no matter if we have marshall plans or massive bureaucracies, and in the end relationships are what truly matter. so we learned that in tribal civilizations of afghanistan, much as we learned in philadelphia, new york, los angeles, seattle, dallas or florida. is that it matters that we are trusted. it matters that we listen. it matters that we are willing to contribute and to be part of a team that makes things happen. so we will hear from mr. lumpkin about how that matters in the department of defense, and to the nation and i say this. if not us, who? if not now, when? and if not this kind of new approach that truly accentuates with the american values are that individuals matter, that individuals have dignity, that individuals can make a

difference, and if the moda team shows that, the ministry of defense advisers show that individuals matter and that whether or not we wear the cloth of the nation and the mantle of the nation as our civilian force, that we are a force for good. and that is our moral obligation as the department of defense. it is what makes us as a nation great. it is that we in the department of defense can say what makes people hungry? what makes people yearn for something better? and how can we make a difference toward a better world? zoe at national defense university, we are proud. we are pleased and we are honored at this mission in support of the core mission of usip to find a reason why we can help conflict become the cause for solutions and not the cause for war. and so we consider this

partnership important. it is unique and it is our privilege and our pleasure. i thank you very much for this honor, but i thank you for what you are doing every day to make the world a brighter place. thank you. [applause] >> thank you admiral rondeau for a very inspiring and powerful word. now it is time to actually need one of these moda advisers that we have been talking about. so i'm pleased to introduce david clifton, a former moda adviser. deputy director of facilities division, installation and logistics department at the u.s. marine corps. i should tell you that david clifton has served the marine corps for 38 years, including 29 years active duty as a colonel

mack as active duty assignments including artillery officer, maintenance management officer, coordinators, matters with congress and coordinators of the review process and program analysis and evaluation department, battalion commander and installation commander, comptroller, so many things. i am pleased to introduce a moda former adviser, david clifton. [applause] >> i think it is difficult to stand here as one person representing the 17 plank holders at moda and the other one advisers that a party gone over there. so, what my role is to try to tell a story from the adviser's perspective. you are going to hear little bit

more about the program. you have a really good description. if you haven't picked this up, it is around an highly recommend it. will say about the program. what i want to do is spend 15 minutes talking to you about the story of how that works out in persons like. most of it is going to be my own experience, which is humble compared to the other divisors, mostly who did a lot more than i did in afghanistan, but to just tell the story and we weep intow the program works from an individual perspective. in december 2009 i was working at the navy annex which is a building on the cemetery where the air force memorial is an e-mail came across my desk that said we are looking for people to go to stand -- afghanistan. then i read the e-mail and it said, these are the kinds of skills that we are looking for,

and i realized that it was me. i went ahead and filed the e-mail away and a couple of days later for some reason it was still there, and i looked at it and i think ann rondeau said it best. the thought occurred to me, if not me, who? so i went home that night and i told my wife. i was thinking, she is probably going to object. i don't know if i would have been happy about that are not. i would say ambivalent would be the right word, but she was totally supportive. then the next day i came and i said my box is probably not going to let me go. i sent them an e-mail and he it came out and describe the program, what would it be trying to do. and i said, i would like to apply for this and she said yes. so i sent my application in. i didn't hear anything where longtime. i made it call to the program office and i said, i sent this

application and and i was pretty sure i didn't get selected but i just wanted to hear what it happen. they said your interview is tomorrow. [laughter] and so i got interviewed from afghanistan and i found out that even though i was applying to be a ministry of defense adviser that i was being interviewed for a job in the ministry of interior. and i thought, i don't know anything about national parks or forestry. and so, during the conversation i found out that in afghanistan the ministry of interior was about police. my original question was pretty good and i didn't know anything about police either. but they interviewed me because what they were really looking for is professional senior experienced civilians who knew their business. that was the primary thing that i was supposed to bring. we have u.s. army colonels that are over there advising in these areas of ministry, who may not

understand the intricacies of accounting or budget or internal controls or procurement etc., etc.. that was what they needed me to do and so they interviewed me on the next day i got an e-mail. they said you have been hired. you are being offered a job. about five minutes later she sent me another e-mail that said i'll go by the way we are going on the advanced party next week. we are going for 10 days to afghanistan and we want you to go. mainly because i was the senior civilian i think more than anything else. and so, in the middle of april i wasn't sure. i was pretty convinced that i have been not selected by the 21st of april i was in afghanistan. and we spent two weeks exploring the lay of the land because we were the plank holder. we were the first group of civilians to go over there, and so it was a little confusing to

people the difference between contractors and civilians and exactly what our role would need to fit in as functional experts, and also we wanted to be able to come back and optimize the training. as soon as we got back, training started. it is about seven weeks and that training is laid out pretty well in the guidebook. it has very good training. ambassador dobbins i think is the most important person that i became aware of during this training, and he had posited that we keep fighting these reconstruction wars as if it is the last time we are ever going to have to do that. that really sank in with me so i got all four of these books, or three. the main one being a beginner's guide to nation-building. i realized that this mode of pro--- moda program i started out because of what the admiral said, if not me, who?

what they were doing in the defense department was trying to accumulate the body of knowledge to go in and help the ministry, learn how to sustain the forces that we would be generating, and that was so logical to me. i knew it little bit about history. guys my age remember, vietnam and we have read about things before that. and i know that we would be successful in building the forces in afghanistan and helping the afghans build sufficient police numbers and helping the afghans build sufficient army, but i wasn't sure if we would be successful in helping the afghans build the capability to sustain out on their own. and so that is what moda was doing, was collecting the body of knowledge and then systematically training people to go over and do that work. over a period of seven weeks. once we were done, we went over

basically through the military flow system which is an experience for civilians. the first 10 days and again i'm mixing a little bit with what my experience was and what is happening now -- the first 10 days in afghanistan now, and i'm speaking also from the police perspective because i was in moi, there was an orientation period where you go in and you are given a period of time to read into your job, to get the intel presentations and get a basic grounding, get on the local timezone, which is not that easy, and then, you get some more training. the train -- training is given over there and then you start on the job. the way that process works is hopefully the person that you are replacing is still there or if not there is a designated person who takes you around and introduces you to your

counterpart and the staff that is within your counterpart's organization. then you are still spending some time within that first period getting your orientation and assessing what it is that is your sphere of advising. and i left one step out and that is that, when you are selected you also get material that includes an adviser guidebook, and that is available out there. and so, you are being able during this initial period to apply what is in the guidebook and what you have been taught and seeing what it is on the ground. one of the things that we quickly realized in the moda program is the training we were given was very similar. it was a very good preparation for what we were doing. the basic job of the advisers -- my job wound up being different when i got over there than what i was hired for. is a chief adviser to the ministry of interior in my job

was to coordinate and synchronize the effort of about 250 to 300 advisers for multiple countries, military civilian and contract. and so, the job change but the basic purpose for the advisers and the ministry of interior is to move the afghans deadly toward self-reliance. one of the litmus test that i always use to determine whether it was a good afghan leader or not was that they want us to go home. and if they did that means they were good leaders, because they would be learning as fast as they could to run their own institutions so we would be out of there. the approach that we use is a very well-documented process. the army and the interior interior basically have the same construct. for each of about 26 on the police and about 33 functions on the army, there was a plan developed a defined progress in four stages. it was like teaching people to

fly is a good analogy although it was much more complex in some respects. in the first stage of development, the plan was that we would be showing them how to be doing the activity, whatever it was, budgeting, procurement, counting. we would be doing that for them and then the next stage, the second stage was called capability milestone three. we would be still doing it but they would be watching, so the first-aid was like ground school. the afghans were not in the airplane and in the second stage, the afghans were in the cockpit but not on the controls. they were being trained and they were being hired. we were still doing a lot of the work. in the next stage each of these plans defined what needs to happen from the afghans in control of the aircraft. the pilot instructor is still in the cockpit and underserved and circumstances, takes control of the airplane.

there is a constant tension between when that is appropriate and when it is not. in the final stage, which we are getting very close to that in many of these functions right now in both the army and the ministry of interior and that is where you move into a stage of solo. and the coalition's responsibility is high-level oversight and a presence. so, the purpose of the advisers is to execute these plans over four phases and make the afghans self-reliance. we are making progress against those in afghanistan. it is my view that the civilians will have a very key role in making this happen, that it was a very wise choice on the part of the defense department to take this approach. it is very strategic. it will be effective, and it is

not that expensive. so what you have is a giant effort to generate forces, and now we have invested in a way that ambassador dobbins had suggested almost exactly, to train people to go over and work at the ministry level to teach these basic what i will call business processes so that the forces can be generated when we are gone. one of the key aspects to that is understanding what the right level is and each plan is supposed to defined and state and what that looks like and from my perspective i look at all 26 plans. i met with the afghan general and the adviser to see how is it going? i would challenge them towards the end state that was defined and that was a western solution i was pretty convinced it was the wrong one because it needed to be. there was an expression and

there were several expressions. one was do no harm and another was afghan good enough which was in no means means at al-turabi tory. it just was meant to say think carefully about what is the minimum requirement necessary for the afghans to be able to run this function on their own, in their own way, which is often very different than ours. and in some cases it may require lack of 24/7 power just as an example. you could sit in the ministry of interior and the power would go off frequently. of course being in the marine corps as long as i have, i was used to that, but still it impacts the solutions that you want to deliver over there. so, in summary i would say that from my own perspective and the experience that i had over there, which started about 14 months ago, that the moda

program has provided the knowledge to create the conditions for success on the part of the advisers and that they have a systematic training programs that i wish all the military they came over would go through, and they provide reach back so that when i had issues and i needed help, that i could call back and get the kind of reinforcement and that worked for me on a couple of occasions. we were providing civilian expertise into me one of the interesting things and since i did the interviews when i was over there as the chief adviser, i interviewed. it is very interesting to me to hear these accountants and internal control specialist and acquisitions specialist talk about their passion for coming to afghanistan. i was used to that in the marines, but it just struck me that we have this civilian reservoir of commitment. they are making a difference, which you will hear right after i get through, which will be soon.

so, i think that the moda program is something that is longtime needed. i think it is progress very rapidly and i think it is fulfilling a very important mission. it is an opportunity for civilians who might want to serve to have a chance to do that and to make a difference. coming back after 14 months, i will say again, think we are in the verge of success and they think the ministry, the adviser program over the next two or three years in my view is the center of gravity. if we can make that work, if we can keep reinforcing with trained advisers that are there for no less than 12 months, and possibly longer, which moda in naples, then i think that we will have the ability to succeed. what will success look like? i have been asked many times. it won't be pretty are perfect and it might not be immediately evident, but i think that we are

on the verge. investment is more in port and two keep investing these ministerial advisers in the civilians that general petraeus and general caldwell have asked for. and my final thing is that i would like to thank kelly uribe. would you please stand up? [applause] kelly is the program manager, who is a part-time mom. she was part-time. she is a full-time mom and a part-time dod civilian and this thing started and then she became a full-time mom and full-time dod civilian. if anyone has made my comments positive or the outcome to be encouraging, i think it has to be her. there are a lot of other people that a party been recognized and i don't want to take time to go

over that again but i did want to point out in single out kelly for what she is done and is made a big difference in this program. she had a very singular effort and i hope she gets -- greatly reported. [applause] >> thank you david. we are now going to go to kabul. it seems like an appropriate moment to take you to afghanistan to hear a recorded message from commander of nato training mission in afghanistan, lieutenant general william caldwell who was also commander of the combined security transition command there and was the spokesperson for operation iraqi freedom years ago. he has really been a major supporter and contributor to this program, to its manuals and its projects and we feel very fortunate to be able to share

the videotape message with you. if we could roll the tape. >> is great to be with you today from camp edgars to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the moda program. when nato training was developed in 2009 we saw that her mission was about teaming with afghans to build an enduring and self-sustaining afghan national security force. though the international community had been supporting the afghan government, military police for several years, efforts really lacked from a sense of unity. there were limited resources and even limited expertise. the lessons of the soviet experience and previous international efforts as our guide, we adopted a new mindset of teaming, transparency and transition. today we see progress and promise for the future and one of the most important contributors to this achievement is the moda program. the moda program has been a key enabler for us to not only keep

progress in the training mission but literally it has been an absolute game-changer. does what has enabled us to really help develop the afghan ministries of defense and interior. he continued to grow and develop the afghan army, air force and police, the forces on track to reach the 2011 milestone of 305,000 will grow another 47,000 over the next year. part of this growth insures the force develops key support forces such as logistics and human resources, finance. professionalizing the force is key to creating an enduring institution. there is a substantial effort to develop sustainable systems and functioning ministries back can plan, program, budget and execute ministerial goals. in support of this effort there are about 500 ntm-a advisers who wake up everyday and go to work in the ministry of defense and interior. these advisers support their afghan counterparts to ensure

the necessary policies and systems are in place to implement strategic guidance from the president of afghanistan to the ministers. this work -- can quds everything from on a personal assistant that can identify, track and manage people across the military and release to a comprehensive recruit screening process that literally vets and validates and certifies afghans eligible for training. throughout its first year, moda support to ntm-a has been critical. moda enables transition from what was a military centric senior adviser to civilian senior advisers. a key and necessary step to professionalize the civilian workforce both in the ministry of interior and defense. to date, we have literally been thrilled with the moda advisers here in kabul. for example, chris hart used his unique skills and expertise in the defense, sirri to assist in the development of a new ministry of defense

slaughterhouse operation which increase production, enhanced efficiency and improved food safety and we affectionately call him the slaughterhouse due to. [laughter] then there is kimberly who took on the broader responsibilities for organizing the afghan automation integration and educational working group and at night she leads zuma classes and it's been known as the zuma queen. i can tell you their singular contributions of have had an incredible lasting impact across the afghan national security force and others with similar stories were making a dramatic difference every day. moda personnel have the experiences that cannot be replicated by us in uniform or by contractors and that is important as institutional transition progresses over these next several years. moda is making a difference and each of you has played an enormous part in that effort. from each and every one of us

serving here in afghanistan we want to congratulate the moda program on its one-year anniversary and we look forward to welcoming future ministerial advisers to our team. >> it is now my pleasure to call to the podium michael lumpkin, acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low intensity conflict. mr. lumpkin has more than 20 years of active duty military service as a u.s. navy s.e.a.l., where he held every leadership position from platoon commander to team commanding officer and many other experiences in iraq and beyond. it is really a great pleasure to turn the podium over to michael lumpkin. [applause]

>> first off it is an honor to be here to celebrate the first anniversary of the mystery of defense advisers program with you. and also to say thank you for each of the advisers for the sacrifices they have made for the past year and four what they have achieved together with their afghan counterparts. the strong partnerships forged by the moda program advisers are a small but vital part of the overall effort to ensure the successful security transition in afghanistan. this afternoon i want to do four things. i want to review our progress in afghanistan, highlight the role of the moda program. i want to look at some of the challenges that are facing the program today and to encourage each of you to participate in this exciting endeavor that is making the lasting contribution

in afghanistan. as you know, president obama announced on june the 22nd of the united states would begin a deliberate responsible drawdown of our surge forces from afghanistan. the drawdown began on schedule with last month redeployment of two army national guard italians. the drawdown will include a total of 10,000 troops over the course of this year with another 23,000 coming home by the end of summer of 2012. the united states objectives in afghanistan remain unchanged. our goal is to deny safe havens to al qaeda and to deny the insurgents the ability to overthrow the afghan government. clearly the operation against osama bin laden was a great step towards achieving these aims. but u.s. afghan and coalition forces must continue working together to degrade the taliban

led insurgency and their strongholds and provide time and space for the afghan national security forces and the afghan government to assume the lead for afghan security nationwide by the end of 2014. the key to this responsibility, to this responsible afghan-led transition is the presence of the capability of a 300,000 member strong and growing afghan national security force and the development of civilian led security ministries that can sustain these forces. as secretary panetta confirms during his visit in afghanistan in july, these forces are growing in both size and capability. the afghan national army and the afghan national police are steadily improving and gaining capability to provide security for their own people. ansf has grown by more than

100,000 troops and the police officer since president obama first announced his strategy in december of 2009. and by the end of december of 2012, when the last of our surge forces are out, another 50,000 afghans will have joined their national army and police forces. as the result of this expansion, there will be actually more afghan national security forces and coalition forces in the fight than there are today. substantially more of these forces will be afghan. indeed, by the time next year, for every american soldier in afghanistan, there will be five ansf soldiers and policemen in the fight. we recently witnessed a tangible sign of this progress when leaders from both the afghan ministries of defense and interior worked closely with isaf to orchestrate a shift from

coalition to afghan-led security in seven geographic areas within the country. we are also in negotiations with afghanistan on a strategic partnership that will frame the character of our enduring relationship. it will send a clear and reassuring signal to the region that afghanistan will not be abandoned and that the united states remains committed to regional peace and stability. ..

represent a complex set of challenges distinct from those in the rest of the country. in addition, only after afghanistan's security is self-sufficient and self sustaining will it be possible for the afghan government to solidify the gains turned at such great cost. that is where the relatively small ministry of defense advisor program comes in. this select cadre of civilian experts will leave afghanistan's key security institutions long after the fighting ends. the first team of seventeen made such an immediate impact that general david petraeus requested

100 more only six weeks after they arrived. there are currently 47 advisers in kabul so you have a chance to join if you haven't. there are opportunities that abound. classes are held three time the year in march, july and november so marked that on your calendar now. i hope you'll take the opportunity to meet the returning advisers during the reception after this event. they come from a pool of seasoned professionals with 23 years of experience. they represent more than 2 dozen organizations including all four services, the office of the secretary of defense and passed a rigorous seven week deployment training program that was outlined in the video. you heard examples from lieutenant-general caldwell but i want to share a few more

stories that demonstrate the unique civilian experts and the difference they are making on the ground in afghanistan. rick pollack helped the ministry of interior logistic directorate developed and successfully field logistics readiness tool that provides amp provincial commanders in sight and readiness in their districts. rick relied on a core principles from the trading program to promote local ownership to help pilot this simple afghan design tracking tool that resulted in 99.6 accountability at a recent audit. mode adviser mike keenan is helping the ministry of defense and interior develop long-range plans to improve gender integration, human-rights in the national security forces. currently only 0.2% are women

and this effort will increase this number significantly. finally cameron the lengthy at washington headquarters service insisted the ministry of defence counterparts at the installation management directorate to improve professional engineering, education through the university of kabul. all of these successes and a lot more like them rely on the strong trust based relationship built between each mode advisor and their afghan counterparts. even the smallest one is a testament to the quality of the program's deployment training which emphasizes developing sustainable and locally owned solutions that respect humility based on respect and empathy. i believe these accomplishments will be more important as the

drawdown of u.s. and coalition forces continues. the program empowers afghans to lead and manage their own security ministry and will point the way to a self sustaining afghan national security force after 2014. limited in scope right now, the program potential extends beyond the borders of afghanistan strengthening foreign defense institutions in an increasingly critical element of our overseas engagement and fruit in expensive programs like moda we can help build an accountable well governed defense ministry. in reality the benefits to our civilian work force may prove even greater. when moda program advisers return to their department of defense positions in the united states they bring back new skills and experiences.

in addition close professional ties with foreign counterparts may help solidify future strategic partnerships between our nations. for those who have participated in this program it is an experience you can be proud of for the rest of your life. you will know that you made a very real impact at this strategic juncture in our nation's history. for those of you in the audience who will soon deploy i want to share a short excerpt of an e-mail written by one of the current moda advisers who is the u.s. navy rocket scientist, rocket scientist. this is a testament to the caliber of people who participate in this program. she is involved in the gender integration effort. her e-mail gives a sense of what it is like to be an adviser. she writes all those sundays here are long, tiring or

discouraging others are equally uplifting, exhilarating and encouraging. i approached each day with passion and they have all been worthwhile. she continues, when i start to question why i am here or if this is feasible i remember what the afghans tell me. and afghan major general told me having people against you is no reason for not doing something that is right. and afghan senior servant told me if i thought integrating women on the army were tough now high should have been here during caliban rule when she was running underground schools for girl. she thinks einstein was right. it is all relative. we are making a difference every day. these achievements are real. i want you to understand program's limitation that challenges too because they are

real as well. after all this program only completed a single year in practice. it is still in its infancy. like many new ventures it has encountered setbacks and we identified opportunities for improvement. as we enter your 2 i want the moda program to be a true learning organization seamlessly adapting to the new requirements and lessons learned. i know lot of that happened here today. one reality is we came to the table late. we should have established something like moda years ago and not just in afghanistan but also in iraq. the military and contract work in both nations would have been greatly enhanced if we had a civilian program like this from the very beginning. that is why we need to institutionalize this capability so in the future we can be on

the ground from year 1. we learned a lot about stronger civilian interagency command and control structures and we should use these lessons to shape our future approach and ministerial advising. personnel management is another challenge. we had some problems reintegrated moda volunteers with home organizations in ways that leverage their experience to the benefit of the department. this needs to be fixed. dod components must recognize moda and other civilian deployments as a worthwhile stage in an employee's career. we need to ensure civilians who deploy are properly rewarded for that experience and are welcome back to the organization with appropriate after care. to some degree this will require cultural change making dod

civilians more expeditionary and encouraging more dod personnel to undertake dangerous missions. helping managers reorganize and values these deployments and better meet the needs of the people who undertake them. as you can see by the diverse group of speakers throughout the day the moda program in afghanistan has developed and been executed by the team of teams. they deserve special recognition for their collaborative efforts to turn a good idea into reality. and celebrate the 1-year anniversary today. first and foremost the program would not be possible without the advisers and support from their families. these people willingly volunteered and sacrificed for this important mission. of the inaugural class of 17 advisers eight volunteered to stay for a second year in afghanistan. a special thanks goes to the

u.s. institute of peace for hosting this important event and continuing moda training with these instructors and course content. as tara said the ministerial training program actually began during a small meeting posted at usaid. their expert on mid ministerial advising deserves recognition for her role developing the four principle that the heart of this training program. the center for complex operations was another key participant in that 2009 meeting. the center staff and initial learning objectives and course implementation plan continues to play a vital role in moda in our region and recruitment. i want to thank the secretary of

defense for personnel and readiness who worked to develop and manage and execute moda's current training course. this ground breaking training program led by the director of training and readiness strategy, continues -- they call him the 9. receives brought accolades and fill the defense gap in advisory training. with numerous afghan role players this simply would not exist today. in addition pea and are's expeditionary work force team made it far this deployment program awful and they continue to offer day today support for deployed advisers. the moda program success is a tangible sign of how viable the civilian expeditionary work force model can be and i look forward to continued a close partnership as we expand this

program. lieutenant-general caldwell remains a steadfast advocate of the moda program. his staff supports the program in every stage of the advisory effort. requirement development, adviser selection and support to advisers during their tour in afghanistan. finally we need to applaud the afghan people who worked tirelessly in these afghan ministries everyday building from the ground up. they are the future of afghanistan and are the center of the moda program. they are resilience despite numerous obstacles and insure successful transition and a bright future for afghanistan. my participation has delayed the reception slightly. i would like to bring my comments to a close. i hope today has persuaded some of you to join the moda program

for those who aren't already involved. weather as an adviser or trading partner or resources or recruitment volunteer. the moda team of teams need your help and you can be part of this historic pragmatic and innovative initiative in a variety of ways. the program -- i encourage you to take one. kelly uribe will be available to answer questions during the reception. bear in mind the application deadline for the march class is september 1st which is just three weeks away. we are still taking applications. i want to thank you for your participation in everything you do for the moda program. thank you. [applause] >> we have just a couple of last

items to do before releasing those of you who are here to the reception and those of you at home to your kitchens. we cannot get you in the reception but we are glad you were watching today. there are people here with orange stickers. that enables you to find out more about this or request media interviews with them. i won't go through all of the press people who are here but if you want a follow-up interview please see me or someone with an orange sticker on their badge. to close out on want to recognize the returning advisers from the first year. scott lewis, with lee lewis, those extending their terms, kimberly, clinton bill more, and allen johnson, richard pollitt.

as the final closure of would like to ask the moda advisers that are with us today and one spouse of mark jones wherever you are, i think you are there and deserve special recognition. i would like to ask the following advisers to stand and go to the reception and join me in a round of applause for the returning advisers, david clifton, goerge drive and, john hawke, mark jones -- this is mark jones and the extending teresa sorensen who is here. if you would join a round of applause and they will lead you to food and drink. thank you very much. [applause]

[silence] [inaudible conversations] >> the u.s. plans to withdraw 10,000 troops from afghanistan this year and 22,000 more by september of 2012. if you missed any of this go to c-span.org. secretary of state hillary

clinton says the severe drought for and the africans with starvation shows the need to invest in global agricultural and nutrition. remarks came at the international food policy research institute in washington d.c. where she announced that the u.s. was providing another $17 million in emergency food aid to the region bringing the total u.s. assistance more than $500 million this year. this is 35 minutes. >> director general of international food. is my honor and pleasure to welcome secretary of state hillary rodham clinton who joins us for a special presentation. what brings secretary clinton here is an urgent concern that we increase share. the family and humanitarian crisis in the horn of africa

short-term responses and long-term solutions to all. our mission is to research sustainable ways to eliminate hunger and malnutrition and reduce it worldwide. we have studied agriculture, food production, drought in africa for years and deeply concerned about the slow transmission of research into policy action on a local, national international scale. latest information coming from the horn of africa is nothing short of shocking. twelve million people in need of life-saving care in somalia,

29,000 children. three consecutive for harvests and is projected that crop yields will continue -- later this year. the food price is too hard in the region. it rose 9125%. and 9% in the first half of 2011 alone. six or seven months the food supplies in the region have shortened. adding to that the ongoing political complex in somalia. the crisis is known. and supported by u.s. -- usaid

alerted weakness in africa and food emergencies were possible. what was missing was the action and political will required to put this vital information to use. the strategic path needs to be developed and notification systems such as increased early warning system on their ability. it requires action to be carried out by designated organizations. what must be done to prevent it ever happening again? in the short-term international dollars. must scale up their contributions to give monetary and relief efforts. most of this money won't go to much needed food, water and

medical aid. should also be used to protect the few remaining assets of the poor. the protection must focus on wonderful groups. in the medium term policymakers must insure the national government should eliminate export events in tanzania and refrain from including -- these restrictions lead to tight markets. in addition efforts to establish strategic reserves of humanitarian purposes -- again triggers the release of its reserves when emergencies are necessary. and a way to ensure the food

will enrich the 4. in the long term to prevent future famine we have to help farmers build up their resilience by increasing their productivity. the african government must allocate 10% of their national budget to support smaller agricultural growth. and comprehensive set -- small -- we also need access to a wide range of risk-management tools including withdrawn resistance to varieties and the assurance to protect against drought and other shocks. part of the research for the consolidated group for

international research provides the evidence leading to policies to build strong programs in the horn of africa. it turns out evidence into policy and action with these dedicated engage policymakers. with that i turned it over to secretary of state hillary rodham clinton whose efforts in fighting global humanitarian crises need no formal introduction. the floor is yours. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much, director general, for not only those remarks but for the work that is done every day here at this premier organization designed to come forward with sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty. and i want to thank the

international food policy research institute for hosting me today and for the leadership you show in a key area of global development - helping governments design and implement successful policies for reducing hunger and under-nutrition. this is an issue that is on your minds every day, but it is now on the minds of many people because of the crisis that is raging in the horn of africa. it is, first, a food crisis; a severe drought has put more than 12 million people in ethiopia, kenya, djibouti, and somalia in danger of starvation. it is also a refugee crisis, because at this point, hundreds of thousands of people have left their homes in search of food and safety.

some are walking more than 100 miles with their children in their arms to reach refugee camps, which are so over-crowded that thousands wait outside the fences, and more arrive every minute, many close to death. what is happening in the horn of africa is the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world today, and the worst that east africa has seen in several decades. the united states and our partners in the region, including the world food program, the un high commissioner for refugees, unicef, ngos, and donor governments, are racing to save as many lives as possible. fortunately, we did, as the director general just said, have a bit of a head start because of the famine early warning system network known as fewsnet. the united states supports it

along with others. it monitors drought and crop conditions and alerts governments and aid groups when crises are coming. this network, along with the analysis from the un's food and agriculture organization, enabled us to begin pre-positioning food in key locations throughout the region starting last year. but a great deal more must be done, and it must be done fast. famine conditions in somalia are likely to get worse before they level off. and while we hurry to deliver life-saving assistance, we must also maintain our focus on the future by continuing to invest in long-term food security in countries that are susceptible to drought and food shortages. it is this connection between food emergencies and food

security that i would like to speak to today. because our goal is not only to help the region come through this crisis, but working with organizations like ifpri to do all we can to prevent it from ever happening again. food security is the key. let me just briefly summarize our emergency response to date. the united states is the largest single-country contributor of food and humanitarian assistance to the horn of africa. on monday, president obama announced that in light of the current crisis, we are making available an additional $105 million in emergency funding. today, i'm announcing another 17 million on top of that with 12 million designed specifically for helping the people of somalia. that brings the total u. s.

humanitarian assistance to the region to more than $580 million this year. we are reaching more than 4. 6 million people with this aid. it helps to pay for food distribution; for therapeutic feeding for those who are severely malnourished; for clean water, healthcare, sanitation, protection, and other services for those in need. and let me say how grateful i am to the aid workers who are delivering this assistance, swiftly and effectively, in extremely difficult and often dangerous circumstances. over the course of this crisis, u. s. officials have made multiple trips to the region, including just this past weekend to kenya, a delegation led by dr. jill biden and joined by former senator dr. bill frist; usaid administrator

raj shah; eric schwartz, our assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration; and gayle smith from the white house. they saw the best and worst of what is happening on the ground. they visited the kenyan agricultural research institute, a top-notch facility long supported by the u. s. government. and i had the chance to visit it on my trip to kenya two years ago. i was very impressed by the work that i saw there by scientists who are cultivating crops that can thrive in drought and are enriched with essential nutrients. these breakthroughs have already saved lives and i'm sure will save many more in the future. but the delegation also visited dadaab, the refugee complex in eastern kenya. even before this emergency, it was the largest refugee camp in the world. some people have been living there now for 20 years.

it was originally built for 90,000 people. twenty years later, more than 420,000 live there, including thousands of third-generation residents. so the current refugee crisis is taking place against the backdrop of a prolonged refugee crisis. the united nations is working as fast as it can to build new facilities, but well over a thousand people arrive every day. most - in fact, the vast majority of those arriving - are somalis, because somalia is the epicenter of this emergency. southern and central somalia are the only places in the region where famine has been officially declared, because unlike ethiopia and kenya, somalia has no effective national governance. and the terrorist group al-shabaab has prevented

humanitarian assistance from coming in. it has killed and threatened aid workers. there are also credible reports that al-shabaab is preventing desperate somalis from leaving the areas under its control. nonetheless, hundreds of thousands of somalis, largely women and children, are managing to flee to the north or leave the country altogether. they are pouring over the borders into ethiopia, kenya, and djibouti. that, in turn, severely strains the capacity of those local communities and countries. the united states is now providing $92 million in emergency humanitarian assistance inside somalia. to facilitate aid within somalia's central and southern region, we have recently issued new guidance about the use of u. s. funds to help aid groups working with the united states government try to save more

lives. still, a great deal depends on whether al-shabaab is willing to let international assistance be delivered. and so i once again urge al-shabaab to heed the calls not only of the international community, including the arab league, but of the cries of their own people, and allow the secure delivery of relief to all those who are afflicted. the united states will continue to work with somalis in the international community to bring the hope of peace and stability to somalia, and we join all somalis in hoping that there will be a future with a functioning government that can protect the somali people against famine and help to build a sustainable agricultural sector. these are the steps we are taking to address the immediate crisis. but as we proceed, we must not forget we have seen crises like

this before. first comes a severe drought, then crops fail, livestock perish, food prices soar, thousands of people die from starvation, most of them children, and thousands more pick up and move. every few decades, the cycle repeats. and it would be easy to throw up our hands and blame it all on forces beyond our control, but this cycle is not inevitable. though food shortages may be triggered by drought, they are not caused by drought, but rather by weak or nonexistent agricultural systems that fail to produce enough food or market opportunities in good times and break down completely in the bad times. in other words, a hunger crisis is not solely an act of god. it is a complex problem of infrastructure, governance, markets, education. these are things we can shape

and strengthen. so that means this is a problem that we can solve if we have the will and we put to work the expertise that organizations like ifpri possess. we do have the know-how. we have the tools. we have the resources. and increasingly, we have the will to make chronic food shortages and under-nutrition a memory for the millions worldwide who are now vulnerable. and while some might say that this is a conversation for another time, that we should worry about preventing food crises only after this one has passed, i respectfully disagree. right now, when the effects of food security are the most extreme, we must re-dedicate ourselves to breaking this cycle of food shortages, suffering, and dislocation that we see playing out once again in the horn of africa. we must support countries

working to achieve food security. we owe it to the people whose lives we are trying to save, and frankly, we owe it to the donors and the taxpayers who make our work possible. investing now decreases the chances that americans or others will be called upon in the future to face these same challenges in 10 or 20 years from now. and i will argue that we will be investing in our own security by supporting political stability and economic growth worldwide. for the past two and a half years, i have traveled the world from kenya to india to italy, talking to everyone from farmers and agricultural scientists to aid workers and heads of state, about feed the future, the u. s. food security initiative and a centerpiece of the obama administration's foreign policy. the united states has pledged $3. 5 billion to support rigorously

developed plans to fortify the entire agricultural chain of our partner countries, from the fields and grazing areas where crops are grown and livestock raised, to the markets where farmers sell their wares, to the tables and hearths where people receive the nutrition they need to stay healthy. to name just a few of the things that we are doing through our feed the future initiative: we are helping farmers gain access to fertilizers and improved seeds. we are setting up extension services to teach methods of conservation agriculture. we are supporting the creation of cooperatives so farmers can gain more purchasing power and a greater political voice. we are spreading the tools for reducing post-harvest losses so after months of hard work and good harvests, farmers don't lose 40, 50, 60 percent of their

crops and the nutrition and the income they offer because of inadequate or poor storage. we've also helped create a global partnership called 1,000 days to improve nutrition during the critical period from the start of pregnancy through a child's second birthday. nutritional deficits during those 1,000 days lead to permanent stunting, reduced cognitive function, and a greater susceptibility to disease that cannot be reversed by improved nutrition later in life. two of our partner countries in feed the future are ethiopia and kenya. and even amid this crisis, they prove that progress is possible. the last time a drought of this magnitude struck ethiopia, in 2002 and 2003, more than 13 million people faced starvation.

today, fewer than 5 million do. now, that is still an unacceptably large number, but it is also an astonishing improvement in a relatively short period of time. and it is evidence that investments in food security can pay off powerfully. in 2005, the ethiopian government established the productive safety net program with support from international donors, including the united states. it helps small-holder farmers diversify their crops, create local markets, better manage their water resources, and increase the nutritional content of their own diets and those of their children. more than 7. 6 million farmers and herders have now been helped by this program, people who are not among those in need of emergency aid today. in kenya as well, people who were greatly affected by the last severe drought are now

safe, even thriving. paul weisenfeld from usaid, who is here today, shared a story with me about a woman farmer he met last month from the northernmost arid part of kenya. it has been the hardest hit by the current drought. she lives on a communal farm made up of former livestock herders whose animals all died in the previous droughts. today, thanks to help from international donors, she and the other farmers raise various vegetables and fruits, including mangoes, and her crop is so abundant that she is not only selling them locally, but exporting them to the middle east. in both ethiopia and kenya, the united states is helping to carry out comprehensive strategies that were designed by the countries themselves to suit their distinct needs and strengths. in ethiopia, a top priority is strengthening the value chain to

help small-holder farmers sell their products at local and regional markets. in kenya, supporting herders is a leading concern, so usaid is working to connect them to markets, improve animal health services, help local institutions lobby for better livestock trade policies. both governments have developed country investment plans; both have committed to invest at least 10 percent of their national budget on agriculture. kenya is nearly there and ethiopia has exceeded that goal. and in both countries we are paying special attention to gender, to ensure that the women who do a significant amount of the planting, harvesting, selling and cooking are effectively supported. and we're also paying attention to the environmental impact of our programs to protect the water and the land for future

generations and to help farmers adapt to the effects of climate change. our goals are ambitious. in the next five years, the united states aims to help more than half a million people in ethiopia permanently escape poverty and hunger, and more than 430,000 children benefit from improved nutrition. in kenya, we aim to raise incomes and improve nutrition for 800,000 people. but there are still millions of people in these countries and certainly throughout the world who need emergency help, and they need it now. and yes, we are trying as hard as we can to reach them. but it is also important to recognize that there must be concerted efforts by governments and people to help themselves, and there is no question that ethiopia and kenya are moving in the right direction. now we must help them continue that progress, and that is a job

for all of us. the primary responsibility naturally does lie with governments and with the people of countries like ethiopia and kenya. i have reached out to the leaders of these countries, and they know the kinds of changes that they still need to make. they need to move toward free trade in grain imports and exports. they need to improve credit and land-use policies to support farmers and herders. they need to ensure that public grain reserves are available when shortages loom. and they need to welcome new technologies to bolster drought tolerance, disease resistance, and crop yields. these can be challenging policies to get right, but they are absolutely essential for ensuring wise stewardship of the land and sustainable economic opportunities for the people. meanwhile, the countries that pledged their support for food security at the g-8 summit in

l'aquila in 2009 must make good on their commitments. i certainly understand the difficult budget times we are living through. but we have to rededicate ourselves to doing development differently, as we said we would. new donor countries have gotten involved to end the current food emergency. i urge them also to join with us in helping to create lasting food security. a year ago, the united states led the g-20 countries in establishing an innovative, fund-based program at the world bank called the global agriculture and food security program. by pooling our resources and our efforts behind country-developed and country-owned plans, we can reach more farmers and more villages and multiply our impact. this fund shares many of the characteristics of our own feed the future initiative, including

a strong voice for civil society and rigorous systems for monitoring and evaluating results to make sure contributions are making a real difference in people's lives. with support from seven donors - australia, canada, ireland, the republic of korea, spain, the united states, and the bill and melinda gates foundation - the fund has already awarded nearly half a billion dollars to 12 countries, including a $51. 5 million grant to ethiopia. we are also looking to the private sector to contribute, especially in coming up with innovative ideas for reducing hunger and food insecurity. to offer two examples, we are working with a tech company on the ground in africa called souktel to text life-saving information to people across the region, so they know where relief can be found nearby. and we are supporting a partnership among general mills,

cargill, and the dutch company dsm, who are assisting food processors in kenya and other countries improve their ability to produce high-quality, nutritious, safe food. this will benefit local consumers and prepare local food producers to compete in regional markets. and i've said before in many settings, particularly at agoa conferences, africa must drop its trade barriers so that the african people can trade with each other. sub-saharan africa has more trade barriers and they are more limited in inter-country regional trade than any part of the world. finally, we need the contributions of caring individuals here in the united states and around the world. we have seen this in previous crises, from the indian ocean tsunami in 2004 to the earthquake in haiti; individual donations can have a tremendous

impact. even just a few dollars can save lives. and the heroic organizations operating in the horn of africa right now need all the support we can offer. the usaid homepage provides access to information about several groups, so it's an easy way for people to help. just visit usaid. gov. another way to help is through mobile giving. one program that supports life-sustaining efforts in the horn of africa is the united nations world food program. you can give ten dollars to the world food program usa by texting a-i-d to the number 27722. humanitarian assistance is in the american dna. it is one of our core values, and the american people have shown time and again that we will give to help people in dire

circumstances. we are inspired to see the outpouring that has already begun, and we hope it will continue and grow. additionally, the state department is working with the american refugee committee and the design firm ideo on the "neighbors" campaign to engage the somali diaspora, not only the united states but around the world, to help raise awareness and funds for the relief efforts. and we are working with the white house to mobilize churches, mosques, and synagogues to support this effort. we must remember that time is not on our side. every minute, more people, mostly women and mostly children, are dying. they're becoming sick. they are fleeing their homes. we must respond. we need to rise to the level of this emergency by acting smarter

and faster than we have before to achieve both short-term relief and long-term progress. think of what it would mean if we do succeed. millions of people would be saved from this current calamity. millions more would no longer live tenuous existences, always prepared to pick up and move to find food if drought or conflict or other crises occur. parents would no longer have to endure the agony of losing their children when the food runs out. and food aid from countries like the united states would be needed much less frequently because we are now supporting agricultural self-sufficiency. this would be a transformational shift for the people of our partner countries. it would be a new era of security, stability, health, and economic opportunity, peace, and

stability. and it would signal a new chapter in the world's relationships with the people of these countries. as they become themselves able to care for their families, they will become real models and examples of prosperity and stability and they will become partners to do even more to help people live up to their own god-given potential. if we achieve that future, we will have done something truly remarkable. just as the green revolution made such a difference, what we are trying to do now is to get back to what worked then, focus on the basics, focus on the work that is done by ifpri. i had a change to meet the directors, and they're working on how you enhance nutritional substance with micronutrients. they're working on how you

provide better seeds for crops, how you help herders whose natural desire is to hold on to their livestock because it represents to the rest of the world their significance. all of this is in the tradition of the green revolution, which made such a difference. but then the world moved away, thinking that our work was done. and in fact, it was not. and we got very good at delivering emergency assistance when we put our minds to it, but we lost our way. and we have to do both, both the crisis and the future investments, so that we can see progress in very tangible ways. and history will record that as being a significant accomplishment for all, including those of you in this room, who played your part.

so we have a lot of work ahead of us, but i came today to make sure that in my own country and beyond, people know we have a crisis and we must respond. we must try to save those lives that are being lost in those brutal marches to try to get to safety. we must support the refugee camps and do everything we can to provide the immediate help that is needed. but let's not just do that, as important as that is. let's use this opportunity to make very clear what more we need to do together to try to avoid this happening again. and i could think of no better place to come to make that plea and to issue that challenge than to the international food policy research institute. thank you all very much.

[applause] [applause] [silence] >> this weekend on booktv c-span2, frederick olmstead is remembered for designing the u.s. capitol grounds and central park. justin margin looks at his life as a journalist and

abolitionist. from washington booktv stopped by the launch party for fox news analyst's juan william 's unlawful. the skull and crossbones is long gone. parting in the 20 first century is that with night-vision goggles. you go inside the world of the pirates of somalia. sign up for booktv alert. weekend schedules in your in box. >> on c-span tonight another chance to see republican presidential candidate mitt romney. the former massachusetts governor at the iowa state fair a few days against the iowa straw poll. you can see his speech at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. the 12 members of the deficit reduction committee have been chosen. republican members from the house are ted has killing of texas, ways and means committee

chairman dave camp of michigan and fred upton, energy and commerce committee chairman of michigan. republican senate members include pat toomey of pennsylvania. rob portman of ohio and senate majority whip john kyl of arizona. democratic leaders chose congressman rivera of california and james clyburn. senate democrats have chosen finance committee chairman max baucus of montana, john kerry of massachusetts and patty murray of washington. >> as an aspiring journalist i am preparing myself for the small salary i will be starting with. >> you have to really put aside your bias >> the reae mason university

aspiring high school journalists >> it is good to be back in michigan. a couple people lie want to thank. your ceo, he is here to speak. [applause] >> sitting next to him one of my favorite people. one of the finest senators in

the country, carl levin is in the house. i just had a chance to see what you guys are doing in this plant. it is very impressive. elizabeth was giving me the tour and was very patient with me and i understood half of what she said. at a time when americans are focused on our economy americans are asking about what is our path forward. all of view are providing a powerful answer. this is one of the most advanced factories in the world. you are helping america lead in a growing new industry. you are showing us how we can come back from the worst recession we have had in generations. start making the things here in

america. that are sold all around the world. that is why i am here today. i said it before and i will say again you cannot stand against the american worker. [cheers and applause] don't bet against american ingenuity. [applause] the reason a plant like this exists is we are a country and then matched freedom where ground-breaking ideas flourish. we have the finest universities, the finest technical schools. the most creative scientists and the best entrepreneur which is why we are home to the world's most dynamic and successful businesses large and small. [applause] that is why even in these

difficult times there's not a single country on earth that would trade places with us. not one. we have got to remember that. we also know that we face tough challenges right now. you know what they are. you live them every day. in your communities and families, too many people were out of work struggling to get by with fewer customers, paychecks aren't big enough, costs are too high. even though the economy has started growing again since the recession started in 2007 it is not growing fast enough. ..

japan's tragic earthquake hurt economies around the globe including ours, cut up some supply chains that were very important to us. and all of this has further challenge to our economy. and as we have seen it is playing out in the stock market, wild swings up and down. and it makes folks nervous. [inaudible]

what we can control is our response to these challenges. what we can control is what happens in washington. unfortunately what we have seen in washington in the last few months has been the worst kind of partisanship, the worst kind of gridlock and that gridlock has undermined public confidence and impeded our efforts to take the steps we need for our economy. so what i want to say to you there is nothing wrong with our country. but there is something wrong with our policies. [applause] there is something wrong with our politics that we need to

fix. we know there are things that we can do right now that will help accelerate growth and job creation, that will support the war going on here at johnson controls, here in michigan and all across america. we can do some things right now that will make a difference. we know there are things we have to do to erase the legacy of debt that hangs over the economy. buts time and again, we have seen partisan rinks manship get in the way. and winning the next election is more important and fulfilling our responsibilities to you and the country. this downgrade you have been reading about could have been entirely avoided if there had been a willingness to compromise in congress. [applause]

see it didn't happen because we don't have the capacity to pay our bills. it happened because washington doesn't have to patch it income together to get things done. it was a self-inflicted wound. [applause] that is why people are frustrated. maybe you hear it in my voice. that is why i'm frustrated, because you deserve better. you guys deserve better. all of you from the ceo down are working hard, taking care of your kids or your parents, maybe both. you are living within your means. you may be trying to save for your child's college education are saving for retirement. you are donating to the church food pantry, trying to help the community. you are doing your part.

you are living up to your responsibilities. it is time for washington to do the same, to match your resolve and to match your decency and show the same sense of honor and discipline. that is not too much to ask. that is what the american people are looking for. [applause] and if that can happen, we know what's possible. we know what we can achieve. look at this factory. look what is happening in holland, michigan. every day, hundreds of people are going to work on the technologies that are helping us to fight our way out of this recession. every day you are building high-tech batteries so that we lead the world in manufacturing the best cars in the best trucks and that doesn't just mean jobs in michigan.

you are buying equipment and parts from suppliers in florida and new mexico and ohio and wisconsin and all across america. so let's think about that -- what made this possible? the most important part is you. your drive, your work ethic, your ingenuity, your management. the grid and optimism that says, we have got an idea for a new battery technology or a new manufacturing process and we are going to take that leap and we are going to make an investment and we are going to hire some folks. we are going to see it through. that is the native possible. but what also made this possible are the actions that we took together as a nation through our government.

the fact that we were willing to invest in the research and the technology that holds so much promise for jobs and growth, the fact that we helped create together the conditions where businesses like this can prosper. that's why we are investing in clean energy. that's why i brought together the world's largest auto companies, who agreed, for the first time, to nearly double the distance their cars can go on a gallon of gas. [applause] that is going to save customers thousands of dollars at the pump. it is going to cut our dependence on foreign oil. it is going to promote innovation and jobs and it is going to mean more groundbreaking's and more job postings for companies like johnson controls. and that is how america will

lead the world and automated innovation and production and exports in this country. think about it. that is what we got done in by the way we didn't go through congress to do it. [applause] but, we did use the tools of government, us working together, to help make it happen. now, there are more steps that we can take to help this economy grow faster. there are things we can do right now that will put more money in your pockets, and will help businesses sell more products around the world, will put people to work in michigan and across the country. and to get these things then we done we do need congress. their common sense ideas that have been supported in the past by democrats and republicans, things that are supported by carl levin.

the only thing keeping us back is our politics. the only thing preventing these bills from being passed is the refusal -- refusal of some folks in congress to put country ahead of party. there are some in congress right now who would rather see their opponents lose than see america when. and that has to stop. it's got to stop. we are supposed to all be on the same team, especially when we are going through tough times. we can't afford to play games, not right now, not when the stakes are so high for our economy. and if you agree with me, it doesn't matter if you are a democrat or a republican or an independent, you have got to let

congress know. you have got to tell them you have had enough of the theatrics. you have had enough of the politics. stop sending out press releases. start passing some bills that we all know will help our economy right now. that's what they need to do and they have got to hear from you. [applause] let me be specific. i will give you some examples. you have got to tell them to extend a payroll tax cut so middle-class families will continue to have more money to spend. we pass this in december. the average family received $1000 from that tax cut, and you need to get it again because the economy is still weak. it's going to help you make ends meet but it is also going to mean more customers for businesses. it will increase demand. it's right for the economy and i would sign that david came to my

desk. [applause] tell congress to get past their differences and send me a road construction bill. [applause] so that companies can put tens of thousands of people to work right now delving our roads and bridges and airports and seaports. i mean, think about it. america used to have the best stuff, the best roads, the best airports, the best seaports. we are slipping behind because we are not investing in it, because of politics in red lock. do you want to put people to work right now rebuilding america? you've got to send that message to congress. [applause] send a message to congress to come to an agreement on trade deals that will level the playing field and open markets to our businesses, so we can

sell more goods to countries around the world. [applause] we have got a lot of americans driving kia's and hyundais. i want folks in korea driving fords and chevys and chrysler's. [applause] i would like to see that. i want to see billions of dollars more products sold around the world, stamped with three words, "made in america." [applause] "made in america." those trade bills are keyed up and ready to go. let's get it done. tell congress we need to reform the patent system so entrepreneurs like the ones who developed some of the technology here can turn their ideas into businesses more quickly, so companies like this one can

better compete against companies around the world. we shouldn't make it so difficult for somebody with a good idea to translate that into a business. tell congress we have got hundreds of thousands of bright, talented, skilled americans who are returning home from iraq and afghanistan and i have proposed connecting those veterans looking for work with businesses that need their skills. you've got 24-year-olds and 25-year-olds that are leading platoons and handling equipment that is worth tens or hundreds of billions of dollars, and they come back here in a and they can't find a job? let's put them to work. [applause] these are things we can do right now. [applause] these are things i have already proposed. we have worked out the glitches. the legislation is drafted. let's get it done.

now, given the weaknesses of the economy, we need to do even more than that. over the coming weeks i'm going to plead putting out more proposals week by week, that will help as this is higher and put people back to work. and i'm going to keep at it until every single american who wants a job can find one. now, we do have to pay for these things. and in order to pay for these things, congress has to finish the job of reducing the nation's budget deficit in a sensible, responsible way. not just with more cuts this year or next year. those cuts would weaken the economy more than that already is and we have already cut a trillion dollars in what is called discretionary spending. what we need is a long-term plan to get our nation's finances in order.

that is the only way we can invest in places like this. that is how we can fund the research and the department of energy. that is how we can fund the community college the trains folks to be able to work here. that is how we can fund infrastructure in the technology that will help us win the future, by doing what you do, what families do. think about it. when things are tight, you cut out those things you cannot afford, even if it's tough, to pay for the things that really matter. you don't cut out the college fund for your kids. you stop may be going out as often. you don't stop taking care of your parents who need care. you cut back on some of the things that you don't really need. the same principle applies to government.

and by the way, in your own families, i am assuming you don't just keep all the stuff you like and tell your spouse, you have got to get rid of all the stuff she likes or he likes. that wouldn't work in my household. you don't just cut out the stuff that's important to you, barkeep all the stuff that is important to you and cut out the stuff that is important to your kids. the same is true for us as an american family. we can't ask the people in this room, working families, middle-class families, to bear the entire burden. we are not going to balance their budgets on the backs of middle-class working people in this country. everybody has got to do their part. [applause] everybody has got to do their part. everybody has got to chip in. that's fair.

you learned in kindergarten. that is what all this fuss was about in washington. are we going to deal with their deficit in a way that is fair? and that means closing tax loopholes for billionaires before we cut college loans for young people. [applause] that means ending government subsidies for oil and gas companies that are doing very well before you cut health care for seniors. [applause] it means making sure that the biggest corporations pay their fair share in taxes before we got the investment in technology and clean energy that made this factory a reality. now, that is just common sense. it should have bipartisan support. these are things we could be

doing right now. that is how we can jumpstart this economy and speed up the recovery and get more folks working, while making sure that we get our fiscal house in order. we can do both. and i will be laying out or proposals in the days ahead are going i'm going to keep after every idea and every serious proposal to help us grow this economy and tell everybody wants a job can find one. but i want everybody to understand here, the problem is not that we don't have answers. the problem is that folks are playing political games. we have got a long way to go. we didn't get into this mess overnight, and it's going to take time to get us out. that is the truth. but that is no excuse for inaction. it is time to put aside old tomato in this. it is time to stop drawing lines in the sand.

you know, in the aftermath of this whole debt ceiling debacle, and when the market was going up and down like they are, there has been a lot of talk in washington right now that i should call congress back early. the last thing we need is congress spending more time arguing in d.c.. [applause] what i figure is, they need to spend more time out here listening to you, and hearing how fed up you are. [applause] that is why i am here. that is why i will be traveling to a lot of communities like this one over the next week. that is what congress should be doing, going back home, listening to people's frustrations with all the deadlocked. listen to how frustrated folks are with the constant bickering

and the unwillingness to compromise, and a desire to score points even if it's at the expense of our country. and if they are listening hard enough, maybe they will come back to washington ready to compromise and ready to create jobs and ready to reduce our deficit, ready to do what you sent them there to do. you know, america voted for a divided government. and that makes it tough. you got one party controlling the house of representatives, another party controlling the senate. so they voted -- you voted for divided government that you didn't vote for dysfunctional government. you didn't vote for a do-nothing government. you didn't vote for a government

where folks are just looking out for special interest. you didn't vote for a government that is bold and two lobbyists. we have got a lot of work to do, and the only way we will get it done is if everybody, democrats, and republicans, find a way to put country ahead of party. that is what i am fighting for. i am here to enlist you in that fight. you have got to hold everybody accountable because if we can come together and find common ground, there is no stopping the united states of america. there is no holding us back. we can strengthen this economy and we can put our nation back to work. we can lead the world in growing industries. we will make it through these economic storms and reach calmer waters, stronger than we were before. thank you are ready much, everybody. god lets you.

thank you. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> coming up on c-span tonight

republican presidential candidate mitt romney the former massachusetts governor who spoke today at the iowa state fair a few days ahead of the iowa straw poll. stephen dennison roll call. now that the pics for the deficit reduction committee are finalized tell us a bit more about who was selected starting with the democrats to finalize their picks today on the house side? >> nancy pelosi pick three members of her leadership circle to serve on the committee, chris van hollen is the ranking member of the budget committee. he has really been the faith of house democrats on budget issues in recent months. he also served on the panel that was headed by vice president joseph biden earlier this year to try to find a solution on the debt issue. jim clyburn, the number three

member of house leadership and the only african-american on the panel was chosen as well. he is close to the obama administration as is the former with two heads cross the very diverse caucus, and the third pic is xavier becerra. he is the number five member of house leadership, the vice chairman of the democratic caucus, and he is the only hispanic who is going to be on this committee. becerra is on the ways & means and the observed last year on the bull simpson joint fiscal commission that the president set up. he served on a commission and voted against its recommendations, so you know that is sort of -- none of these pics are particularly surprising outside the mainstream. >> did the democratic senatorial pics apprise you at all, in a unexpected ones there? the i think patty murray is going to be the only woman on the panel. she is going to be the cochair,

sort of an interesting pick, because she also is the politicals party operations it senatorial campaign committee and she has been very seriously critical of the thames by house republicans in particular to remake medicare and other programs. but, she is respected on both sides of the island she holds senior post on the budget appropriations committees. but it was sort of interesting to see if her picks. even more of an unusual pic is john kerry. kerry obviously has national stature as the party's presidential nominee, but he hasn't really been a leading figure on budget issues. he has been focused on its foreign relations chairmanship, you know all the stuff going on in the world from libya to afghanistan so it is sort of an interesting pick to see him on their rather than them one of the parties more budget wonky kind of people, who have been either involved in the gang of

six negotiations are some of the other negotiations. max baucus has been on a lot of these panels before. but you know, he hasn't really been offering us a huge plan of his own, so it is sort of interesting. none of these people really on, none of the dharma crafts really you would look at it and say oh that if somebody was going to be a rogue and join the republicans and have some extreme plan. i think that these are all basically people that are trusted within the democratic caucus to sort of negotiate for their interest. >> let's go over to the republicans and look at their picks, starting with patty murray's counterpart who will be the coach art and that is jim hensarling of texas. >> yeah. jim hensarling is probably the most conservative member of the house republican leadership team. he notably opposed the t.a.r.p. package, the financial rescue package back in 2008, even

though that was supported by the other members of the leadership team, and was supported by the president. and so to the extent that there is somebody that sort of can be associated with a tea party sensibilities, it would probably be hensarling and he is now going to be the cochair of this panel. i've certainly heard from democrats to our -- about him being the cochair because they don't see him as someone who has any real history of compromising and reaching deals. the other two people that were picked, dave camp, the ways & means chairman, and fred upton, the chairman of the energy and commerce committee. they are pretty much standard republican leadership types. fred upton has been a little more moderate over the years, but he has had to sharpen his tone and become more conservative to win the chairmanship of that committee. both of those committees have

handled entitlement issues and dave camp has been the republican lead spokesman in the house for tax reform which is going to be sort of the key to this whole question of whether they get a deal. >> and the senate side too, relative newcomers. pat toomey and rob portman. >> yeah and i think one of the things that you see in the senate side is you are not seeing people who have tough races next year being picked by really either side. jon kyl is retiring. rob portman and pat toomey don't have to face the voters until 2016. now, portman is a really interesting pick and one that may be both the best in getting to some kind of resolution here in that portman has really foster ties on both sides of the aisle, has talked a lot about doing something on tax reform that might generate some revenue to deal with the deficit. and, he also is being seen as

someone who might be a potential pick for vice president next year. so, portman is one to watch. he was a former budget director under george bush for a couple of years, played a key role on ways & means in the house when he was a house member. pat toomey is also interesting in that he was the former president of the club for growth which is fairly conservative, but he has had a little bit of a break in recent months with grover norquist, the anti-tax advocate. he basically has disagreed with norquist's intention to ending tax breaks for things like ethanol as a tax increase. toomey said including this week that look, some of these things are indefensible and he says that look, things like the ethanol tax break really should be considered a spending program, not a tax cut. and so, there is some sense that maybe you can get some wiggle room on taxes and that could free up democrats to do

something on entitlements. that is sort of what i think they have to all decide, this group of 12, is they have to decide pretty early on i think in the next month or so, do they go for a really big package? a grand bargain of some sort, or do they just basically tried to get to that $1.2 trillion figure that is sort of the bare minimum of what they are supposed to produce by cobbling together things that are less controversial, cuts to things like agriculture programs or example instead of really taking on the big issues. >> we will wrap it up with a couple of quick questions about when the group will start their work and whether hugh have heard of these meetings will be open or close to the public? >> we don't know the answer to either get as far as when they are going to start meeting, but when you think of it will probably be fairly soon. you know this is obviously an urgent issue. they have got a lot of ground to cover and only a few months to do it.

to have something done by thanksgiving. there have been calls by leaders in both parties for this group to do things in the open, which would be good for certainly c-span cameras and viewers, but you know, my guess is that there will probably be a combination of open meetings and not so open meetings. the way these things work is, you know, to a large extent stuff happens behind closed doors, where the real negotiations take place. the other thing to think about is that, all these people are to some degree very close to the leader themselves, and in order to actually get the real deal, you are going to have to pass it through both chambers and that means ultimately the leaders are going to be involved. the president is going to need to be involved since he is going to need to finance. so to some degree this will happen in public, but i wouldn't be surprised if you know, if you are familiar with a lot of these

things that happen in the house or senate floor, some of it is public but a lot of it will still be private in many ways. >> steven den is reporting on the upcoming deficit reduction committee and you can follow his work a roll call.com. he is also on twitter. thank you or that update. >> thank you very much.

view assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement that dares ambassador said today that more than 95% of all illicit drugs that enter north america from south america have come through central america. ambassador brownfield scrabbled with secretary clinton to guatemala earlier this year. they discussed security challenges facing central american drug related violence. he spoke were an hour and took questions from the audience at this event hosted by the american society and the council of america's. >> good morning everyone and welcome, and we are very pleased that all of you have chosen to join us today in what promises to be the first glorious day in washington since may i think and we are delighted in ' you are here to be with us and set about on the golf course. i think that speaks well of all of a few and certainly the speaker that we have today. my name is eric farnsworth and i'm privileged to have the washington office of the americas society and the council of the americas and also to be

your cohost this morning for what promises to be a very important and timely program on security and democracy in central america. to address these issues we are honored to have what is the assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, ambassador william brownfield. we are also honored to have so many hemispheric ambassadors and other dignitaries in the audience with us today. as all of you know the combined mission of the americas society and the council of the americas is to unite leaders throughout the western hemisphere or the exchange of ideas in the development of policies that old opportunities in the region and also promote solutions to ongoing challenges. we believe strongly in this tenth anniversary year of the american democratic charter that healthy democracies are critical to reaching the well-being and we seek to promote democratic institutions through open markets, social inclusion and the rule of law. and we are joined in our program this morning by three other top

institutions of study and learning on hemispheric issues here in washington. the center for strategic and international studies represented by the director of their americas program steven johnson, the institute for national strategic studies of at the national defense university, represented by colonel j. cove and the center for hemispheric defense studies represented by the director dr. richard downey. i thank all of you for your participation in collaboration with us here this morning as well. ladies and gentlemen's central america was once the lens through which washington viewed latin america. indeed many of us here in this room including me, were first introduced to the region through the conflicted 1980s and the democratic consolidations of the 1990s. the gains for the region were dramatic and they were real. what nobody really counted on however with the significant increase in drug fueled violence that has begun to challenge governments and undermined the

same democratic gains. for example central america's homicide rate is now more than four times the global average. corruption and impunity are rampant. the police and security forces in some cases have been penetrated by drug gangs which have also even cowed the press with self-censorship. it must be said that the united states is not winless in this scenario. after all it is primarily our insatiable appetite for illegal narcotics in our ability to prevent the supply of weapons traveling south across the border with mexico and is quite literally fueling the crisis. the region itself must also do more. working together in a new way on some of the most fundamental interest of issues including security and raising the revenues to pay for it. even joined themselves willing perhaps to heat a bit of sovereignty to each other so as not to loose even more sovereignty to the drug gangs in the state. this is a part of the message

the secretary of state hillary clinton took with her when she met with her regional counterparts in guatemalan jim. her commitment to support with a timely and important showing a seriousness with which u.s. government is taking these issues. much of the credit for this attention of the new comprehensive strategy and unseeded during those meetings must go to our speaker this morning. he was on the trip as secretary and discharge by her with implementing the broad vision that was laid out. in my view, ambassador bill brownfield is a superb person for the job. he is one of the most talented officers in the foreign service and his leadership on these issues is largely driving u.s. policy toward the region. prior to taking his current duties last january, bill was ambassador sequentially to three latin american countries, chile, venezuela and most recently columbia. he has also served in argentina, el salvador, geneva and elsewhere. he has been a deputy assistant secretary of state twice and a

member of the secretary's policy planning staff. a native of texas, bill actually began his career as a roughneck in the oil patch. it is not the sort of training one expects for the foreign service but then again bill is not your typical foreign service officer. i first met him almost 20 years ago when i was a desk officer in the office of central central american affairs and he was the inter-american bureau's executive assistant. i had an impressive set time as he taken on some of the more compensated issues in the hemisphere hemisphere on behalf of the united states and done so successfully. perhaps the oil patch training where you have to roll up your sleeves and find a way just to get the job done was more valuable training than we know. ladies and gentlemen, would you please join me in welcoming to the podium the assistant secretary of state for international micronics and law enforcement affairs, ambassador william r. brownfield. [applause]

>> dr. farnsworth is trying to make me feel old by referring to those ancient, ancient years gone by. ladies and gentlemen it's quite clear that we are in the month of august in washington, where people, many people have a lot of time on their hands and nevertheless i am delighted to see all of you here this morning, and i hope the time that you dedicated to this conversation will not be time poorly spent. dr. farnsworth, many many thanks with some degree of seriousness and may i thank as well at the very beginning the council of the americas as the principle host, csis, the national defense university's institute for national strategic studies and the center for hemispheric

defense studies without whose support ladies and gentlemen and cosponsorship we would not be here this morning. and that may or may not be a good thing depending upon how the next hour plays out. ladies and gentlemen distinguished ambassadors, and members of the diplomatic community, distinguished members of the media and ladies and gentlemen, i would like to begin with a story, a make a lead story. let us call it a fable if you will. once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived two kingdoms. one kingdom in the south. we will say this mountain kingdom. some would want to say there were several such kingdoms but it is my story so i will say it the way i wish. and enacting them for reasons having to do with culture and history and tradition to a certain extent, but also economics and the desire to make

money to a very large extent, people in that southern mountain kingdom produced a substance. let's say several substances. that in fact, if misused, cause physical harm to people, but nevertheless some people like to use it. in this stable, to the north is a large kingdom and in that kingdom there are many people, millions perhaps, that in fact have an appetite, a taste for this stuff. they are willing to pay money for it and in fact have some degree, and make some degree of sacrifice in order to use this stuff. and, as is inevitable in a sad story and fable of this nature, as you can well imagine the overtime, the people that eventually took over the process by which this product was produced and then transported

and sold in the northern kingdom were criminals. and what happened, ladies and gentlemen? i would like to offer you my only three visual weights in my presentation this morning, if i may. maestro, may i have the first map please? what happened, and now you can see i've given away the surprise but most of you probably had already figured out where i was talking about in my story and my fable. if you had asked me ladies and gentlemen 21 years ago in 1990, what is my calculation in terms of how it listed drugs are moving from south america to north america, i would have said to you, the overwhelming

majority is moving through the caribbean. sometimes the western caribbean, sometimes the eastern caribbean, sometimes by sea, sometimes by air. i would have not knowledge by small arrows that is not the only route, but that would be the dominant route. what happened as you can well imagine? those both in south america and north america and in the caribbean took steps, countermeasures, made efforts to shut down this route of transportation. so how would things look 10 years later? i would suggest and i may try it myself this time, that would have looked more like this. notice several things. one, the big thick arrow has moved to the west and is moving up the eastern pacific. second, there is a new arrow that you are beginning to see in

the year 2000. that is an aero which symbolically represents the movement of the product across the atlantic to new markets in europe and elsewhere around the world, and please note that the other two arrows have not disappeared. i'm not suggesting that no product moved 11 years ago through the caribbean's or through central america, but they were no longer the dominant routes. finally, may i note as well, because i do see a distinguished defense attaché from the republic of colombia in the room today. the fact that i start a big arrow in colombia is not my assertion that all of the product comes from colombia, but by acknowledging i do not have a map big enough to show all of the points of origin from which the product is moving. so, by 2000 we were confronting a different situation. and the response was, in the

year 2000, a land, colombia, the colombian land strongly supported by several other governments, including my home, to address, stop, reduce and eventually eliminate the flow of the product from colombia. greater efforts with a number of governments to interrupt the flow of narcotics through the eastern pacific and what do we see then 10 years later? we see something ladies and gentlemen that looks very much like this. now as a result of the efforts in northern south america, and the caribbean and in the eastern pacific, you now see the overwhelming majority of the flow of narcotics products through central america on its way to the north american

market. and, i might add, beginning in the year 2007 you see eca squeezed at both ends of the central american -- not just the efforts under colombia and its successor plans to the south but the beginnings of an impact of the effort to put the squeeze on the routes to the north in mexico under the merida initiative. ladies and gentlemen i give you this long saga and i will now attempt to shut off -- here is what i will do. not to show you how skillful i am with maps and with powerpoint presentations, but to give you some understanding of how we got to where we are today. and where are we today? let's ask ourselves the question, how serious is this

threat? that is affecting, and my opinion, threatening the very core institutions of central america today? first, we calculate that more than 95% and let me repeat that figure, more than 95% of all illicit drugs that enter north america from south america have transited central america, 95%. what impact might that have on the region? here is a statistic. it dates from 2010, the last year we have full statistics. in 2010, a homicide rate in honduras was 82 per 100,000 population. in el salvador, 65. in guatemala, 14,000. to put that in some perspective

for you, here in the united states, the society not known throughout the world for its pacifism and a lack of violence, our homicide rate is somewhat below five. more than 70,000 youth in the seven countries of central america, and overwhelmingly focused on the northern three of guatemala, honduras and el salvador, are calculated to be members of yanks. eisai calculated because of course the gangs do not participate in official census. they do not register their members and did not provide their statistics to local governments and institutions. the calculation is about 70,000. the entire population of central america is about one seventh the

population of the united states of america. if you play the statistical game and say, what with this correlate to in the united states, it would be half a million gang members on the streets of the united states cities. ladies and gentlemen, central america in a very real sense is a victim. it is a victim of geography and they can do nothing about it. it is now, always has been an ipers m. until the end of the world, will be located between the two large continents of self and north america. it is a victim of the fact that there is a large demand for a particular product and illicit product in north america, and a large capability to supply that demand in south america. it is a thick them in a rear --

a real sense of progress elsewhere in the region, progress in colombia under plan colombia where next to the heroic numbers of a large number of colombian citizens, the problem has been squeezed down substantially over the last 11 years. and the progress that we see beginning i submit, more on that later, is mexico, with the mexican government efforts to retake control of its own communities, its own streets and its own borders. central america to a very real state is a victim to those factors which it cannot control. it is also a victim of some internal factors, which perhaps it does share responsibility for

and more on that in a moment. ladies and gentlemen, several members of the media and obviously none of those who are present with us here today, who are far too brilliant to make this sort of assertion, but in recent months, members of the media have discussed and suggested that we have discovered the crises and the problems afflicting central america today. we have not discovered them. it is not as though we were oblivious to what was happening. i suggest to you that this is a natural and inevitable regression. we knew it was happening, and we knew it was going to happen. if i can use the metaphor of three houses located side-by-side on a street. one house erupts in flames and

the community allows, due to resource and budgetary issues, has only one fire truck. where does the fire truck go? it goes to the house that is burning. well, sure enough, sparks passover to the third house. it starts to burn as well. the fire truck goes to the third house. it knows perfectly well that the house in between is eventually going to burn but you have only got one fire truck. you are watching that house in the middle and you know at some point in time you are going to have to go after it, but you have got one truck and you were going to focus the truck on the house that is actually burning. and it is burning today ladies and gentlemen, and i suggest to you that what we will talk about for the remainder of this morning is where to put that fire truck, what equipment to put on that truck, how many people we can put on that truck and how we can get maximum value

out of that truck. i address and assess this problem in essence as a -- and here's how my thinking goes. at the top of the pyramid are those threats that are concretely and actively attacking the institutions of the seven states of central america. i identified two from a security.. remember and the assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. one thread are the international drug trafficking organizations and the other threat are the gangs. now i'm fully aware ladies and gentlemen that there is a great deal of overlap between those two institutions but all gangs do not trafficked drugs and all trafficking organizations do not use gangs as they're implementing operators. so there are two of them and they are actively attacking the institutions of the states of central america.

the next level of my pyramid of art the ball or abilities. what do these gangs and trafficking organizations use in order to accomplish their business or other purpose? there are many. in fact if we had 20 hours we could probably come up with a 500 page book. i will offer just six or seven that come immediately to mind. one, the culture that tends to accept violence as a matter of the history of the last 35 years. second, prisons that operate in such a way as to actually allow the recycling of people that go into the prison system for whatever offenses were crimes they may have committed. third, porous borders, which is to say borders that actually provide opportunity as opposed to obstacles to people who wish to move product along the land if you will.

forth, widespread corruption, corruption and institutions, corruption in governments and corruption in business. fifth, weak institutions generally. corrupt or not, an institution can be week. it can be weak, poorly educated, poorly trained, poorly paid and poorly motivated. sixth, disaffected youth, hundreds of thousands of young men and women who do not see a prosperous future for themselvee looking for alternatives. finally, poverty and unemployment, and the two frequently go hand-in-hand although they are obviously different issues, and the fact that a community and a society that does not offer economic opportunity to its people has to assume that its people are going to try to take care of themselves and their families through some other means.

so that is the second level of my pyramid. thus rests the vulnerabilities that they take advantage of and the third and final level therefore would be the program's, the activities that the governments themselves, that their international partners, they have the international community writ large, governments, organizations, ngos, can try to support that would reduce and eventually eliminate those vulnerabilities. once you remove those vulnerabilities, the bad guys at the top of your pyramid have no basis upon which to operate. if they don't have lots of poverty and unemployment which produces disaffected youth and a culture that accepts violence, weeks institutions a lot of corruption and porous borders and prison systems that do not work, they will find it far far more difficult to operate either as a gang or as a trafficking

organization. so, that is the concept and who endorsed the concept ladies and gentlemen? in march of this year, the republic of el salvador, the president of the united states, a very wise man, stood with the president of el salvador and said, there is a threat that is affecting central america. it affects all of us. we need a new partnership, which he calls the partnership for citizen security and central america and ladies and gentlemen i endorsed, support, plot and am prepared to do everything in my power to follow-up on follow up on the president's commitment to move this partnership forward. i will do so together with all other parts of my government

based upon some very simple principles, and some of them are typical principles. for example, number one, we have limited resources to work with. on the 23rd of june in the city of guatemala, the secretary of state committed $290 million from the united states government to support this effort in the course of this year. not 2.9 billion, not 29 billion, 290 million i have to be honest with you ladies and gentlemen, to get to this number i had to offer her some old money that was still available for spending this year, little bit of new money and some creative thinking in terms of how we can recycle existing funds. i do not see, unless you think i'm missing something, i do not see the likelihood of a vast infusion of new funds coming

from that element of the united states government that is constitutionally entitled to fund and appropriate the taxpayers money in the jena and the foreseeable future. so my first principle is, we have to have an approach that accepts the reality that we have limited resources. second principle, if you have got limited resources how can you expand your resource base? how can you build on the number of donors that are prepared to support this effort? there are some that are already very much and in some cases heroically engaged in this effort. in no particular order, i would mention the governments of colombia, spain, the european union and its commission, the inter-american development that. this is a core group that has already along with a government that i represent, committed its

resources and its efforts to address this threat. our challenge, principle number two is how can we build on and expand that donor base? rentable number three, where we have fewer resources, can we by reorganizing our efforts, distributing the workload, focusing and prioritizing, sequencing in a different way, expand the impact of the limited resources that we have? this is complicated stuff ladies and gentlemen because they governments usual approach to this sort of problem is, let's throw money at it. without naming any other locations in the world, be they located in central asia or the middle east, but i will name none, we have a very different set of realities that we must deal with in this complicated

situation, and it does require an approach that is almost unprecedented among governments, international organizations and even if you would permit me to suggest an opinion, ngos. ..

principle no. 5. these threats emanate from central america. leadership in the process must come from central america. it cannot be an externally imposed solution. that does not work especially does not work when you are dealing with a limited resource base. fortunately we have an institution established by the seven governments of central america themselves that already exist and is created and designed to accomplish just exactly this coordination purpose. it is called seca. it represents all seven of the government of central america and provides if you will

regional leadership to what the larger international community -- and sixth and finally and i am fairly emphatic about this there are two partners who must be partners in this effort. for geographic reasons or political reasons, socio-economic reasons or law enforcement reasons we talk about this as the central america initiative. in many ways we should talk about it as the mesoamerica and initiative because you cannot address this issue involving seven governments of central america without incorporating the governments of colombia and mexico into the solution. two countries in very different positions in terms of their historical development in addressing these problems and by no means do you treat them as exactly the same sort of

government in terms of their contribution but you have to acknowledge, you cannot -- fault central america's crises without incorporating colombia and mexico. there's finally a lesson that i submit we have all learned over the last 30 or 40 years but we had better remember it today. there is no silver bullet solution. no one single program, one single project, one single operation that if we do it and do it correctly will solve a problem. it took as many years to get into this mess and it will take years to get out of it. we have learned over time, starting in the 1970s that as you address these law enforcement and drug related

threats you have to have an approach that addresses all elements of the problem from education, treatment and rehabilitation at one end, the demand side all the way down through interdiction, money laundering and financial crimes, precursor chemicals, production capabilities, cultivation on the supply side. you cannot focus on only one element. if you do, the criminal organizations have proved to be masters at developing a work around at actually using your focus and priority as a means by which they facilitate and improve their own networks and operations. so what is this initiative? i will give you in the barest

outline my view of what it is and you will follow up undoubtedly with questions which i will attempt to answer. there were four killers and seven contributions in central america so they deserve five killers. here are the five i suggest constitute the core of this approach, this strategy, first for want of a better term, what does it mean? the mother is terrified of allowing her children to go out and play outside the home. you have a security problem and you have to solve that problem at the retail level. how can you give a small society sufficient confidence in their security that they feel comfortable playing and living and working in their own neighborhood and to narrow the field? second, disrupt the traffickers.

i have suggested one of the two core threats to the institutions and to the state of central america are the trafficking organizations. there must be an element that attacks them directly weather is interdiction or strength in borders or eliminating or at least reducing their ability to launder money or transact financial crimes. there must be an element that attacks the organization. third is strong and accountable government. this is what we refer to have for 30 years institution building. the institutions ladies and gentlemen are not just law enforcement volvo clearly they are key complement. it is also corrections and prosecutors and courts and all the institutions that constitute the rule of law in any country,

any society, any community around the world. in essence the objective is to make each of those institutions sufficiently strong, transparent and accountable that they not only can do their job but have the respect and support of the communities and societies that they serve. fourth is strong community. strong communities move us into the traditional economic and social development skiers. this is what development agencies do. they do employment generation and business generation. they build basic public services. that makes them function. they support education systems and health-care systems that provide a community a core and the community's citizens a stake in the future of their own

community. a desire to make the institutions work because they see a future for themselves and their families in that community. the fifth pillar i suggest to you required by circumstances that we deal with in terms of resources is enhanced cooperation. cooperation internally by which i mean the seven governments of central america. their own institutions and capabilities to work among themselves to address this regional threat but also cooperation in the external sense. cooperation among potential donors, government organizations and ngos to support the strategy, the policy, the initiative, the effort in central america. ladies and gentlemen, i conclude

with a sobering observation for you. we have fought for the last 11 years or so that the big initiatives that we have been working in this hemisphere in colombia which i use january of 2000 as the kickoff although the truth is we have been working fairly aggressively with the government of colombia since 1999. the initiative of 2007 we regard these as being complicated but also modeled, how to cooperate in a multilateral way to address multilateral threats. i submit to you that central america despite the fact we are dealing with states that are smaller in terms of population and geography central america in a very real way is more

complicated than heroin 11 and the merida initiative because we have seven different governments and societies and communities each of whom have hundreds of years of history, hundreds of years of developing their own mind set, their own attitudes among themselves and between themselves and their neighbors and we must work a way that links them altogether in a positive way. we will make mistakes. make sure you have got that on record. brownfield acknowledges there will be missteps. we will learn from those mistakes and missteps. it would not surprise me at all if i were to learn from some of those this self same morning. i will listen carefully. i actually believe it is possible to learn from your

mistakes. but one mistake we don't need to make, we do not lead to learn a lesson we already know. we cannot fear in the united states of america ignore what is happening in central america today. because, ladies and gentlemen, the decision is very simple. if we ignore these threats, these problems and these crises in central america today we will address them on our own front porches tomorrow and with that sobering thought i thank you. i turn this back over to you. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you, bill. as promised those were terrific remarks. thank you for taking the time to make them today. has promised to the audience, it is provocative. thank you for joining us. we have 15 minutes for follow-up questions. i want to ask the first one as your formulating your own questions and we have circulating microphones for you as you're recognize we ask you identify yourself by name as well as your organization. you laid out a comprehensive strategy that makes a lot of sense. you touched on a lot of points. is a complicated issue. we have commitments at the highest level of not just our

government but other governments as well. it is a strategy that is going to take time to implement. the question would be the situation on the ground is pretty bad in some cases. there may be a -- getting the drug trafficking organization and the gains you identified causing trouble right now as well as allowing for a possible disconnect and allowing for a strategy to be fully implemented and take effect. the question would be in the interim who keeps the peace? i am referring to a proposal the outgoing president of guatemala made about the idea of a regional security force or something like that. i am not supposing that necessarily but there is my view along those lines. i would like to get your reaction to those circumstances. >> a fair point and in the interest of time i suppose i did

not bore the audience by going through point by point country by country program by program what we are already doing but i do want to make it clear to you and to everyone else in the room that we are not starting at point at zero. we have bilateral programs in the united states and el salvador and guatemala and honduras and costa rica and panama and billy's -- billy's --beli --belize. what we doing as this larger initiative takes form and has an impact? we have a bilateral approach that continues as does spain and colombia which is doing heroic service in terms of assisting in the training of thousands of law-enforcement personnel in

central america. we are not in essence bleeding before we get started. president cologne has made some -- he has thrown out some ideas for consideration and that is how you develop, improve, fine-tune and approach. my view is what we have to do, our challenge both within the seven governments of central america as well as the international community that chooses to support them is to reach common agreement and understanding on the basic elements of the strategy. i would suggest we are pretty close to being there. the summit on the 20 third of june was all about that. in about two weeks time most of

the major donors, the executive secretariat will meet and we will try to take this strategy, this set of objectives, divided into more or less individual life sized parts and in essence the side who is in the lead or have lead responsibility for this part and how will we sequence it if i might paraphrase the sixteenth president of the united states, you can do something for all the time and all things some of the time but you can't do all things all the time. i know he didn't actually say that the the context is the same and that is what we have to address in the central america initiative. where do we start? where do we put our focus? what is our thinking in terms of how this would sequins over the next one to five years and who is in the lead? which country? which elements of which country? in the lead means the donors and also in the central american as

well. that is my suggestion as to where we are. if i can close with a baseball metaphor, don't hold me responsible for not yet having all details of a fully fleshed out plan. we are in for first inning of a nine inning game. we hope it is only nine and doesn't go into extra innings and we are at this time -- we got our line ups but we are still sorting out the flow of the game. >> let's take one round of questions and try to get the mall in. i will start in the back. every time i have been to one of these events people start in the front. let's start in the back. we have a microphone. thank you. >> thank you very much. i have three questions and i will try to make some brief. >> turn the microphone up.

is it on? >> i am from the department of commerce western hemisphere division. i want to know if your strategy is partnership for citizens' security is the same thing as the central american regional security initiative. i heard a lot about that and i know something about it. that is a factual question but i have been working -- my second point is the partnership for growth is something we have been working on quite a bit and the economic competitiveness or growth initiatives that are part of that have a lot to do with security and crime. my point is and i hope you will comment on this the need in government in the united states when coming up with a strategy how to deal with central america, could we get greater cooperation or sharing of ideas between various groups that are organized to address these challengess?

and i mean your group and other organizations. i often feel we address problems -- that is an internal question. my third is -- >> let's break it to get other people into the conversation. there was a question right here if we could. this gentleman on this side. >> saint louis committee on foreign relations. you mention very briefly the prosecutors. we need to look at that more closely. it is one thing to train police but when the courts don't work out the expect the police to work and when there's no confidence in the courts how the expect them to work? when the government's have a demonstrated inability to protect those who take a stand against the cartels or dispense justice how can you expect the courts to work? how do we deal with these basic

issues? >> since the gentleman here did stand-up let's go for the third question. >> my concern is -- >> identify yourself. >> i am william stead and. retired foreign service officer. u.s. domestic demand is a considerable problem. i would like to know what is being done and what can be done and what coordination exists among the various u.s. government state and local agencies to deal with domestic demand. >> i will actually try to respond in the order in which the questions came forward and i roads and down so i have a vague recollection. first, the central america citizens security partnership.

you are correct. there is complete in relation all votes away i would differentiate is what the president was proposing in march of -- president obama in march of this year in san salvador was a collective multilateral international community effort that was citizens' security partnership. carthy with the central american regional security initiative would be the u.s. component from the security and law-enforcement side. my answer to your question casp is the large umbrella that covers the entire international community that is attempting to address these issues and carsey is the law enforcement rule of law and contribution to that effort. now i need my glasses. the partnership -- you are

correct. there is some danger in proliferation of initiatives and partnership for growth as i am fully aware for much of this week members of the department of commerce and department of state and in some cases still are in self -- elson al gore -- el salvador working this trade prosperity driven agenda and there is obvious overlak one ha

will always be different institutions between those enforcements and will of law and citizens' security on the one hand and those responsible for economic development and economic growth and fiscal policies, budgetary policy and business development on the other but that does not mean the two groups do not talk to one another because if i close this question with something so obvious it is almost a cliche in won't have security if you don't have economic growth and you won't have economic growth if you don't have security. we have learned that lesson over the last 3,000 years. a very valid point about the

difference between training police which is almost a numerical -- how many police candidates can you run through a basic or more sophisticated course to get their skill level to the point where they can do their job well and that actually is something we have become much better at, the international community over the past 20 years. part of the rule of law continuum but separate from prosecutors and courts we have learned on that front something we have been working for or attempting to learn for the next 25 to 30 years that in some ways prosecutors -- i avoid using judges -- are more complicated in the sense that there is a common global sense by which police are supposed to operate. judicial systems and legal

systems are inherently solid and inherently different. we have a common law system in the united states of america and that at a certain traditions in terms of our laws and courts and prosecutions are done. other countries of the world including legal systems in central america have -- it is kind of difficult to get all of this into one category. i will offer by way of response my own observations. i started doing this in el salvador when i was a very young police officer in 1981-1983. it is easier to work with prosecutors than it is to work with judges and courts because when you move into the judicial front you are truly moving into

a nation's absolute sovereign territory where there is an instinctive resistance to any other government or institution. not just the u.s. but any other one. coming in and in essence trying to tell them how to run their judicial system. prosecutors are a little easier in that there are certain skills that should be in essence be applicable to a prosecutor. the process by which an individual attempts to convince an adjudication mechanism call, judge or a jury. don't care what you call them but that this individual in fact has committed this crime and should be sanctioned therefore and we have learned over the last 30 years that there are certain common themes or threads that you can bring to bear on prosecutors anywhere. you are correct in your underlying assumption.

if that element of the rule of law continue is not addressed this initiative will not succeed. finally u.s. demand. you could ask the same question in the year 1965 or 1955. in many ways the fundamentals of that question have not changed. the simple answer to your question is we have not solved the problem in the united states of america. i do not want to oversimplify the matter to suggest this is only a problem in the united states of america. i would suggest demand in the united states was okay and probably dropped -- as much as 50% over the last ten years taking production out of south america. it has gone to other markets in europe, increasingly in south

america and latin america which is to say demand is elastic in terms of how much or how little demand there is and where it is located. what is the cooperation between elements of the federal but please remember we are a federal assistance state municipal and local government. i would give you almost a facetious answer. some places it works very well. in some places the doesn't work very well and some not as well. i am not the right one to give you a detailed answer to that question because i am the assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. the director of policy sometimes referred to as the drug czar is the position that for the last four years had the responsibility of linking all of these elements together through a common strategy and, approach and may i say i am offering a

personal opinion i am great admirer -- the director of national drug control policy. i believe -- he has an extensive law-enforcement background having most recently served as chief of police in seattle and has an academic background that brings to his job a commitment that demand has to be an essential and the most important elements to the long term solution and if you attack the problem that way i am optimistic that -- >> a terrific note to end on. there are a lot of questions out there. i have several i would love to ask but we are at time. i want to thank the center for international studies, international strategic studies and hemisphere defense studies for their cooperation today and i want to thank all of