Questions for Robert Gates

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (email from DSCC):

Americans voted Democrats into the majority in the Senate because they wanted us to ask the tough questions and demand accountability from the Bush administration. That is exactly what we plan to do. We want to know what Mr. Gates plans are to:

Rectify a situation in Iraq that now has American troops in the crossfire of a civil war.

Fix a military stretched so thin that some units are on their third or fourth tours in Iraq.

Ensure that the abuse scandals we have seen at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay will not be repeated.

Prevent Afghanistan from once again coming under the
sway of the Taliban and al Qaeda.