Good morning, everyone.

Dr. Gates, I think I can safely say, on behalf of the citizens of

our...

I thank you, Senator Levin, for those kind

remarks. I thank each of my colleagues, whom I’ve...

Thank you, Senator Dole. You’ve had a long

and distinguished career, beginning as a combat soldier...

Without objection, so admitted.

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Thank you very much, Senator Boren.

We, here on this committee, are faced with the reality that...

I thank the nominee.

Thank you, Dr. Gates.

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Have you assumed any duties, or undertaken

any actions, which would appear to presume the outcome...

Will you ensure that your staff, if confirmed,

will have deadlines established for requested...

Will you cooperate in providing witnesses

and briefers in response to the committees of Congress...

Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal

for their testimony or their briefings?

Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear and

testify upon request before this committee?

Do you agree to provide documents, including

copies of electronic forms of communication, in...

Mr. Chairman, I didn’t hear that answer.

Yes, sir, to the extent of my authority.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Chairman, I have the sense that the President’s

view of accomplishing the mission, at this...

Yes, sir, I am.

Mr. Chairman, I’m only aware of that incident by virtue

of what I’ve read in the newspaper....

Yes.

Mr. Chairman, I think that the final legislation addressed

some of the concerns that I had with...

Yes, sir. I think that we can probably solve the problem

without legislation, but, should legislation...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Gates, do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?

Prime Minister Maliki said on November 27 that

‘‘the crisis is political, and the ones who can...

The chairman has asked you about a comment of

the President that, ‘‘We are going to stay in...

Secretary Rumsfeld, in a memo that was recently

published, outlined options that the President...

Dr. Gates, former Secretary of State George

Schultz wrote a book in which he was critical of...

Thank you, Dr. Gates. Your acknowledgment that

we’re not winning in Iraq, frankly, is a necessary,...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Gates, thank you for your willingness to serve this Nation

again....

Therefore, the status quo is not acceptable.

I know you did a great deal of work with the

ISG, and there is a general consensus of opinion...

Yet, at this particular point in time, when the

suggestion is made, as the situation deteriorates...

Then the second and third question should

have been asked, and that is, ‘‘why are the conditions...

We are living in a very dangerous world,

whether you look at Iran, North Korea, the crisis in...

Thank you very much.

Dr. Gates, I join those in thanking you for your public service,

your...

Thank you for your answer. You’ll hear, perhaps,

from others, but I want to give you just one...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very

much.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

There’s been a lot of talk about the failures and the bad things

that...

Dr. Gates, this morning in the Washington Post

there was an article about the reset problem...

You would do that, seek our views on this, those

of us who have been faced with what I consider...

In 2000, we formed the U.S./China Security

Economic Review Commission, usually referred to as...

I would also say that as we were drawing down

in the 1990s, they increased their military procurement...

That’s all I’d ask of you at this time, because,

after each report’s come out, I’ve actually...

I appreciate that.

Finally—my time is up—but Senator McCain brought up the

question on...

Thank you, Dr. Gates. I do appreciate our early

conversation on Wednesday.

Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you.

Dr. Gates, our relationship goes back over a number of years. We

hear...

Do you support an attack on Syria?

Do you believe the President has the authority,

under either the 9/11 War Resolution or the...

Would you briefly describe your view of the likely

consequences of a U.S. attack on Iran?

What about an attack on Syria? Could you briefly

describe your view of the likely consequences...

Would you say that an attack on either Iran or

Syria would worsen the violence in Iraq and lead...

Your answer is yes on both questions.

With respect to Osama bin Laden, within 8

months of taking Baghdad our troops captured Saddam...

Over the past 5 years, who has represented the

greater threat to the United States, Saddam Hussein...

How do you intend to catch Osama bin Laden?

Dr. Gates, my time is up, but what is wrong with

our current tactics, which have allowed Osama...

Thank you, sir, for your responses.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, sir, for

your very fine leadership on the committee. I will...

Well stated. [Laughter.]

I have a blue card, which everybody up here

seems to ignore. At any rate, I just want to add...

Thank you very much, Senator.

Senator Lieberman.

Yes, sir. I think that my goal, and the reason that

I accepted the position, was really twofold....

That really is the purpose, and the whole idea is, in

my view, that the faster that you can...

The Iraqis are going to have to make some difficult

decisions themselves, not only in terms...

That they don’t think we’re going to walk away from

this war on terrorism, and so that they...

Yes, sir.

I think any decision, Senator, with respect to troop

levels—first of all, I would seek the views...

That certainly is an option. Related to that might be,

do we have sufficient number of trainers?...

Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for this

opportunity, and for your leadership of this committee....

Thank you. I do believe that you do bring the

kind of perspective—and, having been away for...

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

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Dr. Gates, we’ve talked about troop strengths,

troop levels surging or redeploying. Frankly,...

Troop levels were a function of how you weight

that mission. They’re almost two distinct missions.

A training mission and a ‘‘try to stabilize the

country’’ mission. I think where we get hung...

Just a final point, Dr. Gates. There’s a distinct

possibility that, whether we change our force...

You will try to think a way through that dilemma?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Dr. Gates, I talked with an individual on Sunday night who

knows you very well,...

I want to switch to a different issue that we

discussed briefly in my office. As chairman of...

Yes, it is.

Thank you.

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Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I want to associate myself with some of the...

I also want to join my colleagues here in welcoming

the distinguished Dr. Gates to this hearing....

Thank you for that. As I’m indicating, that we

cannot continue to rely only on defense, but...

Thank you.

Thank you very much. My time has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to add my voice to many others who have praised

you...

Do you believe the President of Iran is lying

when he says he’s not?

Do you believe the Iranians would consider

using that nuclear weapons capability against the...

If I may——

The President of Iran has publicly disavowed

the existence of the Holocaust. He has publicly...

Can you assure the Israelis that they will not

attack Israel with a nuclear weapon if they acquire...

Is Iraq the central battlefront in the war on

terror?

What would be the others?

Would a loss in Iraq, in terms of a failed state,

affect the war on terror?

Why is al Qaeda in Iraq? What do they fear?

Why are they fighting in Iraq? What is their goal?

Are they threatened by democracy?

Is it the terrorists’ worst nightmare for a

democratic state to be formed in Iraq, where a woman...

According to them, it is.

Now, do you believe the terrorists’ goal—al Qaeda and other terrorist

organizations—to...

Do you believe it includes the toppling of all

moderate regimes in the region?

All regimes that are unfaithful to their view of

religion?

Do you believe it is the ultimate destruction of

the state of Israel?

Do you believe in the Powell Doctrine?

Do you believe in it, or not?

Let me sum them up to one. You go to war

with overwhelming force.

Do you believe we have the overwhelming force

we need to do all the missions required of us...

So, jobs assigned to the military leadership,

commanders, would include, do you agree, eventually...

Do you also believe it includes training the

Iraqi army?

Do you believe it includes rebuilding the police

force? Because I think it’s a miserable failure...

Provide security for economic development.

Forty percent of all money spent on economic development...

Is there any doubt in your mind that the current

level of troops are overwhelming when it comes...

If we redeploy to a friendly country under

these circumstances, do you think it’s likely that...

Do you believe, if we set timetables, or a policy,

to withdraw at a date-certain, it would be...

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Gates, I thank you for the opportunity yesterday to visit with

you...

It does resemble a timetable for withdrawal,

doesn’t it, at least to some limited degree?

At the last Senate Armed Services hearing,

Secretary Rumsfeld sat there, and I asked a question...

If our goal is to ultimately find Osama bin

Laden, some sort of a net approach is necessary...

Yes. Somebody always wins the lottery; it’s

just a question of when and how much it is at the...

I agree with you. I would hope that you

would consider what it would take to increase the bounty...

Absolutely.

In the worst possible conditions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I certainly want to associate myself with the comments of all of

my...

Dr. Gates, Philip Hughes, who you served with at

the National Security Council in the late 1980s,...

Dr. Gates, a World Bank report was released just

last week on Afghanistan’s drug industry and...

Thank you.

Let me ask you about financial management systems at the

DOD. Obviously, Secretary...

Thank you.

My time is up. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Gates, I grew up in the old school that said that partisanship

stopped...

When I served in the military, every

young person—at that time, it was every young man—had an...

Now, you say, then, that we can meet our

recruiting goals without a draft. Explain that to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I would, as the newest member of this committee

to...

Dr. Gates, I want to congratulate you on a very

successful tenure as president of Texas A&M,...

Let me ask you a question about how the Pentagon

has faced considerable amount of criticism...

I appreciate that answer. I think your background

will be very helpful and useful in that regard....

Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, my time’s expired. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I’d like to join with others in saying what an honor it’s been to

serve...

Thank you.

You said, and I agree with you, that hindsight is 20/20, and we

have all made...

What do you think were the key strategic or

tactical mistakes that have led to our current quagmire...

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, my time’s expired.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Gates, I’m looking forward to a chance to visit with you personally,

also,...

If not more so. Let me just say that what we

were able to achieve with the end of the Cold War,...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it

has been a privilege to serve on this committee under...

Dr. Gates, since the President made a statement,

as recently as October 25, that we were absolutely...

Do you agree with the analysis that appeared

in the article that contained a copy of the memo...

Dr. Gates, I’ve been honored to serve on this

committee now for nearly 4 years. Many of the...

Are they patriotic?

Do they care about our men and women in

uniform?

Do they believe the decisions they have made

for the last 5 years have been in America’s best...

So, therefore, we have this conundrum. We

have a President and a Vice President who will ultimately...

Finally, let me ask you, Dr. Gates, that, in an

oral history of the 1991 Gulf War produced by...

That would certainly be welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Let me also express my gratitude at serving under your leadership

and...

We know the Iranians are state sponsors of terrorist

organizations, principally Hezbollah. Would...

One final point, as my time is expired. As I

mentioned to you yesterday, I would appreciate...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Let me begin my wrapping-up by echoing what every other member

of...

He asked the others to take the jobs, as well.

I hope you’re right. I would simply urge you to

give him your opinion, if you agree, that changing...

Two other things. One of the refreshing things

that you said, and many others would agree, is...

One final question, Dr. Gates, with regard to Iran

and their nuclear aspirations. I agree with...

Just one final observation. My time is expired.

Again, I thank you for your presence. I’ve been...

Thank you, again, for your candor.

I agree with you.

It’s better than most.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, before I answer that question, with your indulgence,

could...

Only because I’m concerned that the troops in the

field might have misunderstood something I...

Exactly, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Obviously, the decision on what to do in this respect is the President’s,

and...

Yes, sir.

No, sir, I have not.

Yes, sir, I do.

Yes, sir. That tends to be my instinct, but I think one

of the early conversations that I would...

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Chairman, I think you speak for many members

of this committee when you say that, and you...

Does his reasoning resonate with you?

It does to me, too, I might say. On prewar intelligence,

Dr. Gates, when we met in my office,...

You did indicate, in one speech in February 2002,

that, ‘‘We know that at least one of the leaders...

In response, Dr. Gates, to prehearing questions

from this committee, you said that you would...

When we met in my office, we also discussed the

role of the Feith operation in providing an...

If that is what happened, what is your view of

that?

Thank you.

My time is up.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. Gates, I want to come back, if I might, to a line of questioning

that...

I appreciate that. I would just let you know that

there are those of us up here who would like...

I appreciate that. I would just say in closing, Dr.

Gates, that your experience is very relevant...

Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Dr. Gates. Just to underscore what both the chairman

and...

In Darfur, 400,000 killed, 2.5 million displaced.

It continues to be a human tragedy of such...

Just a final issue. The members of this committee

have spent a great deal of time on the issues...

My time is up. I thank you very much.

Thank you, Senator Kennedy.

Senator Sessions.

Absolutely, Senator Sessions. If I’m confirmed, maybe

you will send me some of those articles...

I think, Senator, there are a number of areas of concern,

in terms of Russian behavior, particularly...

I think anytime you have a long-term commitment,

and people can plan for it, you’re likely to...

One of the remarkable chapters of current

military history, and in sharp contrast to previous...

Your first Cabinet meeting pound that table.

[Laughter.]

We are looking for, as the Marines...

That’s a national caveat problem.

Which is really—I think we should expand

it a little bit here in the record. It simply says,...

General Jones has tried hard to eliminate

that. He felt he was making some progress. But it’s...

I really believe that if the current mix of

NATO forces from a number of nations—if those nations...

You’re correct.

Senator Levin, do you have further questions?

I’ll be right back.

Sure.

I think the short answer, Senator, is, in the very short time that

I had to prepare...

Yes, sir.

—from 1994.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

I guess. They gave me a note, said I was next,

but I think you may be correct.

I would...

Senator Nelson, I haven’t really had much breathing

room to give thought to specific measures...

Senator, I know that the Guard and Reserve are very

important to Members of Congress, and I...

You may.

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Senator, I think I’d better wait and see, first of all,

if I’m confirmed. But then, as I’ve...

Mr. Chairman, I have one more question.

I’ll just wait.

He has one more question.

Okay.

I just have a few questions, thank you, Mr. Chairman. One is on

Army readiness levels....

Okay. There are reports that are required to be

submitted quarterly to Congress, relative to...

I know the Department is represented here

today, and I’d just like the Department to know that...

Thank you very much, Senator.

Senator Sessions, you have but one question?

Sir, first of all, I would comply with the National Missile

Defense Act of 1999. That’s the...

Correct. I have felt for a long time that I know we’ve

spent a lot of money on developing missile...

Thank you, Senator.

Thank you to all Senators. Just a minute, I’m getting a signal.

VerDate...

All right.

Yes, sir. Although I would say that I think that we

have deployed systems that were less than...

Yes, sir.

This committee will now resume its hearing

in executive session, in S–407 of the Capitol. I...