Looks like they are going to be tough on him, maybe JK knows more about Gates' views than we know. Here's Byrd's email and a link to add your own questions if you want.
Dear Sandy:
Elections have consequences.
The change you all worked so hard to help Democrats achieve on November 7 made it clear that we must begin to chart a new course in Iraq.
This week offers our first step forward with the Senate confirmation hearings for Robert Gates to become Secretary of Defense.
Mr. Gates must indicate that he heard the resounding message that voters sent on November 7.
The departure of Donald Rumsfeld has given America an opportunity to change our policies in Iraq and send a message to the world that the United States is willing to depart from the disastrous unilateral agenda that has served us so poorly these past six years.
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.
These are the defining security issues of our time and Mr. Gates must prove that he is up to the challenge of facing them. My fellow Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee have been preparing for this crucial confirmation hearing for weeks and we are ready.
But we would also like to hear from you what questions you think should be asked of Mr. Gates. After all, it is you, our grassroots supporters, who have enabled us to lead the 110th Senate.
http://www.democratsenators.org/dia/track.jsp?key=106118580&url_num=1&url=http://www.dscc.org/defensequestions