WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 4, 2015) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARIZONA REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN SAYING: “To start with Dr. Carter, members of this committee met with (Jordanian) King Abdullah yesterday. He made a graphic statement about needing some weapons and the difficulties he’s having with those, and we will be signing a letter this morning, and as I said it would require some legislation, but are you aware of the problems Jordanians are having with acquiring some of the weapons that they need?” (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE ASHTON CARTER SAYING: “I’m not Mr. chairman, I learned of them this morning as well, and if I’m confirmed I definitely want to find out what they are and resolve them because we need partners of the ground to beat ISIS. And the Jordanian people have clearly reacted the way that encourages us to support them.” (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE ASHTON CARTER SAYING: “A strategy connects, ends and means, and our ends with respects to ISIL needs to be its lasting defeat. I say ‘lasting’ because it’s important that when they get defeated they stay defeated. And that is why it’s important that we have those on the ground there who will ensure that they stay defeated, once defeated. It’s different on the two sides of the border. It’s one enemy, it’s two different contexts. Mr. chairman, in Iraq, the force that will keep them defeated is the Iraqi security forces, that’s our strategy, is to strengthen them and to make them that force. On the Syrian side, not to take too long about it, we are trying to build the force that will keep them defeated. And that’s going to be a combination of moderate Syrian forces and regional forces.” ARIZONA REPUBLICAN SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN SAYING: “Do you believe we should be supplying arms, defensive arms, to Ukrainians?” (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE ASHTON CARTER SAYING: “I’m very much inclined in that direction, Mr. chairman, because I think we need to support the Ukrainians in defending themselves. The nature of those arms I can’t say right now, because I don’t have, haven’t conferred with our military leaders, or Ukrainian leaders. But I incline in the direction of providing them arms, including to get to what I’m sure your question is, legal arms.”