Russ Feingold

We need strong rules and clear rules.

the Patriot Act provided statutory authority for the government to obtain that special sneak and peak, criminal search warrants

Responses of Christine Anne Varney to questions submitted by Senator Feingold

no one thinks we should abandon Afghanistan.

I'm concerned that our massive military presence may be contributing to instability in the region.

My primary concern with our current strategy is that our massive military footprint may be breeding militancy in the region and could push militants into nuclear-armed Pakistan.

I very much agree with Dr. Nagl, that the development of an indigenous Afghan military force is absolutely necessary if we're going to get out of this with our interests realized.

I urge you to continue to work closely with State and local law enforcement on these issues.

I am asking you today for your commitment to advocate for finding a way to allow some limited information to become public so we can have a real debate about this.

I appreciate that the Justice Department letter this week made public for the first time that the lone-wolf authority has never been used.

Has the FBI changed its procedures for NSL gag orders to address the constitutional problems identified by this decision?

I feel as strongly as anybody in this body and in this country about keeping things secret that have to be kept secret.

I never objected to granting this authority to the FBI. My concern as with a lot of the PATRIOT Act provisions, was that adequate safeguards were not included.

That is why I have mentioned the need for a flexible timetable to drawdown our military presence in Afghanistan.

This obviously leaves me very concerned about how seriously the FBI takes First Amendment issues in the course of its investigations.

the implication of Senator Feingold's September 15 letter to the President is that policy officers of the executive branch, especially those in executive positions, who have never been appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate…

I'm extremely pleased that we finally have a timetable for ending our involvement in the war in Iraq.

The Iraqi Government intends to hold a nationwide referendum on the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement.

According to the Department of State's inspector general, there's no plan in place for transition to a diplomatic presence in Iraq.

That sounds good. Thank you very much, Ambassador.

The recent revelations about gaps in security at the Kabul Embassy continue to highlight our apparent inability to maintain discipline over our security contractors.

I remain convinced that foreign occupations are usually not a good strategy for combating a global terrorist network.

But, is there a unified transition plan that--apparently, that's under review--that we're going to be able to see?

I think it's very important. We're on a tight timeline, as you said, with Southern Sudan's scheduled vote on secession just 18 months away.

I'm very pleased that the administration has made this a priority.