this budget takes on an unacceptable degree of risk for our national security.

Thanks to both of you for your service and your leadership.

How valuable does your command find regular analysis of bulk cash smuggling in the Western Hemisphere?

Let me ask you one follow-on question about the really tragic events in Afghanistan in the last week or so.

I share the consternation that Senator McCain expressed about the excess of rhetoric and deficiency of any real action to assist the opposition in Syria.

The fact is that we have not had a major terrorist attack on the United States since September 11, and you have to give the leadership, bipartisan over two administrations, and the thousands of people who work at DHS some credit for that.

I hope before long we will be able to do that there as well.

Thank you. Again, Godspeed in the chapters ahead, Admiral.

General Ham, I wanted to come back to the LRA.

Our concern remains their traditional connections with Hezbollah and Hamas, who do have organizations in Latin America.

I hope we can help organize something, but I gather that the Saudis and Qataris are now actively thinking about at least supplying some weapons to the Syrian opposition.

I'm generally sympathetic to the argument that Senator McCain just described, that the international community, for reasons that are both humanitarian and strategic, really just can't sit back any longer and watch Assad do what he's doing.

I certainly wouldn't want us to go it alone.

We're acting in the context of a new defense strategic guidance which calls for a rebalancing toward the Asia Pacific, although not ignoring the Middle East.

Why won't the ground force be sized to conduct one of its primary missions?

there's ongoing repression, in my opinion slaughter, by the Assad government of its people.

I share many of the concerns my colleagues have already expressed concerning the shortfalls in funding and capacity for the modernization of our nuclear weapons.

Of course, the goal of their efforts is to defeat the LRA and to presumably capture or kill its leader.

How can the force be prepared to conduct this particular 'primary mission' without the necessary manpower?

There is a real sense of brotherhood and bonding there that gives me that sense of encouragement.

I still believe that. We're going through a rough time now, as Senator McCain pointed out, inside the Iraqi Government.

I question the notion of the rebalancing of our forces from the Middle East to Asia Pacific.

I believe it is important to note that DOD never actually sized the ground forces for large-scale stability operations.

There's unfortunately a natural coming together. It seems almost inevitable that if somebody wants to do us damage in the United States...

Is improved tracking of bulk cash smuggling important to your command's efforts to interdict illegal trafficking?