Ted Cruz

Had the compound been secured in a timely manner rather than 23 days later, do you think that would have assisted in the effort to track down who committed these acts of terrorist?

Is it correct then that had the Department of State responded to the request from the Ambassador for additional security and requested from DOD additional security, that that would have been provided in Benghazi as well?

If the State Department had requested additional security so that there were additional boots-on-the-ground in Benghazi, is it your military judgment that that would have prevented the loss of four lives, including our Ambassador, in…

A number of terrorists murdered four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador. To the extent you are able in an open hearing, I would like to know what our progress is in tracking down those terrorists and exacting serious retribution?

I'd like to also spend a few moments on the decisionmaking as this crisis unfolded.

If--and again this is a hypothetical--at 9:42 p.m. you had received a direct order to have boots-on-the-ground to defend our men and women there, what is the absolute fastest that that could have been carried out?

Do you agree with the reports that have suggested that Osama bin Laden was emboldened by what he perceived as the lack of a vigorous response of the United States to prior terrorist attacks and that that was a contributing factor to…

In your judgment, would additional troops on the ground in Benghazi have prevented the loss of life from the assault that we sustained?

I have repeatedly and explicitly praised his personal character and patriotism and service.

I would suggest that it is evidence that, at a minimum, would suggest further inquiry is justified.

His long articulated views in the Senate have consistently made him the Senator who has expressed the greatest degree of antagonism to the Nation of Israel.

His foreign-policy views laid out over 2 decades put him, in the words of the Washington Post, no conservative publication, near the 'fringe of the Senate'.

I also agree strongly with the doctrine of peace through strength.

I have real concerns about the United States acting as the world's policeman, and I take seriously George Washington's admonition that we beware foreign entanglements.

I think there are few, if any, decisions that will have a greater import than this committee's decision confirming or not confirming the Secretary of Defense.

I continue to believe, as I did when I cosponsored and voted for the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, that any partner for peace must renounce violence, abide by previous agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

That ultimately is why the Washington Post described your foreign policy views as 'near the fringe of the Senate'.

The perception and the reality

In your judgment, stricter gun control laws would prove effective in limiting crime.

So let me make sure I understand that right. This deer rifle, which is entirely legal and is used by millions of Americans, is sold in the identical caliber as the so-called assault weapons ban.

Unfortunately, in Washington, emotion I think often leads to bad policies.

My problem with universal background checks is you are never going to get criminals to go through universal background checks.

The Constitution, in fact, creates a limited Federal Government. It separates powers among branches of the Federal Government, and it preserves State power against Federal power.

Except for its prohibition on slavery, the Constitution limits only actions of Government, not individuals.

President Obama's remarks turned the Constitution on its head.