"You look at some of the speeches of Secretary of Defense Gates. He has talked about how civilian casualties have been a major obstacle, for example, in winning the support of the Afghan people."
"I think your testimony here today will probably come to their attention, and you may be able to get the meeting. We will help you on that."
"I want to thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and all the Leahy Fund partners of the past 20 years that have made it what it is and for what they have done to help."
"But what I need from you, and I make this as an open offer to you and to Lloyd, if there is support you are not getting--financially or anything else--from Congress, tell me. And I will work to get it..."
"I commend what we do, but I hope we put it in this perspective."
"I have been making notes as you and Mr. Chromy have been talking. I intend in the next few weeks to be in both Iraq and Afghanistan."
"It was a mistake to not authorize such payments during the first 6 months--to not allow them at all would have been unconscionable and very damaging to U.S. military interests."
"How is Cambodia or Sierra Leone or Lebanon, Afghanistan--how do they eventually take over and do this themselves?"
"I know the Freeman family very, very well."
"Well, I commend you both for doing it. At times, it must feel almost like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill."
"I want to thank all of you for doing this. I appreciate the testimony, and I am also going to a meeting with the other chairmen in the Senate this afternoon."