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et's togethe and the getour ccin you'tectelf lp p e spf th flu vs ar e tst tiv evenflu. getactsu.go together, we can all fight the flu. comcast sportsnet coverage of wizards' basketball brought to you by geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance. visit geico.com. and by chevvy chase nissan. your lifetime nissan dealer. steve buckhant we g to quarter the 3-point shot did in fact count.

you can see well out of his hands with .1 of a second to go. they quickly counted it. >> phil: moving in on the double double. 8 points, 8 rebounds. the two steals also mentioned in the 1st half. mcgee sweeping hook. kept alive. no good. rebound to petro. wizards outscored in the 3rd quarter. that's an offensive foul after washington led at half. 49-39. a technical foul has been called on denv

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the wizards making more of their opportunities pay off in the 4th quarter with the five second chance points. . and andre blatche, continuing his consistent play with 23 points tonight, 8 rebounds, great move here. he wanted the foul but didn't get it petro as you said moved underneath for contact. >> phil: and that should have

been an add one going back to your stat about the second chance points, coming into the game, only golden state averaged more points on second chances than does denver, but tonight, only three. that's been a big part of washington's success. the wizards will get the ball inbound with thornton and boykins. blatche, young, and singleton for washington. carmelo still in the game for denver. he's been quiet so far. i say quiet. he has 22 points. but for him, that's quiet. >> phil: yeah, but he spread them out. 7 in the 1st, 7 in the 2nd, and now 8 in the 3rd. >> steve: the wizards trying to get the screens to get someone open, but it's not happening, boykins with 3 seconds having to take the jumper. he comes up a little short.

graham kicking out to petro to carmelo. backed up on thornton. short. nick young, couldn't save it. >> phil: well they are working hard defensively trying keep this team and particularly carmelo in check. the left foot on the line. that was picked up by michael smith, so it will be denver ball still with a new 24 seconds. >> steve: nene coming back into the game, and petro is out. usmarines.com leaders of the

game. nene drives and he scores. james singleton will have his fifth personal. >> phil: coming into this game, nene, third in the league in field goal percentages. he has only missed one shot

>> steve: well was s oot, right there. the left ankle turns over, and he goes down. no delaware fence for nene. -- defense for nene, he's able to get the easy 2. >> steve: blatche is up and trying to walk it off. losing him would be, we

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there's andre blatche looking like he's okay. he's up. he will stay in the game, so left ankle a little tender. the nuggets by 9. let's check the scores around the nba. bobcats losing to the pacers.

the spurs beat the heat in miami. the bulls lose again. >> phil: that's eight straight. >> steve: the cavaliers over the pistons. here in denver, al thornton shoots, and he scores. 79-72 denver. wizards led the entire 1st half, leading by 6 at the break but they were outscored in the 3 3rd quarter 26-18. to singleton a nice rebound. that's his fourth. >> phil: i will tell you what, blatche is really hopping on the left ap l. >> steve: thornton off the glass. four quick points for the wizards. they cut the lead to 5. >> phil: they need to get him out of there. >> steve: alonzo gee is set to go back in as he is hobbling. turned the ankle on nene. wasn't that bad but it's the

entire group of ballplayers right now. you have to remember that. it will be denver ball with a new 24, and gee checking in for blatche who leaves for now with 23 points and 8 rebounds. the wizards playing five games in six nights. playing three in a row, thursday, friday, and saturday. one game in detroit on the road. that's the first time a team has played three straight games since the wizards did it back in 2000. >> phil: yeah. >> steve: it's not something that happens. it's not ever put on the schedule. >> phil: not scheduled that way unless you have to have the makeups like they have, a soldout game against the hawks. >> steve: smith inside, scores. of course it was during the lockout year when everyone played three games games in a row. the wizards played three straight and then got on the plane to come here sunday, and now back to back with utah and

denver. mike miller with another bad pass. a tough night for mike. one of seven from the field. he has seven rebounds. he has at least three turnovers. >> phil: it's one thing to set up your defenders, but when you start to make the shots -- >> steve: wow! >> phil: what a shot. [ inaudible ] [ cheers ] so unable to anticipate the shots. >> steve: back up by 9. they will call chauncey billups for a foul. number three on chauncey. boy, alonzo gee was all over j.r. smith here. almost knocked the ball away. >> phil: yeah, he can make some of the difficult shots. >> steve: 4:45 to play in regulation, and melo hounding thornton, and i believe he is

called for the foul. now they will get between anthony and al thornton. they saw each other four times a year for the three previous years with thornton playing for the clippers. number 3 on carmelo who has gotten 22 points and 9 rebounds. >> phil: going at it again. >> steve: a lot of dribbling, on the arm. and the foul is called on carmelo. that will be his fourth personal. >> phil: now both he and thornton have four personal fouls as both of them want to

be more careful in terms of wanting to develop the physical style of play. >> steve: boykins to the line for the first time tonight. the wizards are 10 of 20 from the free-throw line. really unfortunate free-throw shooting night for this team. denver has made 17 of 21. boykins gets the first. wizards trying to sweep this team for the first time since the '01-'02 season. last year denver finished with 54 wins, 28 losses, and they made the playoffs for the sixth straight year, and for the first time in six years, they advance to the second round to beat the hornets four games to one. beating dallas four games to

one. lost to the lakers in six in the finals. the season before last, la swept them in the first round. smith inside for an easy two. >> phil: nene doing a great job in carrying the pass. j.r. smith was going to lay it up, and then he was able to get to the rim with coverage. >> steve: thornton called for travel. >> phil: here's the move. watch nene, just clearing out singleton. just had a hand in keeping thornton out of there before he got into the picture. >> steve: smith drives. baseline shot, couldn't get it to go. kept alive by carmelo. pulled down by alonzo gee. gee the other way. turns, shoots, into the side of

the glass. gets it back. tries it again. not there, slammed by thornton, no good, but he's fouled. wg it's on smith, smith, and al thornton will get two free- rows. >> phil: first of all, watch this effort from alonzo. two defenders, and that would have been a spectacular dunk over j.r. smith. >> steve: al thornton two of three from the line. has 15 points, 6 of 8 from the field. only other team to go postseason play the last six consecutive years other than denver, dallas, san tan tone,

and -- san antonio, and the pistons. they are headed into the postseason again, denver is. smith backing up. connecting on the three. j.r. smith, last season made 180 3s. the most of his career. tonight. boykins tries to answer with the 2-point foul. short. the loose ball call on mike miller. miller gets his 1st personal foul, and it's been a tough night for mike with three points in game. a timeout. denver with the 10-point lead. looks like they may have this looks like they may have this one in hand. ccccccccccxxxxxxxxx

♪(whi tun n't be h♪ wizards got out of the blocks quickly and in productive fashion tonight. andre blatche with 28 points, 8 rebounds. washington built the 6-point halftime lead. carmelo anthony has been quiet but consistent with 22-10. that had four turnovers, and denver bench, led by j.r. smith with 15 points, outscoring washington's bench, but a valiant effort by the wizards reserves, namely nick young with 8 and alonzo gee, 3

of 7 from the field. 10 rebounds tonight. >> phil: good effort on his front. also a share of steals. knocked down two three pointers. >> steve: j.r. smith has scored the last nine points for denver. so he has really been valuable to the team as the wizards cut was what a nine-point lead down to five, and then smith hit a couple of big shots, increasing their lead to 10. in the meantime, andre blatche we understand is having his ankle taped, and he return to the lineup. but the good news is that it's not serious enough to keep him out. unless they choose to do so. smith left alone. rims it, and mike miller is there. steve buckhantz and phil chenier with you. we will be with you and traveling with you. alonzo is looking to make the pass, but i don't think his

teammate was ready for it, so he kept the ball. >> phil: either that or someone was in the passing lane. he was attempting to make the pass before he looked to see who was out there. >> steve: 16 wizard turnovers tonight, but the real story from the free-throw line where washington made 14 of 24. 58% shooting from the line. the field goal. carmelo anthony will go to the line. he and thornton have really been getting after each other tonight. >> phil: yes, they have. nice spin move there, but thornton going after him. carmelo with the pushoff of the left arm. did you see that. >> steve: -- see that? >> steve: he does that consistently. it's part of his great game. iverson used to do it and shaq does it. they use the arm to get separation, and it happens in a

flash. lebron james is the best in the league at it o. officials -- at it. officials can't even pick it up. >> phil: the guys do a good job disguising it. >> steve: it gives you just enough separation to get the clean shot off. called on the defensive end. if a defender sticks an arm out and makes the contact with the offensive player, the foul is called it should be the same way when the offensive players has the advantage by using the arm. and al thornton has just fouled out of the game. and the fans are going to love this when it's announced. >> phil: you have to realize that they are going to be calling them more and having their eyes on them because they have had several moment when is it looked like they were going to get out of control.

carmelo is such an aggressive player, before one of the league leaders in getting to the free-throw line. >> joe: nick young will come -- >> steve: nick young will come into the lineup and al thornton leads with 16 points. only missing two shots in 8 attempts. one rebound but played terrific defense for most of the night against carmelo. >> phil: unfortunate because he had it going. only 26 mints -- minutes because of the foul trouble. >> steve: at one point, he was four of four, at halftime in fact. >> phil: first quarter. >> steve: yeah. here's carmelo with 26 points in the game and 11 rebounds. giving him 27. denver, very difficult to beat at home when they have a lead after three. in fact they haven't been

beaten. 25 games. 43 in a row. going back to last season. mike miller drives and scores. second field goal on the night for mike. 1:15 to play. 11-point denver lead. the wizards had a lead by l in the 1st half. it was actually 6 at halftime. nene is fouled, and he will shoot. >> phil: the wizards signaling to the officials he used the left arm much like we just talked about to ward off the defender. in this case, it was javel mcgee. looking to see if they have a replay of it. >> steve: washington outscored in the 3rd quarter, 26-18. that was their demise. nene misses that one. next time we will be with you

will be from portland friday night. you will see the game here on comcast sportsnet. the coverage begins at 9:30 eastern time. the wizards and trail blazers and washington will have saturday off playing the lakers on sunday. that's in los angeles. >> steve: 29 points for carmelo. alonzo gee getting the turning jumper. he has been very impressive off the bench tonight. >> phil: i think he has a double-double. >> steve: he does. 10-10. impressive rookie. >> phil: he's trying to urn the job. >> steve: i think he should get one. not saying i'm playing general manager, but some of his performance. some of the guys for the d- league surprise you a bit. he's been one of them. terrific find for ernie and the

group. he draws contact from nene. gee will shoot. >> phil: now you look at what he has done, first career double double, and this is against the team that normally rebounds the ball well, denver. as i said, i think they missed anderson and kenyon martin too. at times he was assigned to guard carmelo anthony. he did a good job there. impressive night for him and his minutes going up. i wouldn't be surprise if they see more of that. >> steve: that's one area he would clearly like to work on a little bit. alonzo 4 of 8 tonight from the field. 11 points, 10 rebounds. the denver nuggets are about to

improve to 46-22 on the year. 29-5 here at home. in the meantime, the washington wizards with their longest losing streak since january of 2001. nine consecutive games, and flip saunders said you don't think it can get any worse in this league? it can. you have to try to come out every night to get the victory. for the wizards, the next opportunity will be friday night against portland. >> phil: it can always get worse. you have to make it get better. >> steve: here's gee, inside for two more. adding to his career high now 13 points, 10 rebounds. and that is the ball game here. 4th quarter, denver outscores the wizards 32-14.

j.j.r. smith had 14 points. carmelo with 29 for the game. thornton with 16, and alonzo gee with 13 but washington falls to 21-45 on the year. 9-23 on the road. join us for our next telecast friday when they travel to portland to take on the trail blazers. coverage begins at 9:30. for phil chenier and our entire comcast sportsnet crew, steve buckhantz. once again the final score. 97-87. phil and i will see you friday night for the game against portland right here on comcast sportsnet. have a safe evening everyone. closed captioning provided by madison square garden networks

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a stability? >> i don't think we have to steer at all. with the security force leaders share a concern about nabors that aren't trained and equipped to direct proxy elements that they have continued to carry operations against the legal elements and i am confident they will continue to do that in the future even as we drive down. they conduct a number of

unilateral operations against these elements as well. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> the keogh general petraeus, chairman levin began asking about iran about the resolution, asking about being more explicit about the possibility and it also said not to take the military option off the table. you recently talked about combining engagement about the threat of further sanctions and this is a quote of viewers that puts us in a solid foundation

here to go on what is termed the pressure track. that is the course on which we are embarked on now. you alluded to that but if you can explain a little more about what the pressure track will revolve revolve -- evolves and if you could tell us the international community done so far yielded positive results? is there any positive regard to any of these sanctions and options with all the talk we have done about iran and after that two and also to ask about the dissidents but if you would answer the first part i would appreciate it. >> over the course of the last year the effort has focused on the diplomatic track all of the countries of the world have given iran ample opportunity to discuss

the issues that are out there. >> totally unsuccessful. >> that will be led to what the president and others and secretary of state have turned the pressure track that is the effort with the u.n. security council and other countries and other organizations the e.u. is involved in this and countries doing as single actors and so forth in a variety of different ways, everything from the u.s. side treasury designations and the host of financial and trade but do this to say maybe they increased pressure will result. with respect with what this has done in the past, indeed

has entered dick did the of money, weapons, technology and it has limited the travel to some of the leaders of the key security elements there have been hasn't dissuaded them from the path that some analysts believe in terms of developing the components of a nuclear weapon? again, there may have been some initiatives that made that more difficult, perhaps but again the assessment of all is that continues to march on. >> have we squandered precious time? >> i don't think so that gives a very firm foundation as we transition. no one can say that iran has

not had any opportunity made possible to them including the reaching out of the open hand and so forth. they have not grasped that. no one can say that other countries of growth of nine given that every opportunity that translates into for the pressure track to lead for meaningful action. >> the actions of the pressure track, will have to be agreed to by the united states and the number of our allies. >> that depends on the u.n. security council revisions than five and then nine total numbers. again, in then it nine total

affirmative but i have to check with the state department. >> what about what form these actions might take? >> i defer to the state department on that but this is generally done behind closed doors that is best pursued a. >> due may 1 to go on the state department on the next question but i will ask that. it has been said in this committee and before we should be showing the moral support for the reformers to take the st. and risk their lives and safety. if you were a reformer in to run what do you hope the united states would do?

do we need to send some signals as to the limits of what can be expected? if we tried to give some moral support retry to be realistic about what we can do two help these people who are striving for freedom. >> as you suggested senator with respect that is one for the state department and those who pull all the different strains of the policy because talking about one element without talking about the others of a comprehensive approach could be misleading. >> thank you very much to mr. chairman. >> senator mccaskill? >> mr. chairman following up on the sanctions on iran, the iran sanctions ask -- was passed recently there has been attention

given to the us many examples are the large south korea and engineering firm that entered into a contract with iran to upgrade oilfields in 2007. and in 2009 the u.s. army gave the same company a contract for $100 million for housing for army in south korea and then a few months after that they entered into another contract with the ran. i and a stand we have not enforce the law because the european allies squawked about it when it was passed and with the company in japan than they squawked and said you did not enforce it with the european countries. brazil we gave a huge import/export loan in order to get oil out of brazil instead of the middle east but then they turn around and have the ahmadinejad come to town and kiss and

hug. i am a little worried to make sure we are not contrasting with people who were doing business with iran especially in the oil and gas and petroleum sector. do have a take on that general petraeus? as opposed to whether or not the military takes a look at their contractors and whether or not we do business with the wrong people. >> i honestly don't i don't know what it takes to get somebody on the blacklist that they cannot compete for a contract and what the process is and why for example, we have done something and iran is not on that list. my apologies.

>> maybe that is the reason iran does not take as seriously as they should because we talk about the character and the stick but i don't think frankly we have used to the stick very effectively with a lot on our books talking about the size of the military i had a chance to talk after i got back from afghanistan but to put this on the record, mr. chairman, the size of the army beer building so if you are over there the afghans say they wanted 400,000 we are at the 300,000 there is no indication we will have an army above 300,000 but even if we keep it, a general caldwell briefed me that will be somewhere around 5.5 billion dollars. to sustain that level of military in afghanistan.

of their gdp the entire country was between five for 10 billion i would like your response to that problem and whether or not for the american people to listing in sustaining afghan military for decades to come? >> i am not aware of anyone signing of to do that for decades to come. helping to build a military force to transitions so that the forces can go home. it is more expensive to maintain forces in afghanistan even a comparable number of afghan forces that might be able to replace the forces in that country so in a sense in a business case actually there

is some logic to continue to support all the no commitments have been made in that regard to that will continue to support over time with that national security force and that they cannot pay all the expenses for over that time. >> >> i guess we can continue to help with the presence in iraq reference from nato will step up although so far while they are there and making in terms of monetary support their shouldering the vast majority of that. >> you should note to of course, there is very important and on a donations like japan is providing quite substantial resources also. >> with the radical terrorist group and this is

a priority for the specific command that there are pretty one of the very destructive bombs that went off in the koppel that was all indications. as we have made great progress against the taliban and pakistan and cockeyed we have successfully targeted and gone after, i am worried that this organization is growing in strength. i know that it is tricky because of the historical connection between the pakistani military and their government because of the kashmir area but i do want to sound an alarm that i am concerned about let and whether it is high on our

priority list of there's enough pressure if they responded to leave them military going after a wonderfully push hard enough on that front? >> it is a source of dialogue. the real bonding is the bombing in 10 mumbai a carried out by let and different elements of the government of pakistan over this they have expressed their concerns as well. there are is no question there are elements of pakistan with them pakistani counterinsurgency efforts, but there's also no disputing the fact that the pakistani army and frontier corps have got a lot of short sticks and hornet's

nest right now in the northwest frontier province and they are continuing and holding what they have got and to continue and we know what the plan is impressive and they have taken very tough losses with the civilian population. >> i am not a time of the briefly say some good news premature to say how effective it will be but compared to when i went to a rack this system is in place in afghanistan are much better per car want to compliment you and general mcchrystal and everyone for realizing that we have the buyout less subcontracting and iraq in terms of logistical support and contracting issues. we have the structures in

place to see if we have the oversight bellies we have the right people gathered in the right room. i have significant questions about continuity so i am not a time some rival to mr. chairman is make those for the record for aquinas 67% of the money is going to projects over 500,000. >> senator i need to give you numbers on that because the average project for the past year, and this year so far from about $20,000 per project in iraq and 40,000 in the other country or is it vice versa? the average is around 30,000 of this year's. >> we're pulling back down? >> polling way down. >> that is great. >> i mention that in my opening statement i retained approval authority for the $1 million projects. >> i noticed that you said only one.

>> some of the people i talk to talk about the continuity and a problem that the units that rotate out the project started before they did want to punish those because they would not get credit they wanted to start once they thought they could finish on their watch with stuff sitting on the watch we are rational approach we try to find the right balance and not doing that aid worker will pass sign even those in the contracting business we have learned a great deal about contrasting over the course over the last decade. >> over the last three years. [laughter] >> at two. >> thank you general petraeus for the continuing oversight it is very important the committee we want to thank senator

mccaskill they are very anchor it -- important to the citizenry of our company. >> a first one to thank you for your warm welcome the appreciate the service and just to correct the record a little bit general and admiral, one branch qualified as a separate tree officer and trial defense attorney and jagged massachusetts why do have some knowledge shuttle think the average attorney understands being a traditional jag. one of the thing senator graham was commenting on i have great concern because when i hear about the guys that were serving from massachusetts and new england as to how folks are treated when they are captured want to go on the same vein and i am concerned about how they treat the detainee is where they send them and what rights were they given and do we send

them to afghanistan or keep them or they are captured on u.s. soil i know i am doing here. being in the military these seven questions my troops pass on to me when i represent them. is any insight we can give to the policy as to where we're headed were offline conversation? i am all ears and it is a clear indication with what to do when they are captured >> with respect it think there is in decision in iraq for afghanistan not aware of anywhere also are quite some time when someone is detainee in iraq for afghanistan there are clear procedures for what they don't detainee virtually any

and all but then a significant number the operations are generally led by the forces sadr warrant based and we believe in the rule of law and helping the iraqis there to take the lead and in terms of making warrants except in the case obviously somebody has threatened the but soldiers directly or a case of self-defense more immediate threat response. i explained to senator graham we have clear rules recently implemented for all of our forces that have transitioned to two nato. and we are able to hold them 14 days if necessary and can send them to buy ground if they meet-- searching category after that. and we're working overtime

to transition that facility and that task of running it into the partners will take place as well. but we have worked very hard because of the idea that you have to create conditions in which the soldiers can with our values and one of those has to be a somebody puts his hands in the air you detaining them instead of shoot them if you think he is coming back on the street and 96 hours or something like that because of catch and release policy becomes much more difficult and we take that very seriously and work this very hard and as senator graham highlighted this policy has gone into place. >> i know it has been settled some much as a transition period there has been some concern speaking to senator graham there were additional questions maybe we can touch base price i am

chairing at a hearing on afghan police trading next week and i am concerned that the commission has lagged as it has been between the state and defense departments? >> i think candidly there is a reason may have over time and transitioned tasks from traditional executive branch elements to the military because we have more capacity i stood up the multinational security transition command and over time we took over more responsibility because of the capacity of our partners it and there are a bunch of hero's but there are armies of one in many cases. we will transition back to the state department that over time but with respect

to afghanistan we have taken on more and more of that and we will oversee the training with respect as you know, . >> thank you general and admiral and mr. chairman. >> thank you senator brown. >> we thank you both. we'll have a hearing on iran with to our witnesses will be and they are not yet determined we'll have an executive session at that time taking naps of the questions you left for executive session. it is possible some of the questions for the record two you may relate to iran some then in a classified way for the executive session. general petraeus, you don't

spend a lot of time on the don't ask don't milan issue will welcome your statement for the record there we will give it up to you. we usually don't do that we usually ask people for a statement for the record but in this case i will simply say we will welcome that statement weaving and up to you whether you prefer to do it that way which means campbell be made immediately public or give your thoughts in a different format a different time. we did not give that option because of our schedule we will leave that up to your good judgment but we will welcome that statement that it will be made public at that time. admiral coming think you so much for your service. all of us feel very deeply about the men and women that you work with and we think them with three do and we will stand adjourned.

>> thank you

>> we're still waiting on text from the cbo that seems to be spending a lot of the animation with account with the democrats with they're furiously trying to round up support figuring out where their members are with the big outstanding items that are not dependent on the cbo taxed britches the abortion issue which does not seem to be an easy answer. pro-choice members say they may vote against the bill of they don't get a guarantee some time down the line and then there is less tupac route to a pro-life members that say anything that does not meet the standards they set out in the original house version will cost them

their votes. there is some ways to go. >> four people who don't know what is the cbo and water they breaching four? >> for the cbo to score the congressional budget office but nonpartisan budget scorekeeper student whether the bill is paid for and if it affects the deficit. >> the headline reads the majority it hunts for the final but what is happening behind the scenes? >>guest: there is a very muscular effort to figure out where members are. at this point* in the week and this happens before any big photo lot of members will continue to tell leadership write-up until the deadline they are undecided so there is a very aggressive effort to 10

members down to figure out where they are also to round of the 216 votes they need for that matter milan for passage thate0c holds on to the yes votes then flipping those that voted no on the original house passage. >>host: what our leaders saying when they might be ready to have a vote? >> that is still up in the year we're thinking saturday or sunday but there is some indications it could push into next week or beyond. think they would like to do this. speaker pelosi made it clear she would like to do this as quickly as she can but that is dependent on if they have the votes and also they want to post a package they are waiting to get back as 72

hours. >>host: tory newmyer from roll-call. thank you. >>guest: think you

>> the obama administration has nominated robert ford to be the ambassador to syria. the bush and administration and with to the last ambassador following the assassination of lebanese prime minister. this confirmation hearing that the senate foreign relations committee is one hour 15 minutes. >> this hearing will come to order thank you for joining us this morning i have long argued that america's national security interest are well served by engaging with syria and to that end i made a number of journeys there over the course the last four or five years in efforts to explore the

possibilities of the administration's decision to send that ambassador to damascus marks the important step forward in that process. i am pleased to see the administration has nominated a strong candidate to take on this assignment after 21 years in foreign service robert ford served as ambassador to algeria 2006 through 2008 and since then has served with distinction as the deputy chief and iraq. his success of the "new york post" will be vital from iran and iraq to lebanon and the arab-israeli peace process just about every major american security interest in the middle east has a serious dimension. we clearly have serious issues with syria to be resolved all the flow of fighters into iraq has diminished, more remains to be done to shut down the pipeline. large numbers of dead the

weapons continue to transit across still the and demarcated borders. hezbollah now has more and more dangerous rockets than it did before the 2006 war. last month in good general of the iaea said the syrians are not cooperative with the suspected nuclear site journalist and students in human rights activists have been arrested and syria's recent review from secretary clinton of ahmadinejad and his son and the leaders of hamas and islamic jihad and that dflp gec said day negative center -- signal about the mood in this matt -- damascus it was bad optics. it syria has its own list of request topped by the removal of the u.s. sanctions and the return of

the golan heights. syrians will argue they have taken positive steps including sending an ambassador to beirut, continuing to host hundreds of thousands of iraqi refugees and agreeing to the trilateral talks with iraq and border security discussions of was personally involved in they would argue those steps have not been reciprocated by the united states. it is fair to say we have a great deal to discuss. president obama did the right thing by deciding to send the ambassador to syria to make the case at the highest levels and some have pointed to our disagreements as a reason not to pursue this nomination. but i believe just the opposite is true. we need an ambassador now because we're at such a pivotal moment. remember my

friends, diplomacy is not a prize. it is something we do to advance our interest and we should not fear forceful principles engagement the real challenges not deciding whether to engage from is to find a viable path to improve relations for i believe with confidence and carefully calibrated diplomacy we can show damascus what it stands to gain by moderating his behavior and what it stands to lose by going in the other direction. to succeed we must present damascus with a clear choice and a vision of a different future i met with the president and i have heard his concerns in three had a good dialogue and we had many possibilities for joint cooperation and other efforts between us. i believe he understands that his country's long-term

interest and his own as the head of a secular government that he prices, those long-term interest are not well served by aligning syria with a revolutionary shi'ite regime in iran and the terrace clients. to the contrary commissary would be a much firmer footing if it instead builds meaningful ties with america, that arab neighbors and the west. president decide understands the economic stakes as well. syria's oil well began to run dry justice of the population under 18 begins to enter the marketplace and exasperated by budget deficits and corruption and drug. it wants to join in the global economy that will require closer ties with the rest of the world. we should be realistic about what impeachment could accomplish it will not come

automatically or overnight. but let me be clear it will never come at the expense of lebanon us sovereignty but if we do succeed, it can be transformative in galvanizing the arab-israeli peace process and dramatically improving the situation for our friends in israel, lebanon iraq and the west bank. in short, this moment presents us with the opportunity to change the strategic landscape in the middle east and that is an effort we cannot afford to ignore. most immediately we have much to gain by reinvigorating syrian israeli diplomacy and today the parties have reached a public impasse. president -- president al-assad once israel to make a deposit promising a successful deal will deliver the golan heights to syria but president net netanyahu's sees that an

unacceptable precondition sweeney to see their role that it can bridge the divide history shows that progress is not just a pipe dream it is possible. and the 1990's to israeli prime minister's came three close to an agreement with syria. just over one year ago prime minister olmert and president al-assad made talks going forward our challenge to go for it is to translate the progress measured in change be beer. overtime splitting the difference will not be acceptable. syria may not make the traces that we think maybe in its best interests. the only way to determine whether syria will decide on a different future is to put a real clear choices on the table and having an

ambassador there on a daily basis to engage on that dialogue enhances our ability to do that. ambassador for you come by the recommended we admire the job you have been doing an iraqi nervously and i think he would preening the right talents to this task can once you are confirmed we look closely to working with you. >> thank you mr. chairman i join you to welcome ambassador for back to our committee. during the last several years to have accepted most of the difficult excess assignments a diplomat could undertake. you're currently the deputy chief and iraq which also has the political section for three years even as an iran and ambassador to algiers you were sometimes posted on the extended temporary duty.

the nominee's long record of skilled diplomatic service to the country thoroughly qualifies him for this post. and understanding the nominee's qualifications also policy decisions relating to syria and the diplomatic representation of that country. syria has been on the state-sponsored terrorism list since originally published december 1979. despite recent united states overtures it remain deeply strained but in a joint press conference with the president of iran the syrian president made inflammatory remarks that raised the question whether regime was prepared to engage at any level with the united states. more concrete syrian actions frequently had been hostile

to the united states interest and damascus has been helpful with this support of hamas and has harbored possibly al qaeda and iraq operatives and has long suppressed basic freedoms and obstructed iaea investigations even much smaller have been rare. for example, syria has refused to grant the immigration officials pieces to interview and process thousands of iraqis living and syria seeking settlement in the united states given these factors which would temper expectations in the short run nevertheless declining deposed ambassadors is sometimes necessary serves the united

states interest for long and in this case it is the unavoidable factor in the middle east peace the equation and the actions affect united states foreign policy goals and iraq and lebanon and other neighboring states. it is understandable that the administration tries to make progress on several fronts to propose to send an ambassador for the first time since 20052 damascus per gram interested to hear from the nominee how the administration plans to address the set of problems presented by the syrian activity and how improving relations with syria this our broader diplomatic campaign to achieve the united states schools in the middle east and our also like to hear whether the administration believes there are diplomatic risks and cost to returning to the ambassador to damascus and how the state department is

planning to mitigate them. for these many reasons morale look forward to the insights of the distinguished nominee and privilege to have him before us this morning. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you senator lugar. we will commander flow statement will be placed in the record if you like to summarize. >> mr. chairman? i cannot stay for the full presentation i have another hearing. in addition to mr. ford's incredible professional career he is from maryland and we are very proud of him before our committee and fully recommend him for confirmation. secondly, his wife is stationed and morocco so it is a career family that has served our nation very well and it is nice to have him before the committee. >> thank you for those comments we appreciate them very much and i know the ambassador does.

mr. ambassador? >> mr. chairman thomas senators lugar, dodd and senator cardin, it is an honor to appear before you today. i am grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me by president obama and secretary clinton in nominating me to serve as u.s. ambassador to the syrian republic. mr. chairman i have submitted a longer written statement for the record so if it is okay with you i would just like to make some brief remarks. >> we would appreciate it. the president's desire to have a sustained and principal dialogue with the syrian government at the ambassadorial level is in our national interest. and it should move us closer to achieving our goals and syria and in the region. let me reiterate that returning an ambassador to syria is not a reward to

syria. nor would embark the chain and the fundamentals of our concerns with that important country rather it would mark a change in the way we try to secure our national interest. syria has its own interest in iraq and lebanon and the middle east peace process for returning would mark a change in how we tried to persuade and press syria where that interest is best found. as president obama's said in his speech at cairo university then it is states should commit itself to an effort of a sustained effort of the find common aground but the president also said we should not ignore sources of tension but instead we have to confront those

tensions squarely especially at a time when the middle east has increasing tensions we should be talking every day and every week with top-level officials who have influence and authority in that syria. they need to hear directly from us, not from the media or third-party countries what american calculations and syncing are and what could be the potential cost to syria of their miscalculations. if confirmed, unfiltered straight talk with the syrian government will be my mission priority. if confirmed i have as many issues first having syria be stable iraq and be more

respectful of the lebanese sovereignty and example be supportive of the peace process with co-operation with the international atomic energy agency and finally to encourage greater respect of human rights and syria. i am under no illusion as to how big a challenge and this will be an answer for more than four years in iraq and i have seen firsthand the tragic aftermath of terrorist car bombs perpetrated by born fighter network simple traded suicide bombers from damascus airport into iraq. of the subject of iraq repress the syrians to adopt their policies and they have an interest in doing so. they have an interest in a sovereign, secure and stable iraq notably they could

establish economic ties would be mutually beneficial for both countries. , also like to underline as you did mr. chairman that our policy intensify dialogue with syria will not come at the expense of any other state to the region including lebanon. of the united states is firm and its commitment to the sovereign state days sovereignty and stability vacillant to respect and in recent weeks we have seen a sharp rhetorical exchanges between hezbollah and our friends in israel and even the syrians have joined and some cases. we do not see how it is in serious interest for new fighting to break out in lebanon. fighting that could escalate and drag syria into itself.

more over we will maintain sanctions on syria as long as the supports terrorist groups like hezbollah and hamas. thus if confirmed there is much for me to discuss urgently with the syrians about lebanon and syria and action in support of terrorist groups. connected to the lebanon situation is another priority with the support for them and believe east peace efforts you know, how hard the special envoy mitchell is in this regard and the policy is clear, we seek a just and comprehensive piece that would be in the interest of our friends in israel and in the interest of the arab region and the broader international community. we have been urging the syrians to support our efforts to restart negotiations between israel

and the palestinians. and in addition senator mitchell and his team have been exploring ways to restart negotiations between israel and syria. for the past 16 years it said a peace agreement to be in its effort to foster movement in that direction. >> where we in the international committee have serious concerns syria has not cooperated with the iaea inspectors since june 2008 despite repeated iaea request for:the latest report has questions and if i am conformed i would expect to press the syrians hard on this issue. mr. chairman and members of the committee the

aspirations for data economic opportunity and respect for human rights art importuned personally and professionally i first went as a peace corps volunteer 30 years ago and i am proud to say i worked hard on that issue of the respect for human rights when i was ambassador of algeria and reduce so in syria if i am confirmed press said just issued state department report on the human-rights situation and noted there are very big problems there. there is much eight ambassador could do to help the syrians determine how best to implement a peaceful reforms and improve respect for human rights. in conclusion mr. chairman this is a big agenda and a hard-won progress doesn't promise fast results. but all of these items are in our national interest and it is in our national

interest that we press the syrians on these issues a daily at the highest levels. improving relations between us and syria has to be a two-way street. it will require syria take steps to match the steps we take. sometimes we have seen the syrians respond. for example, the europeans after a long hard discussions convince the syrians to toughen their laws against trafficking persons. after repressed, syria also saw how it was in its interest to cut the flow of those going into iraq whether the syrian government did not the was far as we want in shutting down those now works. it to remind us that we have to be firm, and patience. thus, as i said, it is a full agenda but if confirmed, i am ready to start on it.

thank you very much and i will be pleased to take questions. >> thank you very much, ambassador. i appreciate the framing you just presented to of several just ask you are currently are just have been in iraq. and then try part it is in corporation is a major issue but there is some evidence that syria may have been blindsided by the collapse of the iraq initiative that came about partly because prime minister herbology need not so much hours or serious. could do show how you might see the current post-election process and powering as to move forward without regard? >> >> senator as i said the syrians themselves have to

pay interest and a stable and secure and sovereign iraq. with respect to the bipartisan discussions that you talk about, there was never which the administration undertook to bring the iraqis, syrians and some of our experts together to look at how to improve security along the border. in the end, those discussions did not happen because of events that occurred in baghdad and the iraqi political reaction after that. we still hope that iraq and syria will find a way to build a better bilateral relationship. there is a huge amount. >> can you be more explicit? what happened in that regard? what did malaki si? >> in particular prime minister malaki publicly and

in private accused assyrians of being or helping the group's that executed the 19 bombings and baghdad the bombings that destroyed the foreign ministry and finance ministry. . .

>> you can just leave it on. >> thank you triet senter, the first and most important thing that the iraqi scud tube, sorry, the syrians, first and is to shut down the remaining four infighter networks. they have not shut them all down. the number of fighters going over the border we estimate was about 100 per month say two and a half years ago made 2007. that number has diminished now to about ten so it's a big improvement. part of that improvement probably is less because of a syrian policy decision and because our forces in iraq and

iraqi security forces have had a lot of success taking down some of the al qaeda networks in places like baghdad and mosul. but the syrians have shut down some networks but they haven't shut them all down. there is more they should and could do and frankly were they to do that i think the i iraqis but notice and respond. >> should and could, that is a certainty we know those groups are under their control and within their capacity to shut down? >> we think they have the capacity, senator. in addition, senator, in terms of the politics of the relations between iraq and syria the syrians promotes and allow, both promote and allow iraqi groups to undertake activities that are destabilizing to the constitutional government in iraq for example there is a

television station in iraq, sorry, in syria that's operated by a real road named lashawn the and it shows pictures of tom fees' blowing up and attacks on american forces and iraqi forces. this is not a television station that is broadcasting to syrian audiences, mr. chairman. it's broadcasting to iraqis, trying to form of violence against our forces and against the iraqis and there is no reason for this year against to promote that. they have in their capacity to turn that off. there are other things in that vein, mr. chairman. >> what do you believe is the current -- let me preface by saying a conversation the other day when i was in the middle east and he mentioned the degree

to which they kept their word with respect to lebanon and lebanon has in fact been quiet over the period of the last months since the selection of the new government. can you speak to the syrian posture of lebanon now and what you'd see in the stakes for a better american relations with syria? >> we are firmly committed as i said to the lebanese sovereignty and stability and we have worked hard to build and strengthen the capacity of the lebanese institutions. we would like the syrians also to cooperate with the lebanese government institutions. it is a good step that they opened an embassy in beirut. it is a good step the announced

during the press mr. to damascus that they would begin the syrian and lebanese border delineation effort. the syrians in a sense mr. chairman said this would open a new era of relations, the visit would open new relations between syria and lebanon and the would be good. we welcome that but we would like to see that actually implemented on the ground, and of course one of the biggest problems is the trans shipment of weapons from syria to the armed groups notably hezbollah but not limited to hezbollah which contravened united nations security council resolutions and undermined the lebanese state. >> fair enough. there are questions to pursue but my time is up with respect

to hezbollah. senator lugar. >> ambassador, the united states officials have visited damascus frequently as we already mentioned throughout 2009 and 2010 and syrian officials have been invited to washington, the ambassador in washington is meeting regularly with united states policymakers but now the question is for you to be an ambassador in syria the american public has seen serious's response to our positive attitudes as belligerent as something occurred to further ander syrians while all of this is going on while the signs are a gesture of respect would be similarly met. you've mentioned that by being

there you can give the possibilities of the policies the penalties and so forth our calculations and in debt and reasoning but some extent a good bit has been proceeding and without having ambassador. why would this additional step or is their something occurring that you perceive in the syrian policy that's more promising? >> senter it is very much in our national interest especially when the tensions are rising in the region to have an ambassador in syria. it's an important country. it has its own interests in places like iraq we were just talking about lebanon and the middle east and it has an ability also to be helpful or to

be on helpful. in those situations i think sustained dialogue, sustained blogging if you will our useful to make sure that both sides understand exactly what the others thinking is, that both sides understand what the others calculations are. it's very hard in countries in the region for an embassy to go in at a medium level and get messages passed up to the top. the bad news doesn't flow of words very well over there. there is a lot more we could be doing frankly were we to have an ambassador both to remind the syrians with our calculations are and also where the interests best light. these are things in our interest regardless of how the syrians

respond in the short term. >> i must say you are there and now you find as you pointed out in your long statement that syria has a very large population that grabs debate could perhaps might have different views. we already have adopted a certain number against syria with regard to the young people but older people to that. businesspeople and others. what sort of changes will we need to make and what sort of advice can we anticipate in this committee you might come back and say in order to make headway with this young population or business books were so forth you need to reconsider this or that. >> i think it's important to reach out beyond government circles when you're an

ambassador. frankly any position in an embassy the diplomatic staff that would be part of my job of managing the embassy to make sure we are reaching out to all segments of the society. a couple of things come to mind, senator. in the wake of the syrian allegations of an american raid on the syrian border they shut down our cultural center in damascus. they have allowed the english-language teaching center to open which is a good step. we welcome that and i understand that actually attendance at our english-language courses is quite high. i think young syrians want to learn english, many and many are interested in being exposed to different viewpoints. there is an american cultural center which has not yet reopened and that is certainly something that would be on my

agenda as soon as i arrived. we also have what we call american corners, center. these are smaller cultural centers placed in things like universities when i was in algeria we opened three of them. we have to in syria right now and i would like to see those reinvigorated and then we will have contact with the business community absolutely of the embassy does now the possibilities for economic relations are limited because of the strong sanctions regime that we have in place now. >> an open invitation as you see sanction may or may not be helpful if you see openings and obviously you suggested some thoughts or suggestions about the use but keep in touch because maybe some

back-and-forth is going to be required to get the message out. finally i think all of us in the senate and the administration were staggered by the news of the nuclear program and this became first of all through intelligence sources that were closely guarded and now the kimmage general picture but given our preoccupation with all that was proceeding in iran suddenly to find out side by side something had been occurring in syria that was truly significant may be the same traces of a.q., and what have you really was staggering. now i know you will continue to pursue as well the iaea and international people, but it's something that will not go away without there being much more international understanding of what in the world the president of syria had in mind and the

information that he and some of that information from his own officials. the general dialogue within the country about this program was rather limited but i know to understand the seriousness of that and perhaps that is another argument as we've presented for your presence and persistence and for good staff to join. >> thank you for a much. >> thank you, senator. senator dodd. >> thank you mr. chairman and welcome, mr. ambassador, to the committee. these hearings are obviously performing a dual function, one that has judgment on your qualifications to serve which even nominated and second to pursue policy questions regarding in this case by a federal relationships and let me say how fortunate we are to have someone with your background experience. so the questions will be focused on policy issues and whether or

not or qualified for this job. you are eminently qualified and i want to congratulate you. i noticed however in the reza may you've been in the peace koren as a former peace corps volunteer is there any particular reason why you are hiding the fact? >> no i think that is a failure of my riding of the biography on short notice. >> it's an issue i'm not going to dwell on at this particular point but we have to programs in the muslim world and there's talk of indonesia in fact opening the program there and for here's why pursue the idea in egypt as another likely choice of the ucc rea is not necessarily in the brink of the why of unease that is going to study there in a few weeks. she's going to jordan and in syria and spending several months in turkey in the language programs so it is encouraging to me that we have young people in

this country talking about syrians studying english. it's tremendously important seven americans as you did years ago pursue the cultural abilities and in the arab world as well. >> i agree. >> we need more of that along the way. senator lugar and senator kerry pursued these broad range of issues and we had a very interesting meeting three years ago december of 2006 when we made a visit to the region and i would ask consent for my opening statements to put in the record and along those lines. i wonder if he might get the two lines of questions. as i understand i don't think things have changed much the syrians in terms of their negotiations with the israelis would like to begin the process where things had left off whereas the israelis as i understand what like some

preconditions and understandably so i might add. can you give a sense are you square that circle? because i think this as some might suggest senator lugar did as well that avenue may offer more promise at least initially here than the relationship between the israelis and palestinians and i think that breakthrough there could have a very positive impact in the region and give us some sense of how you square that circle of this analysis of the two sides positioned. >> let me share some thoughts on that, senator dodd and i applaud your daughter for going out -- >> my niece. i have a five-year old and eight here ruled that aren't quite ready for that. [laughter] >> with respect to the israel to syria peace agreement has senator kerry said it would

change the region. would be a game changer very much in american interests to have a comprehensive peace settlement in the region. my understanding is the indirect discussions between syria and israel in 2008 conducted through turkish intermediation made a considerable headway however they did not obviously result in agreement. the syrians are insistent on the return of the golan, the full return of the golan. on the israeli side my understanding is the israelis want to carefully understand the syrian commitments to would be peace agreement means in terms of normal relations and syria's role in the broad regional stability question and that is a

fair question, so it is important there for that we find a way, that we find a formula to get the israelis and syrians that to these negotiations so that we can see how far the syrian government is willing to go in terms of commitment with respect to the normalization and regional stability. >> is this something that's more of a michel portfolio? >> senator mitchell and his team have the lead but obviously our embassy in damascus with health and coordinate carefully. >> let me and i apologize i try to find the answer to this question, i should know it and i apologize for not knowing it. tell me in baghdad who has embassies in baghdad of regionally, iran has an embassy

there. the iraqi difficulty with the reasons you outlined and given the history of iran and iraq, given the production of weapons and the like along those lines it seems to be somewhat of an inconsistency here given the iranian involvement and iraqi stability. leave that out as to how this plays out. >> i'm going to bring in this year in an ankle. the iranians in iraq certainly have a very active embassy. there embassador is rather notorious. in addition they provided assistance weaponry and other resources to the shia extremist militia to continue to do that and they exert genuine direct

pressure on some of the iraqi political parties. they actually get quite involved the best i can tell, senator, is to have the government which is largely dominated by one particular sector at least at the senior levels. i do not think frankly that the syrians share the objective. i don't think the interest as they perceive it is the same. the iraqi stoddard in domestic bonds receiving the support that i mentioned are absolutely not the shia, the our sunni and second for the most part they are not islamist and in addition the syrian interest seems to be for a strong government will ensure the unity of the state, they are not enamored with the idea of a more decentralized

iraq said the two countries, iran and syria and this issue in iraq i think do not share and on ytoy agreement on what is best for iraq. now of course for the united states we want iraqis to make the decisions and we are very encouraged by the elections. this was the fifth election that has been held in iraq since the fall of the saddam hussein regime. i'm counting a referendum on the constitution and that five. the turnout is good 62% according to data the count is going slow and how it's going to go looking at the news reports every day to see the figures. i think the iraqis have come a long way from when i first went

there in 2003. in terms of developing a more space political culture they have made real strides. for the syrians to understand that government is not going anywhere. the constitutionally elected government of iraq is going to stay. it's not going to be overthrown so they have an interest in shutting down for insiders. they have an interest not helping groups try to undermine the state instead syria has an interest in consolidating relations with iraq and these groups they allow freedom to run around to aggravate relations and so they don't have an interest in that. >> thank you. again, thank you for your service and i commend the obama administration for deciding to send the investor in the diplomatic front. we wish you the very best.

>> thank you mr. donner. senator rogers. >> i appreciate the time you gave me yesterday. i have to point or two questions. one on what we were just talking about. are there not still a large number of iraqi refugees in syria? >> senator, the numbers vary. the syrian government has said that the number is up around a million. i have seen recent figures from the united nations high commission on refugees which says the number of registered iraqi refugees are about 250,000. that estimate is probably too low. it would be more than 250,000 but it could be in the range of 400 or 500,000. i have to say on this if you permit me in some ways the syrian government has been very helpful on the iraqi refugee issue. they get the border open so that

people fleeing because they are worried about getting murdered or killed at home have been able to take refuge in syria in particular and number of iraqi christians, the iraqi christian community from northwestern iraq province have gone into syria and they've provided things some assistance to the refugees at the syrian government expense and more recently they said that iraqi refugees would have permission to work which is a new decision and will help the iraqi refugees. may i make one last comment on this, senator? again, speaking personally we have a real moral obligation to help the iraqi refugees. we've been so involved and i backed into the congress and the american people have responded very generously. over $300 million in the last

year's budget to help iraqi refugees and we have ongoing programs and syria. in fact syria last year was the destination from which the largest number of refugees came to the united states, iraqi refugees came to the united states out of iraq through syria. there is more we would like them to do. senator kerry mentioned about or know, senator lugar mentioned to circuit riders from the homeland security. we would like to see more visas issued. it would teleprocessing. and they could issue more authorizations for the ngo to work with the refugees. so there is work to be done but i think we can make progress on that, senator. >> given the relative stability that he referred to with of the government being in place conducting a license what is the

refuge for them to stay in syria and not come back? >> we've done details of that and the united nations as well. there are still security concerns among the refugee populations in places like syria and jordan as the security situation in iraq gradually improves we think we will see more refugees going back home. in the past year, calendar year 2009 we saw total number from syria, jordan and other countries going back into iraq around 200,000, which is a lot higher than a couple of years ago. the second issue is will they find jobs when they get back to iraq and absolutely the iraqi economy needs to start generating more job growth. that will be a big issue for the government. >> on the question of the israeli-syrian talks, what is

not correct syria was a conduit for rockets getting into lebanon that were fired against the israelis; is that a true statement? >> that has been true in the past, censure. yes. >> of the syrians in any way renounced hezbollah or renounced what they did in that conflict? >> nope, and in fact just a couple of weeks ago the hosted the leader of hezbollah to dinner with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad and the syrian president, a three-way dinner which was widely publicized throughout the middle east. >> i to get the bill was almost a surrogate conflict between iran and israel not between lebanon and israel. is that if a statement? the lebanese use as a surrogate? that may not be of your question to ask that was my impression. >> what i would say on that, senator is unquestionably iran

promotes hezbollah as does syria as a means of pressuring israel. but the hezbollah fighters themselves certificated and serious terrorists and they mean to do harm to israel. >> you've got a big job ahead of you in danger is part of the world and i wish you the best of luck because improvement is what we need and we needed desperately. thank you. >> thank you, center. senator casey. >> mr. ambassador, thank you. we are grateful you are willing to take on yet another tough assignment, so we appreciate that. especially at this time in history. we want to commend your service. >> thank you. >> i want to talk about two areas. one is with regard to syria's nuclear intentions or ambitions, how you assess those ambitions

and secondly the related question about the failure to cooperate with inquiries from the iaea and then of the questit senator isaacson raised about the support giving asylum to both hezbollah and support for hamas but first on the nuclear question how do you assess those intentions or ambitions and secondly on the iaea? >> senter casey, thank you. we have ourselves a lot of concerns about this as i said big concerns. two things i would especially emphasized. number one, syria is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. it is incumbent upon them. their signature on the treaty for them to cooperate fully with the iaea when it wants to do

inspections, and so without speculating about what the syrian intentions are i would just say it is incumbent upon the syrians to cooperate. in addition i would also add the syrians perhaps a nuclear energy program. i don't know, but given that there is an ongoing iowa ea investigation into the syrian nuclear program we do not think it would be appropriate for any other country to cooperate now with the syrians on a nuclear energy program while this investigation is ongoing. first the investigation needs to be resolved. >> what may follow one part of that. let me ask this way, i wouldn't want you to speculate either, let me just ask fundamentally is

their anything in the public record that you could point to as evidence that they are intention is other than peaceful or civilian nuclear intention as opposed to something that would be clear from the public record that it's an attempt to what a nice to make a -- weapon eyes were half military control of the program. >> there is certainly press speculation, senator casey i'm sure you've seen it as i have with respect to the facility, the one which the israelis just strike. i think it is therefore all the more in syria's interest to cooperate with the iaea on this inspection of the program was as they said then the investigation would bear those facts. not cooperating actually freezes

more questions there for the syrians have an interest in terms of their own credibility with the international community living the inspectors do with the need to do. >> with regard to hezbollah and i guess also with regard to hamas and hezbollah obviously the syrians would be enhancing the likelihood that the middle east, some of the conflict in the middle east could be moved forward or i should say resolution of conflict in the middle east could move forward if they were willing to change their attitude and willingness to give asylum to hezbollah support. i'm asking you what is your intention with regard to the work that you have to do on those questions? i'm hoping that he would raise

that. i think you should. i guess i want to get a sense of your strategy with regard to te approaching of the syrians on the question of hezbollah. ischemic a couple of things on that, senator. first, the syrians themselves would like to see change in the sanctions that we apply to them. it's going to be impossible to do that while they support some of the sanctions are a direct result of their support terrorist groups like hezbollah. we can't change the sanctions and the restrictions they bring about on till the syrians change their behavior. we have to be clear with them about that. second, it is important now when we are trying to restart negotiations between israel and the palestinians that the palestinians themselves unified

behind the idea of negotiations and move forward. i think would be helpful with syria would press and use its influence with hard line palestinian groups, terrorist groups like hamas to back these efforts and let the negotiations if we can get them started get them to move forward again. the syrians should be helpful on that. with respect to lebanon and hezbollah, senator, this is a serious problem, it is a serious problem and it is not a new syrian policy. it dates back 20, 25 years. it is something i intend to raise regularly because were in conflict to break out again and we had a really bad one in 2006

very serious, syria could be dragged into it even if it doesn't intend to at the beginning the risk of miscalculation and second, it does not halt their credibility with the broad international community to be seen as one of the party is facilitating the that kind of fighting, that kind of conflict. they have an interest themselves in being helpful on these things and one of my jobs is going to be to explain to them where their interests can be better served. >> thanks very much. >> senter wed? >> thank you, mr. chairman. ambassador, i would have to say i would like to get a big congratulations to this administration for having matched someone with your background and your experience into this job, and i wish you

all the best. i would like to follow on something that began with senator dodd and a number of people have picked up on this and you're own a response as well with respect to the relationship between syria and iran but also to get some of your thoughts on the situation with respect to china and syria. it's been said many times that syria and iran are not really natural allies in terms of history and a similar cultures and these sorts of things and actually some of your comments with respect to the situation in iraq eliminate that. and it's also concern for a lot

of people including myself that china has taken advantage in many different places in the world of opportunities that have existed because of american policies with respect to sanctions or rigorous standards in places like iran, syria, burma, cambodia and a number of other places. so what i would really like to hear from you today is your thoughts with respect to those to the relationships and syria and to the extent that the relationships between syria and those two countries have been in power by our sanctions and also to the extent which perhaps they have come about simply because of the recalcitrance of the government today in other words

where can we go from here on both of those? >> thank you, center. let me say a couple things about iran and syria which this is a relationship that is troubling frankly. for 16 years going back to the president of the syrian government said that a peace agreement, a peace agreement with israel including normalized relations could be in syrians interest. i have never heard president mahmoud ahmadinejad of iran say that and so it is not clear where exactly that relationship with syria and iran with respect to this key question in the middle east how they would handle that stress they receive

a different and stake. there may be opportunities, senator, i don't know. i don't promise fast results in any of this. this is a tough one. but i think there are certainly questions to explore and i think senator mitchell has been exploring it with his team and they think there are prospects to work on that we can work on. with respect to the relationship between syria and china i have to confess, senator, i am not at all well versed on that and with your permission can i take that as a question for the record and i will get back to you promptly? >> i would be interested in your faults me even after you assume your position and have an opportunity to view it from that perspective. it's a wide ranging concern

people who are examining our own national interests ought to take into account when we are attempting to improve bilateral relations in these places where the relationships of calcified over the years. i would like also to say i very much appreciate the precision of answers that you have given to all of these questions today. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator. senator coffman, i know you've just arrived, but we welcome your participation. >> center web asked about relations with iran. i just kind of get your feel on the relations with a number of different countries if we can just kind of go down the list and the usual suspects. the first one would be iraq. >> it is to put its short it is

a very problematic relationship but one frankly we should be able to persuade them to be much more helpful. they have a real interest both economically and in terms of their own security to have a better relationship with iraq. the lebanon situation as i've described, they have taken good steps they need to take more steps. they need in a sense to implement this era of new relations which the president talked about when the lebanese prime minister visited damascus in december and in particular syrian transshipments of weapons to terrorist groups like hezbollah and palestinian radicals. relations with jordan i think our relatively good.

the two countries just removed exit taxes when you did or the country you don't have to pay an exit tax anymore so they are trying to promote movement of people across the borders. last, senator, i should mention because it's important in the region's politics people pay a lot of attention to this. the relationship to me and syria and saudi arabia for a long time these relations were quite strained. in the recent years the relations have gotten much better. the president visited riyadh recently and they seem to be talking more and trying to coordinate more. i think in particular they are talking about how to approach the next iraqi government and i

think they also share some concerns in other places such as yemen and the rebellion there. >> how about turkey? >> yes, that is a relationship which the syrians have turned around dramatically. the relations between syria and turkey used to be quite difficult. the syrians ended their support for the pkk, and in the recent years and months the relations have become quite warm in fact the turkish foreign minister was just in syria last week and the syrians would like to see turkey play a role again as an intermediary with israel. i'm not sure if that would be acceptable to the israeli government right now. >> when i met with the president he said turkey was the best

friend and even better friend than iran. how would you analyze that? >> i think the syrians and the turks have a vision of how if you take the syrian statements that they support the idea of a peace agreement with israel that a peace agreement could be in their interest in you can see how a turkish vision and syrian vision line up in a way that frankly i do not see with the iranians. and in addition, turkish interests in iraq maintaining unity of the state where all of the ethnic and sectarian components of the society feel safe and feel they have a role i think also fits in with syrian interests probably more so than iran frankly. >> and that does step between

the president and primm mr. maliki over the explosion in baghdad. that seems to me larger than i would have expected. is that your feeling or how do you analyze that? >> we feel very deeply the pain of the iraqi ease have suffered through all of this terrorism and the countless lives of iraqi that have been lost. the violence in my back is a lot. it is much diminished from what it used to be dramatically diminished as use all when he came out to baghdad. but it is still a constant problem and a constant threat. reaction of prime minister maliki therefore anchor and the

anxiousness to put an end to those kinds of car bomb attacks is entirely understandable, entirely understandable. however, we need to work together we, the united states and the iraqis who have the lead on this to take down the remaining networks that have come a long way. we have some way to go and we are working very hard, center. and this ury ends -- syrians by shutting down the network can help. >> this is a question i ask every ambassador, what do you do about freedom of the press and free of the internet and ambassador, what are the things you can kind of due to further that? >> thank you. i feel strongly about freedom of the press. it's a big issue for me when i was ambassador in algeria. i don't see how these societies

evolve peacefully with of freedom of the press. it is just essential. a couple of things. we have included in the items which have a waiver from sanctions so that we can export them to syria the goods related to the information technology and the internet we think actually the internet can play a very positive role not just in syria but countries around the world and secretary clinton has spoken forcefully about this and we will implement that part of the policy absolutely and syria with respect to other freedom of the press issues. senator, i would hope that we would have occasions to bring syrian journalists to the united states on things like this ever

programs. we have done so in the past. in a country where they have no tradition of the freedom of the press and the government does not respected i do not think we will get change overnight from one day to the next. this will be a thing where we will just push it and look for openings here and there and find ways to promote whether working with individual journalists were talking about human rights press freedom policies with senior officials. >> good luck. there are real opportunities there. i feel that having the investor was a good decision and they couldn't have picked a better person to go there. best of luck. thank you, mr. chair. >> thank you, senator coffman. >> i heard you talk up the four insiders issue. did you talk about hezbollah

also? what do mind the arming of the flow of arms and weapons now bigger missiles into lebanon and the arming of hezbollah and wonder whether you could speak to whether syria could in fact take steps that could curtail that or whether that is under the table out of their control. >> senator, we feel very strongly. i want to underline this point that syria could take steps and it should take steps. hezbollah has three armed since 2006 and it does present a threat to israel and it presents a threat to regional stability. and i do not see how instability in the region serviced syrian interest. with respect to the nature of

the weaponry, absolutely it is destabilizing if hezbollah has rockets that can hit further into israel it complicates everyone's complications and raises the risk of miscalculations and risk of conflict. it is destabilizing. >> is there any issue that you might come across and could contemplate coming across in the context of being ambassador, is their anything you'd have to recuse yourself of? have you so notify anybody in this department? >> i can't think of anything, senator, no. >> is there any potential conflict of interest? >> no, no, no. >> mr. ambassador, we are grateful for you submitting yourself to yet another posting. this is an important one as they

all have been, but i think this presents as i said earlier particular opportunity as we wish you well. i'm confident the committee will be able to move the nomination and we look forward to trying to do that before we break for the easter recess. thanks very much. senator lugar? if not, we wish you well and stand adjourned. thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

the federal communications commission released its plan for expanding access to high-speed internet. also known as broadband. the plan aims to connect 100 million households that lack broadband today. it's part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package that passed last the debris. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning on this big day. welcome to the march, 2010 meeting of the fcc, our own

version of march madness. today's subject is the national broadband plan. for the record the plan does not include tools to help you fill out your brackett and that's it for that. i know the everyone is eager to get to the plan so let's do it without further ado madame secretary would you please introduce the agenda for this morning. >> thank you mr. chairman, good morning to you and commissioners read today's agenda includes one panel presentation and one item for consideration. first, you will hear a presentation of the national broadband plan. next, you will consider a joint statement on broad band. this is your agenda for today. the first item will be a presentation on an national broadband plan for our future. >> we are fortunate to be joined by bel air and members of his

incredible team who will talk of course of the national broadband plan. but by way of introduction, a few words about the road to get here. the extraordinary process leading to the national broadband strategies has been unprecedented in its openness and transparency. unprecedented in its breadth and depth of participation. unprecedented in its professionalism and unprecedented in its analytical rigor. the process involved the fcc's first comprehensive staff of workshops with 36 meetings attracting over 2500 participants in the room and online. the 31 public notices issued with the most ever for a single proceeding generating over 23,000 comments totaling more than 74,000 pages. there were also multiple commission level field hearings outside of washington and around the country engaging with

businesses, on to panora some academics and citizens and an ongoing interactive and productive process for the last many months. more firsts involved use of media tools. this included the fcc's blog which attracted more than half a million page views and generated 1200 comments all of which were entered into the official record. americans shared over 680 specific concrete ideas and comments on the idea scale and and directed with the team on twitter and facebook all firsts. thanks to the engagement driven by the broadband and media teams the fcc has over 330,000 followers on twitter more than its true william shatner. yes we are boldly going. laughter committee of the ideas put on by the ideal scale community made the plan as the of course ideas and facts and data supplied in connection with

the workshop interactive public comment process as well as ideas from commission colleagues and their staff. i am also pleased by the excellent productive level of cooperation between the fcc other federal agencies and congress. i couldn't be prouder of the broadband team that drove the process and pulled the plan together as part of an agency wide process that enlisted the talent and expertise of every single bureau and office at the fcc. the broadband team includes dedicated and brilliant professionals from a broad array of disciplines, engineers, entrepreneurs, scholars, analysts, lawyers as well as leaders from nonprofits, medicine, education, government all coming together as public servants to tackle vitally important issues focused on what's right for the country. i will turn it leader to the well-deserved thank you for the team. for now before i ask the team to

begin i want to thank my colleagues on the commission and their staff who've been engaged for months in the process and hearings, workshops, meetings and briefings providing valuable input on priorities and specific topics throughout the process giving important speeches including on digital inclusion, disabilities and spectrum and providing very helpful suggestions on drafts of the plan. i look forward to continuing this partnership as we begin specific proceedings to address the issues raised by the plan and finally, special thank you to commissioner copps for his work as acting chairman to get this vital project off the ground. commissioner copps recognized the urgency of this task without his early strong leadership we simply would not be here today so i am personally grateful for your early work and i appreciate