I just want to make sure that we understand what happened on September 11 regarding Benghazi.

Don't you think that saying has been undermined here?

Iraq would just begin to fall apart at a faster rate--do you agree with that--because it is destabilizing the country?

Do you agree with me that it would be a wise investment to keep the Afghan army at 352,000 at least for a few more years rather than draw them down to 232,000?

If neighboring countries see that Iraq is weak and incapable of protecting its border and internal security, then definitely there will be interference.

I think it is no accident that the troops are coming home 2 months before this election in Afghanistan.

You do not think there are any politics going on on our side?

He is the same Senator who decried the systematic destruction of an American friend by the country of Israel and who said there is a Jewish lobby in this country that gets its way through intimidation, and that results in this Government…

NATO will not stay, in any numbers, if we have 1,000 troops.

The next Secretary of Defense is going to have to deal with a world on fire, and I just believe that the testimony of Senator Hagel was not reassuring.

The lack of signature by you runs chills up my spine because I can't imagine not signing a letter like that at a time when it really mattered.

We need a Secretary of Defense who can stand before the world and articulate that we reject a policy of containment of a nuclear Iran.

He is the individual who said he didn't believe in unilateral sanctions because they don't work and they isolate the United States.

I want to find out what's the proper role of this committee in divulging information, because I really do believe we have a right to know what commanders are recommending.

I cannot in good conscience support this nomination because I think it is sending the worst possible signal to our friends and our enemies alike.

We were one perceived slight or insult away from these guys shooting each other, and we need to have a follow-on force to keep tensions low.

the one thing that is foremost in my mind is that if their leadership is unable to transfer power in a peaceful manner, that would create conditions that would cause us to, perhaps, revert to sectarian behavior.

I think we're on the 10 yardline, and I think that the next 18 months will determine whether we get to the goal line.

I wouldn't have one troop in Afghanistan or Iraq without a status of forces agreement, that he was absolutely right to insist on that.

It is in our national security interest to continue pressure on al Qaeda wherever we find them either by ourselves or through partners.

Yes. Iran's actions in the Arabian Gulf, of late, have been more aggressive as Tehran attempts to assert territorial claims that exceed internationally recognized limits.

This is one of the most important hearings we've had in, probably, a very long time.

I believe that because of all of the great work that our young men and women continue to do on a daily basis and the commitment of this entire country to accomplishing that in the right way.

Chuck Hagel, without question, has made a career out of going in front of the cameras, getting invitation after invitation because it was good TV, and making it clear that he was outside that national bipartisan mainstream on all of these…

I completely concur with the idea that American troops should not be left behind in Iraq without legal protections.