so israel's diplomatic relations are no less than a revolution but we never forget our most cherished alliance entity is friendship is with the united states of america the most powerful and the most generous nation on earth. [applause] ..

>> >> in fact, the lead time united states cast the u.n. security council veto during the obama presidency was against the anti-israel resolution and as president obama rightly declared at this podium that peace will not come from statements and resolutions that the united nations. i believe the data is not far off when israel can rely on many, many countries to stand with us that the un. slowly but surely off, the

days the u.n. ambassadors that condemn israel are coming to an end. ladies and gentlemen the automatic majority at the u.n. reminds me of the incredible story of hiro a japanese soldier sent to the philippines 1944 and lived in the jungle and scavenged for food. he evaded capture eventually surrendered but that did not have been until they can 7430 years after world war two ended. for decades hiro refuse to believe the war was over. as he was hiding in the jungle, japanese were swimming in a nearby luxury

hotels. quietly the former commanding officer persuaded him to come out of hiding and only then did hiro lay down his arms. ladies and gentlemen and distinguished delegates from so many lands, have one message for you today, laid down arms. the war against israel at the u.n. is over. some of you don't know it yet, but i am confident one day in the not too distant future, you will also get the message for mayor president or pine minister informing him the war against israel and the united nations has ended. yes, i know there is a storm

before the comb and talk about gaining up on israel at the u.n. later this year. given the history of hostility towards them does anybody really believe in the vital national interest? we will not accept any attempt to dictate the terms to israel. the road through peace runs through jerusalem not new york. but regardless of what happens in the months ahead because in the years ahead standing among the nation's will penetrate the hall of nations iso much confidence

i predict that a decade from now in israeli prime minister will stand right here and and applied the u.s.. why do we have to wait a decade? perhaps some of you don't appreciate with a bias against israel is not just a problem for my country but for your country also. with the only liberal democracy in the middle east was far less times with disease or poverty or climate change and all the problems that plagued the planet.

the same israel treated in hospitals are they hanging from cranes ns iran from the denigration? and to serve in the parliament. are the starving children in korea are they helped by the humanization of israel? his agricultural know-how was feeding the hungry the sooner the obsession nc of better. better for your countries and better for the u.n.. ladies and gentlemen,, if

you win habits die hard, a palestinian habits die even harder. president abbas with about four declaration preparing a lawsuit against britain for that declaration from 1917. that is almost 100 years ago talk about stacked give the past. the palestinians make for the cyrus declaration that choose to rebuild our temple in jerusalem and come to think of it, why not a palestinian class action suit to buy that plot of land where the fathers and mothers of the jewish people were buried 4,000 years ago?

you're not laughing. that is as absurd as that to. to sue the of british government for the bell for declaration? is he kidding plaques this is taken seriously here? president abbas attacks suffered declaration because it recognizes the right of the jewish people to a national home of the land of israel. with the jewish day of 1947 he recognized a historical and moral rights in the homeland. but today 70 years later to recognize those rights not to our right to to a state

or to anything. uh refusal to recognize the jewish state this is not about the settlements. it never was. the conflict raged for decades before the rise is single there were all in the era of patients with the west bank and gaza and they were attacked again and again and again. when we up routed all 21 settlements with every last inch we did not get peace from gaza we got thousands because for the of palestinians the real settlements are after.

but it cannot and must be be solved. but this conflict has never been about the settlement or establishing a palestinian state. and ladies and gentlemen,, i am ready to negotiate all final status issues. the one they now will never negotiate the one and only jewish state. [applause]

>> sustained applause for the prime minister of israel at the general assembly? change we becoming sooner than i thought. as the palestinians said yes to the jewish state, there would have been no war, no refugee and no conflicts in when the palestinians finally say yes, we will be able to end the conflict once and for all. here is a tragedy. because the palestinians are not only trapped in the past

, the leaders are poisoning the future. waking up before school and goes to practice of the soccer team for a guy palestinian terrorist responsible for the murder of a busload of 37 israelis. of the palestinian israel education who last year murdered three israeli civilians and all the way home looks up at the statue just a few weeks ago erected by the palestinian authority to honor the man to detonated a bomb in the center of jerusalem killing 15 israelis.

when he gets home he turns on the tv and sees an interview with a senior palestinian official who says if he has a nuclear bomb he would detonate over is real that very day. he then turns on the radio to urge palestinians to slip the throats of israelis were refined them. then checks baseball can seize a post by the party that says the massacre of 11 athletes at the munich olympics are heroic acts. on you to be watched as the clip of the president 191

dash abbas welcome every drop of blood. over dinner he asks his mother what would happen if you kill the age you and would to israeli prison? he would be paid thousands of dollars each month by the palestinian authority in fact, the more he kills, the more money he gets. and gwen he gets out of prison he is guaranteed a job with the palestinian authority. ladies and gentlemen call all of this is real it happens every day. all the time. sadly representing hundreds of thousands of children

every moment, every hour. this is child abuse rate imagine your child undergoing this brainwashing and what it takes for a young boy or girl to break free of the culture of hate. how can any of us expect young palestinians to support peace as they lead poisoning their minds against these. we educate our children in fact, we recently launched a pilot program for the study of arabic mandatory so they can better understand each other to live together side by side in peace.

like all societies is our response to those french elements that makes all the difference. a tragic case i will never forget visiting him in the hospital or hours after he was attacked. a little boy, a baby badly burned, the victim of a horrible terrorist act perpetrated by jews. and dave bandaged and unconscious as his doctors worked around the clock to save him. no words could freeing comfort as a stood by his

bedside and i told his uncle this is not our people this is not our way. in order to extraordinary measures and those jewish citizens of israel hickey is attacking the family are in jail awaiting trial. for some, this story shows both sides equally responsible for the seemingly endless conflict. but it approves of very opposite because while israel the leaders would condemn terrorists

palestinian leaders celebrate while israel has a handful of jewish terrorist the palestinians pay thousands some recall on president abbas. you can continue to or you can finally confront hatred and work with me to establish peace between our two people. ladies and gentlemen,, i hear the buzz and i know that many of you have given up on peace.

i have not given up on peace. based on to states. and i believe as never before the changes taking place offer a unique opportunity to events that peace and i commend the president to retract peace and stability in the region with the spirit of the arab peace initiative to welcome a dialogue of arab states and i believe in for that to be fully achieved the palestinians have to be a part of it. i will give negotiations to achieve today. not tomorrow or next week but today.

but as abbas spoke care one hour ago, wouldn't it be better if instead of speaking past each other we were speaking to one another ? instead of railing against israel at the united nations speak to the israeli people at the knesset in jerusalem and i will gladly come to speak to the palestinian parliament. ladies and gentlemen we know that peace has no greater are made and the militants of islam. the bloody trail that goes

through paris and jerusalem. minnesota and new york. christians and jews and many many others. but the heaviest price of all has been paid by innocent muslims. hundreds of thousands morceli slaughtered turning into desperate refugees and ridley is subjugated. but the seeds of militant islam is a victory for all humanity but it that is the victory for those many muslims to seek a life

without fear, of life of peace in the life of pope. but to deface the forces of militant islam we must fight relentlessly in the real world and in the virtual world dismantle the networks discredit ideology we can defeat them and we will defeat them. that is no match for maternity. freedom is mightier than fear. we can do this. ladies and gentlemen israel fights against the forces of militant islam everyday.

we foiled palestinian terror attacks and we detered attacks that is the same hamas terror organization that refuses to return three of our citizens and the bodies of the fallen soldiers. antibodies here with us today. to bury the beloved son in israel. one simple thing to be able to visit the grave of the fallen son as tomas refuses.

they can care less. i implore you to stand with them and with us with all that is decent in the world all that is indecent and barbaric. to break every humanitarian rule in the book ladies and gentlemen, the greatest threat to our region and ultimately to our world, remains the militant islamic regime of arak. it threatens countries across the middle east to

inspire the ballistic missiles in direct defiance to expand its aggression in iraq were syria or yemen as a former sponsor of terrorism to build the global terror network but the threat to this not behind us. in the coming years to push back against the aggression in care. with uh nuclear constraints let me be clear israel will not allow the terrorist

regime in iraq to develop nuclear weapons. not now, not in a decade. not to recover. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen stand before you today is the former president of israel is fighting for his life. one of israel's founding fathers, one of the boldest states men and most respected leaders and nl you will all join me to wish a speedy recovery.

i always admired his optimism and i am also filled with hope. and i was filled with hope because fighting men and women were second to none. and ultimately will triumph over the forces of terror. with the innovation nation. i am filled with hope because israel works tirelessly of the opportunity for all citizens of muslims and christians and jews and everyone to

help all the naysayers that israel will forge a lasting peace with all our neighbors . [applause] >> if ladies and gentlemen, i am hopeful about with israel can accomplish. to see what they have accomplished. the population was 800,000 the main export was oranges. when people said we were too small, too weak and too isolated to a demographically outnumbered

to survive. the skeptics were wrong about israel then and they are wrong about israel now. the population has grown tenfold, our economy 44. today the biggest export is technology selling itself owns and so much more. . .

the future where even at the un, israel will finally inevitably take its rightful place among the nations. thank you. [applause] more from the un general assembly. next to the iraqi prime minister talks about his country's struggle and called on the un member state to continue their alliance against the militant

group. >> united nations secretary-general, ladies and gentlemen, members of the general assembly, esteemed audience, a year ago there were a large areas of the organization and we stand at the same place before you liberated for most of their land and towns

thanks to the unity and determination. we have major areas in the province and let me tell you today the forces liberated the city's of other areas neighboring it pushes a testimony to the great confidence and capabilities of the forces for the support of the president's life-support always.

mr. president we have declared victory and the goal was to save civilians and this choice in the ancient civilization with the help of our friends at the international community we started to implement for the return to the liberated area and particularly water, electricity, schools and hospitals. we call upon the international community to provide support for the programs to provide shelter to fully liberate.

while we overcome the economic and security challenges we look forward to further support collaboration and here we would like to commend the united nations system for providing humanitarian assistance for people addressing the issue in the international coalition we praised the international military funding organizations for the plans and efforts of the iraqi government reform to overcome the financial crisis as well as to fight card option we highly appreciate the position.

[inaudible] in the financial reforms the government has implemented the program to reduce the government expenditure despite the spending against terrorism. furthermore, the government has initiated the restructuring of many state institutions as part of the administrative reforms and has prioritized citizen services streamlining procedures and removing many obstacles in the simplifying and removing the obstacles. the government has strengthened the ways of partnership and as

for fighting corruption in the development program to benefit from the national expertise in the capacity to fight the problem of corruption and in the last few weeks we have seen practical steps in this regard and look for more progress in fighting. we look forward to the day when iraq and the whole region come true when the whole world becomes free from this requires serious collaboration to dry out its financial resources and to demolish those all over the world without cooperation into

the refugees in the area that has reached unprecedented levels. we are sure that it is literally a true enemy of other convictions. in france, belgium and the rest of the world there is no choice but to cooperate and any victim

anywhere in the world of the danger of terrorist organizations such as al qaeda will not end until we address the problem of that ideology that rely on the sectarian segregation and it is sent by the region that has hindered the opportunities of the development of the countries. to combat the feelings of discontent and despair among them from the countries and organizations in order for the educational curriculum to remove

the feelings of frustration and to preempt any attempt in the future. [inaudible] did so far killed shiites, christians. they are identified between the displacement, genocide. [inaudible] in the cities as well as the

victims in the districts of baghdad. mr. president, iraq encountered two factors apart from terrorism but more than 7% of the increasing expenditure. so it was only natural that this was the plan for development and

reconstruction despite these daunting challenges, we pursued the implementation of the reform of the state agencies and social institutions. we are determined to win the battle of the reform. to fight terrorism and corruption had worked together in the ideological and sectarian diversities. each contributes to the victory achieved in the fight is a

nonconventional pattern. if the punishment of the forces belong to all religions, ethnicities but they are to defend the stated values and such. this is from the strong mobilization of all the people in all iraq he components.

iraq is to participate with all countries in the world. to provide a proper environment that promotes freedom, human rights, equality and participation. in addition to the united nations triggered some

resolution related to the safeguarding of the iraqi cultural heritage we hereby note the accomplishment to include the planned areas to the heritage sites. we take this opportunity to access efforts to prevent the war for peace and securit securd the developmental opportunities and refrain from policies from other states. such policies extend interventions for the populati

population. we are to maintain the sovereignty and demand of the neighbors to restore the forces where they exist despite the rejection that hinders to deliberate. the iraqi government works hard to maintain peaceful coexistence among the iraqi people, components and all citizens on an equal basis regardless of their religion, ethnicity and health components.

furthermore we send to the support of the government achieving reform and economic development that our people aspire to. mr. president, we send you our congratulations from the general assembly and thank you for your presidency. we also extend our congratulations to the excellency and contribute for the stewardship of the united nations. we visited many times and thank him for the support.

>> i am a freshman business management major. this campaign i'm going to be supporting gary johnson. i think the other candidates are poor options and hopefully he can debate. >> i am a political science senior at ohio state university and i am part of the political science honorary i will be supporting hillary clinton in november, 2016. she dvds i of the same things io and she is running on a more unified platform. >> from ohio he provides the most on national security, turning the economy around and making us great again.

>> not only does he try to understand the important issues but also i agree with a lot of his policies. >> president obama honors recipients at the arts and humanities. some include actor and comedian mel brooks, morgan freeman, composer philip glass, radio host and author. this ceremony is 35 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, the recipient of the national medal of arts. [applause]

fosco the recipients of the 2015 national humanities medal. [applause]

♪ ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. ♪ everybody please have a seat. thank you. welcome to the white house, everybody. throughout my time here, we've

tried to make it a priority to promote the arts, humanities especially for our young people come and because we believe that the arts and humanities are in many ways reflective of our national story central to who we are as americans, dreamers storytellers, innovators and visionaries. what helps us make sense of the past, the good and the bad, how we tried the course for the future while leaving something of ourselves for the next generation to learn from. we are here to honor the very best of their fields who give every piece of themselves. as mel brooks once said. [laughter]

to the writers on blazing saddles, which is a great film, write anything you want because we will not be here again we will all be arrested for this movie. [applause] >> to be fair, he also said a little more eloquently that every human being has separate people inside his skin and the talent of a writer is the ability to get separate names, personalities and have them relate to other characters. that is what they do the lift upon identities and make us see ourselves and each other and today's honorees each possess a

gift for this kind of creative sympathy that allows us to exchange the sense of what is most important and profound and identify with our collective experience as americans. we have an impressive crew here with us today we have terry and a whole bunch of people who he's interviewed. [laughter] we have our share of the national endowment of the arts. [applause] beau adams, chairman of the national endowment of the humanities. [applause] who also just has a cool name. [laughter]

and we thank the members of congress that are here for their strong support of the arts and humanities. but today to focus on our recipients of the national medals of the arts and humanities are poets, artists, journalists, professors, historians and at least a chef. their paths could hardly be different and that is what makes them great. they take a piece of this bold and energetic country and they reshape it and share it with us. they open our experienced affairs and for that, we honor them here today. we honor the poets whose poem captured the emotions of everyday people. throughout life, the readers

have taught her that there are eaters that will receive. as she strives to be there for others and for poets that are her students and readers alike. once when asked how she hoped the world would respond to the work she said she wanted william blake to come down from heaven and say you did a very good job. now i don't think that's happened so you'll have to settle for us today. [laughter] as a trained cab driver, his work is full of contradictions that crossed the cultures. when the music he made straight from the conventions the audiences didn't always know how to react. i understand that there've been

some eggs thrown occasionally but he said what seems strange or bizarre history -- for strange period of time changes and easy. the symphonies and operas and he's proven that change can be beautiful. the masterpiece, the warmth of other sons made the story of the great migration of african-americans from the south and north and west accessible to a new generation of americans. they spent years tracking between archives and living rooms, interviewing more than 1200 people who told stories of heartbreak ultimately overcoming. stories they found too painful

even with their own children and through it all she had to conquer her task and prove wrong some others and one of the most important chapters in history as told in the book any person can read. that's just a sampling of the extraordinary accomplishments that are represented here today. [inaudible] terry gross, james mcbride, the person university project, jack,

isabel wilkerson. we also honor mark salus who couldn't be here today and morgan freeman who undoubtedly is off playing a black president again. [laughter] [applause] he never lets me have my moment. of those that were used to tell them arfillthem are more diversr before.

they are large containing multitudes that's what is so great about this country is that there is no single set way to contribute. all of us belong and have a story to tell even when you think your stories t story is to different, too strange, unique there's someone out there that has been waiting their whole life to hear you tell your story because it is just like there's. what a great gift all of you have given us. so we thank you. today's honorees who have the bravery to go first and told the story and make us feel a little bit better about ours. ..

>> unbeaten [applause]

[cheers and applause] the 2015 national medal of arts for his ground-breaking contributions to music one of the most prolific people of our time he has extended is possibly with wide range of collaboration. [applause] [cheers and applause] if berry gordy. [cheers and applause]

the 2015 national medal of arts to have the trail blazing new sounded music as a song or later helped to build motown with legendary artist. helping to shape our nation's history. [cheers and applause] [applause] the 2015 national medal of arts goes to expand the

horizon of music helping to spread music with this sounds and cultures of mexico could to button accordion have captivated audiences around the world. [applause] the 2015 national medal of arts for his powerful contributions his work probes the uh questions of culture and sexuality his award winning project

continues to move audiences with contemporary social issues. [applause] the 2015 national medal of arts goes to roll for his contributions for dance and visual arts uses dance as communication as complex work as examination from all hinders with - - shingles with an intimate truth for the american experience. [applause]

if mr. bell does. [applause] the 2015 national medal of arts goes to mr. velez for bringing chicano culture to eliminate the iq and spirit with social injustice through stage and television and film production. [applause] >> the 2015 national medal

marts to make america as an abstract artist for the compounds to create new services and textures challenging perceptions of change and color to put those perceptions into a new light. [applause] [laughter] [inaudible] [laughter]

[laughter] >> arthur mcdonald. [cheers and applause] the 2015 national medal of arts for lighting up broadway is one of our brightest stars in under forgettable performer winning six tony awards and

her rich voice continues to take audiences to new heights. [cheers and applause] [inaudible] [laughter] [applause]

the 2015 national team in kennedy's up metal grills for pioneering story is a celebrating uh experience of the schuman condition to spread love of literature to new generations. [cheers and applause]

me. [inaudible] [laughter] for cultivating our palates to shape oracle church introduce new ingredients to

our nation through innovative techniques and uh kitchen or clean cooking access for the inspiration to new americans. [applause] [applause] the 2015 national and humanities medal for bringing our nations stories to life. re-examination of the giants of titan inviting readers to discover their failures of the modern era.

>> the 2015 national he manatee's metal forgiving lyrical expression to inner conflict the magic of the natural world than the essence of who we are. [applause] terry gross.

[applause] the national opinion in these metal for her probing humane experience persistent questioning of thousands of interviews over four decades percent behind extraordinary lives with this simple truth to affirm our common humanity. [applause] >> james mcbride. [applause] the national team in these metal for humanizing the complexities of race in

america to avicenna and uniquely american story of shared history with his portrayal of the american family. >> the national team in these metal for pros and essays to have the influential works with the power of ideas from one to the next going across politics and culture. [applause]

[applause] for the exploration of faith through this study of ancient manuscripts and other scholarly work about the contemporary search for knowledge and meaning. [applause] [applause]

the 2015 national humanities metal for transforming the alliance to provide examples for others. >> the 2015 national peabody's metal for reminding to me it the center of the medical enterprises. to embody the diversity from the efforts rumpus -- of the science the renderings of

human drama. [applause] isabel. [applause] estimates the 2015 national team manatee's metal for championing the stories of the combination of human narrative with those epic migration of a vast impact on each individual life. [applause]

>> please give them a big round of applause once again we think that for their extraordinary contributions and all the work they will be doing in the future. and i think that plague has the coolest alpha. [laughter] i am glad you're all a good friend of mine and i do

think that bill brooks would set us off. [applause] historic leet a different affair pet somehow in the beginning it was thrown off. [laughter] have fun. dog plus. [applause] [inaudible conversations] ♪

[inaudible conversations] ♪

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[inaudible conversations] and [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] since a you'rum is now present i ask the committee to consider a list of 40 pending military nominations including in this list, there's a nomination of general journey heighton, u.s. air force, for reappointment of the grid of general and to commander of the united states strategic command. all of these nominates have been before the commit year. there is a motion to report 40

military nominations to the senate? your second. >> second. >> all in fav aaye. >> aye. >> motion carries. the senate armed services committee mets this morning to receive testimony on u.s. national security challenges and ongoing military operations. i'd like to welcome our witnesses, secretary carter and secretary dunford. thank you for your service and thank you to the men and women you lead and their families for their service and sacrifice during these challenging times. this committee has conducted regular hearings on u.s. national security strategy and ongoing military operations, and we have devoted special attention to the chaos engulfing the middle east and the u.s. military campaign against isil. it well be up too future historians to render a final judgment on this administration's stewardship of u.s. interests in the broader middle east but in the opinion

of this one senator, it's been an unmitigated doctors. president obama sought to pivot away from one of the most vital regions of the world out of a misplaced hope that, quote, the tide of war was receding and we should focus on, quote, nation building at home that withwithdrawal of u.s. power filled with the worth actors, al qaeda and icele and now putin's russia. just consider over the past eight years, this administration has overseen the collapse of regional order in middle east into a state of chaos where every country is either a battlefield for regional conflict, a party to the conflict or both. the rise of isil, and the threat it poses has made al qaeda appear modest by comparison. but both terrorize networks have

expanded their influence from west africa to south asia and everything in between. the administration may have postponed iran's nuclear programs but this is come at the cost of unshackling iranian pair and ambition, both of which will grow as bills of dollars in sanctions relief is transformed into advanced military capability and support for terrorism. and then there is putin's russia. which has reclaimed a position of influence in middle east that is not enjoyed in four decades. the best that can be said about this devastating legacy is over the past year in part thanks to our witnesses today, president obama has at least begun town leash america's filing men and women against isil. they're fighting with skill and courage despite enorm mose -- enormous risks. we're gradually eroding isil

residents territorial control and removing key personnel from the battlefield. this military campaign has too often been slow, reactive and excessively micromanaged by the white house. inteed, we read this morning of plans for yet another incremental increase of 500 troops in iraq, one more step down the road of gradual escalation. budget thanks to the tremendous talent and ted indication of our men and women in uniform, we are making progress. i have no doubt that isil will eventually be expelled from its songholds in mosul and raqqa. the day of liberation will come later than it should have but it will come. this will be a tactical success but it is unlikely to lead to strategic gapes bag the administration has -- gains because the administration has failed to address and exacerbated the underlike conflict.

the fight for power, isil is merely a symptom of this deeper problem. in iraq, mosul may be retaken eventually but that will only reignite the battle for the future of iraq, battle in which we have an important stake. the biggest problems still lie ahead. combating the influence of iran, trace the future of the kurds and their place in iraq, and a attenuating the disenfranchisement of the sunni iraqis that gave rise to ice until the first place. libya, we have had success in degrading isil's stronghold but what remains is a divide nation littered with independent militias flooded with arms and searching in vain for legitimate governance and political unit. conditions that will remain federalle ground for extremism and anti-western terrorism. we have also begun targeting ice until afghanistan but a resurgent taliban,backed i

afghanistan's neighbors continue to destabilize the country while afghan national army casualties remain unsustainably high and yet it was in this environment that president obama chose to withdraw another 1,400 troops. nowhere, however, is america's strategic drift clearer than in syria. after more than 400,000 ted, and half the population driven from their homes, after the worst refugee crisis in the century which now threatens the project of european unity, the administration still has no plausible vision of an end state for syria. instead, while russian and syrian regime aircraft bomb hospitals, markets and eight warehouses and other civilian targets, president obama sent his intrip ped bill delusional secretary of state, to tilt yet again at the wind mil of

cooperating with vladimir putin. even committing to share intelligence with russia for coordinated military operations. this agreement would be deeply problematic, even if implemented. it would mean that the u.s. military would effectively own future russian air strikes in at the eyes of the world and strengthen assad's military position in the country, thereby unmine our open strategic objective of a political transition. it appears none of this will matter but a once again, assad and putin are not holding up their end of the deal as nearly everyone predicted. assad has declared an end to the cease fire. barrel bombs are falling again on civilian friday aleppo and an air strike reportedly carried out by russia has killed 12 member of a u.n. humanitarian convoy. nonetheless, administration officials are tells separately trying to salvage this

agreement, likely because they realize that without this diplomatic fig life the failure of their syria policy will be evident and everyone else knows there's no plan b. this should be yet another lesson as if we needed it that diplomacy in the absence of leverage is a recipe for failure. our adversaries will not too what we ask of them out of the goodness of their hearts, or out of concern for our interests or the suffering of others. they must be compelled and that requires power. until the united states is willing to take steps to change the conditions on the ground in syria, the war, the terror, the refugees, and the instability will continue. such will be the unfortunate inheritance of our next president. the middle east aflame, where american influence has been squandered. america's at -- adversaries neither respect or fear us,

america's friends are increasingly hedging their bets and america residents policy options have been narrowed and worsened. what is worse i america's military will confront these daunting challenges with constrained budgets, aging equipment, depleted read ins and a growing set of operational requirements driven by other escalating challenges in europe and asia. we're simultaneously asking our military to wage a generational fight against islamist terrorism while rebilling a read and modernized force to deter and if necessary defree throw power of iraq state competitors in full spectrum combat. would be the first to admit that congress is failing in its -- to match resources to requirements. but the failure of the president is worse. after all it is the duty of the commander in chief to be the

strongest advocate for the needs of our military, but president obama has been more interested in using the defense budget as a hostage to distract political concessions for greater nondefense spending. secretary carter, this may be one of your last appearances before the committee itch hope you will use the opportunity to offer some clear answers to these troubling questions. senator reid. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman, and i would like to join in welcoming secretary carter and general dunford in giving the security challenges that face the united states your appearances before the commit year are always deeply appreciated and very timely, particularly this moment. while significant work remains to defeat isil, the united states and coalitions, military operations have resulted in important gains in both iraq and syria. most notably isil has been driven out of the territory the group once held and isil lot its

hold on the stiff of manbij, and several key towns. the effect of-the-operations has been to cut off key supply line and tree strict ability to move equipment and personnel across the battlefield. as a result it appears isil is under more pressure now than any other time. unfortunately, in syria it appears the cessation of hostilities is not going to hold and we look forward to your assessment of the progress of the military aspects of this campaign and whether there is a possibility of a renewed secession of hostilities in the firefighter. the military commanders are widely focused on ensuring military operations to force the efforts of diplomat and other policymakers to address the kinking political challenges in iraq and syria. even after the coalition retakes mosul and raqqa, the works of diplomats and military

intelligence heintz will not be over. ensuring isil is dealt a lasting defeat will not only require military support but assistance in achieving the -- this will require that the civilian agencies are provided the critical resources necessary to proffer this work. with regard to afghanistan, spout the president's position to maintain'll 8400 troops in the done into next year. this decision sented a important message to afghans, allies and taliban and others that the united states remains committed to ensuring a stable afghanistan. we look forward to your assessment of this year's fighting season and what more we took to support development of the afghan national defense and security forces. despite a challenging security and political environment the afghan national united statesy government continue to be a partner for the u.s. but rye mained concern about the reports of corruption in afghanistan and the slow political progress on

the reform agenda. in light of these challenge us hope you'll also discuss the efforts of the identity and allies to build institutional capacity and enable necessary reforms in afghanistan. in eastern europe, russia continues it's pattern of confrontation and antagonistic behavior, and fomenting -- their if a raters have harassed u.s. ships across the region and provide support and training to separatists in eastern ukraine. in violation of the cease fire agreements. uconn and nato hey undertaken efforts to deter some behavior. >> north korea remains one of the most dangerous and difficult national security challenge this country faces. earlier this month north korea conducted its fifth nuclear test, dome machine straighting

the north korean regime has little interest in the resuming six party talks. while we have made significant effort to put strong and excessive sanctions in place to curb the development, china's unwillingness to enforce the sanctions has undermind u.s. and international efforts to bring north korea in line. finally, our long-term military needs a put focusing into five years. the last time congress provided the department with budget stability but there is no budget furphiesal jeer 2018 and beyond. without another bipartisan agreement that provides relief from sequestration, the department will be forced to submit a fiscal year 2018 budget that adheres to the sequestration budget cam and would undermine our defense strategy. and modernize it platforms and equipment and we must not let that happen. thank you begin, mr. chairman, and thank you, gentlemen.

>> welcome, mr. secretary. this is the last time for this year we appreciate your -- you and general dunford's appearances before the armed services committee and look forward to you and general doneford's testimony: thank you for your service to our nation. secretary carter. >> thank you very much. champ chairman, ranking member reed, all the members to the committee, thank you for having us here and chairman and senator reed, thank you for taking the time to talk with me before the hearing. and for hosting general dunford by my side where he is all the time and i'm very pleased and our country is very fortunate to have him. similarly i want to thank you for hosting the service chiefs last week. i appreciated your comments to them about the inefficiencies

and the dangers of continued budget instability and gridlock, as well as the risk of sequestration's looming return. i look forward to addressing those topics more today with you. also appreciate your support for our me and women serving around the world. military and civilian alike. you always provided. they're the finest fighting force the world has ever known. they're the -- no one else in the world is stronger no one is more capable, more innovative, more experienced, and has better friends and allies than they. that is a fact. and the fact at they weres ought to be proud of. americans ought to be proud of. dod is currently addressing each of the five challenges they we described to your in our budget testimony this spring and that the chairman and senator reed have already touched on, namely, russia, china, north korea,

iran, and terrorism. and on the last, in the wake of this week's attacks in new jersey, new jersey, and minnesota, we remain as determined as ever to continue encounters troh irss rind the world. as chairman dunford and i testified this spring we have been planning for activities to be paid for by the 2017 budget that we have committed, and that we developed. that budget adhered to last fall's bipartisan budget deal in overall size. while in shape, it marked a strategic turning point for dod. making breakthrough investments in new operational concepts, in pioneering technological frontier and reforming the dod enterprise and in building the force of the future. it also put a high premium on continuing to rebuild the ready unless of our forces, requiring

not only stable resources but also time. nothing is more important than readiness, to me or to the service chiefs. and yet today, just eight days away from the end of this fiscal year, that budget has yet to be funded by congress. i want us toe discuss that with you today but because that's hearing is on military operations let me begin with an operational someone date on our campaign to deliver isil a lasting defeat. now, each time chairman dunford and i appeared before the committee since back last october, i've described to you our coalition military campaign plan which is focused on three objectives. the first is to destroy isil's -- the isil cancer's parent tumor in iraq and syria. the sooner we end isil's occupation of territory in those countries, the sooner we destroy both the fact and the idea of islamic state based on isil's

barbaric ideology. the safer all of us in the world will be. and that's necessary, absolutely necessary, it's not sufficient. so our second objective is to combat isil's metastases everybody they emerge in afghanistan, libya and elsewhere. and our third objective is to help protect the homeland. this is mainly the responsibility of our partners in the fbi and justice department, homeland security, the intelligence community, and state and local law enforcement. but dod strongly supports them and i'll address how momentarily. since last fall we have taken many steps to continually accelerate this campaign, all consistent with our strategic approach of enabling capable, motivated local forces for that's the only way to ensure isil's lasting defeat. and while we have much more work to do, the results of our effort are showing. in iraq, we have been enabling

the iraqi security forces and the kurdish peshmerga after retaking ramadi and establishing a staging peace the isf went on to retake fallujah and important air fields set thing stage to complete the envelopement of mosul and the collapse of isils are control. the last few diedays the i sf began racings to retake other towns surrounding mosul. and the final assault on mosul will commence as with previous operations, when prime minister abadi gives the order. in syria, our coalition has also enabled considerable results by our local partners. they retook shadadi and manbij city. and providing key intelligence insights.

additionally, our ally turkey is helping local syrian partners clear their border region with isil. we're working shoulder to shoulder with the turks, supporting these efforts from the air, on the ground, and with intelligence, and as we do so, we're managing regional tensions. tensions we have foreseen in keeping everyone focused on our common enemy isil. we're systematically eliminating isil's leadership with the coalition having taken out seven members of the isil senior, including the chief of extent prayings al-adnani. he was one of 20 operators and plotters we removed from the battlefield. and also continuing to go after is ale others attempts to delve chemical weapons as we ensure that u.s. coalition and iraqi troops are protected from that threat. in just last week in one of the single largest air strikes of our campaign we destroyed a

pharmaceutical facility near mosul isil tried to use as a chemical weapons plant elm also continue to aggressively attack isil's economic infrastructure, oil wells, tanker trucks, cache storage and more, and we continue to take the fight to isil across every domain including cyber. of the force that reason the

international coalition cannot be allowed to lag behind hour military partners and that is critical caught to make sure once defeated they stayed defeated. we can't predict what willca come after the coalition defeats isis so we must be ready for anything to remain relevant even in the darkest corners of the internet.s dod camino address the issues offa how you can help me have three grave concerns related to process budget gridlock and instability, tw micromanagement of needed reforms. and 89 l. of needed reformse ses concern all three are serious concerns but here we are at

the end of the fiscal year are will focus on the first. we need congress to come together to provide a normal stable responsible budgets because of lack of stability represents the biggest strategic risk to our enterprise that dod why talking about thelf you. year-and-a-half he here in last week of such budget instability undercuts planning in ways at they cannot see it baffles the friends managerial elite unsound and unfairly to troops or families or workforce and it is inefficient for the defense och industry partners here eight days away from the end of the fiscal year but year 201h

pulling into fiscal year 2017 with another continuing resolution for the eighth fiscal year in a row. that is a deplorable state of affairs and chairman became higher appreciate your comments about thert damages of the cr can do to our institution as you know the longer the alaska more damaging it is. for example, if it goes past g december undermines our plan to quadruple the europeanundermn yew reassurance initiative that time led me need toet stand with our allies provide know you will returnse in november and teleport to working with you then. however i cannot support any approach to the defense budget that moves us toward

sequestration or away from bipartisanship and not at the expense the stabilityno that comes with that. funding will work priorities are undermining its confidence which could lead to the imposition of the owling. $100 billion of automatic cuts were fads structure that we cannot keep in theth long term that leaves a hollow force for i am confident we can come backin. to gathering again. today america is fortunatete to of the world's greatest military i know it, you know k when and friends and allies know it as potential adversaries only with your help we can ensure that my successors stayed the same

with the finest fighting force the world has ever known remains that way for >> chairmanme. >> 84 the opportunity toto join in this morning i would like to associate myself five-to-10 stevin before the committee last week to offer the candid assessment of the challenges and i fully concur with their assessment of the budget challenges faced by each of the services.large part to this comt due in large part care remains the most capable inll the world and today we have a competitive vantage over any adversary. that should not be lost on

our allies or enemies or onfo the men and women of the joint force and they say that mindful of the are confronting the challenges from the traditional state actors take russia and china and george correa invested military capabilities to reduce the competitive advantage. also through competition that falls short that examples include you crave action saber rattling coming chinese activities in the south china sea. in different ways each leverage economic wars and information, cyber capabiliti es and unconventional warfare deliberately seeking to avoid a u.s. military response. meanwhile non state actors

make a threat to the american people. as evidenced such extremistch groups will in doing so to fundamentally change our way of life. a way to respond to each of these challenges that we are prepared to respond also we remain firmly committed to defeating ijssel wherever they may emerge. i have made additional trips to the middle east and encouraged by the progress in iraq and syria.bya if also degraded their capabilities in afghanistan co and libya. with a ground forces at the accord disrupted their ability, reduced control, limited freedom of

movement and reduced the resources available. the coalition has again and to discredit where more work remains to be done but by no means are we complacent. as the joint force addresses the challenges we recognize the need to invest in the future. . .