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Hearing Set for Choice to Head Joint Chiefs

A Senate committee holds a confirmation hearing Tuesday for Adm. Mike Mullen, who is President Bush's choice to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In advance of his appearance, Admiral Mullen wrote out some answers to written questions. The Associated Press got a look at those answers; here are some clues to what he's thinking:

He says there's a link between progress in Iraq, and broader U.S. interests.

He says he is "in support of the decision" to send more troops to Iraq, though as Tom Bowman reports, he was skeptical when it was being discussed.

Asked about an exit strategy, the nominee said American interests "require a pragmatic, long-term commitment that will be measured in years, not months."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Tom Bowman is a NPR National Desk reporter covering the Pentagon.