General Petraeus

Yesterday's hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee was a somber experience but started off on a light note. When several of us arrived at 2 p.m. to begin the hearing, we found, much to our surprise, that the hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was still going on, long beyond the expected adjournment time. John McCain and I stood in the back of the chamber waiting for the Committee to conclude. As we listened to our colleague, John made the universal sign for talking too much with his hand.

Today is September 11th -- a day that invokes so many memories - both tragic and heroic. I spent much of the morning preparing for General Petraeus' appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee this afternoon.