i believe that the communication and the friendship between myself, general mcchrystal, general petraeus, we will all be very effective. and then we will turn in war with our allies to create a pallet on which we can paint are different pictures and then have it come out as a picture we want. >> a vote has begun after this. we will then identify this. excuse the interruption. >> in your efforts, as she strengthened and build relationships, this issue of caveat is problematic. if you talk to troops are commanders it continually comes up, and it really does undermine our ability to be affected. i understand there are limitations when you are dealing with a coalition effort like this, but i really hope you can hone in on that and see if we can perhaps provide some relief for some of our allies. >> we spoke earlier about the importance of these teams that we are going to bring together and that is at the very top of the priority list and i would say the caveat would be the next. i read every one of the 69 caveat that applied to the various nations involved in this. it is complicated. it is w

i join you in welcoming admiral stavridis and general mcchrystal and general fraser. securi security cannot be overstated. their high stakes our country faces in this theater. i support the long overdue change announced for afghanistan earlier this year. the war in pakistan is one we can and will win. for years, we have been fighting without a strategy, with insufficient resources, and with less than total support with the government of pakistan. now that we have a new strategy, we must follow up with an integrated joint agency, a civil military campaign planned for all of afghanistan, and for the pakistan border area. we also need to ensure that general rodriguez has the staff and resources he will need to conduct operational planning, some moral -- similar to iraq. finally, we must take every possible step to accelerate the growth of the afghan security forces. the afghan army is too small, even with the current projected strengths of 134,000, it will not be big enough to tackle the many security challenges at hand. at a minimum, we need to more than double the curr

i will be looking forward for much to general mcchrystal's expertise, and talking to general petraeus, who has excellent experience on the iraq side. between the three of us, we need to find ways to generate combat effect if we cannot have big standing confirmations. >> general " -- general mcchrystal, how you propose to utilize john rodriguez -- how do you propose to general rodriguez? -- propose to utilize general rodriguez? >> what i would like to aspire to is that he be an operational command of the regional commands, the five regional commands. that would allow me to the to the strategic level and he would do the maneuvering. that requires nato to agree to that. that is not yet done. i don't want to get ahead of reality. that would be my aspiration. >> there is another aspect to the question. shifting away from the geographical base of operations to functional. that is, if nato takes the training mission, if nato takes the logistical missions, the the geography of the fight could be up to those combat units. they are not all exclusively american, but mostly american. >> i have ju

admiral, let me ask you first, because general mcchrystal has commented on it. i then want to ask the general the same question. do you believe that the realities on the ground in afghanistan and necessitate growing the afghan national security forces beyond the currently planned and s strengths? >> mr. chairman, my study of classic counterinsurgency doctrine, looking at everything from tea lawrence to david -- t.e. lawrence to david kilcullen, leads me to believe that we need a larger security forces. >> larger than the current and- strength? >> yes, sir. >> general, do you also believe -- in your judgment, will the afghan army need to get a significantly higher end-of strength than 134,000? >> yes, that is my belief right now. >> in terms of the pakistan situation -- and here, general, he made reference to this -- would you agree that assistance to pakistan would only be affected if the pakistani government is considered by the people of pakistan as taking the fight to the insurgents because of their own needs as a nation, not because of u.s. pressure? >> yes,

beyond general mcchrystal taking additional measures once he hits the ground. to determine how we can do a better job with regards to the civilian casualties. is that it on this? >> what is the pentagon's assessment of the success that pakistan armies have had? >> i think it's been three, four weeks now or longer, and i think i spoke about that three weeks ago and we were a week into it then. it's been five weeks since this operation is underway. i think we are greatly heartened by the fact it's gone on as long as it. one key thing we were looking for in terms of pakistan military operations is sustainability. clearly this operation is sustained. and in doing so i think they have enjoyed great success. so we are pleased. we are encouraged. and we are hoping that the offense continues to the point that the militants in this region are defeated. and we are working with the pakistanis to provide them with whatever they need, wherein reason, to ultimately prevail. >> do you approve for the pac army to move into al-qaeda. do you think they are willing to do that? >>

are they waiting for general mcchrystal to craft them? bead i can tell you this. when he and general rodriguez, should the senate confirmed the two of them, go over to afghanistan to undertake the 60 day review of the situation on the ground there, to try to get their feet on the ground, get a ground eye view of what is going on and report back with they believe to be the situation, what they think should the changes in the strategy-- what changes in the strategy should be made and particularly from a personnel standpoint, from a manpower standpoint trying to determine the needs and what can be done to try to consolidate and get the most we can from of resources we have on the ground. the president has authorized as you know, 68,000 personnel. i think we are up to 55,000 on the ground right now. that is-- its rapidly growing operation and the secretary wants to make sure that everybody is being utilized effectively because he doesn't want to become-- he doesn't want headquarters. he wants to make sure that there are as many people operational, outside the wire, wor

as you know, we have general mcchrystal, who has replaced general mckernan in afghanistan. history shows that new commanders make a big difference. let's give general mcchrystal the opportunity to show what american troops and american civilians, state department and others can do. history shows that. president lincoln replaced a general, general immediate and finally ended up -- general meade and finally ended up with a name by the name of grant. one was replaced by bernard montgomery in the great battle came to pass. let's give general mcchrystal the opportunity. further, let me add, mr. clarme, this amendment is intended -- mr. chairman, this amendment is intended to make the administration lay out its strategy. but we already have the administration to lay out their goals, their timelines and conduct regular assessments. that's the way that general mcchrystal should be judged. let's do that. i do oppose this amendment very respectfully. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair will note that the gentleman from massachusetts has 1 3/4 remainin

general mcchrystal. walk me through what would happen is america lost in afghanistan and pakistan collapsed. >> in the near term i would not predict the future but i think that it would break down into civil war. i don't believe that the towel bun with takeover afghanistan, i think it would go back to what it was earlier. -- i don't think the taliban would take over afghanistan. if there was that kind of safe haven in afghanistan with the ongoing problem of pakistan, i think pakistan would find winning their insurgency very difficult, if not impossible. it is a nuclear arms stacy have nuclear weapons under questionable control. >> amro, do you agree? >> i do. and then there is the nato failing. i would add that to the list of the outcomes. >> this is one to be difficult, war expansible -- it will be more expensive. i support present obama's efforts to interject more troops. do you feel constrained at all to ask for more troops? is any constraint on you to ask for more troops? can you make that request wi

i agree with general mcchrystal that we need the afghan people on our side. right now the two greatest threats of them being on our side are number within the civilian casualty issue, both real and in some cases i think generated by taliban propaganda, but we need to get better at countering propaganda, getting our own message out. but also it is a very, very real concern. of course the other issue is the efficacy of the afghan government which the people of afghanistan do not believe in. i think certainly the best approach there is to try to go local as much as possible. the afghan people are far more likely to trust their local tribes and work with their local provincial governments than they are to fly off on whatever the national government winds up looking like, not to say we shouldn't try to make the national government a little better as well. in balancing now afghanistan going forward, how do you see the best approach to striking that balance and with regard to pakistan, this issue affects pakistan as well. in fact, david kill cullen testified before

general mcchrystal i think set the standard aggressively at the operational level. and that command is serving as a higher sorts of the headquarters. we wake up with 85 members of the special operations command going to work in agencies of government. some you may expect and some you wouldn't, and small teams two to four people, with an o 6 colonel. and we wake up in tampa with those in our headquarters. full members of the team sitting on the discussions and on the global collaborations kind of briefings and this has provided a transparency that is helpful. and it's hard now to imagine back what it was like back when we used to look around the room and see only uniform members. it's a good solid team. >> and that's something that we want to encourage, to get agencies to work side by side. you have done an excellent job and sprinkling those in other places. other agencies need to do that as well. and we want to see that happen more and more. and in particular some title 10 or title 50 conflicts between intel and dod, can be resolved better if we have more sharing ba

republicans, if given the chaps, wouldn't they approve general mcchrystal? of course they would. and the other people i have mentioned. we believe these they have chosen to seven our country must get to work without delay. president obama was elected, shouldn't he have the people he wants to work with him? perhaps those watching and listening think this is how the senate always operates. mr. president, you are a new senator. this isn't how it used to operate. let me put the delays this context: in the first four months of the bush administration, second bush administration, i'm sure it was the same -- i'm sorry in the second bush administration; i'm sure it was the same in the first bush administration, when the senate was controlled by the president's party and we were in the minority, there wasn't a single filibuster of a bush nominee; not one. but in the first four months of the obama administration, republicans have filibustered eight of the nominees, the ones we had to file cloture on. i've indicated there are many others with the constraints we have, with the rules in the s

are they waiting for general mcchrystal to craft them? >> the secretary has asked the general when he and general rodriguez, should it senate concerned -- and from the two of them, go to afghanistan to undertake a 60-day review of the situation on the ground there. this would be to try to get their feet on the ground, get at few of what is going on the ground, to get a situation of what should be the changes in the strategy should be made, and particularly from a personnel standpoint, try to determine the needs and what can be done to try to consolidate and get the most we can from the resources we have on the ground. the president has authorized 68,000 personnel. we are up to 55,000 on the ground right now. it is a rapidly growing operation, and the secretary wants to make sure that everybody is being utilized effectively. he does not want -- he does not want bloated headquarters. he wants to make sure that there are as many people operational, outside the wire, working, and gauging as possible, and by sending in the general rodriguez, th

general mcchrystal took command from general david mckiernan during a low-key ceremony in kabul. he was fired last month by defense secretary robert gates one year into a two-year assignment. the u.s. and south korea have been pointed 11 underground sites in north korea where it it could conduct a third nuclear test. this, and of a summit between the two allies on the north's growing atomic threat. south korean president is on his way to washington for a meeting tomorrow with president obama appeared this just in it, prime minister von brunn's office says britain will hold a long- awaited in kuwait into iraq war -- prime minister board and brown. he pledged to examine mistakes made during and after the 2003 invasion. lawmakers and anti-war protesters have called for the inquiry to be held in public and to scrutinize what they say were a wide range of errors and post-war planning. the prime minister will make

he said, senator, there is a sense of urgency that general mcchrystal be able to go to afghanistan tonight. there is no commander in afghanistan. he said -- admiral mullen said -- and i wrote it down, admiral mcchrystal is literally waiting by an airplane. it's 2:00 in the morning thursday in afghanistan. dawn will soon be breaking, and our troops will not have a commander there. is this wh

general mcchrystal, you and i talked about it. even in a war zone like afghanistan, same thing. it's now it's not just the united states military. the military can take the lead but it's all the other agencies of government to work in projecting our power in order to secure the interests of the united states. now, one area in your future command that is just still a basket case, i thought i'd ask admiral stavridis on this is haiti. and then let's pick up the conversation, general fraser. >> well, senator, of course, you and i have spent some time on the road together, including haiti, and it is indeed a nation in extreme distress. it's the poorest nation in the americas. it's one of the poorest four or five countries in the world. it was devastated last summer by three separate major storms, two of them high-level hirks. it has a big problem with soil erosion. i could go on and on. what am i encouraged by there? i'm encouraged by the nation' peacekeeping force which has done a superb job with very little u.s. military engagement. i'm very encouraged with what our ambassador has

command under your leadership and also out in the field under the leadership of at one point general mcchrystal. i think pulled those pieces together about as effectively as anywhere i have seen in government. as we go forward and you look outside of areas like iraq and afghanistan where i think we're specifically familiar with the struggles there. you look to some of these emerging threat environments around the horn of africa and yemen and a.q. what do you think is most important toward the pushing forward of that level of cooperation between other elements of d.o.d., state, and the intel community? >> the most important thing to push forward are structures that provide a forum so that the community can provide the content to the discussions. these are relationships that are building over time. we are pay better than we have ever been. we're not as good as we will be next year or the year after, but so much of it has to do with just understanding each other's organizations and cultures and we're even seeing now what i call second or third generation, second or third order effects of people wh

flynn, of the joint chiefs of staff, now head of all intelligence for the afghan command under general mcchrystal, convinced me that we need a corps of experts in uniform who can deliver on years of commitment to the afghan deployment, who can build especially an expertise in the afghan languages. this amendment, the larson-kirk amendment, allows for arrangements of members of the military wishing to make a deployment for -- to afghanistan. d.o.d. and senior commanders feel that this language that will build a dedicated long-term afghan corps of enlisted officers will quickly become the leaders of our afghan nato effort. based upon our bipartisan bill that congressman larson and i introduced, our bill would laid out a $250,000 payment for a soldier willing to make a for the duration commitment. in my discussions with the troops currently in the field in kandahar, they are pumped up about the opportunity that this commitment would be. i feel that only a small number of soldiers would sign up, but each one of them, if strategically placed in key afghan areas, will become vital assets to our effort

i am without words to understand -- to try to explain my consternation at the fact that general mcchrystal, one of our most eminent, prominent, outstanding qualified soldiers, a man whose father won five silver stars; a man whose record is one of being the leading person in our military to do counterinsurgency. that's what he's an expert at doing. let's get the man approved tonight so he can go, leave, on an airplane to get over there and take care of the men and women. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: corner tomorrow. he was a great player. he had a setback last year. he was playing well early. and if he had that surgery, i am anxious to see what he has left in the cannon. he had a pretty good arm as we know. >> the minnesota vikings have 4 quarterbacks on their roster. taveras jackson played well last season. sage rosenfels played 6 games and neither flynn or john day of the booty have-- john david booty have taken 1 snap. brett favre had more passing yards than the current vikings quarterbacks did last season. >> the only

and as i indicated, a number on judiciary but the topper is lieutenant general stanley mcchrystal to run afghanistan. i would hope that people would search their con shns and try to get these -- conscience and try to get these done. i can't file cloture on every one of these. so people watching this understand, it takes days for us to do that. but 25 nominations are held up. it would take until the summer until we finish the july recess and beyond for us to get this done, filing cloture on every one of these. i hope it doesn't come to that. mr. president, on another topic, in a single word, health care debate is about choices. our country, are you going to choose you can't take children to the doctor because it is too expensive? we tell small businesses they have to lay off employees because they cannot afford skyrocketing health care premiums as outlined by senator durbin yesterday an example of a small businessman that he talked about trying to maintain insurance for his employees. or will we choose real health care reform that ensures everyone can get the quality care they deserve

president, i'd urge my colleagues to support the nomination of general mcchrystal, and i ask unanimous consent that the full statement i prepared be submitted for the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bond: i thank the chair, and i particularly thank my distinguished colleague from utah. mr. hatch: i thank my colleague and join with him in his suggestions. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, i want to associate myself with the remarks and concerns expressed earlier by both the judiciary committee's ranking member, senator sessions, and the distinguished republican leader and whip, senator mcconnell -- senators mcconnell and kyl. the white house talking points tell us that the supreme court nominee, judge sonia sotomayor, has more federal judicial experience than any supreme court nominee in a century. my friends on the other side of the aisle have aggressively circulated these talking points. i assume by stressing judicial experience they are saying this overwhelmingly deep, broad judicial record provides