You have to have a system in there that will encourage troops to come forward.

I think we have to remain diligent to follow up to see that we support the Guard and the Reserve as they support us.

I cannot really think of anything bad to say about him.

I commend you for doing that, Mr. Secretary. I think it is extremely important.

I would think there would be some urgency on this.

We strongly support your effort to transform the Guard's and the entire Air Force capability to meet the Nation's needs.

I'm sorry that some of our closest allies and friends, like Mexico and Canada, even the countries that you dismissingly called 'Old Europe,' were alienated because they disagreed with our strategy of preemptive war.

General, will you or your staff keep me posted on how it goes? Because I want to--I really do have a very strong interest in this.

They have earned an awful lot more than that.

I am committed to working with the Department of Defense to improve the capabilities of the National Guard.

Do you feel that domestic operational use of National Guardsmen in a title 32 status would aid in providing the necessary flexibility for our states to respond to domestic emergencies such as unprovoked terrorist attacks?

Do we have a tracking system? Do we know how to follow this?

I joined my colleagues, Senators Graham and DeWine and Daschle, recently to write the Secretary of Defense to find out how we can speed this up.

I don't think they're getting techniques over the Internet. There is obviously some systematic training.

Al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq when we started this war. They are there now.

It is very important that Guard and Reserve who are deployed be able to vote.

Apparently not in Iraq

You have marshalled help through critical appropriations.

Fine. Your recollection will be yours; mine's mine.

The reason I mention this, General, you would get strong support as far as the money is concerned from both Republicans and Democrats on this committee.

I thank you for having the hearing.

Providing clear authority for the National Guard to perform operations--in addition to training--under Title 32 would significantly strengthen the flexibility for addressing domestic missions.

I'm sorry that truth-tellers in the administration, like General Shinseki and Lawrence Lindsey, were hounded out of their job because they had the temerity to suggest realistic numbers both for our troop level and for what this war is…

I'm sorry that someone in the administration 'gave currency to a fraud,' to quote George Will, by putting, in the President's State of the Union speech, that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa.

I was glad to hear the comment made about the value of TRICARE for the National Guard.