I am sympathetic to what Senator Lautenberg was saying relative to representing an area that is a significantly high-threat area.

So the question is, at a time of limited resources, how do we begin to address some of the kinds of engagement that can help promote a more peaceful, stable democratic type of Middle East?

What's happening in the Middle East, I think, has all of us raising questions about something I guess we didn't think we would see in our lifetime.

we are building this agency, and that takes investments and resources.

My only plea is let's not take a cleaver to it. Let's try to be as surgical as possible in figuring out what is really in America's national security interests, how we prioritize.

The reality in this Congress is that we are going to appropriate--I believe, going to end up appropriating less than what that budget asks for.

What percent of your forces are married?

Just this morning, though, we had four Cubans who were able to voice what they perceived as a threat.

Do you have a similar system in place?

I think the handwriting's on the wall that there are a lot of things we would like to do, but we're not able to afford to do them.

I'm very skeptical about government's ability to successfully pick winners and avoid the losers.