mr. mccain proposes amendment numbered 493. mr. kirk: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. kirk cork i ask to be recognized for -- mr. kirk: i ask to be recognized in morning business for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kirk: thank you, madam president. under general petraeus, the deployment of a local army is critical to winning a war. in iraq, he used extra u.s. troops to sustain military momentum against an enemy until a well-trained local army was trained and ready for action. petraeus had the time he needed to stand up a 500,000-man local army and then won the war. this has also been his model for afghanistan. while iraq and afghanistan differ, the military challenge was the same: iring's to train and deploy a local army that could sustain a fight until victory. now, starting with nothing, the united states and our nato allies set a goal of building an afghan army and police force to eventually number 400,000. by reaching this goal, the combat mission of the u.s. and other nato forces would di

mr. mccain, proposes amendments en bloc numbered 411 and 412. mr. mccain: madam president, i'll be brief about discussing both of the amendments. the first, 411, is a s an amendment -- is a simple amendment that would prohibit the u.s. department from storing ethanol storage facilities, an effort on the part of the ethanol lobby to take more and more of u.s. taxpayer dollars. i would remind my colleagues that the taxpayers have already provided billions of dollars to ethanol producers over the last 30 years. last year alone, the ethanol tax credit cost the taxpayers $6 billion. in the final hours of the last congress the ethanol tax credit was extended for an additional year and will likely cost the taxpayer an additional $5 billion to $6 billion this year. now seeking to double dip in the federal treasury, advocates in the ethanol industry are seeking support for infrastructure nor ethanol such as pwhrerpbd pumps and -- blender pumps and storage facilities. the department of agriculture was happy to comply with the request to fund infrastructure ins

mr. mccain: i note my friend from south carolina here today.he senator from south carolina, as many of us tphoerbgs is a reserve -- know, is a reserve colonel in the united states air force j.a.g. corps. he has spend more time in afghanistan than any member of congress, more than most members of congress combined. he has observe closely in afghanistan the surge, its success, its i am pedestrianments. -- its impediments. i ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my friend from south carolina. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: i wonder if my friend has seen general kean, the architecture of the surge in iraq, on one of the networks this morning describing his views on the president's decision concerning drawing down our troops in afghanistan? mr. graham: i did. about your statement on the floor, i'd like to associate myself with it. it was a very well articulated statement about the tim in which we live. afghanistan, for about 18 months we've had additional military capacity that was never known to afghanistan. to a

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr. president, i rise to join the senator from massachusetts, who will shortly introduce the product of many hours of bipartisan cooperation and negotiation ands, an authorization for the limited use of military force in libya. the resolution, as will be introduced by my colleague from massachusetts, will be for the, as i mentioned it would authorize the president to employ the u.s. armed forces to advance u.s. national security interests in libya as part of the international coalition that is enforcing u.n. security council resolutions in libya. it would limit this authority to one year, which is more than enough time to finish the job. and it makes clear that the senate agrees with the president that there is no need and int no desire to commit u.s. conventional ground forces in libya. i will be the first to admit that this authorization is not perfect and will not make everyone happy. it does not fully make me happy. i would have preferred that this authorization make clear that our mi

mr. mccain: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: madam president, i rise in support of my amendment. i would ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business on the issue of libya before i do. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: madam president, yesterday, the administration made an announcement that i believe will strike most of my colleagues and the americans they represent as a confusing breach of common sense. two administration levels claimed -- two administration lawyers claimed that u.s. military involvement in libya is not in breach or calls for a war powers resolution. in other words, they believe that our activities, military activities in libya do not require a war powers resolution. they say because the united states is not engaged in a state of hostilities in libya. this puzzling assertion seems to be undercut by the very report that the administration sent to congress yesterday, which makes it clear that the u.s. armed forces have been and criewmably will continue to fly limited strike mis

mr. mccain: mr.president, in a few minutes we will be casting, i'm sure, a 100-0 vote to confirm general david patraeus as the new director of the central intelligence agency, and obviously his nomination is supported by all members of the senate, and i'm sure all americans, especially those like the senator from south carolina and myself who have had the great privilege and honor of knowing general petraeus for many years and watching him lead the men and women serving in our military in a fashion that i have never seen surpassed. the senator from south carolina has had the unique privilege and responsibility to serve under general petraeus in uniform because, as most of our colleagues know, the senator from south carolina also serves as a colonel in the south carolina national guard and in the legal corps as a j.a.g. officer. and the senator from south carolina has worked with general petraeus both in iraq and afghanistan on many of the important issues concerning detainees as well as other issues.

mr. mccain. roeupl noting there is one -- mr.eid: noting there is no one on the floor, i would ask that a quorum call begin with the time being equally divided. the presiding officer: kau kaufplt the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california is recognized. mrs. feinstein: mr. president, i terrorize speak on -- the presiding officer: the senate is currently in a quorum call. mrs. feinstein: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. feinstein: thank you, mr. president. i rise in support of the ethanol subsidy and tariff repeal act which senator coburn and i are offering as an amendment to pending legislation. the other cosponsors on this amendment are senator webb and senator collins. this is identical to a bill that we have submitted. and on that bill, there are more cosponsors. they are coburn, cardin, webb, corker, lieberman, collins, shaheen, burr, risch, and toomey. and so i wanted to have th

mr. president, yesterday senator mccain and i introduced -- mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that we go to morning business. i ask unanimous consent that we be permitted to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kerry: thank you. thank you, mr. president. mr. president, as i was saying, and now it makes an enormous difference because we're in morning business, yesterday senator mccain and i introduced a resolution with respect to our engagement in a support role in libya. that is now, i think the majority leader is making a determination about exactly when the senate might consider this. but a number of colleagues on our side have expressed some questions about it, and because of those questions, i thought it was important that we clarify for the record as senators consider this over the course of the next days the answers to their questions. and with that in mind, i'm happy to engage in a colloquy now with both the senator from california, senator boxer, and the senator from illinois, senator durbin.

mr. panetta and i consider him to be a close friend. but for to support his confirmation and serve it with him in is the capacitor think you for the opportunity. >> thank you, senator mccain. our two colleagues from california are here to introduce mr. panetta. it is a treat the you're with us. senator feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee. she has a lot of direct experience long before then with director panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. it is distinct pleasure for me to introduce the director of the central intelligence agency and distinguish california, leon panetta, who was nominated by president obama on april 28 to be the 23rd secretary of defense. as members of this committee will know, it is 47 years of public service, director panetta has held positions of congressman, chairman of the house budget committee, director of the office of management and budget, chief of staff to the white house, co-director with his wife of the leon and sylvia panetta institute for public policy, which i've had the pleasure of speaking before, a member of the iraq study group, a secondof the caia, and first lt. as an intelligence officer. t

mr. president. you're aware that senators kerry and mccain have a proposal on the senate floor to give you leeway to continue operations in libya for another year. you said this was an operation limited in time and scope and anywhere elsely said days not weeks. are you and the american people prepared for this operation with american support to continue for another year and is there any definition of success other than gaddafi being removed from power. >> well, first of all, jim, a slight correction, what i told the american people was the initial phase where americans were in the lead would take days. perhaps week. and that's exactly what happened. i mean, after -- around two weeks, a little less than two weeks, we had transitioned where nato had taken full control of the operation. so promise made. promise kept. second, i think when you have the former republican nominee for president, john mccain, and the former nominee for president on the democratic side, oncary coming together to support what we're doing not guilty cleveland. also it tells my mother that -- third when it comes to our definitio

mr. panetta and i consider him to be a close friend. but for to support his confirmation and serve it with him in is the capacitor think you for the opportunity. >> thank you, senator mccain. our two colleaes from california are here to introduce mr. panetta. it is a treat the you're with us. senator feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee. she has a lot of direct experience long before then with director panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. it is distinct pleasure for me to introduce the director of the central intelligence agency and distinguish california, leon panetta, who was nomined by president obama on april 28 to be the 23rd secretary of defense. as members of this committee will know, it is 47 years of public service, director panetta ha held positions of congressman, chairman of the house budget comttee, director of the office of management and budget, chief of staff to the white house, co-director with his wife of th leon and sylvia panetta institute for public policy, which i've had the pleasure of speaking before, a member of the iraq study group, a secondof the caia, and first lt. as an intelligence officer. trusted a

mr. panetta and i consider him to be a close friend. but for to support his confirmation and serve it with him in is the capacitor think you for the opportunity. >> thank you, senator mccain. our two colleagues from california are here to introduce mr. panetta. it is a treat the you're with us. senator feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee. she has a lot of direct experience long before then with director panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. it is distinct pleasure for me to introduce the director of the central intelligence agency and distinguish california, leon panetta, who was nominated by president obama on april 28 to be the 23rd secretary of defense. as members of this committee will know, it is 47 years of public service, director panetta has held positions of congressman, chairman of the house budget committee, director of the office of management and budget, chief of staff to the white house, co-director with his wife of the leon and sylvia panetta institute for public policy, which i've had the pleasure of speaking before, a member of the iraq study group, a secondof the caia, and first lt. as an intelligence officer. t

mr. president, the resolution that we will submit, senator mccain and myself and other senators is absolutely not a blank check for the president. not at all. it is a resolution that authorizing limited use of american forces in a supporting role. i want to emphasize that. there's only an authorization for a supporting role. it says specifically that the senate does not support the use of ground troops in libya. and the president has stated that that is his policy, but we adopt that policy in this resolution. it authorizing the limited use of american forces for a limited duration. and it would expire one year from the time of authorization. this resolution envisions action, consistent with the letter that the president sent to congressional leaders on may 20th in which he specified that the u.s. participation in libya has consistented of nonsupport of the nato led operation, including intelligence, logistical support, and search and rescue missions. >> i'll wrap up. all right. i think i asked for such time as i would use. i'll try to tighten it up here. mr. president, the administration info

mr. chairman, and you senator mccain, have carried on that tradition and i thank you for that. this is a time of historic change. unlike the cold war, when we had one main adversary, we face a multitude of challenges. al qaeda and other global terrorist networks, in places like yemen, somalia, north africa, not just fataa in pakistan. dangerous enemy spread out across the world. we face insurgents and militants who cross borders to conduct attacks. we placed the proliferation of dangerous weapons in the hands of terrorists and in the hands of rogue nations. we face cyber attackers, a whole new arena of warfare that can take last not only now but in the future. that is something we have to pay attention to. we face the challenge of rising and changing powers, in nations in turmoil particularly in the middle east undergoing enormous political transformation. we are no longer in the cold war. this is more like a blizzard war. it is a blizzard of challenges that draws speed and intensity from terrorism, from rapidly developing technologies and the rising number of powers in the wor

mr. speaker. as you know on the senate side there's the kerry-mccain resolution. this resolution that we have from mr. hastings today largely mirrors that resolution. if you believe in what's going on in libya is in the best interest of the united states, if you believe we have a national security interest in libya, if you believe that the congress should make clear that we are behind the president and what's going on in libya, you have that choice today in the resolution offered by mr. hastings. if you believe that this is just another example, the war is going to escalate, and you're concerned about that escalation and you want to put yourself on the record as saying, no, no more. no more. you have your chance to do that today with the rooney resolution. no more. i hold here in my hand, mr. speaker, a copy of the constitution of the united states of america. again, ratified this week in 1788. article 1, section 8, the congress shall have the power to declare war. article 1, section 9, no money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations

mr big u.s. congress which seems to have been neglecting its responsibilities along with obama's defiance of the law senator john mccain has even gone so far as to dismiss the law altogether saying the president has recognized the constitutionality of the war powers act and nor do i and there doesn't seem to be any great movement towards acting but some lawmakers have attempted to have sway on the issue like republican richard lugar a member of the senate foreign relations committee quest called in the bomb had to respect the act the president did not seek a ration of war began with. nor really has there been much discussion of the war powers act defending his position obama has slipped into double speak saying us but some patient has entailed a non-kinetic support only and that nato was ultimately in charge of the mission all elements that did not make up for the fact that the so to speak nato led mission will have cost the u.s. seven hundred fifty million dollars by the end of september many white house officials say u.s. involvement in libya is to. small scale to the last threshold well even if obama were to go to c

mccain. >> thank you mr. chairman. general, do you know of any military leader that recommended in 2009 the the president make an announcement in 2011 and travon of troops? >> i do not, senator. >> deal with any military leader that recommended the drawdown plan the president announced last week? >> i do not, senator. >> does it surprise you that after the president's announcement that president sarkozy, the british, of their allies have now announced they will be withdrawing from afghanistan? >> it does not. >> did you see the picture in the paper over the weekend of president karzai and the ayatollah khomeini sitting down at a meeting pledging friendship support for one another? savitt i didn't see the picture but i was aware of the meeting. >> is it true that the ied and in effect in iran are still coming across the border into afghanistan and killing americans? >> i believe they are, sir. >> did you hear of a statement of the leader, the taliban field commander told the daily beast of his reaction to mr. obama's sp

mccain. >> thank you mr. chairman. general, do you know of any military leader that recommended in 2009 the the president make an announcement in 2011 and travon of troops? >> i do not, senator. >> deal with any military leader that recommended the drawdown plan the president announced last week? >> i do not, senator. >> does it surprise you that after the president's announcement that president sarkozy, the british, of their allies have now announced they will be withdrawing from afghanistan? >> it does not. >> did you see the picture in the paper over the weekend of president karzai and the ayatollah khomeini sitting down at a meeting pledging friendship support for one another? savitt i didn't see the picture but i was aware of the meeting. >> is it true that the ied and in effect in iran are still coming across the border into afghanistan and killing americans? >> i believe they are, sir. >> did you hear of a statement of the leader, the taliban field commander told the daily beast of his reaction to mr. obama's sp

mr. panetta and i consider him to be a close friend. but for to support his confirmation and serve it with him in is the capacitor think you for the opportunity. >> thank you, senator mccain. our two colleagues from california are here to introduce mr. panetta. it is a treat the you're with us. senator feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee. she has a lot of direct experience long before then with director panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. it is distinct pleasure for me to introduce the director of the central intelligence agency and distinguish california, leon panetta, who was nominated by president obama on april 28 to be the 23rd secretary of defense. as members of this committee will know, it is 47 years of public service, director panetta has held positions of congressman, chairman of the house budget committee, director of the office of management and budget, chief of staff to the white house, co-director with his wife of the leon and sylvia panetta institute for public policy, which i've had the pleasure of speaking before, a member of the iraq study group, a secondof the caia, and first lt. as an intelligence officer. t

mr. president. you are aware senators kerry and mccain have a bill on the floor to give you a way to continue with operationss. you said days not weeks, and are you prepared and the american people prepared for this mission with american support to continue for a further year, and is there any other definition of success other than gadhafi being removed from power? >> first of all, jim, there is a light correction. what i told the american people was the initial phase where the americans were in the lead would take days, and perhaps weeks. that's exactly what happened. right? i mean, after around two weeks, a little less than two weeks, we transitioned where nato had taken full of the operation. promise made, promise kept. second, i think that when you have the former republican nominee for president, john mccains, and the former nominee for president on the democratic side, john kerry, coming together to support what we're doing in libya, that should tell the american people that this is important. i very much appreciate their efforts in that regard. third, when it comes to our definitions of success, the u

mr. kucinich made it clear to you offer an amendment that would prohibit funding for anything in libya. many of the republicans opposed the authorizing bill that was modeled again by senator mccainey said, we should not abandon our allies and the support of the work we are doing in libya, but they did not like the way the president was doing it. we have yet to see if they will cut off support for spending. i also think there'll be some language on afghanistan and a variety of other issues in terms of the overall level of spending. >> i wanted to ask you about the war powers act. there are some who say it is time to revisit the way the war powers act is structured. some have said that our definitions of war are obsolete and that leaders around the world are not doing that anymore. >> the way the constitution was set up in the first place was almost purposely ambiguous. if congress has the right to declare war. if war is -- war is nowhere defined in the constitution. the president is the commander in chief in conducting military ever -- operations. which is it? no one has had a clear consensus on how you create a balance. >> there was a lot of talk about afghanistan this week with

mr. panetta and i consider him to be a close friend. but for to support his confirmation and serve it with him in is the capacitor think you for the opportunity. >> thank you, senator mccain. our two colleagues from california are here to introduce mr. panetta. it is a treat the you're with us. senator feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee. she has a lot of direct experience long before then with director panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee. it is distinct pleasure for me to introduce the director of the central intelligence agency and distinguish california, leon panetta, who was nominated by president obama on april 28 to be the 23rd secretary of defense. as members of this committee will know, it is 47 years of public service, director panetta has held positions of congressman, chairman of the house budget committee, director of the office of management and budget, chief of staff to the white house, co-director with his wife of the leon and sylvia panetta institute for public policy, which i've had the pleasure of speaking before, a member of the iraq study group, a secondof the caia, and first lt. as an intelligence officer. t

mr. president. you are aware that senators kerry and mccain have options on the floor so that you can continue in libya for one more year. you call this an operation that was limited in time and scope. days, not weeks. are the american people prepared to continue for a further year? is there any other definition of success than gaddafi being removed from power? >> first of all, a slight correction. what i told the american people was was that the initial phase where the american people were in the lead could take days or weeks. and that is exactly what happened. after around two weeks, a little less, we had transition where nato had taken full control of the operation. promise made, promises kept. second, i think that when you have the former republican nominee for president, john mccain, and the former nominee for president on the democratic side, john kerry, coming together to support but we are doing in libya, this is important and i appreciate their efforts in that regard. third, when it comes to their definition of success, the un mandate has said that we are there to make sure that we do not see

mr. coburn: i just wanted to -- i failed to mention the cosponsors. senator udall of colorado, senator collins, senator mccaskill, senator burr, senator paul, senator brown of massachusetts, and senator mccain. i yield the floor. mr. nelson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: i ask consent that the toomey amendment number 514 be considered as having been adopted before the managers' amendment to s. 679. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. nelson: mr. president, i ask consent that be allowed to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator is recognized. mr. nelson: mr. president, thank you. mr. president, i want to give you a quote from a publication. "days after working at guantanamo naval base prison in cuba, a u.s. navy veteran found himself behind bars where he could remain for a decade for alleged passport fraud." end of quote. mr. president, i had to read that article from cnn's web site -- i had to read it twice. i couldn't believe it. but that's what it said. former u.s. army specialist, now navy reservist, u.s. petty officer second class elijah dawkins, 26-yea

mr. chairman. thank you for being here. senator mccain. >> thank you madam chairman and general elect you add my voice to the chorus of congratulations and appreciation, you and your family for their credible and wonderful service to our country. i guess that you do have a certain sense of relief not having again to put up with colonel graham's presents with you. >> it is a very heavy burden that we have had an theatre in iraq and now in afghanistan. i thought we had gotten --'s be your reward will be in heaven. [laughter] we are indeed part of his continued presence. and the contributions. i guess my questions there and i think you have been very candid with the committee, particularly in your previous responses to this chairman, chairman levin's comments. i guess one of my questions is this. is it more difficult or less difficult now for general allen to be able to achieve the success of this mission in afghanistan? is the president decision-making it more or less difficult for general allen to achieve his goal of success of his mission

mr. president. you are aware that senators kerry and mccain want to give you the leeway to continue operations in libya for another year. you said that this is an initiative limited in time and scope and you have said days, not weeks. is there any other definition of success than gaddafi being removed from power? >> just a slight correction. what i told the american people was that the initial phase where americans were in the league would take days, perhaps weeks. that is exactly what happened. after around two weeks, a little less than two weeks, we had transitioned where nato had taken full control of the operation. promise made, promises kept. second, i think when you have the former republican nominee for president john mccain and the former nominee for president on the democratic side john kerry coming together to support what we're doing in libya, that should tell the american people that this is important. and i very much appreciate their efforts in that regard. third, when it comes to our definitions of success, the un mandate has said that we are there to make sure that we do not see a massac

mr. chairman, for being here. senator mccain. >> thank you, madam chairman. general, let me add my voice to the course of congratulations and appreciation of you and your family -- chorus of congratulations and appreciation of you and your family. certainyouthey do have a sense of relief not having to deal with colonel graeme's presentce. >> a very heavy burden we have had in theater in iraq, now in afghanistan. [laughter] >> we are indeed proud of his continued presence and contributions. i guess my question, sir, and i think you have been very candid with the committee particularly in your previous responses to chairman levin's comments. i guess one of my questions is this -- is it more difficult or less difficult now for general allan to be able to achieve the success of his mission in afghanistan? is the president's decision. to make it more or less difficult for him -- boeing -- is the president's decision going to make it more or less difficult for him to achieve his objectives in afghanistan? >> senator, let me also in turn thank you for all you have d

mr. romney ran into thousand eight with senator john mccain. from a farm in southeast dam sure, this is a little less than a half-hour. >> there are many people out there that we know and love so we appreciate you coming here and sharing this moment with us because i believe it is a very special moment, very significant moment for the country and for the history of this country. i have known mitt a long time. we have known each other since we were kids. we started dating in high school and we have been married for 42 years. a lot of you know the story. [applause] we have five sons, five daughters-in-law and 16 grandchildren now. i have seen mitt in a lot of situations and some of the toughest moments of my life. as you all are aware with my diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. and i would not have made it and pull through without him. without his encouragement to keep me pushing and fighting. the same happened when i was diagnosed with breast cancer. he was there with me and ankara to me and gave me the strength to fight that disease as well. i hav

mr. president. you are aware that senators kerry and mccain want to give you the leeway to continue operations in libya for another year. you said that this is an initiative limited in time and scope and you have said days, not weeks. is there any other definition of success than gaddafi being removed from power? >> just a slight correction. what i told the american people was that the initial phase where americans were in the league would take days, perhaps weeks. that is exactly what happened. after around two weeks, a little less than two weeks, we had transitioned where nato had taken full control of the operation. i think when you have the former republican nominee for president, john mccain, and the former nominee for president on the democratic side, john kerry, coming together to support what we're doing in libya, that should tell the american people that this is important. third when it comes to our definitions of success, the u.n. mandate has said that we are there to make sure that you do not see a massacre directed against libyan civilians by the libyan regime. the libyan regime's capacity

mccain and george w. bush and abc news political correspondent, jonathan karl. thank you all for joining me. let me ask you first, mre you surprised? >> we're not surprised, we're surprised how quickly that the media and others are catching on. our strategy from the beginning has been to develop a very strong ground game. i've been doing that since the beginning of the year but i am priced how quickly we're starting to show up at the top of the polls. >> let me ask all of you. you can weigh in as well. you heard hayley barbour say unit is what we need, purity is the enemy of unity. what is this saying about a conference like the one we had in washington. should there be a truce on social values in order to gather around and focus on what matters to the americans right now? >> it does not need to be a truce. you can simultaneously address the social issues as well as fiscal issues. i think that was the key message. the other good thing, if you look at all of the potential republican nominees, they are not that far apart. that is the unit that hayley was talking about. >> the one thing, we also throw conventional wisd

mr. mark preston. have you ever seen anything like this? what does this mean for him? >> very rare. we saw back in 2007 the john mccainhe republican presidential nomination, he had his whole staff quit, or a lot of senior aides quit. but to have newt gingrich come back from a mediterranean cruise and have his staff leave calls into question whether he is actually dedicated to running a hard campaign, raising money, doing retail politics, and his senior staff didn't think so. >> i bet a texan with some swagger is probably going to benefit from this, right? >> if he decides to run, and we're talking about rick perry, the texas governor, yeah, he has that swagger, that texas swagger. doesn't do well in a cnn opinion research poll with republicans nationwide by and large, only 40% of republicans want to see him run, but here's the deal. for rick perry, he does very well with tea party supporters, he does well with social conservatives and in a primary that's important. >> this is just the beginning, but what's on the line for the other candidates here? >> let's tick through them quickly. you have rick santorum, michele ba

mccain four years ago, almost this same time. it ended up being a good thing for him. it's hard to think that it's the same scenario for mr.a hard to show that he was engaged, that he was able to get over these missteps he had. and it's hard to see how he continues beyond just having a platform, which perhaps is what he wanted most of all anyway. >> you know, john, it sounds like the campaign staff almost tried to do an intervention with their candidate, saying to him, okay, you want to be president, you have to get more disciplined, you have to start going to iowa, you have to start raising money. discipline was always the question about newt gingrich. and by the way, something i've heard from a couple of sources, is are you going to listen to us or are mr. and mrs. gingrich going to run this campaign? because there was also a lot of tension with his wife about who's running the candidate's schedule. and so i think they tried this intervention and in the end he wanted to do it his way. >> and rich, you're a veteran of campaigns. it is not uncommon for the staff and the spouse to sometimes have communication issues, strate

mccain. gop is not isolationist. here is a bit of what mr. blankley rights.lmost 2.5 years ago, i was fun of the first to assess how was one of the first to conclude that the afghanistan conflict had served its initial purpose. the question is coming your message to the president as he announces the mark that troop levels in afghanistan? new york business, gary, an independent. caller: he needs to bring all the troops back at the same time. like any other war, prices go up because you have to pay for all the products going overseas. i think that would help to get the war out of the way. host: were you in the military yourself? caller: a 15-year veteran. i was a combat engineer down in texas. i was occupying the united states. host: thank you for your call. up the west coast, california, john, a democrat. caller: i am a vietnam veteran. you know, our voices will not mean a darn thing until we get out and hit the streets and tell the people of washington that we're not going to take this anymore. they want to have perpetual war. that is what gives people rank,

mr. president, jerry coonahan first came to capitol hill as a member of senator john mccain's staff. he later left the senate for a brief time, but returned in 1997 as a tour guide in the capitol building where he truly excelled. in fact, jerry made a bit of history himself. he gave the first public tour following the fatal shaofgt two -- shooting of two capitol police officers in 1998. when the capitol reopened following the attacks of september 11, 2001, jerry again led the first tour of the capitol. four years ago, sadly, jerry was the victim of a violent crime and sustained very grave injuries. he spent over four weeks at the national rehabilitation hospital. it was a long and courageous struggle to learn to walk and speak again, but jerry persevered and succeeded. unfortunately, jerry was not able to return to his job as a tour guide because of his injuries. but he was hired to work as one of our elevator operators. that's where i and so many other senators have had the pleasure of meeting him and enjoying his company in recent years. i can't tell you how many times during late-

after working with senator mccain and others for some months on this issue, you mentioned the legislation mr. chairman a moment ago that we introduced and i appreciate her comments about it. we need to find a way to meld the various approaches that are out there and to build consensus within this committee. i agree with you we have jurisdiction in order to be able to protect people. beyond accountability security, think that the legislation we have contemplated is going to give people meaningful and specific explanations and control on how their information is being collected, used and distributed as well as importantly the power to opt out of those practices. i think senator rockefeller's approach is a good one, a strong one and an important one. do not track is one component of it but i do think beyond that we still have to deal with this question of choice over how your information is managed even if you do consent to it. and so, i think that what we have put forward is a comprehensive bipartisan proposal as a starting point and mr. chairman i think it is critical to work with you, senato

after working with senator mccain and others for some months on this issue, you mention to the legislation, mr. chairman, a moment ago that we have introduced and i appreciate your comments about it. we need to find a way to meld the various approaches that are out there and to build, obviously, a consensus within his committee. i agree with you, committee of jurisdiction -- in order to be able to protect people. beyond accountability and security, i think the legislation we contemplate is going to give people meaningful and specific explanations and control on how their information is being collected, use and distributed, as well as importantly, the power to opt out of those practices. i think senator rockefeller's approach is a good one, a strong one, important one. but it is one, -- it is one component of it, but i do think that beyond that, we have to deal with this question of choice of how your information is managed even if you do consent. i think that what we have put forward is a comprehensive bipartisan proposal as a starting point. mr. chairman, i think it is critical to work with y

after working with senator mccain and others for some months on this issue, you mentioned the legislation, mr. chairman, a moment ago that we introduced. we need to find a way to know the various approaches that are out there and to build obviously a consensus within this committee. i agree with you. in order to be able to protect people. beyond accountability security i think that the legislation we have contemplated will give people meaningful and specific explanations and control on how their information is being collected, used, and distributed as well as importantly the power to opt out of those practices. i think senator rockefeller's approach is a good one, strong one, important one. it is one component of it. i do think that beyond that we still have to deal with this question of choice over how your information is managed, even if you do consent. so i think that what we have put forward is a comprehensive bipartisan proposal as a starting point. mr. chairman, i think it is critical to work with you, senator kay bailey hutchison and others on the committee in order to bring more peopl

mccain is one of the people who loves your work. and your work has been translated, of course, in many languages. when you were in the middle east, of course, mr. patterson i loved blah, blah. come on in or did they -- were they even in a sense a little bit weary of having this novelist come in? >> well, you know, it's funny you sometimes to have jump through a few hoops. but when i was talking to the palestinians for exile, and when i was talking, you know, to the ayatollah fa-lalla. one thing that you're aware of is that they don't feel their point of view is very well circulated in the western press. so to the extent that you show up and you can write and some day something you say will get in print, they're more keen to talk to you than other people might 'cause they have a feeling they aren't understood. that they are basically satteriz satterized and cast in terrorism is a one size fits all kind of way. and they're quite fine on talking to you for the most part. there is a priceless picture of me giving him a copy of "exile" and him giving me a dialog in the western world. i don't think he was a fan before i showed up i'll say that. [lau

mr. chairman. >> thank you. as i said previously, it is a privilege for the committee to welcome senator mccain as the ranking member and the chair and so forth back-and-forth in the armed services committee, there is nobody with more experience of these matters of who pays more attention to them in the senate and i appreciate taking the time to be here. to introduce ambassador crocker. senator mccain? >> thank you. thank you for your kind words and for indulging me to introduce this great american senator lugar and members of the kennedy. it's an honor to introduce the president's nominee to be u.s. ambassador to afghanistan. ryan crocker, a man who's still a record of service precedes him and speaks for itself. obviously i join the committee in recognizing to members of ambassador crocker's family joining him today. his niece, cameron, and of course the dedicated woman who has been by his side ever since they were young foreign service officers working together in baghdad in 1979. rollin and's wife, christine. understand the challenges of being a foreign service couple and i know that ryan could never have enjoyed

introducing the bill, to get supporters republican john mccain and democrat john kerry said libya and the war power act. this is a half hour.: mr. p >> mr. president, i rise to join the senator from massachusetts who will shortly introduce a my product of many hours of fopartisan cooperation andautho negotiation and authorization for the limited use of military force and libya.ion, a tr introduced by my colleague fromi massachusetts will be as i menti mentioned above authorized the president to employ the u.s. armed forces to advance u.s.in national secteurity interests if libya as part of the international coalition that isl enforcing u.n. security council resolution in libya to limito this authority to one year which is more than enough time to finish the job and makes clear the senate agrees with the a president there's no need and no desire to commit u.s. forces conventional ground forces init libya. this i would be the first to admit this authorization is not perfect and will not makeappy. everyone happy.ake it doesn't fully make me happy.i iswould have preferred that thim ithorization make clear our military mission inclu

mccain? >> according to the "washington post" this morning editorial enh of the search, the mismatch between ethnobotanist strategy in its troop withdraw timetable mra said straw decision ay had no clear basis and strategy increases the risk of failure. y i think the senator from southql carolina is very well qualified to describeif it. i i hear over and over again, from especially from those who either involvement in the conflict quote, the troops are exhausted. the troops are exhausted and yet, general came this morning t on one of the news channel saide they're not exhausted.ause here exhilarated because they're winning. the net effect of eyes so many of their comrades, killed andome wounded. kille they're not exhausted, butd th, certainly, certainly don't want to come to defeat something that i thought a long time ago. >> is very good question. you know, who are these people and what makes them tick?ust,ou by notg bac reenlisting, why diy keep going back to iraq andtan? afghanistan? o the my view of our forces they see the face of the enemy cannothey believe they've got a strategy too that's working and they don't want their kids to go back. so

mr. chairman, the purpose of this amendment is to establish a legally binding prohibition on the use of appropriated funds to deploy u.s. ground forces in libya. the kerry-mccain resolution allows for uncertainty on this point. it contains language indicates that congress, quote, does not support, end of quote, the deployment of ground troops. but this language is nonbinding and it would leave open the possibility the president would rely on the authorization contained in the resolution to deploy ground troops. given that vital u.s. interests are not implicated in libya and the united states military is already taxed by deployments in afghanistan and iraq, it is appropriate for congress to prohibit the deployment of ground forces in libya. if the president felt it was necessary to deploy ground troops in libya at some point in the future, under my amendment he would still have the option of coming to congress to seek authorization for such a deployment. such a future authorization would override the prohibition contained in my amendment. senator boxer has asked that she be added as a co-sponsor of this amendment and i ask that she be so added. >> absolutely, w

mr. chairman, senator lugar, members of the committee, i appear before you today as president obama's nominee to become u.s. ambassador to the islamic republic of afghanistan. i am grateful to senator john mccain for his most generous introduction, and for his recognition of the foreign service of my colleagues over the years. they have labored hard on behalf of america's vital interests, and sometimes paid the ultimate price. i am also grateful to the president and to secretary clinton for placing their trust in me. if confirmed, i look forward to cooperating with you to advance america's interest in afghanistan. i had the privilege of opening the embassy in kabul in 2002, and as you noted, i worked closely with president carter got -- karzai in those early days. if confirmed, i look forward to renewing the relationship, and working together toward that vision. i also have the honor of serving as the u.s. ambassador in pakistan from 2004 to 2007, which developed my understanding of the region, and which, if confirmed, i hope will be a useful asset as we work with our regional and national partners. as we know, our core goal in afghanistan and pakistan is to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al q

mr. chairman. members of the committee. i appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today as president obama's nomination to become the ambassador to the islamic republic of afghanistan. i'm grateful to senator mccain for his generous introduction and for his recognition of the foreign service, my colleagues that have labored hard on behalf of our interests and sometimes paid the ultimate price. i am also grateful to the president and secretary clinton for placing their trust in me. if confirmed, i look forward to cooperating with you to confirm our interests in afghanistan. i had the privilege of opening the embassy in kabul in january. i worked closely with president karzai in those early days and it developed a respect for his commitment to a stable afghanistan. if confirmed, i look forward to renewing our relationship and working together toward that vision. i also had the honor of serving as the ambassador to pakistan from 2004 to 2007. that developed my understanding of the region. i hope it will be a useful asset as we work with our international partners. our core goal and afghanistan and pakistan is to disrupt, dismantle, and destroying al qaeda. osama bin laden's death is an important ste

mr. chairman, senator lugar, members of the committee, i appear before you today as president obama's nominee to become u.s. ambassador to the islamic republic of afghanistan. i am grateful to senator john mccain for his most generous introduction, and for his recognition of the foreign service of my colleagues over the years. they have labored hard on behalf of america's vital interests, and sometimes paid the ultimate price. i am also grateful to the president and to secretary clinton for placing their trust in me. if confirmed, i look forward to cooperating with you to advance america's interest in afghanistan. i had the privilege of opening the embassy in kabul in 2002, and as you noted, i worked closely with president carter early- karzai in those - days. if confirmed, i look forward to renewing the relationship, and working together toward that vision. i also have the honor of serving as the u.s. ambassador in pakistan from 2004 to 2007, which developed my understanding of the region, and which, if confirmed, i hope will be a useful asset as we work with our regional and national partners. as we know, our core goal in afghanistan and pakistan is to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al qaeda

mr. mccain: madam president, yesterday, the administration made an announcement that i believe will strike most of my colleagues and the americans they represent as a confusing breach of common sense. two administration levels claimed -- two administration lawyers claimed that u.s. military involvement in libya is not in breach or calls for a war powers resolution. in other words, they believe that our activities, military activities in libya do not require a war powers resolution. they say because the united states is not engaged in a state of hostilities in libya. this puzzling assertion seems to be undercut by the very report that the administration sent to congress yesterday, which makes it clear that the u.s. armed forces have been and criewmably will continue to fly limited strike missions to suppress enemy air defenses to operate armed predator drones that are attacking qadhafi's forces in an effort to protect libyan civilians and to provide the overwhelming support for nato operations, from intelligence to aerial refueling. now, i korea that actions like these don't amount to a ful

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr.resident, i rise in support of the nomination of leon panetta to succeed robert gates, but first i feel compelled to respond to the statements by the senator from west virginia, which characterize the isolationist withdrawal, lack of knowledge of history attitude that seems to be on the rise of america. in case the senator from west virginia forgot it or never knew it, we withdraw from afghanistan one time. we withdraw from afghanistan and the taliban came, eventually followed by al qaeda followed by attacks on the united states of america. the senator from west virginia has expressed his admiration for the men and women who are serving. i hope he would pay attention to the finest military leader who will now be the head of the c.i.a., general pet petraeus, wi think his knowledge and background may exceed that of the senator from west virginia. if we leave afghanistan in defeat, we will repeat the lessons of history, and it is not our expenditures on afghanistan that are the reasons wh

mr. reid: there will be two roll call votes tomorrow around 2:00 p.m. in relation to the feinstein and mccain amendments regarding the subject matter for those amendments. if there is no furtsz business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> the thing know, henry, to me, that's unconscionable, it is the back that you put it out. does it involve security information. a lot of other things? what kind of people would do such things >> 40 years ago, "the new york times" published the first installments of the pentagon papers. watch historians and the people who made history. search, watch, clip and share. watch what you want, when you want. >> white house spokesman jay carney said today the administration is sending a detailed report to congress. this comes as some members of congress filed the federal lawsuit stating the obama administration has illegally sent u.s. military forces to libya. this briefing is 50 minutes. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, i don't have any announcements. i will go str