Richard Blumenthal

The obligation of the United States to provide lethal military assistance, I think is clear.

I have advocated, for some time, strong measures to deter and counter the blatant Russian aggression in Ukraine.

We must do more to make North Korea pay a steeper price for its cyberattacks

We must send a strong signal to our adversaries that we are serious about addressing this threat.

Paying a 'steeper price' for cyber attacks is one strategy for impacting the risk versus reward calculus.

Do you agree that North Korea, Russia, and other malicious actors must pay a steeper price for their cyberattacks?

It has been completely inadequate so far.

They have paid no price for meddling in 2016 election.

It has not changed the calculus or the behavior on the part of the Russians.

The response of the United States of America to this ongoing attack has been completely inadequate.

They're doing it with impunity. They could care less what we think. They're continuing to attack us.

May I suggest that seeking that additional authority perhaps is appropriate at this point?

I feel a sense of urgency about this ongoing warfare against our democracy that I feel, so far, is not reflected in the response from our Department of Defense.

I have very publically been promoting our four Military Imperatives--respect for human rights, the institutionalization of jointness, development of professional non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps, and integration of effective gender…

How has having a senior-level gender advisor that reports directly to you improved your command's ability to be a more effective fighting force?

Do you believe this is sufficient? How is this funding being used to rebuild response capacity and capability?

Should there be more action as opposed to watching?

We are watching what they are doing, working with our partners and with the intelligence community.

Hezbollah is very active in a number of South American countries, particularly in money laundering, drug trading.

I have been impressed by the complete inadequacy of the federal response to fellow Americans there.

What 5th generation capabilities from the F-35 will counter the threats of inter-state peer and near peer threats?

I do agree that the F-35 and F/A-18 do not have equivalent performance and capability characteristics.

The Nation can ill afford to reduce the number of F-35s it plans on buying, as we need 5th generation aircraft in large numbers.

Russia's resurgence is a carefully calculated revision of their Cold War playbook--similar tactics complemented by technological advancements.

Reporting this week highlighted a series of cargo flights from Iran to Syria--following the April 13 United States and allies' strikes--that potentially carried weapons for use by Assad and his allies that could threaten Israel.