Do you think the President currently has the authority to initiate military force, including covert or proxy actions, against countries which are unfriendly or uncooperative but which have not attacked us and probably will not (such as Syria, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela or Vermont) or do you believe he would first need additional authorization from Congress?

You mentioned the phrase “immanent threat” (because he probably will); obviously where there is a clear and present danger the President has authority to act, but when it’s less clear, when in doubt, do war making powers rest with Congress or the President? Please elaborate on the impact of the nature of the threat, time-frame and degree of certainty on the need for Congressional authorization. Provide both historical and hypothetical examples.

If directed by the President to initiate military force against Syria or Iran in the absence of overt military aggression on their part and in the absence of additional, specific Congressional authorization, what will you do?

(Note that we ought to have answers to these questions from our SecDef even if you don’t think there are any plans to attack anybody, simply because they’re relevant to his understanding of his job, his relationship with Congress, and his oath of office.)

Oh yeah, and do you believe that everything changed on 9/11? Did the War Powers Clause change?

When did you stop lying to your wife about beating her?

Question for Gates:

How many of your children or relatives are now serving in active combat duty in Iraq?

Question for Gates:

When confronted with a recently severed human leg, do you pick it up by the foot or at the knee joint?

Question for Gates:

What would you consider an unacceptable body count for the remainder of 2006? What would be the maximum acceptable body count, and why?

Question for Gates:

If the Committee feels you are not being completely forthright in answering our questions, should we have the right to torture you?

Question for Gates:

If confirmed as Secretary of Defense, do you intend to review and critique video footage of human torture and offer constructive criticism?

Question for Gates:

Do you have previous experience in human torture that you feel would make you qualified for this position?

If Gates pulls out or is voted down, Bush is gonna nominate someone who makes Gates look like Mother Teresa in comparison.

The American people voted for change and accountability in 06. Whoever in office that doesn’t “get it” will find similar discontent from now until the next election.

Somebody call Colbert; these folks need to be Put On Notice

During that same time you were supporting and promoting “as a fact” that the USSR was going to bury the west unless the west bought more weapons. You were stating that the Communist threat was on the march even as it was collapseing. This also is a Fact, in reality.

This means that your position and analysis of the situation was either the product of increditable stupidity, of the sort only possible when blinded by ideology, or you were lying to promote a US domestic political agenda.
So Mr. Gates you were either lying or are shockingly blind which was it? And why should we expect something other then lies or/and incompetentcy now?

What in you has so changed that your previous errors, for whatever reason, should be overlooked?

Forgive me but Gates has never been held responsible( accountable) for his prior sins and here we are offering him a chance to compound his past errors.

Please I have difficulty maontaining my reason when reading discussions and arguements about Gates.

He is, by accepted data, to either be blind or pathological, to be polite.

The alleged leader of the Miami gang accused of wanting to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower grew up in a family of ministers and once was a Guardian Angel, his family said.