karl eikenberry will also testify. we'll bring you that live starting at 9:30 a.m., eastern on cspan 3. >> today on c-span, guest"washin journal" is next. .

finally, ambassador, eikenberry, let me just thank you. i had occasion to spend about five days with you and i saw what an outstanding team you have there working with you, and what a terrific job you yourself are doing. i want to thank you for that. i wish you would extend to them our gratitude, because the competence overall was extraordinary. i know president karzai and others had have great respect for that team and for the work you're doing. so we're very grateful to you. thank you. secretary? >> thank you, mr. chairman. chairman kerry, senator lugar, members ever the committee i'm honored to be here with 5ebd eikenberry and general petraeus with a deep understanding of afghanistan and appreciation of the challenges we face there, clear ideas how to move forward. their leadership has been xlemp marry, commitment to truly joint civilian military efforts are absolute. over the past week secretaries clinton and gates and chairman mullen testified on the importance of the president's strategy for our national security pip today i'd like t

>> congressman, i agree with ambassador eikenberry. that is a society literally torn apart for 30 years, the governance. they die the a higher rate than coalition forces now. >> i would hope. you know, why do we have to be the international police? and that's what i don't get. with iraq and now with afghanistan, maybe papakistan, maybe iran. but there's something in their psyche. and what i think is happening is that we are fighting an ideology rather than at the end of a gun kind of thing. and i don't know if we knock out every taliban village and kill them all if that ideology doesn't continue among the taliban and spreads in the area. i don't know how we identify as they go over their boundary lines into other areas. are we having to maintain a force there in perpetuity? general? >> i don't think we will. i think we need a strategic partnership to reassure the afghan people. but they want to defend themselves. what they want is time and space and opportunity to build their nation. >> well, and i'm going to give you back my time, mr.

eikenberry, the chief of mission at our embassy in kabul. and general stanley a. mcchrystal, the commander of all united states and international forces in afghanistan. the president and his team have made it very clear that our efforts to degrade the taliban and defeat al-qaeda cannot stop at the duran line. the al-qaeda, the pakistan taliban, the afghan taliban, the network they have joined an terrorist network that shares the same goals including destabilizing afghanistan and destroying the pakistani state. fortunately, there appears to be a growing recognition in pakistan that it is impossible to differentiate between different terrorist groups. and that the same people killing americans, international, and afghan troops are now arming suicide bombers in the streets and markets of pakistan and killing pakistani civilians. we sympathize with the plight of the pakistani people who have suffered great losses from the growing number of terrorist attacks in that country. as reflected in the legislation recently passed by congress, we are committed to doing what we

finally, ambassador, eikenberry, let me just thank you. i had occasion to spend about five days with you and i saw what an outstanding team you have there working with you, and what a terrific job you yourself are doing. i want to thank you for that. i wish you would extend to them our gratitude, because the competence overall was extraordinary. i know president karzai and others had have great respect for that team and for the work you're doing. so we're very grateful to you. thank you. secretary? >> thank you, mr. chairman. chairman kerry, senator lugar, members ever the committee i'm honored to be here with 5ebd eikenberry and general petraeus with a deep understanding of afghanistan and appreciation of the challenges we face there, clear ideas how to move forward. their leadership has been xlemp marry, commitment to truly joint civilian military efforts are absolute. over the past week secretaries clinton and gates and chairman mullen testified on the importance of the president's strategy for our national security pip today i'd like t

>> congressman, i agree with the ambassador eikenberry. this is a society literally torn apart for 30 years. the tribal parts of the society and the governance and they die at a higher rate than coalition forces now. >> i would hope. you know, why do we have to be the international police? and that's what i don't get with iraq and now with afghanistan. maybe pakistan. maybe iran. but there's something in their psyche and what i think is happening is that we are fighting an ideology rather than at the end of a gun kind of thing. and i don't know if we knock out every taliban village and killed them all, if that ideology doesn't continue among the taliban and spreads in the area. i don't know how we identify them as they go over their boundary lines into other areas. are we having to maintain a force there forever, general? >> i don't believe we will. i think we do need a strategic partnership to reassure the afghan people but they want to defend themselves. what they want is time and space and opportunity. to build their nation. >> well, an

ççw3ambassador eikenberry, hoe you working with the u.s. ambassador to pakistan and indian prime -- indian ambassador to facilitate positive relationships between islamabad, new delhi and kabul? >> let me concentrate on afghanistan. ambassador holbrooke is the special representative and his responsibilities for afghanistan, and pakistan. the security relationship between india and pakistan has consequences for afghanistan, as you have articulated. but moreç specifically, which r efforts in kabul, they have a very strong relationship with our embassy in islamabadç at te level of ambassador holbrooke and general petraeus. and provide overall policy direction and have sets of programs they have set into motion. xdçççbetweenç ambassador pad myself, we take that direction. we are looking in continuously searching for ways to facilitate political dialogue between kabul and islamabad. we try to facilitate wherever we can. we have an all right up programs to try to develop a mutual trust and confidence -- we have and çarray of progr

finally, ambassador, eikenberry, let me just thank you. i had occasion to spend about i had occasion to spend about fi@@@@@@@ @ @ security pip today i'd like to discuss some of the key civilian components of that strategy. which is the president and secretary clinton emphasized are essential to the success of that mission. our troop increase must be matched by strong civilian deployment and the foreign assistance that reaches the regions and functions targeted by the civilian military plan. we're working with o & b to ensure the programs are fully resourced and look forward to wokking with congress on the funding levels that meet these. the usda and other civilian agencies are working with afghan partners to bolster institutions to national and subnational levels to be ready to ramp up their own responsibility when our combat troops begin to depart. the president's time frame gives the afghan government and president karzai a sense of urgency to make the reforms needed for better governance and stronger institutions. this effort will conti

you could elaborate that on -- that, ambassador, eikenberry? what is our projected number, what are we hoping to arrive at and how is that process going on? >> thanks, congressman. good to see you again. >> absolutely. >> we've made very significant progress over the last 12 months in increasing our civilian numbers and our civilian capabilities in afghanistan. by january of next year, here in about -- here in about a seven-week time frame if you look back over the last month, we will have had a three-fold increase o our civilian presence in afghanistan, very importantly, in support of general mcchrystal's efforts, a six-fold increase in the field. numbers roughly then that we're talking about, early next year, january/february time frame we'll be looking at about 1,000 civilians overall in afghanistan, about 400 of those we project to be out in the field. it's a very deverse group of civilians. these are civilians not only from the department of state, as you know, but usaid, development specialists, department of agriculture specialists aroun

ambassador to afghanistan, karl eikenberry. also live this afternoon, a senate homeland security subcommittee looking into how the government insures diplomatic security. the state's apartment -- the state department spends nearly $3 billion per year that is live at 2:30 p.m., eastern. today on c-span, "washington journalÑi"is next live with your phone calls. that is followed by our coverage of the u.s. house. today, members are scheduled to work on changes to tax rolls at financial industry regulations. in about half an hour, analysis of proposed health care legislation with congressional quarterly. then the international union discusses president obamas jobs policy at 8:00, eastern. we will talk

>> ambassador eikenberry addressed this in his recent testimony. we do support that and we think it would help to provide a certain amount of consistency. this came up in part due to the rates that international contractors pay compared to the rates that afghans may make. the lesser rate at this point, if they go into the army or police and other things. we want to make sure that we create the right incentives and do not create disincentives for them to join the security forces. we do see this as one way to help address that and we would certainly favor it. >> thanks very much. chairman, i am also going to have to excuse myself. thank you for your forbearance and i thank you gentlemen as well. >> thank you, senator kirk. i'm glad you were here. let me start drilling down on a lot cap -- log cap. you know, i feel about log capp 3, like the movie that never ends. by philip we are continuing to utilize it and not transitioning into logcap 4, even though we have awarded to under 4, it appears to me that less than $1 billion has been funded under logcap

>> congressman, i agree with ambassador eikenberry. that is a society literally torn apart for 30 years, the governance. they die the a higher rate than coalition forces now. >> i would hope. you know, why do we have to be the international police? and that's what i don't get. with iraq and now with afghanistan, maybe papakistan, maybe iran. but there's something in their psyche. and what i think is happening is that we are fighting an ideology rather than at the end of a gun kind of thing. and i don't know if we knock out every taliban village and kill them all if that ideology doesn't continue among the taliban and spreads in the area. i don't know how we identify as they go over their boundary lines into other areas. are we having to maintain a force there in perpetuity? general? >> i don't think we will. i think we need a strategic partnership to reassure the afghan people. but they want to defend themselves. what they want is time and space and opportunity to build their nation. >> well, and i'm going to give you back my time, mr.

>> ambassador eikenberry addresses his recent testimony and we are supportive of that. we think it would help to provide a certain consistency. this came up in part due to the rates that international contractors pay compared to rates that afghans may make if they go less a rates at this point if they go into the army or police and things and wanting to make sure that we create the right incentives and don't create disincentives for them to join security forces which is in our long-term interests, which is a question that chairman mccaskill asked about. we see this as one way to work with that and we strongly favors. >> thank you very much. madam chairman, i'm going to have to excuse myself. thank you for your forbearance and i think you gentlemen as well. >> thank you thomas senator kirk. we're glad you're here as well. let's talk about drilling down on logcap. i feel about logcap three at select a movie that never ends. i continue to be confused why we are utilizing logcap three and not more aggressively transitioning to logcap for even though we've awarded under four

ambassador eikenberry. >> thank you for the opportunity to present my views on afghanistan today, and i would like to ask that my whole statement be submitted for the record. >> thank you. it will be. >> last week it was point president obama presented the administration's strategy for afghanistan and pakistan. his decision came after an intensive, delivered to of, far reaching review. i am honored to have been a part of that. i think that the course the president has outlined offers the best path to stabilize it can stand and to ensure that al qaeda cannot regain a foothold to plan new attacks against us. i can say without equivocation that i fully support this approach. i consider myself privileged to serve as the united states ambassador, and to represent an amazing team of diplomats, development specialists, and civilian experts who formed the most capable and dedicated united states embassy anywhere in the world today. i am extraordinarily proud of them. i am also honored to testify alongside general stanley mcchrystal, my professional colleague and friend of many years. i want t

ambassador eikenberry, i got my colleague aiken here. about a year and a half ago we did a report for the armed services committee and actually stumbled ton this looking at prts, and benefits and medical care. i think i'll do this as question for the record. what we found 18 months ago, quite a bit of discrepancy in civilian incentives, support for family, wounded, i mean, literally having a military person in a civilian u.s. government person killed in action and yet they were treated differently, and i would encourage you as a question for the record to report back. are you safred as we augustment the number of civilians going into harm's way that they will be treated fairly and their families get the kind of support and they will get the kind of support we would expect? >> that's a very important question, representative, and we get you an answer back for the record. >> thank you. general mcchrystal, i don't want to be too careful reading here but the reading comment of your statement was given to us, it says final statement, and then

hat, general mcchrystal worked with ambassador eikenberry in the u.s. embassy in developing a u.s. civil military campaign plan. further, we have established a joint task. detain the operations and afghan threat finance sale, an information on task force, and a coordination cell to oversee remmen silliation and reintegration efforts and each will partner with embassy, usaid and other inner agency officials as did similar elements in iraq. u.s. forces have also established partnerships between battle space owners and senior civilian representatives that several echelons and regional commands east and south and launched other initiatives to improve unity of effort in north an west as well. general mcchrystal is also transforming the way our forces operate. he has develop add coherent and focused campaign plan for the entire theater. assisted by general rodriguez and his two-star french deputy. has updated tactical directive and taken a number of other steps to reduce civilian casualties without compromising the ability of our forces to operate. as we focus on the u.s. civil military

as ambassador eikenberry noted this week, afghanistan has come a long way since the dark days of the taliban. and i have witnessed this progress during my travels there. turning to the strategy announced by the president, i have five quick main issues for our distinguished panel. first, i'm concerned about the delays in the decision-making. the impact on our ability to succeed in disrupting, defeating, dismantling al qaeda and the taliban. general mcchrystal, you wrote on august 30th that the next 12 months from that date were critical. yet, one-quarter of that time has already gone. and by the time the surge is expected to reach its full capacity, three-quarters of that time would have elapsed. operations such as the marine offensive operations, operations are being undertaken. is this illustrative of the counterinsurgency strategy that will be carried out as part of the surge? and how does this compare to the counterterrorism strategy? secondly, general mcchrystal, has the president provided you enough troops and other resources to successfully complete our mission? there have been

>> ambassador eikenberry addressed this in his recent testimony. we do support that and we think it would help to provide a certain amount of consistency. this came up in part due to the rates that international contractors pay compared to the rates that afghans may make. the lesser rate at this point, if they go into the army or police and other things. we want to make sure that we create the right incentives and do not create disincentives for them to join the security forces. we do see this as one way to help address that and we would certainly favor it. >> thanks very much. chairman, i am also going to have to excuse myself. thank you for your forbearance and i thank you gentlemen as well. >> thank you, senator kirk. i'm glad you were here. let me start drilling down on a lot cap -- log cap. you know, i feel about log capp 3, like the movie that never ends. by philip we are continuing to utilize it and not transitioning into logcap 4, even though we have awarded to under 4, it appears to me that less than $1 billion has been funded under logcap

ambassador eikenberry is charged with all of our work coming out of the embassy. i'm just looking for the actual organizational chart that i brought with me and i am happy to share. >> that is fine, you can get it to us for the record. the reason i ask the question is not to try to -- i am sure that there is a valid, substantial reason for all of the work that all of them are doing. i'm trying to focus on this just because i have learned the hard way that the accountability peace never happens if you do not know who is in charge. i'm trying to determine among these ambassadors who is the ambassador that has the authority and accountability and responsibility in terms of the contract and that is going on -- the contract iing that is going on. >> ambassador eikenberry runs much of what is going on. ambassador wayne, as we said, is the coordinating developed -- director for the economic development and assistance. he oversees all of the u.s. government and nonmilitary assistance to afghanistan. he directs and supervises the range of offices in the field. he is our po

general mcchrystal, ambassador eikenberry. let me render my own salute to you for your patriotism, individually and the people that you represent and thank you for your patience this afternoon. my first question, general, would go to you. it's a follow-up basically on the chairman's question about the disparity of troops. u.s. troops to afghanistan troops, and i understand we're working as hard as we possibly can to redress that balance. just so we can understand perhaps what we're looking ahead to and what to prepare for, is there a risk until we close that gap in the trainers and the combat troops, that our troops will be viewed more as occupiers and, therefore, we may incur or incite further insurge entds and violence and therefore, perhaps even put our guys and gals in more harm's way than otherwise? >> there are several components to that. the first is we view how we are viewed will be based on how we operate more than the numbers we have. so i think it's important that our forces operate with a level of cultural respect

ambassador to afghanistan, carla eikenberry testified -- carl eikenberry testified before the house today about the transition strategy announced by the president last week. live coverage of both of those hearings, first up on c-span3 and the senate armed services committee have wondered p.m. also on c-span3 and fazul available online at c-span.org -- and also available online at c-span.org. in the meantime, a senator talks about the debate in health care in the house. continues. host: let us begin with some of the lead story is about the health care debate and what is happening behind the scenes. the headline in "usa today." it says the 10 democratic senators, liberals and moderate democrats are working behind the scenes to instead of creating what has been known as a far as the public option rather have expand medicare to allow 55 and older to join that as a so- called public option. what is your reaction? guest: you know, the problem with that -- but i have not seen any details. the problem with that is medicare by everybody's agreement, everybody's analysis is due to be insolvent by 2

>> ambassador eikenberry addressed this in his recent testimony. we do support that and we think it would help to provide a certain amount of consistency. this came up in part due to the rates that international contractors pay compared to the rates that afghans may make. the lesser rate at this point, if they go into the army or police and other things. we want to make sure that we create the right incentives and do not create disincentives for them to join the security forces. we do see this as one way to help address that and we would certainly favor it. >> thanks very much. chairman, i am also going to have to excuse myself. thank you for your forbearance and i thank you gentlemen as well. >> thank you, senator kirk. i'm glad you were here. let me start drilling down on a lot cap -- log cap. you know, i feel about log capp 3, like the movie that never ends. by philip we are continuing to utilize it and not transitioning into logcap 4, even though we have awarded to under 4, it appears to me that less than $1 billion has been funded under logcap

general mcchrystal and ambassador eikenberry both have people working on this. we have people working on it here in this room and back at the state department. what are we going to do? we're going to work out a revitalization of very ineffective of past programs that offered an opportunity to people fighting with the taliban. there was an extremely good article in the "washington post" yesterday, front page on this, which outlined how the programmed failed. people who had heard there was -- they didn't want to fight with the taliban. they came in and they got no kind of benefits. that's a major issue for us. and so in regard to this issue, which i consider one of the most important around, you're going to see a significant change in policy in conjunction with the afghan government in the coming weeks. >> i want to ask you -- you mentioned president karzai. i wanted to ask you a question on that and then we're going to get to your team. before the election of president karzai, it was no secret that many members of the obama administration, either as legislators o

ambassador to a afghanistan, carl eikenberry will testify on afghanistan strategy today. also live on c-span 3, their testimony before the senate armed services committee at 1:30 p.m., eastern. both hearings are also on line at c-span.org. later in the week, they will take questions from the members of the house and senate foreign relations committee. >> greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health, according to police said jackson, the head of the environmental protection agency. that clears the way for the epa to regulate certain emissions even if congress doesn't act. this is about half an hour. . >> we have spent decades studying greenhouse gas solution and climate change. scientists in the united states and around the world have tracked in the last century and in particular the last three decades alarming increases in the amount of greenhouse gases in our skies. that increase is deteriorating the natural balance in our atmosphere and changing our climate. there have and will continue to be debates about how quickly climate change will happen if we fail to

my understanding is we are trying to set up mcchrystal and general eikenberry does next week; is that correct? >> senator corker, that is correct. and we've would certainly make any witness available. we might want to suggest that you plan a short public hearing and a longer classified hearing. i think that would be very useful to get at a lot of the issues that both senator lugar and chairman and carey have raised. >> think if we are going to have a classified briefing would be great a station chief in pakistan would be very brief to the cuban officials that they could all make this decision. we will likely set a public hearing with ann patterson who is an outstanding ambassador and knows what is happening in that area. you can't help but be in afghanistan and know that part of what is driving what we are doing there is just the inertia. the fact that we are there the we are loath to lead before success with, whatever that means. and the fact we are trying to prove to pakistan and afghanistan citizens that we are real friends. my point is that much of what you all sit is no doubt tru

after this transition, ambassador eikenberry will continue to provide overall police program policy, oversight and direction. inl and d.o.d. are currently assessing training mentoring for gender-specific programs where inl may continue to play a role. the transfer of contract responsibility for police training is an effort to eliminate a management layer so thatç we may speed program execution. the department of state will continue to play a role in afghan law enforcement training with policy oversight and overall direction through ambassador eikenberry. we are working closely with d.o.d. to achieve an efficient transition and working toward a comprehensive transition plan. the state's plan also takes into account a demobilization effort that we have required of our contractors, asç well as transitioning all assets an inventory used in the police training program for the following contractors to be be chosen by the department of defense. . subcontractors are laid out in the state plans. finally, it addresses the need to address securityxd at the following sites to the new contrac

ambassador karl eikenberry had expressed misgivings about a surge, in a series of leaked cables to washington. but he told the house armed services committee he now endorses the approach advocated by general stanley mcchrystal. >> i am unequivocally in support of this mission, and i am exactly aligned with general mcchrystal here to my right in moving forward now to vigorously implement the assigned mission. >> holman: the general said he, too, was confident in the president's new war plan, including the provision to start withdrawing in 18 months. but he also suggested it could take longer. >> results may come more quickly, and we may demonstrate progress towards measurable objectives, but the sober fact is that there are no silver bullets. ultimate success will be the cumulative effect of sustained pressure across multiple lines of operation. >> holman: in response, republicans renewed their skepticism. "buck" mckeon of california asked if the july 2011 timetable would tie mcchrystal's hands. >> do you feel that you will have the flexibility a year from now, december of 2010, to ask for add

and so i ask for your full support of this decision to provide both ambassador eikenberry and general mcchrystal the information they need to be successful. the men and women who volunteer and revolunteer to serve their cun in the uniform. >> thank you, mr. secretary. mr. chairman? >> mr. chairman, congresswoman and distinguished members of this committee, thank you for your time today. let me state up front i support fully and without hesitation the president's decision. i appreciate the opportunity to contribute to what i believe was a healthy and productive discussion. i've seen my share of internal debates about various national security issues, especially over the course of the last two years. i can say i do not recall an issue, so thoroughly or so thoughtfully considered as this one. every military leader in the chain of command as well as those of the joint chiefs was given voice throughout this process, and every one of us used it. we now have the force of strategy, more appropriately matched to the situation on the ground in afghanistan. and resources match more appropriately

and stan mcchrystal, with our strong encouragement, and ambassador i eikenberry as well, go to islamabad pretty regularly. they talk to the government and the military about these operations. this time around, we're much more conscious of the fact that if we have an operation office of baluchistan, the more successful it is, the more in my blood pressure on our ally in pakistan. and we have to coordinated -- the more it might put pressure on our ally in pakistan. and we have to coordinate it. we have to move the ball for here in terms of close coordination. and i've talked to several pakistani generals about this. they are very pleased with the constant flow of information between us and them. as i said earlier, the chairman of the joint chiefs and centcom have both been in islamabad. we are in constant communication. that does not make it perfect. and this is an important question. we are fully conscious of that and we're working on it continually in close collaboration with our pakistani friends and allies. how long >> like to thank ambassador holbrooke. -- >> i would like to thank amb

we have a relationship between our ambassador eikenberry and general mcchrystal, but one important caveat that you should focus on. stan mcchrystal, a deal haft. -- a dual hat. brussels, so it is a little more complicated, but the relationship is there. >> let me ask a question of this point. you give a good explication of the reason you see it for the involvement, but in terms of how we execute this strategy, a number of important questions of ras, but of a one is the issue of sanctuary in pakistan -- a number of important questions arise, but one of the issues is pakistan. we did not have insurgent leaders across the border with significant numbers of fighters moving back-and-forth more or less of will. it seems the pakistani have taken on the pakistani taliban, but according to recent comments from general petraeus, they have not relate stepped up for the afghan taliban what will they do to take this action because it is hard to imagine the united states making the progress they would need to make by july, 2011. >> i agree with your comment. i would say this is a matter of the highest

ambassador to afghanistan, carl eikenberry. live coverage begin beginning at 10:00 eastern and on c-span radio and at c-span.org. this afternoon, a senate homeland subcommittee looks at how government ensures diplomatic security. the state department spends nearly $2 billion a year on a security force of more than 30,000 agents an law enforcement professionals. that hearing is live at 2:30 eastern on c-span 3 and at c-span.org. tomorrow live coverage of the nobel peace prize ceremony from oslo, norway, president obama the recipient this year, beginning at 7 a.m. eastern, live coverage on c-span 2 and also on-line at c-span.org. this week, continuing coverage on the healthcare debate, commercial free. now the latest update from the reporters an editors of the congressional roll call greep. c-span has partnered with cq hol call for coverage of the healthcare debate throughout the month. "washington journal" continues. host: congressman spencer baucus joins us now, republican from alabama and ranking member on the financial servic

karl eikenberry is a retired lieutenant general and served in the afghanistan and general stanley mcchrystal assumed the position and june. this is about two hours, 50 minutes. inconspicuous as possible and not interfere with the witnesses today. hearing will come to order. i want to first say that no demonstration will be tolerated. anyone disturbing by signs or any other disturbance will be removed forthwith. so today i welcome -- the armed services committee. our second hearing on afghanistan. the results of strategic review. witnesses today general stanley mcchrystal, commander international security assistant force in the united states force of afghanistan and the honorable carl ikenberry. we welcome you, we thank you for being with us as we have been long anticipating your testimony today. two months ago i wrote a lengthy letter to the president some six pages. that he listen to his commanders in the field. and let me begin by commending the president by demonstrating his commitment to achieving success in afghanistan by adding 30,000 american troops to the war. in that letter and in p

ambassador to afghanistan, karl eikenberry will testify at two hearings tomorrow on afghanistan strategy. in the morning it will be the house armed services committee. that is live on c-span3 at 9:30 a.m. eastern and also live on c-span3 their testimony before the senate armed services committee at 1:30 p.m. eastern. both hearings are also on line at c-span.org. later in the week it will take questions from members of the house and senate foreign relations committees. >> now another in a series of hearings on the president's new afghanistan strategy part of the witnesses are defense secretary robert gates, joint chiefs of staff chairman mike mullen and secretary of state hillary clinton. john kerry of massachusetts years this hearing. is about three hours. >> the hearing will come to order. secretary clinton, secretary gates, and admiral mullen, we welcome you here today. thank you very much for joining us and we appreciate your coming to share more details about the president's plan and for consulting and partnering with congress on the decision obviously of enormous consequences for ou

people on the ground, the people who are responsible for implementing the strategy, including ambassador eikenberry who wholeheartedly endorses the president's definition of our mission believe is hard, but doable. i also believe we have got to come at this with a sense of resolve, determination and a cautious optimism that we can make this work, and i think there is a very strong argument that we can. >> i would like to just the -- pitch in and echoed secretary plans comment about the danger of paying them with too broad a brush. there are some number of ministers, and i would say to mike that we work most closely with, defense and interior, who are quite competent and quite capable and have been good partners for us. similarly, when we see a good governor go into a province, we have seen a situation turnaround literally in months when a competent, honest governor is put in place. there are more than a few of those in afghanistan. all the problems that you have described and discussed here this morning are real. they exist, but there are enough that we can part with you are already in the afghan g

i think first of all, the specific answer to your question is, ambassador eikenberry and general mcchrystal are as we speak working on their joint civil military campaign plan, which i think will establish the basis for the kind of transition that you were talking about. but i would tell you one of the obstacles, at least in my opinion, from observing, is that the department of state does not have the kind of flexibility in the way that it spends money and the ability to do so quickly and make commitments quickly and have agility because of the number of restrictions and processes that they have to go through with respect to their funds. frankly, i think one of the things that the funds we learned both in and stand and iraq is that that kind of flexibility has been a huge asset for the united states in both places. >> center nelson, let me start by saying it has been a real privilege working with secretary gates in the defense department in trying to figure out how to have a more integrated civilian military strategy. secretary gates has been one of the best advocate that the state departme

general mcchrystal and ambassador eikenberry as peeno have been here all week testifying in congress to those decisions into their views on the state of the insurgency in afghanistan. indeed they were on capitol hill before the house foreign affairs committee. as i testified myself last week i not only support the president's decisions, i support the manner in which they were derive frugal more critically it is my belief and that of our commanders that this extended search of 30,000 u.s. troops coupled with additional contributions from our nato allies give general mcchrystal all the forces he needs in 2010 to reverse the momentum of a growing and increasingly lethal insurgency. earlier this week i have the opportunity to visit with some of the troops who will surely be deployed to afghanistan to fight that insurgency. i thanked them and their families for their service but i also urge them to think carefully about how they will accomplish the mission they have been assigned. the debate is over. the decision has been made. it is time to execute. that must be our focus now, our only f

i was told by then-general eikenberry in january of 2006 and echoed by president carter, that they needed agents to come in and help them rebuild their agriculture. i tried for two years with the help of my colleagues on appropriations committee. we appropriated -- twice appropriated $5 million to the department of state to send -- get the usaid to send in extension agents. with $10 million, absolutely zero people went, as far as we know. so in 2007, i worked with the missouri national guard, good friends of mine. they sent a survey team over. they said, we can help. so in early 200, they sent a 50-member agriculture development team to nangahar province, gentleman al bad. gentlemajalabad.why did they ch? it was the number two producing nation and they had an excellent governor and they wanted to work. so the guard team went in. these were trained soldiers and armed airmen and women who knew how to fight in a battle. but they also had agricultural backgrounds in their day jobs, in their civilian employment. they were farmers, they were agronomysts, soil specialists, foresters, food proces

later on this afternoon that the president received in the oval office ambassador- be i can very --eikenberry, general mcchrystal, and all of what has to go into and what is necessary to make this plan succeed. i think you heard from both of them that this is but the right strategy and has the resources to succeed. people can come to different conclusions but the president made his conflict -- his decision based on that. douglas last week, you said the administration had not made a decision regarding a supplemental. what are some of the issues involved in making that decision? >> what they are trying to figure out is the degree to which -- obviously a lot of issues will go into this, put together a budget, and we determined the link of an availability of money that is there now to fund operations in the theater. i think the most important point that the president said in his speech is that we cannot -- we are unable to walk away from the human cost as well as the cost to our treasury. i think the president said we have to take this into account and we have to take this into our budgetary acco

country but had a chance to meet with a couple of my generals there, stanley mcchrystal, ambassador eikenberry, etc. we visited iraq and i will tell you that this year, 23 september was an important day for us because on the 23rd, we had more marines in afghanistan than we did in iraq. and that separation continues to open here today we have just under 5000 marines in iraq. because of our turnover that our veterans, we are at about 13 k. in afghanistan. as you know that will grow to do something under 20000 when the deployment is complete, the president has approved. the equipment items are 95% out of iraq. our folks there in this last rotation, if you will, had been doing a magnificent job, shipment of equipment that's going to follow. evacuating our stuff both through kuwait and jordan as well. a lot of it's going to afghanistan. we've got some issues these days with equipment sets, but in any event, a lot of the things that are coming out of iraq are getting a very rapid rehab in theater and are making their way to afghanistan to be able to support the additional troop requirements that wil