the nominee is general stanley mcchrystal. carl levin of michigan is the chair of the senate armed services committee, this last two hours 40 minutes. good morning. the committee meets this morning to consider three military nominations, admiral james stavridis, lieutenant general douglas fraser, nominated to be general and 6 ft. admiral star vitas -- admiral stavridis. and lieutenant general stanley mcchrystal, nominated to be general and commander of nato international security assistance force and commander u.s. forces afghanistan. on behalf of the committee, we would like to thank each one of you for your service to our country, your willingness to continue to serve. we also want to acknowledge the sacrifices that you and your families made along the way. the support that our military families of pride -- supply is critical. we want to do all we can to support them. if confirmed, these three nominees will be meeting today's concerns in their areas of responsibility, and preparing for tomorrow's. one of the most immediate c

stanley mcchrystal is an expert in counterinsurgency which we need so badly in afghanistan. but, no, we're not going to get him approved. at least for now. republicans are so opposed to everything they even oppose putting people in some of the most important positions in our government. we believe, the majority believe, democrats believe, those who have chosen to serve our country must be able to work without delay. mr. president, republicans across the country agree with that also. we have 40 members of this body, republicans, who don't represent republicans across this country. 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 t

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

the new american commander in charge of afghanistan, stanley mcchrystal. he will oversee all u.s. and nato troops in the country to fight it taliban insurgency launching more tax than ever. mcchrystal took command from general david mccarron and during a low-key ceremony earlier today and kabul. mkiernan was fired one year into a two-year assignment. we have a pilot on our independent line. caller: i am democrat, but that is probably irrelevant. the subject to talk about -- you are talking about this morning is airline safety. back in the 1990's when the faa was a collusion of the airline pilots association came in with this "1 level of safety, while the one thing they did was impose a retirement age on the 135 or air taxi carriers, which they had and the major airlines. there was never any reason for this other than the desire for younger pilots to advance to the captain's seat. we've been advanced to age 65, but only because the europeans went to 65. but getting to the commuter situation, there are a two major problems. one is that you force the older pilots outcome of the ones

understand that the armed services committee has just approved the nomination of lieutenant general stanley mcchrystal as the next commander of the international security forces. the final senior level military position in the theater. i have met with general mcchrystal and talked about our way forward in the region to listen to his ideas. i have to say i was very impressed. he's not only a dedicated, accomplished soldier, but has years of combat and counterterrorism experience, he's also an effective leader who understands the challenges we face in the region. he knows that counterinsurgency, point of strategy, one that wins the hearts and minds of local populations and gains grass roots support for development and governance efforts and includes an effective public diplomacy campaign is absolutely essential. he not only understands good public diplomacy, but he understands smart power, combining diplomatic economic information with military efforts. mr. 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