I would hope that from a conditions-based standpoint, Leon, that you would give strong consideration to the safety and security of our soldiers.

If confirmed, will you commit to examining this expenditure of taxpayers' resources and report back to us regarding the extent to which you believe this is a wise way to spend DOD and taxpayers' dollars?

I give a lot of the credit for that mission to you, and it is well deserved.

I don't believe that shows much appreciation for the strategic need to retain our air dominance and follow through on our own Government's strategy to keep us ahead of China and Russia.

I support the President's decision and believe that we can accomplish our objectives.

Before new capabilities are deployed they must undergo testing that enables an assessment under realistic operational conditions against threat-representative targets to demonstrate that they will be effective and reliable.

While impressive gains in security have been made throughout the country of Iraq, Iraq still remains a very dangerous place to live, travel, and work in 2011.

I notice that you agree that the Gaddafi regime must go.

As U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq, the Department of State will have to act quickly to significantly increase their security footprint in Iraq.

My question is, with this sustained instability throughout the Muslim world, is the withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces from Iraq at the end of this year still the right thing to do?

DOD has reduced the number of F-35 aircraft in the near-term budget plan by 246 over the last 2 years.

What really concerns me about where we are with that program is exactly what Senator McCain alluded to.