You cannot fight something with nothing.

I think that we still believe in a way forward in Iraq. They just have to take the opportunity.

we have invested incredible amounts of blood and treasure.

I think that things may have been different, but I don't know that we wouldn't be in a similar situation to where we are today.

the single best blunt, frankly, to both ISIL and to a strong, dominant Iranian influence in Iraq is a strong, capable Federal Government based in Baghdad.

We couldn't solve the Iraqi political problems for them when we had 170,000 troops.

the threat from ISIL that that poses to us, to our allies, to our partners, and the importance that puts on pushing back on them.

The U.S. really does have a vital national security interest in ensuring that Iraq or any other country does not become a safe haven for terrorists who could threaten the U.S. homeland, U.S. citizens, U.S. interests abroad, partners or…

the Iraqi leaders could not get it through their Parliament.

I agree that the sectarian violence that had been raging in Iraq at the height of the war was significantly diminished, significantly, by the time that we departed.

There is no way--the ISIL threat, it is like air in a balloon.

of course we are invested in making sure that it continues as a viable state and doesn't become a breeding ground for terrorists.

It is the political piece and that is critical.

I think that it is critical that we have a thoughtful regional approach to this problem before we jump in.

I do think that the idea that if we had negotiated a follow-on settlement with the Iraqis and had a SOFA and a remaining force, the idea that that force would be able to prevent what is going on is--I am not sure that that would be…

It was the single most difficult part of the original SOFA to negotiate.

If confirmed, I commit to continue to work closely with DSCA to provide security assistance to the Government of Ukraine.

I think this campaign will take years, not months.

I think that deterrence is a fundamental concept that we think about and work on every day in the Department.

I believe, particularly in light of the events this fall with the Russian flagrant violation of the Minsk agreement that they had just signed up to, that all options should be on the table.

If confirmed, I commit to work with DSCA to ensure that it is prepared to provide information, equipment, and/or transportation for any items approved for provision to the Government of Ukraine.

The failure of Russia to live up to the Minsk agreement... has just added urgency to the conversation.

military success must be complemented with political reconciliation and reform, or it certainly isn't lasting.

The predictability is critical to making sure that we have the flexible, agile posture, presence, capabilities that we need to handle these threats.

We consider it an unlawful occupation of Crimea in particular and continuing destabilizing activities in Eastern Ukraine.