Jim Webb

Today's hearing will examine the impact of our legislation on our antitrafficking efforts in Asia.

Different governmental systems have different ways of dealing with problems.

At this point, I would like to emphasize that this line of questioning is really designed to try to examine your methodology rather than being a comment on my view of the quality of the governmental systems in most of these places that I'm…

Let me ask you one final question about Singapore since we've been on it.

I've long been an advocate of a multilateral approach, in terms of resolving these sorts of issues.

The U.S. Government has long recognized the negative impacts of human trafficking.

This hearing will come to order.

By the way, this whole hearing shouldn't be about Singapore.

This hearing will come to order.

I think this whole area of seamless transition as it applies to the disability evaluation system is something we really need to get better coordination with between DOD and VBA.

We can take the political questions aside. You and I served during the Vietnam era. We know the difference between political questions and actual service.

We may want to continue the discussion. I hope you can find some sort of resolution here that will honor these people.

I view this not only personally because of my own family journey but because we up here are the stewards of the service for those who came before us.

I assume that you would agree that it is the position of the VA that Confederate soldiers have the same status as Union soldiers when it comes to memorial affairs, from the Civil War.

It seems to me--and I think to everybody else--that we are clearly involved in regime change in this issue.

I think it is very important in terms of how we address situations around the world.

I think Senator Corker had some good questions on that line that are bent on manipulating these sorts of movements that are otherwise well-intentioned.

We are supporting a movement yet to be fully defined and in my view in its attempt to overthrow a government which we still formally recognize.

So we have official diplomatic relations with the Qaddafi regime?

There certainly are other forces in Libya extremist groups including some who have fought in Afghanistan and elsewhere who we have been concerned about for a long time.

You have a reputation, well deserved, of being one of the finest diplomats in the State Department

Senator Webb can speak to the transportation issues around, I will say that DOD has added enormously to the already horrible congestion in the NCR.

This is an issue that is extremely important to our relationship with Japan, as well as to the future of our presence in the Pacific.

I was surprised, last year, at how little Tinian was being planned on--the use of Tinian is--29 square miles, most of it's uninhabited.

I believe we need to move forward in a time-sensitive way with the situation on Okinawa and Guam.