first things I would do would be to continue what have been tremendous briefings.