general mattis, i always look forward to your testimony. in some sense i feel when i read your stuff or listen to you that i'm black in a classroom because you do have a very developed sense of history. i want to read in the context from your submit the testimony, over 30 years of supporting u.s. forces, in the central command area of responsibility i have never witnessed it, change is the only constant and surprise continues to be the dominant force in the region. well, transformation is under way across the region as a result of the asia wakening, malign effort business other regional actors, particularly iran to influence the outcome represent greatest immediate and long term threat to regional stability. and then i'm skipping here. again, i thought interesting perspective. maybe we missed in all the timult in the region. there is only one state in our aor actively seeking to destabilize the region and that is iran. i think that helps us put things in context. let me go back to something that senator mccain touched on. i want to ask you

general mattis, i want to ask you about the recidivism rate from guantanamo. the associated press ran a story yesterday which i believe is misleading, and the headline was "not so many guantanamo reoffenders." this story said that far fewer detainees released from the guantanamo bay have rejoined terrorist activities than previously reported. however, before this committee, this is an issue that i've questioned many individuals about. last year director clapper said that re-engagement rates from former guantanamo detainees who were confirmed or suspected of re-engaging was 27%. in fact, just three weeks ago he was before our committee again and he actually said that the re-engagement rate of those who had re-engaged were, we've confirmed, are in the fight or suspected to be re-engaging was actually increased close to 28%. i believe it's 27.9%. and, of course, we've heard the same testimony from secretary gates as well as secretary vickers that the way that we calculate the recidivism rate is not just those who are returned but those are just who have suspected

general mattis? >> part of our mission, iraq is going from a military led effort in iraq over the last eight years to a state department led mission under the ambassador. i do have a lieutenant general with a small footprint on the ground. officer security cooperation iraq. they are engaged in everything from the sale of certain military equipment providing contractor led training to organizing the iraqis who want to go to military schools in the united states. we maintain those relationships. that is what they're doing. as far as the security contractors who protect the embassy, those come under the state department but having been there recently there is -- simply doing the guard do you expect a high threat area. as far as the size of the building i am not comfortable to respond on that question. >> it is fair, isn't it? >> it is big. >> in trying to understand the role of the contractors and providing security, in other embassies and other countries are we required -- do we require ourselves to pro

general mattis, can you update me on iran's activities in north yemen? and are they continuing to provide material support to the huthies. >> they are providing material support. compared to last year at this time they're providing more to include weapons. not just money. but interestingly, they are also trying to influence now the non-huthie tribes and invite their political leadership to tehran on expense paid vacations, basically, to meet with certain leaders there. it's very interesting what you and i have seen over years with huthies is now expanding in yemen. frankly, i think tehran sees a lebanese hezbollah kind of mental model for where they want to go down there. >> have the saudis raised concern with you about iranian involvement in yemen? >> yes, ma'am. >> what's your assessment of the new government in yemen? are they interested in continuing to cooperate on counterterrorism matters. >> i believe they are, yes. >> and what's the current status of the dod security assistant programs with respect to yemen? particularly, the assistance program a

general mattis and admiral mccraven, first let me ask you about the fiscal year 2013 budget and the administration's recently revised strategy. does the 2013 budget request reflect the recently revised strategy? general >> yes, sir, it does. >> admiral? >> yes, sir, it the does. >> and general, do you support that budget request? >> i do, completely. >> absolutely. >> now, in the wake of the violence following the burning of korans in afghanistan, including the killing of at least six american soldiers, secretary panetta said that this violence is not going to alter our commitment to get this job done in afghanistan. he added that, quote, our goal is that by the end of 2014, the afghans will have the responsibility to govern and secure themselves. general, following the violence over the koran burning incident, should we modify our strategy in afghanistan? >> no, mr. chairman. i don't believe so. i'm delighted to defend our strategy. i believe it is working. we should not allow a few criminals, malcontents, to define the afghan security forces. even their performance during these last two week, disc

, do you agree with general mattis' statement? >> i do, he has increasingly used heavier weapons. >> even though you agree sooner or later assad will fall, at the moment he happens to be, including regaining control of homs, gaining momentum, that is correct? >> that is correct. >> would you characterize this as a fair fight when he's using a artillery and tanks to kill syrians? >> i would characterize them as brutalizing their own citizens. >> i see, but since sooner or later he will fall, we don't have to act. the president said yesterday he has taken no options off the table, mr. panetta, in the case of syria. you said in your opening statement that includes "potential military options if necessary" you said in your statement. and yet, general -- admiral stavridis and general mattis said there was no contingency planning. will there be contingency planning? >> we have looked at a number of options that could be involved here. we have not done the detailed planning because we are waiting for the direction of the president to do

general mattis and admiral mcraven, first let me ask you about the fiscal year 2013 budget and the administration'srecently revised strategy. does the 2013 budget request reflect the recently revised strategy, general? >> yes sure it does. >> admiral? >> yes it does. >> do you support that budget request? >> i do, completely. >> absolutely. >> in the wake of the violence following the burning of korans in afghanistan including the killing of the six american soldiers, secretary leon panetta said that this violence is not going to alter our commitment to get this job done in afghanistan. he added that our goal is that by the end of 2014 the afghans will have the responsibility to govern and secure themselves. general, following the violence of for the koran burning incident, should we modify our strategy in afghanistan? >> no, mr. chairman, i don't believe so. i'm delighted to defend our strategy. i believe it is working. we should not allow a few criminals, malcolm tent to define the afghan security forces, even the performance during the last two weeks disciplined, restrained, standing by us is an

let me call on you, general mattis.

general mattis? >> sir, as far as our mission in iraq, it's going from a military-led effort in iraq over the last eight years to a state department-led mission under the ambassador. there i do have a lieutenant general with a small footprint on the ground, part of the office of security cooperation in iraq. and they are engaged in everything from the sale of certain military equipment providing contractor-led training to organizing the iraqis who want to go to military schools in the united states. we maintain those relationships. that's what they're doing. as far as security contractors, sir, who actually protect the embassy, those come under the u.s. embassy, under the state department. but having been there recently, they're simply doing the guard duty you expect in a high threat area. as far as the sides of the building, senator, i'm really not confident to respond on that question, sir. >> but it is big, isn't it? >> it's big, sir. >> thank you. >> in trying to understand the role of the contra

general mattis confirmed this number two weeks ago before this committee. in an attempt to confront this issue, i discussed this with you, general petraeus, general mattis and the dea just to name a few. in response to my question, general mattis stated, quote, the u.s. government and other international partners including the afghans are reducing a poppy cultivation and opium production in afghanistan, our strategy supports a comprehensive set of actions to reduce opium production. the strategy includes numerous initiatives, campaigns and joint collaborative efforts that took years to create and implement. i want to compliment you and your leadership on these efforts and on the apparent success. the united nations office of drugs and crime winter poppy assessment for april 2011 demonstrated an actual decrease in 2011 opium production. further in correspondence with general petraeus last year, he told me his forces have seen a 48% decrease in opium production and in the first quarter of 2011 we saw 341% increase in drug seizures nationwide compared to the sa

general mattis, i would like to go to syria for a minute. i understand there have been a number of questions this morning about the opposition in syria and who they are. i'd like to raise a question about the weapons and the stockpiles that are there. earlier last month, senators ji gill brant, collins and i sent some concerns. according to to a recent report syria probably has one of the largest chemical weapons programs in the world. so there are two concerns. first is what happens if those weapons are left unsecured? could they potentially disappear and be used throughout the region? second, obviously, is there any suggestion that assad might actually use these weapons against the people of syria? i wonder if you could comment on both those questions. >> yes, senator, i can. in the conventional weapons, the large stockpiles there are certainly a concern. out of the conventional weapons, the biggest concern i have are the shoulder-launched anti-air missiles. and you understand the danger. on the chemical weapons, you're right to characteri

right now i think he thinks he is dominant and has the kind of momentum, physical momentum that general mattis and general dempsey spoke about today, the sooner we put international military pressure on the assad regime, the sooner we have a chance to end this peacefully. thank you, thanks mr. chair. >> that you, senator lieberman, senator brown? >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. secretary, you said we are leading in iraq and afghanistan, i do not disagree with that, and leading in syria? i do not see that yet, and maybe that is because we are not privy to the information we have. maybe we set up a secure briefing so we can better understand the things happening. right now, i agree with everything surprisingly that senator lieberman said, and that is i think very important, it was well said about, you know, we are missing a potential opportunity. that being said, also, i would like to shift to general dempsey. we know that syria has biological weapons, and the regime will eventually collapse, there's a plan available to address those weapon -- that weaponry and do we have an elimination plan of a

right now i think he thinks he is dominant and has the kind of momentum, physical momentum that general mattis and general dempsey spoke about today, the sooner we put international military pressure on the assad regime, the sooner we have a chance to end this peacefully. thank you, thanks mr. chair. >> that you, senator lieberman, senator brown? >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. secretary, you said we are leading in iraq and afghanistan, i do not disagree with that, and leading in syria? i do not see that yet, and maybe that is because we are not privy to the information we have. maybe we set up a secure briefing so we can better understand the things happening. right now, i agree with everything surprisingly that senator lieberman said, and that is i think very important, it was well said about, you know, we are missing a potential opportunity. that being said, also, i would like to shift to general dempsey. we know that syria has biological weapons, and the regime will eventually collapse, there's a plan available to address those weapon -- that weaponry and do we have an elimination plan of a

general mattis and admiral mcraven first let me ask you about fiscal year 2013 budget and the administration's recently revised strategy. how does the 2013 budget request reflects a recently revised strategy, general? >> yes sir, it does. >> admiral? >> yes sir, does. >> general do you support that budget request? >> i do completely. >> absolutely. >> in the wake of the violence in afghanistan, including the killing of at at least 6 million -- american soldiers secretary panetta says it will not alter our job to get the job done. he added our goal is that by the end of 2014 the afghans will have the responsibility to govern and secure themselves. general following the violence over the koran burning incident should we modifier strategy in afghanistan? >> no mr. chairman i don't believe so. i believe it is working. we should not allow a few criminals, malcontents, to define the afghan security forces. even their performance during these last two weeks disciplined restraint standing by us is an indication that this is a force that is, long ways. it is right now nearly up to 352,000 mark handley

you said in your statement, and yet, admiral sterling silver rit tas and general mattis stated there had been no contingent sill planning either innate coor centcom. will there be some contingency planning? >> we have looked at a number of options that could be involved here. >> but will there be plans? >> we have not done the detailed planning because we are waiting for the direction of the president to do that. >> the president, mr. secretary, president obama issued a presidential directive stating "the prevention of mass atrocities is -- this is a presidential directive "a core national security interest of the united states." that's the administration's policy. with at least 7 thought 500 and possibly more than 10,000 dead with the side using thanks gaining momentum according to general mattis, would you agree that mass atrocities have occurred and are occurring in syria? >> i don't think there's any question na we're experiencing mass atrocities there. >> so the president said yesterday he's taking no options off the table and you said in your opening statement that in xwoets as

and right now i think he thinks he is dominant and has the ki of momentum, physical mentum that general mattisnd general dempsey spoke about today, the sooner we put international military pressure on the assad regime, the sooner we have a chance to end this peacefully. thank you, thanks mr. chair. >> that you, senator lieberman, senator brown? >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. secretary, you said we are leading in iraq and afghanistan, i do not disagree with that, and leading in syria? i do not see that yet, and maybe that is because we are not privy to the information we have. maybe we set up a secure iefing so we can better understand the things happening. right now, i agree with everything surprisingly that senator lieberman said, and that is i think very important, it was well said about, you know we are missing a potential opportunity. that being said, also, i would like to shift to general dempsey. we know that syria has biological weapons, and the regime will eventually collapse, there's a plan available to address those weapon -- that weaponry and do we have an elimination plan of any ki

next speaker, you have it in your program. >> translator: willihile visiti our conference, general james mattis is now commandser, of the u.s. central command in the u.s. >> he is a u.s. marine corp general officer who served in 2007 to 2009, in which capacity he graced our speaker's platform at our 2009 july general meeting. we are delighted to welcome him back in his capacity as commandser, u.s., central command, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming general mattis to our podium. [ applause ] >> thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and for all of you, it's great to be back here once again. general walt, and general sir david and all of you, dr. coenthank you for asking me back, in light of some of my remarks i do not get invited back. i have to recognize my old friend general amult and ambassador anderson, two friends that were great advisers for what seemed like a 17 year assignment to nato, it was only two years. but it's an honor to follow minister mckay, anyone who sat in brussels is very much aware of just how fortunate canada is to have an articulate, unapologetic minister of de

i had a chance to ask general mattis about this yesterday, about what concerns we have, should assad fall, about the security of those arsenals and what potential threat to the rest of the region they might present. can you all address that? >> i can address it in great detail in closed session. >> okay. well, i appreciate that. senator collins and gillibrand and i sent letters expressing this. >> senator, look, there's no question that it got huge stockpiles and that if it got into the wrong hands it would -- it would really be a threat to the security not only in the regional countries but to the united states. >> can you -- recognize that you don't want to address this in an open session, but can you compare it to the situation that we found in libya last year? i know we -- 20,000 man pads disappeared in libya so how do we compare with that situation? >> it's 100 times worse than what we dealt in with libya. and for that reason that's why it's raised even greater concerns about our ability to address how we can secure those sights. >> thank you. and are there

general allen, we had recently before the committee senator mccain, who spoke with general mattis about the report al qaeda is making a comeback in iraq, and general mattis said al qaeda come back is particularly noteworthy in western iraq and even al qaeda's threat is extending into baghdad. general, you've served in iraq with distinction. you understand not only with your current responsibilities in afghanistan, but the importance of what we've done in iraq, and obviously, the role that iran can play in iraq, not only in iraq but currentlyta can you help me -- what was the perception of us not leaving a follow-on force in iraq and afghanistan given your need to, of course, make sure that we execute a strategic partnership, and, second, whatke from that ad in making sure that we have that follow-on ag >> back in november of last year president karzai, i think, wisely convened something the lawyer jerga, which in this case was over 2,000 afghan notables from all walks of life came together for several days to answer in essence two questions. should there be a strategic partnership with

>> well, as general mattis testified yesterday, it would certainly diminish iran's influence in the region and set back their goal of becoming a regial leader dramatically. >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. thank you, gentlemen. >> thank you very much, senator bloomenthall is next. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you bother to your forthright and careful and cautious approach to this problem. and i think many of us are approaching this issue with a high degree of hu millity because of the lack of information and looking for as you brief us in a more secure setting. even wit all that care and caution, i'm struck, mr. secretary, by the conviction that the regime will fall, you said that they will meet their end. there are few things in life that are inevitable and right now the assad regime seems to be on the march and seems to have momentum on its side and you described how this opposition is less organized than the libyan and so, i think that is the reason that many of us hereeel that we need to do more. that is united states needs to take a more aggressive and pro active role in

in response to my question general mattis stated quote the u.s. government and other international partners, including the afghans, are reducing poppy cultivation and opium production in afghanistan are in the agency counter products strategies support a comprehensive set of actions to reduce opium production, strategy includes numerous initiatives, campaigns and joint collaborative efforts that took years to create and implement. i want to compliment you and your leadership on these efforts, and on the apparent success. the united nations office on drugs and crime winter pocket assessment for april 2011 demonstrated an actual decrease in 2011 opium production. further correspond with the general petraeus blaster he told me that his forces have seen a 48% decrease in opium production in the first quarter of 2011 we saw 341% increase in drug seizures nationwide compared to the same period a go. and a want to continue with the charts and the folding. this is the one that has been updated to show the fall. if you fold off the search you can see you'r

general allen, ambassador crocker, general mattis, can you tell us whether these reports are accurate and if there is a difference of views on that matter? >> without going into the specifics of classified national intelligence estimate, i can't confirm that they took issue with the nie on three counts having to do with the assumptions that were made about the force structure deal that we gave sufficient weight to pakistan and its impact as a safe haven and generally felt that the nie was pessimistic. i have to say -- >> about other matters as well? speeches generally pessimism in afghan and the prospects for posts 2014 and that by the way was the timeframe. is after 2014. if you'll forgive a little histories are i served as an analyst breather for general westmoreland in vietnam in 1966. i kind of lost my professional innocence a little but then when i found out by operational commander sometimes don't agree with their views and the success of their campaign as compared to that perspective displayed by intelligence. fast-forward about 25 years or so when i served as the chief of air

that was the comment from marine general john mattis. he declined to detail any military options they had. yesterday, senator john mccain calling for air strikes in syria to help the people in that kunlt. here here's more from that exchange. count. here's more from that exchanr.. here's more from that exchany.. here's more from that exchange. >> i think we would agree that syria out of the hands of assad would be one of the greatest blows to iran as far as lebanon is concerned, hezbollah, iran's closest ally. it would be in america's strategic interest to see assad go. >> yes, sir, it will be the biggest strategic set back for iran in 20 years when assad falls, not if but when. he's going to go. >> and fundamentally we went to the balkans because ethnic cleansing and genocide was taking place in bosnia and kosovo in the 1990s. do you see a difference between the kind of slaughter going on in syria now and the kind that was going on in kosovo and in bosnia, maybe a difference in scale but the same kind of actions and being taken by the go

and possibly more than 10,000 dead, with the side using tanks to gaining momentum according to general mattis, would you agree that massive atrocities have occurred and are occurring in syria? >> there is no question that we are experiencing mass atrocities there. >> and the president said yesterday that he has taken no options off of the table, but you said in the opening statements that in quotes as i said potential military options if necessary. can you tell us how much longer the killing would have to continue, how many additional civilian lives would have to be lost in order to convince you that the military measures of this kind that we are proposing necessary to end the killing and force to leave power, and how many more have to die? 10,000 more? 20,000 more? >> i think that the question, as you stated it yourself, senator, is that the effort to try to build an international consensus on whatever action we do take. that makes the most sense. what doesn't make sense is to take unilateral action at this point. as secretary of defense before i recommend that we put our sons and daughters

so what general mattis is doing in the gulf is very important to us. so making that intelligence connective tishl you with the other xhanlts is critical to us and we've worked hard to do that. there's an extraordinary amount of money in the transnational criminal organization coffers. there are netted works for hire. we'll be watching that carefully and working with very good mexican partners to that end. >> thank you very much. >>> senator joe lieberman questioning generals in charge of northern and southern command with focus of iranian activity in the western hemisphere. that is available on our website any time, part of the video library at c-span.org. >>> the u.s., the european union and japan filing a challenge to the world trade organization against china's export restrictions on minerals, minerals crucial to the production of a lot of high-tech devices used and built in the u.s. in a statement the president saying that the case seeks to force china to lift export limits on certain minerals known as rare el earths. china does produce 97% of all

mccain as completely completely insane this idea of going to war with syria and there being the general mattis for example with the head of the central command has already said that technically it's not feasible to have an intervention in syria because of the anti-missile defense of. when i was also to be very careful about the news that are given by the western media about syria because there are a lot of facts which you can prove have been for as they have been demonstration in hama where somebody a knew was there and he counted a few thousand people he took pictures and everything published them and the media reported five hundred thousand people which are certain to those who announce that they're being a missile attack in the headquarters of the bad party in the manson either a picture of somebody standing in front the next day with the newspaper printed the next day in front of those headquarter and showing that you know such we say like and that was reported on al-jazeera and all the western media there are several examples of media lies about syria which would make us care full about w

some of the calls for intervention here might have to deal with iran because we even heard from general mattis say that this could be the biggest blow to iran in twenty five year is if assad is taken out well i think if there is something today you can take a look at what it is that the americans have already done it again i don't see this from my perspective as it is an american bashing conversation it's simply not but we've got it consider the context of where the iranians are here and i think about this from my perspective what i was close to the iranian border when i was in iraq and then i was close to the iranian border when i was in afghanistan and in fact we have a picture movement going against that we are surrounding them in almost every single way and i think there's an interest in the americans to be in places like bondsteel in khost kosovo the being in turkey right on the turkish iraqi border to being in iraq today you know in afghanistan to being in in this case syria yeah i think there's a lot of people are starting to wonder is this just the next great adventure is this just one

is that slowing down or still on course to draw down general mattis? >> we have not stopped it. we told the first 10,000 out. we have the plan coming in and i think i will have on the first of april for the next 23,000 to come out which would pull out -- >> are you talking about just our men and women in uniform? of contractors. >> that's correct. sponsor contractors we could keep the same or beef up? >> if i may ask this congenital, and by sorry because i know time is limited, how many contractors to be still have an iraq >> under the u.s. military, sir, probably i need to take it for the right but it's around 500. they are doing training, there are people who can teach iraqi is how to use the new artillery piece that they bought for the united states or the new tank. there are people who do that -- >> i know that we have said that we pulled out as a military we pulled out of iraq, correct? >> yes, sir. >> but we still have contractors doing the job that they would have been giving if we let the military in, correct? >> i have about 200 military personnel that serve under the o

general allen, we had recently, before it the committee, senator mccain spoke with general mattis aboutal qaeda making a comeback in iraq. the general said al qaeda's comeback was noteworthy in western iraq and he even said that al qaeda is threatening to send in people to baghdad. general, you have served in iraq with distinction. you know and understand, not only with your current responsibilities in afghanistan, but the importance of what we have done in iraq. optically, the role that iran can play in iraq, not only in iraq, but currently in afghanistan. can you help me -- what was the perception of us not leaving a follow-on force in iraq and afghanistan, given your need to, of course, make sure that you execute a strategic partnership? and second, what lessons can we take from that as we go forward in making sure that we have a follow on agreement in afghanistan? >> back in november, the last year, president karzai, i think, wisely, convened something called the loya jirga. in this example it was afghans that came from all walks of life who came together to answer two questions. sh

i believe that, i would astonished if general mattis has not been already tasked with the requirement to produce a number of operation plans that bring the forces back quickly and perhaps in some instances more quickly than planned. i think the administration is going to pick one of them. there's going to be an a accelerated withdraw. it will not happen before election day, there's political pressure on the president, but it on him to stay the course so that the republicans do not have something to beat him up about. >> hassan murdered 14 people at fort hood, that is the sad number from that case. i, it's a good comparison indeed. thank you concefor being on the program. >> thank you. >> americans were war wary. before the massacre, 60% say it's not worth fighting. and 30% support what the afghans are trying to do in the country. chris cillizza. chris, that is 2-1 against. >> you look at those numbers and i would say they remind me of another set of numbers i'm used to seeing, when we were in the middle or towards the end of the war in iraq. you saw the same thing. this is a country t

. >> reporter: what general mattis kmeens when he talks about resource it is it is a code word for troops t would require a significant number of troops on the ground in syria if the u.s. would set up a no-fly zone and set up safe havens. that is what he told the senate armed services committee. jenna: what a story to be told. thanks very much. jon: fox news alert. take a look at the dow, down 152 points at this moment. that is the biggest drop for the dow since december 8th. the biggest drop in three months. analysts are pointing out so far 2012 has been a very good year for the dow and a year of low volatility. you haven't seen the wild swings in the market that we saw last year and and years previous. we'll be keeping an eye on that through the the day today. also this story. a woman sues her former college, former college, i should say claiming that her roommate's sexual activities in their dorm room drove her into suicide depression, see sidal depression and the school did nothing about it. does she have a case. jenna: she wanted to move rooms. we'll see if she has a case. >>> distur

central command general james mattis and commander of the international security assistance force in tan general john allen will meet chief of staff of the pakistan army general parvez kayani. the meeting follows on the heels of president barack obama and pakistani prime minister yousuf raza gilani meeting yesterday on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in south korean capital seoul. president obama told prime minister gilani he hoped a parliamentary review of strained relations with washington would be balanced and would respect u.s. security needs. >> i want to express my appreciation to prime minister gilani for the work he has done and try to strengthen the relationship between our two countries. there have been times i think of the last several months or those relations have had serious strains but i welcome back to parliament and pakistan is reviewing after some extensive study, the nature of this relationship. >> hundreds of activists demonstrated to protest the government's decision to hold a parliamentary review of relations with the u.s.. this is the head. >> if there is talk

general mattis and the department and the resources that have been made available to the air force and from the conference have helped to improve that situation. to include even the arrival of hyperspectral capabilities in the theater has been very helpful to us in that arrival has been most welcome. >> thanks again for your commitment and the commitment of your family. >> thank you, sir. >> thanks senator chambliss. it's a privilege to be occupying the chair while senator levin had to go to the floor. i i will take the liberty to say very briefly that i share chairman chambliss's concerns and i personally know that the taliban has said in the negotiations of this is the way to build trust. it's much too much, too soon to give up five of these detainees. there other things we have to do before we get to that point to build up the trust and frankly i don't know how secretary panetta could ever certified that these five would not be recidivists so personally i hope he never does. senator ben nelson. >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you general allen and secretary miller for your testi

ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming general mattis to our podium. eneral rick and for all of you, it's great -- it's great to be back here once again. general wall, general sir david and all of you, dr. cohen, thank you for inviting me in light of some of my publicized remarks i seldom get invited back in polite company so it's a pleasure. i have to recognize the general, my old friend. i think and admiral anderson is also here. admiral and ambassador anderson, two stalwart friends who are great advisors in what it seemed like a 17-year summit to nato but it was only 2 years but it's an honor to fall minister mckay. i think anyone who ever sat in brussels is very much aware of just how fortunate canada is to have an articulate, unapologetic minister of defense who can express what many of us have difficulty putting across and turn to the civilian military gap that we all have to work to close. i'm not quite sure -- [applause] >> thank you. i'm not quite sure what is in the water up north here, but i will just tell you that i come often to get very fr

ladies and gentlemen please join me in welcoming general mattis to the podium. [applause] >> thank you ladies and gentlemen, general recommend for all of you, it's great to be back here once again. general and all of you, thank you for inviting me back in light of some of my publicized remarks i seldom get invited back to speak in polite company is. so it's really a pleasure. i have to recognize general, my old friend and admiral anderson is also here and ambassador anderson the stalwart friends who are great advisers for me what seemed like a 17 year assignment to nato was only two years but it would also say that it is an honor to follow the minister i think everyone who ever sat in brussels is very much aware of just how fortunate canada is to have an articulate unapologetic minister of defense who can express what many of us have difficulty putting across in terms of the civilian military that we all have to work to close. i'm not quite sure. i'm not quite sure what is in the north here but i will just tell you that i come often to get very frank and candid a

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