Planning for climate change is not some frivolous waste of time, a waste of money. It is essential to our troops and to their wellbeing, and the national security of this country.

No other capability we have is more important.

Our nuclear deterrent plays a critical role in assuring U.S. national security.

Our nuclear deterrent plays a critical role in assuring U.S. national security and it is DOD'S highest priority mission. No other capability we have is more important.

The President has determined that closing it is a national security imperative.

It is hard to overstate how damaging the continued existence of the Detention Facility at Guantanamo has been and continues to be.

There's a perception that it is the military's responsibility to fix the problem. Problems are not fixed by militaries.

Not everyone at the White House has agreed with me.

Because I had the responsibility and I play my own game here. And that is because by law, I am the one official in government charged with certification with release of detainees. I take that responsibility very seriously.

It is a measurement. But I don't think it is the measurement. I mean, I was in a war with a lot of body counts every day. We lost everyone.

It is a responsibility of the Congress.

I can assure you, Senator, that any commitments we made, in contracting or anything else, we will follow the law clearly and consult with Congress.

No is the first basic answer.

Iraq's continued political progress toward a more inclusive and representative government and its programs of reform and reconciliation will be critical to achieve the progress required.

The last government in Iraq, over the last 5 years, have actually exacerbated the effort and intentionally destroyed the capability of a unity government.

If Congress would not agree to that request, it would be a pretty devastating message that we send to the world.

I think that is really the essence of the ultimate objective we'd like to see in Syria.

Over time if ISIL is not stopped, and with the economic power that it has now, then what I would foresee happening, not only an immediate threat to United States citizens and our people, our interests.

ISIL is a very clear threat to the United States of America, to our people.

The President has said, many times, still strongly believes, that Assad has lost the legitimacy to govern his own people.

American military power alone cannot and will not eradicate the threats posed by ISIL to the United States, our allies, and our friends and partners in the region.

We are in a different situation today, in what the President has laid out to the American people as to what his objectives are.

ISIL is a threat to America, our allies, our interests around the world.

I believe the President has the statutory and constitutional authority to take the action that he is doing to protect this country.

The statutory authority is the AUMF of 2001, and if you wanted to add something to that, it would probably be the AUMF of 2002.