>> what was bill gates reaction when you called and said i'm giving you $50 billion eventually? >> i think they said, what? no. i shouldn't joke about this. i don't remember exactly what he said, but i think he was surprised. >> okay. and did he suggest you put your name on the foundation as well? >> i -- i don't want my name on anything. you can -- there are all kinds of people that do want their names on it. so if you can sell it to some other guy, why give it to me where you don't get anything out of it? >> okay. i understand. so as you go forward now, are there certain things you would like to accomplish beyond what's you're accomplished? certain social problems you'd like to see being solved or economic problems, or is your goal mostly to keep your company doing well and give away the money? >> in terms of personally, sure. i want berkshire -- i mean that is my painting in life. i've been papti inpainting it a life virtually and want to keep on painting it and have it become even more of what it

already is and so that's what i love. anything that works, positively for berkshire in terms of adding better businesses. you know, having wonderful managers. and it makes them be in a position to get their full potential from their companies i love. and i'll do that as long as i can. i like the idea that basically the fruits of that, you know, will be used by some very intelligent people to improve the lot of a whole bunch of people who didn't get the lucky straw in life like i got. >> how old were you when you realized you were much better in picking stocks and making investments? did you realize it as a young person or did it take longer before you realized you were much better than anything else? >> sounds obnoxious, but i thought i was going to be pretty good. i went through this period at wilson, woodrow wilson, where i -- i was really bald at -- working out of woodrow wilson. i had these teachers that i caused trouble to didn't think i knew a lot about stocks and, of

course, in those days, teachers put all their money in at&t. the ultimate safe investment. so when i was feeling particularly obnoxious, i shorted a little at&t and brought the confirmation, showed it to the teachers and made them worry a little. no. you couldn't -- you couldn't love anything as much as i loved investments and not get fairly good in it. i read every book in the library about business when we moved back. my dad in congress, get everything in the library of congress, i want to read it. >> there's one company in washington we didn't mention. you obviously bought geico, one of your most famous investments but made a famous investment in "the washington post" a few years ago. what attracted you to "the washington post" and how long have you held that investment? >> well, i love the business as such, but when i bought "the washington post" company, this, pretty split. they had about 4.8 million shares outstanding and the stock got down to 16 but thanks to the

nixon challenge, the tv stations and a few things, b.b.rabosal and the rest, the stock cad kaded down. when we bought, the whole "washington post" company about $100 million. if you asked any reporter to go out and do a story what "the washington post" companies constituent businesses were worth they would have come back and said $400 million, $500 million. were you buying a wonderful business run by wonderful people at 20 cents or thereabouts on the dollar. you know, it's almost a classic investment. if you'd ask any of the people selling think stock to us, what's "the washington post" company worth, they would have said three or four times what it's selling for, but they sold it because they thought it would go down the next day, and they were right for a while. >> you've owned that now for -- >> it's been -- it's been 29 years. 39 years. >> so you are an optimist about the future of our country? >> it's a cinch. yeah. we haven't lost the secret sauce. i mean, go back to that -- when

i was born in 1930, i was, there was 252, the day before, friday was 252. the high for the year. it was going to go down to 42. no connection in this, folks. but, you know if i'd seen that, my dad was going to lose his job and he worked in a bank and had all of his money in the bank and it closed, and had no money to pay his mortgage or anything, that was going to happen waith year. if you'd seen that, you'd say, go back, like the old woody allen movie. don't even come out. and look what's happened since that time. i mean, you know. we went through a terrible war. we went through a terrible depression. 25% unemployment, thousands of banks closing. six for one. we're not smarter than the people in 1930. we don't work harder than the people in 1930. we've just got a system that works. that's been working, you know, since 1776 and will keep working. >> any regrets in life? >> not really, no.

>> and today you are somebody who sn very close to the president of the united states. if he asked you to come in and serve as an adviser, would you do that? >> it won't happen. if he wants to ask me anything, i'll certainly be -- i always would be glad to help, but that would be true of any president under any circumstances. >> today berkshire hathaway is that a buy at this price? >> well, the business it owns are worth more. that's true of other businesses, too. >> what i would like to do is on behalf of everybody here, thank you for an extraordinary tour de force of your explanations of things an thank you very much for coming this evening and i think everybody had an enjoyable evening. i know i certainly did. i want to thank you on behalf of everybody here and all america for what you've done and for your philanthropy and confidence in america, and on behalf of the washington economic club and

everybody here, i'll give awe few gifts, if you could. >> a short list -- of -- >> this -- is a woodrow wilson high school jacket we had made up for you. >> go tigers! [ applause ] >> and we have here a copy of the original map of the district of columbia we'd like to give to you as a gift from the club, and i'd like to give you as a personal gift a copy of the declaration of independence when we talked about this appearance, you were at the archives. i think you said you hadn't been there before. >> it was marvelous.

>> never been there, and i cornered you, and you said you weren't sure what you agreed to, but you agreed you would do this and i thank you for honoring your commitment to come, and this says, it's inscribed to you and it says, warren buffett, a rare modern man with the essential traits of our founding fathers, great wisdom, courage and leadership and also great wealth. >> oh, thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. >> thanks. we head off? >> yes. thank you. ladies and gentlemen, please join the after-dinner reception with cordials and sweets in the maryland room. and don't forget to take your complementary champagne glass with you and pick up your gift tote bag as you depart. have a safe evening and thanks for coming. we'd plan the to bring you

live coverage of the house fortune affairs committee on afghanistan. unfortunately we're having some problems with the signal. we'll tape and bring it later in the programming and also sflabl our video library on c-span.org. house democratic leader nancy pelosi is calling on speaker john boehner to keep the house in session next week. members have been recessing for one week a month to give them more nim their home districts. the democratic leaders says "instead of recessing yet again the house should remain at work and pass critical legislation that will create jobs for the middle classes that will actually be signed into law. republicans must not run out the clock on the economy." tomorrow, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke gives his annual economic outlook report to congress. the joint economic committee hearing begins at 10:00 eastern. we'll have live coverage here on c-span3.

mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. [ cheers and applause ] >> sunday night at 9:00 eastern and pacific on american history twv, the ronald reagan speech from germany. also this week on c-span3 our series the contenders, 14 key political figures who ran for pled and lost but changed political history. this sunday at 7:30, james blaine, american history tv, this weekend on c-span3. the senate foreign relations committee held a confirmation hearing for president obama's nominee for ambassador to iraq today. bret mckirk serve and the national security councilal staff under president bush and president obama and talked about his extensive diplomacy efforts in iraq.

joined by others. pennsylvania senator bob casey fills in for chairman john kerry during this 90-minute hearing. >> good morning. today the senate foreign relations committee meets to consider the president's nominees to serve as ambassador to the following countries. iraq, sri lanka, the maldives and tajikistan. i want to thank you for discussing challenges in these countries and obviously to discuss each nominee's work as well as their work upon confirmation, and also, of course, u.s. policy in each of the countries. let me just go through a little bit about each place first and then we'll get to our witnesses, our nominees. in iraq, the picture, of course, is mixed. nearly six months after the

redeployment of u.s. troops from the country, we now that political and ethnic divisions remain sharp as iraq recovers from years and years of war. the current government took months to establishment in 2010 and hype degree of mistrust still exists among key political factions. iraqis and americans have sacrificed greatly, mightily, to support the democratic process in iraq. at this critical time we should continue to support the political reconciliation among key players in country as they work to further deepen the democratic process. this unsettled political environment exists within a precarous political situation where extremist group, still capable of and launched significant attacks in country. just last week six bomb blasts across baghdad killed at least 17 people, mostly in shia neighborhoods.

on monday ap suicide bomber killed at least 26 people in baghdad, and wounded more than 190 in an attack on the government-run -- the government-run body that manages shiite religious and cultural sites. while security is certainly a significant challenge in iraq, in all loss of life, it is a tragedy. violence has, in fact, decreased substantially since the height of the conflict. with the end of the u.s. military presence in country at the end of 2011, iraq has sought to deepen the roots of its sovereignty and play a leadership role in the region. iraq's -- iraq recently hosted a meeting of the arab league in baghdad, a symbol that it is once again a key player in the region amp years of isolation under saddam hussein. with this enhanced standing in the region there are serious questions about iraq's position

on, for example, syria. while i understand iraq's concerns about syria's stability in a post-assad era, the violence over the past year perpetrated by assad's forces is inexcusable. iraq should join with others in the international community and use its position in the arab league to bring increased diplomatic pressure to bear on mr. assad. i also continue to have significant concerns about iran's efforts to exert influence in iraq. i look forward to hearing the nominee's thoughts on this seminole issue, and an assessment of the u.s.' ability to diplomatically mitigate the knelltive effects of iranian influence in iraq. despite this continuing challenges there is positive news in iraq thak that we can build upon reflected in a recent public opinion survey fielded by

the national democratics institute known at ndi. they found that 48% of iraqis believed that iraq was headed in the right direction. oil exports have increased by 20% this year to nearly 2.5 million bear barrels day. american presence is up in iraq and villains levels decreased. we're seeing signs of progress, but this progress is delicate and fragile. in october of last year the state department became the lead u.s. agency in the country. the u.s. embassy in baghdad is the biggest u.s. presence in the world with approximately 16,000 staff and contractors. questions remain about the state department's ability to operate in this still precarious security environment, and handle the significant work load associated with the processing of billions of dollars worth of arms sales to the iraqi government. a diplomatic presence of this

size requires sustained oversight from congress, and i look forward to continued engagement with our nominee upon confirmation to ensure our footprint in iraq is the right size and that we have the right amount of resources to pursue our interests. the president has nominated bret mcguirk to represent our interests against the myriad of significant challenges in iraq. mr. mcguirk, perhaps due to his upbringing in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, is eminently capable to assume this position. of course, there are other reasons for his preparation, but it doesn't hurt that you have roots in pittsburgh. he's been engaged in u.s. policy in iraq since 2004, advising every u.s. ambassador at post in iraq. he has an intimate understanding of the political players and history of iraq as well as the

role of the u.s., the roale sine 2004. his unique experience across two administrations is very good preparation to establish a leadership vision for the embassy that reflects u.s. diplomatic security and economic interests. mr. mcguirk is the right choice at the right time in u.s./iraq diplomatic relations. mr. mcguirk, welcome, and we'll hear from you in a moment. sri lanka. 's in sri lanka, three years after the end of more than a quarter century of devastating civil war, we also see a mixed picture. on the one hand, the end of the conflict has led to strong economic growth. driven by large-scale reconstruction and development projects. increasing commodity exports, and a growing tourist industry. however, the war left sri lanka with a legacy of internal displacement. also, mistrust among ethnic

groups and, of course, insufficient protection for human rights that have yet to be adequately addressed. according to the infernal displacement monitoring center, nearly 100,000 people remained displaced and even more have been unable to repossess their homes. the military's significant presence in the north and east of the country poses an obstacle to returning internally displaced people. as well as to the delivery of humanitarian aid. some observers have expressed concern about the ongoing centralization of areas. perhaps more importantly the sri lankan government failed to meet expectations to investigating alleged human rights violations and holding culpable individuals accountable. international experts have found credible allegations of serious

human rights violations committed by both sides in the last stages of the war, but the perpetrators have not been called to account yet for their crimes. the recommendations of the lessons learned and reck reconciliation committee have yet to be implemented from six months ago. i and others remain very concerned about the lack of accountability for actions taken during the final days of the war as well as about reports of ongoing human rights violations in the country. in march of 2011, ai led a resolution in the senate calling for greater accountability in shlt relanka and in november of that year wrote a letter to secretary clinton along with senator it's leahy and kardcar calling for an investigation into the human rights violations in sri lanka. recent letters from the u.n. and international human rights group

cite forced disappearances, arbitrary torture and media and political opposition all as ongoing problems. the united states should continue to work with the international community to push for greater accountability and protection for human rights in sri lanka. the maldives is certainly an important ally of the united states and we enjoy a productive relationship. in 2008, the maldives experienced historic elections which heralded a new democratic beginning for this small island, and we know that this year's political unrest has unfortunately threatened to derail the progress that's been made. the u.s. should continue to press for elections as soon as possible to ensure that the seeds of the democratic process planted in 2008 are able to flourish. i welcome ambassador sisson, and i met the ambassador during my

visit to lebanon and the reachen in 2010 where she was in charge of our embassy in lebanon. i was impressed with her ability to navigate a complicated and at times indeed treacherous political environment in beirut. she has also served as ambassador in the united arab emirates in a variety of diplomatic positions in iraq, pakistan, india, the ivory coast, cameroon, bamean, togo haiti. a lot of experience. and she'll be well-prepared for what i know will be a very challenging say assignment inship relanka and the maldives. ambassadors, i know your two daughters are in arizona today, at least i'm told that, but as they are -- as they have, i should say, accompanied you to several overseas posts over the year, they deserve special recognition for their unwavering support, and we want to support

for you and for the country, and we want to recognize that today. and finally, tajikistan. the strategic location and internal instability pose important challenges for u.s. policymakers. while the u.s. operations in afghanistan continue, we must rely upon close cooperation with tajikistan to mont every the goods and people into and out of afghanistan including bringing materiels and equipment into afghanistan that are critical to progress there, and disrupting the dangerous flow of narcotics across the border and preventing militants from seeking safe haven and causing instability in tajikistan. however, we must balance these strategic priorities with the need to address serious human rights concerns in the country. the u.n. human rights council in march of 2012 reported on

tajikistan and revealed worrying trends in human rights, including reports of repression of media freedom and political opposition and the use of torture by law enforcement officials. i'm particularly concerned about the reported restrictions on the rights of women and ethnic and religious minorities, and i appreciate the work that our dedicated foreign service and usaid personnel are doing in tajikistan and look forward to hearing more about how we will advance this work going forward. the president has nominated susan marsh elliott to be the new ambassador to tajikistan. susan, i note you were born in doylestown, pa. i can't say that will guarantee your confirmation, but it won't hurt. certainly won't hurt. she's currently the deputy assistant secretary of state for south and central asian affair,

served in russia, northern ireland, greece, peru and honduras. she also has the distinction of having been born in pa but i don't want to put too much weight on that. i would also like to welcome her son who's joined her today. curt for being with her today and acknowledge deputy assistant secretary elliott's husband mathias who could not be with us today because he is currently serving as the deputy chief of mission in our embassy in honduras and, please, wish him well for us. i want to thank all our witnesses for being here. we'll start with madam ambassador, start with you and maybe go from my right to the left, and if could you try to keep your opening remarks to five minutes. if you have a longer statement that will certainly be made part of the record. and then we'll get to -- we'll get to questions. >> thank you. mr. chairman, senator, it is an

honor to appear before you as president obama's nominee to be the u.s. teebd sri lanka and u.s. ambassador to maldives. i am deeply grateful to the president and to secretary clinton for their confidence in my abilities. if confirmed, i look forward to working with the committee and interested members of congress to represent the american people and top advance u.s. goals in sri lanka and maldives. my 30 years in the u.s. foreign service, i have been posted as u.s. ambassador to the united arab emirates and u.s. ambassador to lebanon. as you noted, mr. chairman. i also have considerable experience in south asia having served in india and pakistan and as principle deputy assistant secretary for the south asia region. the united states has important interests in both sri lanka and maldives. sri lanka is located along the busiest shipping lanes in the

indian ocean. a region emerging as a strategic arena in which america's enduring interests are increasingly at play. sri lanka has also been a contributor to u.n. peacekeeping operations. the united states, thus, recognizing the importance of having a broad range of relationships as we establish a peace in the country after nearly three decades of devastating conflict. the united states and other international partners have encouraged the government of sri lanka to purp sewer the step it's needed to foster genuine reconciliation and accountability. although the government of sri lanka dweepted the terrorist organization liberation tigers, serious allegations of violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law committed by both sides at the end of the war remain to be investigated and have slowed

reconciliation. in march, the u.n. human rights council adopted a u.s.-sponsored resolution calling on the government of sri lanka to implement the recommendations of sri lanka's only government-appointed lessons learned and reconciliation commission. in april, the state department issued its third report to congress on accountability in sri lanka since the end of sri lanka's conflict in 2009. achieving genuine reconciliation will require sri lanka to take credible steps to ensure quality and justice for all sri lankans, particularly for those living in the former conflict areas. such steps include demilitarization of the former conflict zones. establishment of a mechanism to address cases of the missing and detained, and setting a date for pro vengs elections in the north. also critical will be the achievement of an agreement

between the sri lankan government and elected representatives of the community, a democrat lucitwo p institutions. during a may 18th meeting with the sri lankan foreign minister, secretary clinton underscored that an enduring peace is unsustainable without adequate measures to address reconciliation and accountability. she encouraged a transparent and public process with regard to reconciliation and accountability to strengthen confidence inside and outside of sri lanka and speed the healing of the country. if confirmed, i stand ready to lead our efforts to support sri lanka as it moves forward and to use u.s. assistant strategically to promote reconciliation, strengthen democratic institutions and practices, and foster economic growth, particularly in the north and east, the former conflict zones. the u.s. ambassador in clomp

columbo was accredited following protests the former vice president took office after the resignation of the president. the united states continues to encourage maldives to work within an existing democratic institution to resolve political challenges peacefully and transparently. the u.s. government now has a window of opportunity to step up its engagement in maldives, and usaid recently committed funding to assist maldives in ensuring the next round of presidential elections is free and fair. the united states also recognizes the importance of promoting security in the indian ocean. thop th to that end, the coast guard provided training for threats of piracy as well as combat transshipment of illicit commodities. u.s. assistant to the maldives prevents climate resilient itemland motto. if confirmed i plan to consult

withship relaunchens and maldivesians on all walks of life thousand support promoting civil society, protect freedom of expression and encourage youth exchanges. it would also be my goal if confirmed to engage in vigorous commercial advocacy on behalf of u.s. companies and support of president obama national export initiative. i would welcome your insights and views as well as questions you might have for me today. thank you. >> thank you, madam ambassador. mr. mcguirk? >> thank you, mr. chairman. ranking member ritsch, senator lugar. it is a honor to appear before you to become u.s. ambassador to iraq. i am deeply grateful to the president and to secretary clinton for the confidence they've placed in me with this nomination. if confirmed, i look forward to working closely with you to advance america's many important and vital interests in iraq. i've had the distinct privilege of s