they both commanded and they had a senior role in baghdad later on. in the course of this morning, we heard about the united kingdom triangle. we shall be hearing about that tomorrow afternoon. that is a trailer for the afternoon session tomorrow. that concludes this morning's session. i would like to say that i interrupted the broadcast briefly this morning because there was a mention of sensitive information as it is defined in our published protocols so we had to enter a briefly, thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> coming up, [captioning performed by national captioning institute] "washington journal" this morning on "washington journal," a discussion on foreign policy.

>> i spent the first 10 days or so briefing myself in london for my role in baghdad, which -- where i arrived on i think the 15th of september, and on the second of september, everybody had come back from that including the prime minister and he called a meeting on those who were going to be most responsible for the u.k. involvement in running iraq to discuss what was going right and wrong and what was needed from the u.k. government to make things go right. and the main concerns, i think that came up with that meeting were first of all security because security was beginning to go wrong from way back and there was the question of how many coalition troops there might be on the ground. were they sufficient? was a larger coalition needed? etc.? i think i recall the prime minister being interested, not in a larger body of external troops being involved in iraq. he saw the difficulties in that in supply and resource terms, particularly on the american side. but rather in getting the police force going, getting a new police force trained and getting civil order restored in iraq through th

must be -- because you got to baghdad. the role that the police force played and pair military force, how hated it was and how difficult it would be to build up anything to -- iraqi society effectively? >> it must have been just as difficult for london as it was for me in baghdad. i took the approach that if i disagreed with something that was happening on the ground and was trying to change it, that i would not go weeping to london about it and ask them to get washington to persuade bremmer to do something differently. it was my job to persuade bremmer, or we'd have to go along with the administrator's. >> washington was in the lead. we had a relatively poor input into pentagon decisionmaking about which you have heard from other witnesses, and therefore, there was a sense of frustration in london that becouldn't always persuade the americans to do what might be our preference, because they were in charge. they were going to do their own thing anyway, and we had to try to make it work on the ground. so there was sense of

who was responsible for the economic situation in baghdad. that would create too much unemployment as a difficult period in iraq. that was the only formal veto that i put down. on the whole, we've always had to get our arguments for a constant reiteration by working different parts of the system by going to the iraqis and influencing them rather than anything top down. thank you. >> market -- -- martin -- >> you felt we were not bring in enough resources. not enough in police training, not enough into the center, where was the blockage? why was the british, not producing enough results? >> it goes back to more than the british. the most basic error that was made in the whole planning for the post-conflict phase in iraq was not to upset the american military, the mission, of administering iraq after the war was over. in my view, general tommy franks was given the long mission to invade iraq, get rid of the saddam hussein and her turn it over to the minister is bridge he should have been given the mission of getting rid of saddam,'s of fighting

what were they doing in baghdad in 2007? >> well, blackwater was hired by the state department to basically guard diplomats. they were security guards. they were bodyguards. and they were in a convoy that was actually responding to a car bombing in september of 2007 when depending on which side of the story you believe, they were either ambushed by insurgents, or they unleashed an unprovoked attack by civilians. regardless of which story you believe, 17 iraqis are dead and this is obviously really touched off some anti-american sentiment abroad. >> suarez: at the time there was a lot of controversy surrounding the case, a kind of tussle between iraq and the united states over who would try them. who did the united states assure the iraqis to get these men back to the united states? >> well, their government wasn't going to allow -- the united states government was to the going to allow these men to be tried in iraq. i think there was a feeling that that would have set a really dangerous precedent for military personnel and u

deadly bombings in baghdad killed more than 100 people. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the pbs newshour tonight, the coordinated attacks targeted government sites. we get the latest from the iraqi capital. >> lehrer: also tonight, on afghanistan the u.s. commander and the top diplomat told congress the boost in troops will halt the taliban within a year. >> woodruff: meantime, britain marked its 100th combat death in afghanistan this year. the newshour's margaret warner is in london. >> warner: prime minister gordon brown has pledged to send an additional 500 troops to afghanistan. but the war is increasingly unpopular here. i'll have a special report from britain. >> lehrer: president obama outlined new stimulus and jobs proposals and he called on americans to spend their way out of recession. we'll have a debate about his proposals. >> woodruff: and ray suarez continues our series on the nation's economy. tonight, how ann arbor, michigan, is being helped by a cockroach. >> sort of a geiger counter sound. >> exactly. >> it's coming from this here? >> exactly. >> leh

deadly bombings in baghdad kill more than 100 people. >> woodruff: and i'm jud odruff. on the pbs newour tonight, the ordinated attacks targeted govement sites. we get the latest from t iraqi capital. >> lehrer: also tonit, on afghanistan the u.s. command anthe top diplomat told congress the boost itroops will halt e taliban within a ye. >> woouff: meantime, britain marked its 100th cbat death in afghanistan this year the newshour margaret warner is in london. >> warner: pme minister gordon brown has pledgedo sendn additional 500 troops to afghanistan. but the war is incasingly unpopulahere. i'll have a special report from britain. >> lehrer: psident obama outled new stimulus and jobs proposals and he calleon americans to snd their way out recession. we'lhave a debate about his proposals. >> woodruff: and ray suaz continues our ries on the nation's economy. tonit, how ann arbor, michigan, is being helped by cockroach. >> sort of geiger counter und. >> exactly. >>t's coming from this here? >> exactly. >> lehrer: that's l coming up on tonht's pbs newshour. major funding f

one thing i bespeak to talk this fact, last may many people in this in this room probably hn a baghdad a u.s. soldier on the end of his third deployment walked into a ptsd clinic and and gunned five of the soldiers. right on the wake of that we had chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mike mullen, he went into the media along with secretary of defense robert gates. both of them saying this is a crisis. this is a result of too many redeployments. this is a result of not enough time at home in between deployments. this is a result of soldiers not getting the psychological care and tested and spot on. could not agree with them more. the problem was this said this and talk about changing policy. aside from a few minor tweaks they have basically not changed policy. so we have situations like fort hood like major nidal hasan where he did not serve in iraq or afghanistan has spent a lot of time in walter reed hospital counseling giving psychiatric counseling to soldiers coming back from both occupations. so there have actually been a lot of people in the military already calling for pst treat

in hilh, south of baghdad, twin explosions kied 13 and woded 74 others. mostere shiite pilgrims on their way to the city of karbala. pilgrimsnd a funeral processionere also targets of multiple bombs in baghdad neighbhoods. the u.s. senate vod today to rae the federal debt ceiling to $12 trillion. the housalready approved the increasef $290 billion over the current limit. it letthe treasury department issue engh bonds to finance government operation tl mid- february. the senate vote was rgely down party nes. there waencouraging economic news on this last businessay before chrtmas. jobls benefits fell more than expect last week, and orders for durable goods rose i november it was enough toring good cheer toall street. the dojones industrial average gained me than 53 points to close at 1520. the nasdaq rose 16 pois to ose at 2,285. fothe week, the dow gained nearly 2%; the nasdaq s up 3%. ose are some of the day's ma stories. i'll be back at the end the program with a preview of wh you'll find night on the newshour's w site. but fonow, back to judy. >> woodr

once you get by your political problem, and we get to baghdad, we will be greeted with cheers and flowers by the population, all this will be past history. you and the president will get the credit they deserve. there was a significant chunk of the administration that was not particularly concerned about the aftermath because they thought it would come out all right overnight. connelly's a rice -- condoleeza rice said, as difficult as it would be emerging -- the trouble with the europeans is that we were to sniffy -- were too sniffy. what'st eh word -- what's the word? condescending of the iraq people, that they were unable to run a democratic system. and i was going to say something else. to answer your question, nothing really changed on that score. >> they remained very optimistic? we did not get into a lot of planning with them. >> we tried. >> did we succeed? >> we did not succeed because they did not have their house in order. >> it never really happened. >> let me finish this point. it sort of happened, but it wasn't enough. in the winter of 2002, interagency teams came to engage t

our analysis shows about 34% of the ds's positions, not including baghdad, are filled with officers below the position great. for exceed permissible assistant regional security officers with whom we met with in the course of our work indicated that they did not feel that what the prepared for their jobs. particularly with the responsibility to manage large secured contracts. we previously reported that experience gaps can compromise diplomatic readiness. balancing security and diplomatic missions. ds's desire to provide the best security possible to its staff overseas has at times resulted in tension within the department. but over its diplomatic mission versus its security needs. for example, diplomatic security established strict policies concerning access to facilities that are usually included in both personal and vehicles greetings. some public affairs officers that we met with indicated they were frustrated that they could not operate as freely as they would like and this continues to be a challenge within the department terms of balancing appropriate security versus enhancing our d

in baghdad, he heard stories about parents carrying their children with walking disabilities and how some young girls and boys would pull themselves through the streets. so he asked an army doctor what was the greatest need and the doctor responded, children's wheelchairs. in a month, brad had 31 of them and founded wheelchairs for iraqi kids. so far, he's provided 700 chairs. [ applause ] for the first time in these kids' lives, they aren't looking back over their father's shoulder or to the side cradled in their mother's arms. they're moving with their eyes looking forward. our hero saw a need and he filled it in a war zone. that act of courage and compassion that's strong enough to carry all of us. >> iraq is a country bring that's been through some tremendous struggles. being out in the city on your own is taking your life in your own hands. i've been told if i went out on my own i would last about three hours. unfortunately, it's a situation where a lot of people, adults and children, are caught in the crossfire. i had no idea i would end up in the middle of a war zone giving ou

and what are you quick to do with somebody from baghdad? you can even handle our minorities. you are still getting the ability to read us. so we have agencies that are supposed to prevent something they cannot see from a people and from a cold -- and from a cult and a subculture that has twisted the their religion. they use ham handed proxy's. there is good profiling and bad profiling durin. my friend says, connie, we have to stop it. you cannot. you cannot do it without the people who know this part of the world, this part of humanity. this is what you have your burden. do not worry. we have had our burden. we have carried it for 400 years. we have to help you in the job because all you can do it. the very people we need, we are driving away. that is the problem appeared the people that we can speak the language are the people who can -- that is the problem. the people that we cancan speake language for the people who can be on line and read this. if we drive our partners away, the people who can tell us what is going on in hamas -- i am still figuring out where i can wear s

and these folks, business is not in baghdad. it's out in the countryside. and we'll have to protect them. and we will -- we are seeking the resources necessary to do that. there is a very, very active planning operation regarding iraq in 2012, it's department wide. we're very much a part of it. and that aspect is one of the things that we are -- that we are considering very closely. >> thank you. senator whitehouse? >> one of the things that always bothered me is the lack of planning, the fiasco and a few others. and lucky that toward the end we got our act together. it seems to me that we're doing a much better job of preparing for our mission in afghanistan. do you have a critical path in place? you mentioned that in terms of iraq that who's going to leave say in the green zone and how much is being provided by the military there gone and how are those people going to be taken care of? i don't think very much is said about the number of people that are going to leave in iraq may continue with what prts that we got going there. has somebody really sat down

for the americas and falls in love with a contractor and the younger sister gets her degree at the baghdad university which becomes harder as americans lose control and a radical islamist gained control. >> when did you meet them? >> early 2003. >> you talk to the sisters and the two other women. who are they? >> one is a u.s. reservist soldier parker she eventually becomes in charge of the biggest initiative to bring americans versions of women's rights to the middle east. the other is a palestinian american activist and working for women for women international in iraq trying to help iraqi women fell the grass roots effort. >> you follow them throughout the ground from your stay? >> was there from may 2003 through 2005. >> what changes they use the? to agree with from a country that was thrilled at the thought of usair overthrowing saddam hussein and the potential to rebuild the country, to really a realization that the u.s. quite did not know what it was doing or prepared for the problems that it faced. six entry was spinning slowly add of control precut became it was a very safe place

is also demonstrated to strike with great discrimination against targets like the un headquarters in baghdad and one month ago against the deputy minister of the interior in saudi arabia. we see its reach in the united states today both direct and indirect. the afghan american arrested by the fbi in the colorado demonstrated the direct connection. what happened in fort hood it demonstrated the indirect connection of the narrative and ideology of the global islamic jihad. today the only sustained, significant pressure on the core of qaeda comes from between 30,000-60,000 feet in the air from the grounds of predators and reapers. -- from the drones. the have proven highly successful against a limited range of targets in a limited geography. and have to some extent, and it is hard to know if you are not a member of al qaeda, disrupted. they are a tactic and not a strategy. it is like attacking one bee at a time. it is ironic. eight years after torah borrow, osama bin lawton is the voice we hear -- eight years after tora bora, bin laden is the voice we hear. he could be in the room next door as

the border from el paso, tas, has the world's hight murder rate right now bthr times more violenthan baghdad, iraq. sohere's a daily toll with th kind of violence, but at the me time, other mexicans are really shoed by this. mexican thers, in particular, hold an alted place in mexico. mother's day dowhere is taken very seriously, anthe the fact that these gs went after this many's mother is really se beyond the pal woodruff: in the broader sense how supportive haseen the public been of therug crackdown that ical initiate >> unfortunaly, many mexicans don't trustheir government. this is a untry where the governnt was there to protect itself and its allies and to enrich itself. many view what t government does, even if rrect, with a healthy dose of skepticismnd cynicism. polls show the majority people sort of supporthe drug wars. they knothe gainings are etty bad and they are not fully hind the u.s. government sglid filly, what difference do you tnk this killing upon this navy commando's fily could have on the drug w itself? or do you expect it to he an effect? >> well, think i think it's one

headquarters in baghdad and against the deputy minister of interior in saudi arabia. we see its reach in the united states today, both direct and indirect. the afghan american arrested by the f.b.i. in colorado demonstrated the direct connection. what happened in fort hood demonstrates the indirect connection of the global islamic jihad. the only sustained significant pressure on the al qaeda core comes from between 30,000 and 60,000 feet in the air from the drones, the predators. the drones are a technological marvel and they have provenñr highly successful against a limited range of targets in a limited piece of geography. they have, to some extent, and it's hard to know if you're not a member of al qaeda, how big that extent is, disrupting al qaeda in recent months. but drones are a tactic, they're not a strategy. they are like attacking a bee hive one at a time. you will not destroy one bee at a time. it's ironic eight years, osama bin laden is a voice we hear, but virtually invisible man. we have no idea where this man is, that despite the biggest manhunt in his

last week's stng of car bombs in baghdad involved meers of the iraqi securi forces. prime minier nouri al-maliki said today an investigion shows at least 4security offirs helped in the high- profile attackon government targets th killed 127 people. maliki also id the bombings willot alter plans for u.s. forces to lee iraq in two years. and, he offered a ward for informion on car bb plots. >> these bombings won't affe the u.s. military thdrawal. the deline for the u.s. military withdrawal remas in a final form and with fixe timetables. yesterday, t cabinet adopted a resolution offing a reward of 100 million iraqi dina-- about to anyone whcan help lead iraqi security forces garages or other places ere extremists assemble car bombs sreenivasan: maliki also sisted iraqi elections will ahead in march, noatter what. u.s. companies will haveo make executive pay policiesore transparent. the securities andxchange commission votedoday to beef up dclosure rules for publicly-held firms. starting next spri, companies will have to discle more about stock options and stk awards. th

army lieutenant colonel webb led a hundred into baghdad as part of russia's surge was still finding a reason every day to say it's all good. >> and our topic until kennecott eastern this morning the best nonfiction book of 2009. the topic of a couple books this year including joe mr. burns recovered and events with author jennifer burns, goddess of the market is the name of the book. i ran in the american right. an event upcoming upcoming appearance he spent on booktv rather in depth coming up sunday january 3. michelle malkin in her new book ultra corruption. a look at the book here. erin from mesa, your first. your favorite nonfiction book of the year, go ahead here in >> caller: it so hard to pick just one, but i don't think they cannot do that tonight but that's what i read it so i think that's up there. marcus melita's book taking on the system was good, but i think my favorite has to be jeremy scales, blackwater. when i read the book blackwater and just on topic of the mercenaries >> what did you learn out about blackwater book? >> caller: the in depth that jeremy scale goes int

at least 127 iraqis died yesterday in a strinof suicide attacks onovernment sites in baghdad more than 50others were wounded. maliki gave a tionwide address on iraqi state tevision. he said all serity strategies would come und review. >> ( translated ): i call on the aqi people for more patience and steadfastness and proceed with the path of unity, confrontatioand challenge. they try to spread cos and read hatred and sectarianism and to conont what iraqis have aceved in terms of security gains as a rest of their struggle, forts and patience. >> sreenivasan: later,tate t.v. reported malikiad ordered a shakeup of top secity ofcials. and a special parliamenty session was heduled for tomorrow, toocus on the secuty lapses. inconomic news, bank of america announced it has repd all of t $45 billion in federal rescue money it received. th frees the bank from government restricons, including rbs on executive pay. and on wall reet today, the dow jos industrial average ined 51 points to close at 10,337. the sdaq rose more than 10 pots to close above 2,18 the state of massachusetts i one step clos

army lieutenant colonel who had some 800 soldiers in baghdad as part of george w. bush's search was still finding a reason every day to see it is all good. >> host: the topic until 10:00 eastern the best nonfiction book of 2009. ayn rand must the topic of a couple of books including jennifer burns, we covered and even and we offered back jennifer burns, goddess of the market is the name of the book, ayn rand and the american right. and any event that is coming up on c-span, booktv, rather, in depth, michelle malkin and her new book, culture of corruption. this is mazar arizonan. aaron, you are first of. you're favorite nonfiction book of the year. go ahead. >> it's so hard to pick just one. but i don't think of the city of hope can melt until 2000 and that's up there. marcus's book taking on the system was good but i think my favorite would have to be jeremy scales blackwater. when i read blackwater and just on topic of -- >> what do you learn out of the black water? >> ravee in depth -- the in depth that jeremy goes into, his investigative journalism is amazing. e

help, after the baghdad bombings on tuesday. the attacks killed 127 people. today, the umbrella group for al qaeda in iraq claimed responsibility. and it warned: "the list of targets has no end." a week-long winter storm left much of the midwest and northeast in a deep freeze today. at least 17 deaths were blamed on the storm nationwide. newshour correspondent kwame holman has more. >> holman: after days of blizzard conditions in the midwest, temperatures plunged into single digits with wind chills down to 25 below zero. >> it's so freezing cold out here, it's unbelievable! >> holman: and the northeast prepared for more snow amid bone-chilling winds gusts in buffalo were clocked at 60 miles an hour. the massive storm system dropped more than a foot of snow on a dozen states this week. in northern arizona, it left some 30 elk hunters still stranded today. and nationwide, there were more school closures, airport delays, power outages, and traffic accidents some deadly. >> when it comes right down to it, people gotta understand that on a day like today, if you d

i have great confidence in you and have had since we met the first time in some remote corner in baghdad where you were doing a fantastic job. what is it we have the right strategy and the right resources to do? is that to win? >> i believe it is to let the afghan people win. >> ok, and is there an important difference there? we are asking our sons and daughters, literally in some cases, to fight, 30,000 more of them. are we asking them to win? ce there? we're asking our sons and daughter literally in some cases to go over there and fight, 30,000 more of them. are we asking them to go over and win? >> we're asking to go over and be on the winning team. the reason i parse this is because the afghans are the ultimate winners here. >> i understand that. i think the parsing is interesting because it seems to be consistent that whether it is admiral mullen who i asked whenever we had the last hearing here a few days ago if we were seeking victory and he said, no, it is success. well, i don't understand why we're parsing these words success and victory and win, but it seems to be consistently

guest: we were responsible for operations in northern baghdad. we had three other arab province since. the home of saddam hussein, and the heart of the insurgency. we also had kirkuk, which is very unique for its kurdish and arab tensions. we also have responsibility for kurdistan. as the multinational north division commander we have responsibilities for 23,000 u.s. soldiers and and other service members, responsible to train iraqi police and to do our best to work with the development of the security forces and government, helping us to build the economy. host: how long were you there? guest: we were there for over one year. we were not a part of the surge. host: how would you assess that region now? politically and militarily? terrorism? guest: from a military standpoint, the iraqi people have done a phenomenal job to build their security forces. the agreement that went into effect in january 1, 2009, through our partnership we were able to work with the iraqis can really coach them, teach them, mentor them, which i think brought them quite a

lot cheaper pain and talkshow format than having chris john aubin pour in tehran and nic robertson in baghdad and doing a reporter. i still try to have reported news that cnn be the core of it with anderson cooper, aaron brown, and many others. it is cheaper and it's easier to get a solid audience for last by having very strong opinionated talk shows. and that goes not just for cable tv but for the blogosphere as well. and the blog is here, if your pc, if you have those great one-liners, you can get a following just as surely as if you were really courageous and scraped up all of your money and went uncovered what's happening in helmand province now in afghanistan. so that worries me as well. what is the antidote to that? one of the antidote is what i talked about at the beginning of may speech. if we have a system where people could pay for it. most news would still be free, most news would be generic. opinions would be freak as they proliferate on the web. but if people get paid for it easily, you would need a whole lot of people. if one 10th of them, 5 million will pay $2 a month were talk

but when it happens when baghdad was captured the u.s. army division did not do that. they did not have orders to do that. there are other witnesses that will come before you better much better informed than i am. grammy know what i have read about because i retire the end of february. >> thank you very much. >> the few wrap but points over the space we have occupied this morning but first comes from what we just discussed looking at the timing decision by the united states to go early 2003, a military momentum is clear may a major component of that decision and we'll hear more from other witnesses about that however there are some signs american military are at a responsible level see that it was not the end of march turn not go but is that your understanding? >> it is. the reason i said alternately was because in 2004, there'd be a presidential election campaign. hold on. how much time can you buy? >> i went to the great group, karl rove and said how far? and he said end of 2003 at the latest. he might have said january 2004 otherwise it will be embroiled in the pres

forces spent most of their time only in a small protected area such as the green zone in baghdad, then little would be accomplished. the surge in iraq was not successful only because we were simply having more troops in iraq. it was what they did that mattered. by simply going out into insurgent areas and being more visible, this gave reassurance to the local populations that americans were still around, but it did not stop there. previously coalition forces would clear an area but then retreat. this time they were there to stay. our soldiers became involved with the local communities, assisting with infrastructure and even doing things like helping to set up farm cooperatives. the strategy evolved from only clear to clear, hold and build. soon our forces had the trust of the locals. the citizens of iraq began to help with the stabilization of rebuilding of their country. they began to cooperate with our military efforts and help us fight insurgents. before they were scared and powerless. now they were safe and had the ability to make their lives better. these conditions have made it v

guest: we were responsible for operations in northern baghdad. we had three other arab province since. the home of saddam hussein, and the heart of the insurgency. we also had kirkuk, which is very unique for its kurdish and arab tensions. we also have responsibility for kurdistan. as the multinational north division commander we have responsibilities for 23,000 u.s. soldiers and and other service members, responsible to train iraqi police and to do our best to work with the development of the security forces and government, helping us to build the economy. host: how long were you there? guest: we were there for over one year. we were not a part of the surge. host: how would you assess that region now? politically and militarily? terrorism? guest: from a military standpoint, the iraqi people have done a phenomenal job to build their security forces. the agreement that went into effect in january 1, 2009, through our partnership we were able to work with the iraqis can really coach them, teach them, mentor them, which i think brought them quite a

caller: i would like to send my blessings to you and your troops and remind people, baghdad has a cushion -- a big christian community. i'm sure you have a lot of troops that celebrate kwanzaa day coming up. and let's not forget boxers day. and well, ramadan and how a car over, but let's just remember that -- and hanukkah are over, but this is trevor that we're all in this together. host: thank you for that call. i will ask the general, on this particular date, how are the service members? guest: that question was extremely distorted and i could only make it a few words on this end. i did pick up the collar was from las vegas. i heard him mention the word ramadan. i would just say this, as i mentioned, the people of afghanistan are deeply religious. of course, is predominantly a country of muslims practicing the islamic faith. ramadan is one of the most prominent ones this time of year. we have a common bond with the afghan people in trying to improve security. the common afghan once a secure home and education. it is a fairly literate society, but they want to improve themselves. they wa

and what are you quick to do with somebody from baghdad? you can even handle our minorities. you are still getting the ability to read us. so we have agencies that are supposed to prevent something they cannot see from a people and from a cold -- and from a cult and a subculture that has twisted the their religion. they use ham handed proxy's. there is good profiling and bad profiling durin. my friend says, connie, we have to stop it. you cannot. you cannot do it without the people who know this part of the world, this part of humanity. this is what you have your burden. do not worry. we have had our burden. we have carried it for 400 years. we have to help you in the job because all you can do it. the very people we need, we are driving away. that is the problem appeared the people that we can speak the language are the people who can -- that is the problem. the people that we cancan speake language for the people who can be on line and read this. if we drive our partners away, the people who can tell us what is going on in hamas -- i am still figuring out where i can wear s

caller: i would like to send my blessings to you and your troops and remind people, baghdad has a cushion -- a big christian community. i'm sure you have a lot of troops that celebrate kwanzaa day coming up. and let's not forget boxers day. and well, ramadan and how a car over, but let's just remember that -- and hanukkah are over, but this is trevor that we're all in this together. host: thank you for that call. i will ask the general, on this particular date, how are the service members? guest: that question was extremely distorted and i could only make it a few words on this end. i did pick up the collar was from las vegas. i heard him mention the word ramadan. i would just say this, as i mentioned, the people of afghanistan are deeply religious. of course, is predominantly a country of muslims practicing the islamic faith. ramadan is one of the most prominent ones this time of year. we have a common bond with the afghan people in trying to improve security. the common afghan once a secure home and education. it is a fairly literate society, but they want to improve themselves. they wa

i have been energized by your dedication to duty, from baghdad to the korean peninsula. michelle and i have been moved by your determination. when it warriors at walter reed and bethesda fighting back to get back your companies, and i've been humbled by family and p streets of me the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. the caskets coming home at dover, the quiet solitude of arlington. after years of multiple ports of duty, as you carry on our mission, your service, readiness to make the same sacrifice, is an inspiration to us and every single american. >> and so are your families. as first lady, one of my greatest privileges is to visit with military families across the country. i have met military spouses doing the parenting of two, keeping household together, juggling play dates and soccer games, helping with homework, everything they can to make the kids feel o.k. even as they try to hide their own fears and worries. i have met kids who want to know when mama's coming home, grandparents and relatives who stepped in to care for wounded warriors and folks trying to carr

headquarters in baghdad and almost just a month ago against the deputy minister of interior in saudi arabia. we see this reach in the united states today, both direct and indirect. the afghan american arrested by the fbi and colorado demonstrated the direct direction. what happened in fort hood is the direct direction of the ideology of global islamic jihad. today only sustained significant pressure from al qaeda corp. comes between 30,000, 60,000 feet in the air from the drones, predators'. the drones are a technological marvel and they have proven highly successful against a limited range of targets and a limited piece of geography. they have to some extent -- and it is hard to know if you are not a member of al qaeda, how big extent is, disrupted al qaeda in recent months. the drones are a tactic, not a strategy. like attacking a be high one be at a time. you are never going to destroy it a beehive one be at a time. ironic, eight years after tora bora osama bin laden is a voice we hear but get an invisible man. we have no idea where this man is. despite the biggest manhunt in hist

the military said it warned iraqi officials about possible attacks in baghdad on the same day that bomber struck government sites in the capital last week. however, the information did not include specific actionable intelligence. those bombings killed 127 people. an update on the americans being held in iran. the country's foreign minister said three americans jailed since crossing the border from iraq in july will go on trial. no word on when the proceedings would begin or the specific charges, but in november authorities did accuse the americans of spying. relatives and the u.s. government said the three were innocently hiking and accident across the to iran but the foreign minister speaking earlier at a news conference said the americans had suspicious aims. those are the latest headlines on c-span reappeared -- c-span radio. >> ahead of the u.s. energy information a social -- administration has projections for energy supply, demand, prices until 2035. live coverage at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3. peterson pugh commission and budget reform hosted a discussion on the federal debt. par

least 90 people have been killed and more than 115 wounded in a series of coordinated blasts around baghdad. the attack comes ahead of parliamentary elections. earlier today a panel announced the elections have been pushed back to march 6. that is nearly seven weeks later than the original date. it is after lawmakers spent months considering a new law to set guidelines for the iraqi vote. "washington journal" continues. host: congresswoman barbara lee is the chairman of the black caucus. let me show viewers the headline from last week. about 10 members boycotted the vote in the house financial services committee over these issues. the president today is outlining a speech on jobs. specifically, what you want to hear from him about what he will do to create jobs for african- americans? guest: when you look at the and implement rates in the community there twice that of the white community. of course, the president was dealt a rough hand. the last eight years he has been doing a great job figuring out how to dig ourselves out. we're working with the administration and leadership to come up wi

i remember -- if you help fix the store front in baghdad, that can do more to stabilize i never could than many of the things we could be doing great to do that quickly and efficiently is great. what has happened in afghanistan with the $1.6 billion, 67% is on projects that are bigger than $500,000. that is big stuff, and i am worried that we do not have a single data base on this. it's not monitoring and oversight on these large projects. who is in the command -- who is the person that signs off on sometimes multimillion-dollar projects, much bigger than fixing a window in the storefront or what i believe surplus was intended to do? >> inside my command now, it goes by levels of spending. i signed some, others have to go to general petreaus for approval, but i absolutely agree that there is a need for walking around money and then there is a need for larger projects, particularly in a blank:. how could you build a road -- particularly in coin. i am proud of where we have gone to pull together the review of all money spent, usaid in surplus, we're looking at together now. we are allow

if you wanted to end up in paris, you go to baghdad for six months, whether your experience and expertise was needed or not. we have painstakingly under the leadership of the deputy secretary matched each individual to the job that was required. we will triple the numbers that we have on the ground by early january. we have also required all of our civilians to train at camp canterbury in indiana, where our military members train -- membersatterbury. i think that we are learning a lot of lessons as we go, but you put your finger on one of our biggest problems. the funds that are acceptable to our military forces both in and immediately after combat operations are a tremendous tool for doing projects or winning the allegiance. it is even being used as it was in iraq for enticing people off the battlefield, as you know. there is nothing comparable on the civilian side. we have to requisition money. a young captain can access the funds in a matter of hours. a rule of law specialist has to wait weeks if not months to get a project approved. if we are going to be successful and be the kind of

headquarters in baghdad, and a month ago, against the deputy minister of interior in saudi arabia. we see its reach in the united states today, both direct and indirect the afghan-american or arrested by the fbi in colorado demonstrated the direct connection. what happened in fort hood demonstrates the indirect connection of the narrative and ideology of the global islamic jihad. the only sustained significant pressure on the al qaeda core comes from between 30,000 and 60,000 feet in the air -- the drones. they are a technological marvel. xdçthey have proven highly successful against a limited range of targets and a limited piece of geography. they have to some extent, and it is hard to know if you are not a member of al qaeda, big that extent is, disrupted al qaeda in recent months. but drones are tactic. they are not a strategy. they are like attacking -- attacking of beehive one be at a time. he will never destroy the be-one bee at a time. -- a beehive one bee at a time. osama bin laden it is today of voice we hear but an invisible man -- but an invisible man. we have no idea

his visit comes inÑi a week in which coordinated baghdad bombings have killed 127 million people. his umbrella group in iraq this morning of more to come. meeting with u.s. troops and afghan leaders, including hamid karzai. he did not meet with kim jong il during his three day visit. he and other north korean officials had exploratory talks on how to get the stalled six nationñr. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> "washington journal" continues. host: on your screen is vali nasr, senior adviser to richard holbrooke, the special representative to afghanistan and pakistan. he is a senior fellow at also interesting, he was born in 1960 in tehran. i wanted to start because the president of pakistan has written an opinion piece that was published this morning about how to mend fences with pakistan. he writes that it is useful for americans and pakistani is to consider what has brought us to this point and what the conflicts true endgame must be. in the eyes of the administration, what is the endgame of efforts in afghanistan and pakistan? >> to bring peace and

they were not all sent off to baghdad. they were loyal to their local leaders. they shared the common goal. i know there is tension between creating militias not loyal to the central government. it is not as dangerous. it seems to me we have to take some risks in some of these areas that are remote that have good and decent leaders. we can just report them and we could perhaps be able to not have to commit our own troops there. i'll ask both of you. do we have this right? are we over committed to a centralized authority? are we willing to boolook at lol militias? >> i think we are getting it right. as you said, afghanistan has a unique sensitivity to militias, even more so then rocketed. the history after the civil war that began with the department is soviets saw the rise in these militias that were predatory and under warlord. they were absolutely feared and hated today. the have a very strong local security tradition as well. what we are trying to do and we are working in a number of areas to enable villages and small villages to deny their area to insurgent

headquarters in baghdad, and a month ago, against the deputy minister of interior in saudi arabia. we see its reach in the united states today, both direct and indirect. the afghan-american arrested by the fbi in colorado demonstrated the direct connection. what happened in fort hood demonstrates the indirect connection of the narrative and ideology of the global islamic jihad. the only sustained significant pressure on the al qaeda core comes from between 30,000 and 60,000 feet in the air -- the drones. they are a technological marvel. they have proven highly successful against a limited range of targets and a limited piece of geography. they have, to some extent, and it is hard to know if you are not a member of al qaeda how big that extent is, disrupted al qaeda in recent months. but drones are a tactic. they are not a strategy. they are like attacking a beehive one bee at a time. you will never destroy the beehive one bee at a time. osama bin laden is today a voice we hear but an invisible man. we have no idea where this man is, despite the biggest manhunt in history and a $50

providing over watch over baghdad and u.s. forces in iraq of course stand ready to provide additional support if necessary. >> does that support extend to the investigation and especially since it may go beyond the exporters? >> i don't have specific information on that, as i said. we stand adey -- ready to provide that kind of forensic support if that's what they want. >> on iran, we asked about iranian press reports about the disappearance of prominent scientists, those allegations continue in the iranian press in somewhat stronger terms. do you have now any response to these? is there anything you want to say about these allegations? >> i don't have anything to add to what my colleague said yesterday. you can ask again tomorrow, if you like. >> so the -- >> do you have a question? >> mr. labrof, i guess, said it looks like some type of progress. where are we? >> let me give you kind of a brief update on it. you know that the two presidents have set the goal of completing the discussions on the treaty by the end of this year

countries will lead to 1.3 or 1.000300 thousand baghdad -- megahertz of spectrum dedicated for commercial use by 2013 when then communications union. yet the u.s. currently has only 500 mhz allocated in only 50 mhz in the auction pipeline. so in order to increase the amount of spectrum available for commercial mobile services, the administration and the fcc need to inventory the current uses of spectrum fans. especially those below three gigahertz that are ideal for mobile uses. the bottom line is that we need to know who uses which spectrum fans and the purposes for which they use such bans. once we have the answers to these questions the government is to decide whether to reallocate spectrum for commercial mobile users. if the government is requiring existing spectrum users to vacate reallocated bands, the government needs to establish meaningful process for reallocating incumbent users. in the process needs to begin sooner rather than later. inventory, reallocation and reallocation of a time and commercial mobile demand for spectrum is increasing as i mentioned exponentially. furthermo