bank secrecy act. the arab bank of jordan and the bank of new york. heard correctly. that's just over the last ten years 37. is that as a result of our lack of past to track these focapaci folks or others that are complicit that we haven't been successful in tracking? sfwlaps the questio >> that's the question. has done a fairly good job in terms of sanctioning banks that do not have compliant money laundering regimes. with respect to financing it doesn't seem to be a priority, and i wonder is that because of a lack of resources, personnel, maybe there's not enough bodies to be engaged in oversight with respect to whether these banks

are -- pose a high risk for terrorist financing, or perhaps the weak spot may be with the other federal regulators, that the other federal regulators aren't focussing and emphasizing on whether or not these banks are in compliance with the counterterrorist financing regulations under the bsa. but it seems to me it's unacceptable, two banks, if you look at the actual orders issued, only two banks where i could find references in those orders to threats regarding terrorists claims. >> yes, sir. in that light as we look at our partners throughout the world, we have relationships with him, many of whom we give tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid, it's always of concern to me of how we are not honored by our relationships with our partners and

particularly in this situation that's so critical for the national security and for theirs as well. to what extent, what would you advise us as a congress in going forward and how we could put greater pressure on these respective countries and their banks to be in compliance with our bsa requirements? one point i haven't made in our testimony today has to do with the anti-terrorism act. it does have a civil provision that authorizes private litigants to bring civil tort actions against individuals that commit acts of international terrorism. and i think that that statute could be enhanced through amendment to make it a more effective remedy for victims of terrorism, including, including people, entities that aid and

abet terrorists, fre terrorists banks that knowingly provide financial services and transfer money to suspected terrorists. there's a problem, several problems with the current legislation, as it stands. one that doesn't explicitly authorize aiding and abetting. if we're going after the bank, they're really the aiders and abetters, so the plaintiffs are left with a dilemma of having to prove that the bank is primarily responsible for the acts of international terrorism through secondary action, by being an aider and abettor with respect to acts of terrorists. so i think in that way you could unleash plaintiff, we could unleash an army of litigants to go after banks and charities and other entities that are facilitating the financing of terrorism. and, again, i think from an equitable standpoint, it's the right thing to do. these are victims. these are the surviving family members of victims of violent acts of terrorism. >> thank you. i yield back.

>> gentleman yields back. there are no other members in the queue. i want to thank our witnesses for their testimony today. without objection, all members will have five legislative days in which to submit additional written questions for the witness to the chair which will be forwarded to the witnesses for their response. without objection, all members will have five legislative days within which to submit extraneous materials to the chair for inclusion in the record. this hearing stands adjourned. on the next "washington journal," open enrollment period for health insurance. then a look at the effect of the

health care law on the u.s. economy. henry aaron of the brookings institution and university of chicago economics professor casey mulligan will join us. "washington journal" is live every morning at 7:00 eastern on c stan. you can alsojoin the conversation on facebook and twitter. hosts a discussion on workforce and young people and communities of color. see it live starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span2. this weekend on c-span, noni darwish, author and president of arabs for israel. >> i had arrived late at night almost september 11th morning. i arrived in my home in los angeles. and i woke up at 6:00 a.m. l.a. time to seeing the second

airplane hitting the twin tower live. and i was traumatized. that is when i knew this is terrorism. it's not one airplane accident. so i ran to the phone. i wanted them to comfort me. especially after i learned that muhammad atta, the leader of terrorists was from cairo. the same city i came from. and i called around eight people and all said the same thing, em even though some of them don't know the other. they told me, how dare you say that this was done by arabs or muslims. don't you know this is a jewish conspiracy? the jews did it. and i hung up the phone and

went. i suddenly felt i cannot relate to my culture of origin anymore. and this is a very hard feeling. when you can't relate to how the people you love and you were brought up with for many, many years of your life, that they don't see the reality as it should be. >> her entire interview sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. on becoooktv, featuring new releases. bestselling author karen armstrong on religion and conflict. president george w. bush on his beyogfy of his father. and john mccain. american history tv on c-span3, our all day live coverage of the world war i centennial symposium from norfolk. find our complete television

schedule at c-span.org. let us know what you think. call us at 202-626-3400. e-mail us at comments@c-span.org. or send us a tweet @cspan, #comments. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. justice department prosecutors have been deployed to the balkan states, middle east and north africa to work on the prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters. thursday attorney general eric holder spoke to reporters after his meeting with european union officials on foreign fighters in iraq and syria. the briefing is 30 minutes. >> members of the doj press, we

have visitors here from another country, so let's be nice, okay? got no response. okay. thank you all for being here. it has been a pleasure to welcome so many of my colleagues and counterparts to washington, d.c., for this week's important ministerial meeting. now, over the past two days, we have discussed the considerable work that's currently enabling the united states and the eu to coordinate on common threats. in addition to the steps ahead that we can and must take together in the days ahead. in the last year, alone, our nations have taken tough, coordinated action against cyber criminals, online child pornographers and transnational organized crime. we had the privilege of hearing from some of our lead prosecutors of the game over zeus cyber investigation and action against tour dark markets including the second edition of the silk road website that have taken place over the last few days. both, of course, involve united

states authorities and multiple eu member states. and we also heard how we have worked together against traditional organized crime groups where our coordinated work with italy led to 25 arrests in new york earlier this year. importantly, we also discussed a number of steps that the united states and eu and its member states can take together to address the issue of foreign terrorist fighters. including through information sharing, investigations, and prosecutions and countering violent extremism. one important area that we ag e agreed was developing the capabilities of our partner governments to deal with foreign terrorist fighters. increasing their capacity to deal with this issue. department of justice is part of a united states government-wide effort in this regard. i can announce today that with the support of the state department's bureau of counterterrorism, the department of justice has detailed federal

prosecutors and senior law enforcement advisers to reside in key regions, including the balkans, the middle east, and north africa to work with countries seeking to increase their capacity to investigate and to prosecute foreign terrorist fighters. the department of justice has advisers residing in four balkans countries, and we will soon be placing a regional counterterrorism adviser in the area. justice department prosecutors have also been placed in ten countries in the middle east as well as north africa. these personnel we provide critical assistance to our allies in order to help those who return from the syrian region bent on committing acts of terrorism. our counterterrorism prosecutors here in the united states also traveled to other countries to collaborate with their counterparts. and we have assigned a united states prosecutor as the interim

director of the international institute for justice and the rule of law, or iij, located in malta which provides a forum to discuss the foreign terrorist fighter problem and work with international partners to arrive at solutions. the justice department provides vital expertise and support to the iij in partnership with the state department's bureau of counterterrorism and in collaboration the united nations counterterrorism committee executive directorate. finally, we're working with other partners including u.n. office on drugs and crime, to help build a capacity of partners worldwide to engage in mutual legal assistance on cases involving terrorism, as well as transnational crime. our goal in all of these efforts is to build a capacity to fight foreign terrorist fighters within the rule of law so we can stop the flow of fighters into regions, stem the tide of violence, and aggressively

combat violent extremism. as our discussions have shown, in all of these areas, we can succeed only as partners. i am happy to have partners such as these on both sides of the atlantic. i appreciate this chance to join so many invaluable colleagues and counterparts here in washington. as we keep advancing these critical discussions and building on the great work that is under way. and i look forward to all our nation must and will surely accomplish in the years and months to come. at this point, i'm going to ask the minister of justice for italy, andrea orlando, to say a few words. mr. minister? >> translator: hello to everyone, and thank you and thank you to eric holder who was

fundamental in the work that we did this month. the presidency took advantage of the occasion today to talk about the work that's been done over months. the precondition for work to, to make better work between the two countries and talk more about the things -- [ inaudible ] there were moments of success and strengthening of our ties. in this sense, it was very opportune the choice to put together the two -- to put together our two agendas for a common cause. the collaboration to fight against cyber crime, the collaboration against -- the fight against organized crime,

putting that law enforcement together with italian law enforcement. this was the subject of the collaboration in fighting against terrorism which is an important threat with our two countries. we talked about the protection of -- we still have to go into these points more profoundly. what we talked about will permit the next presidency to make more progress in the direction to homogenize, to treat legally all citizens and an equal treatment of foreign people. i want to conclude indicating a

fact. today we consolidate d an important point, the management of security for our country that collaboration between two countries on either side of the atlantic, europe and the united states, is a common strong pillar for global security and for the security of single states. in this sense, today we can say we made progress even though we have a lot of work to do. thank you. >> native language. first of all, let me start by saying how delighted i am to

have made my very first trip out of europe, as the very first also european commissioner for immigration, here in the united states of america. europe and the united states are longstanding allies and partners. we share the same fundamental values. freedom. peace. democracy. our joint meeting here yesterday and today is another concrete example of how together we can be more effective in upholding and defending our common values. needless to say, the relations between the european union and the united states in the justice and the home affairs area reflect the strategic character

of our partnership. not surprisingly, our meeting this morning with attorney general eric holder and his team was very successful. very positive. very friendly. and very productive. i also had a very fruitful meeting yesterday with the homeland security secretary, jeh johnson, which helped make the day's meeting very a success. today, as was said before, we discussed the future of the european union/u.s. relations in justice and home affairs in which we intend to further develop and strengthen during the next five years. the two main topics in the home affairs area in our agenda were the foreign fighters phenomenon and organized crime. both are burning issues.

in europe and in america. and both integrate aspects of our cooperation, stretching into areas such as security, information exchange, border management, and visa policy. we'll look into how we can better exchange information involving ueropol and so see how our respective law enforcement agencies can better cooperate and use their valuable tools even more efficiently. in europe, our law enforcement agencies have a strong track record. just yesterday, as you know, in germany, many people suspected of supporting isis and other extremists who were arrested, and i would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the

gentlemen for their excellent work. the arrests in germany first underscore the importance of our joint work here today. we both recognize the need to strengthen our cooperation. in fact, it's a prerequisite if we want to succeed in the containing isis and foreign fighters. again, in the context, we touched on its impact and mobile between european union and the united states citizens. european union is following closely the discussion in the united states, and especially those who are calling for a more restricted approach toward the visa program. i fully understand these concerns. nevertheless, i sincerely hope

that all relevant authorities will offer a proportionate response to these issues at hand, which would not hinder the travel of travelers of good faith. i also hope that our common work on the enlargement of the visa waiver program will not be affected and that we will soon achieve full reciprocity between the european union and the united states. full visa reciprocity should become a tangible example which underscores the importance of our strategic partnership. moreover, in absence of the commissioner, i also discussed with my american colleagues a number of justice-related issues. we focused primarily on data

protection issues and the ongoing umbrella agreement negotiations. we shall be more than happy to see united states adopting legislation on judicial redress and that we penalize all the other talking points in our negotiations. our teams here in washington will continue the negotiations tomorrow, and i hope and wish we will achieve progress. we should also continue to urgently work to address shortcomings of the safe harbor arrangements. we can also have some good exchanges on mutual legal assistance. it is vital that the agreements in this area, including extradition, really work and that we use the full potential. this is the only way to be able

to address effectively the challenge challenges of organized crime. of course, the topics that we discussed today did not cover all aspects of our cooperation. other issues like drugs, migration, cyber threats, more sufficient border checks or victims rights also require our attention and would be the subject of our discussions in the future. on behalf of the european commission, i look forward to a close and constructive relationship with attorney general holder and his successor, as well as with secretary johnson. i also look forward to welcoming our american friends at our next eu/u.s. justice and home affairs meeting early next year in brussels this time. thank you.

>> we'll be going over -- will they be there to assist those countries in bringing their own charges, or will they be there to bring u.s. charges? >> increase the capacity of those nations to investigate these kinds of cases and to work with them in partnership and then determinations made at that point as to where if charges are to be brought, where they can be most effectively brought. i mean, that's the nature of a law enforcement partnership. investigating together and then if jurisdiction lies in two places, determining where the most effective prosecution can be held. >> general, can you update us on the number of foreign fighters headed to syria and iraq, and how many americans are included in that group?

>> we -- i think there's been some recent documentation that has been shared. you know, the numbers that we have, i think, i wouldn't say they go back and forth necessarily, but they're not as precise as perhaps as we want. we have a good sense of what the number of people are in the categories that we have. we have identified. and i think nctc has released some information that i think accurately reflects our best knowledge as of today. >> as a reminder, can you please identify yourself, your organization when you direct your question? >> eric tucker with the "associated press." mr. attorney general, back to you, is it your sense the justice department lawyers will actually be crafting new statutes where none exist, similar to material support laws? is that sort of the overall premise here? >> there are a number of ways in which i think these prosecutors

will be of use, as mr. williams indicated the possibility exists, we'd help with determinations as to where prosecutions would occur. also look at what you have raised, are there statutory changes that might be made in particular countries to increase the capacity of that nation to detect and then hold accountability peopaccountable people who would engage in tehee types of -- >> can you tell us how many are in this group and when they will begin their work here? >> how many --? >> how many prosecutors and advisers will be placed in these areas and when they'll begin their work? >> we can get you that information in terms of when they'll actually be there and the overall numbers. we can get you that information. >> right here? >> brian barry, euro politics. question for the commissioner on the visa waiver program.

how realistic is it you can get reciprocity with all the member states included when the pressure is in the opposite direction to restrict the program? and then also for mr. holder, how are you proposing to get the right of judicial redress for eu citizens from the united states congress? >> you can answer vote. >> it's not difficult because the answer is very simple. that's why we're here. i was very clear before when i talked about visa waiver and all these issues. what is our vision? what do we want to do in the future? to adopt the principle of reciprocity at all levels. and what we want to see, one day europeans travel toward united states without any bureaucratic obstacle. the same way the american citizens are traveling to

europe. there are major security concerns. we share the sense of this with the american thauthorities. during these two days, we talked a lot about it. the answer is very clear. we're here to find solution on this issue. our discussions were based on mutual respect and good faith with full recognition of the reality with which we are confronted today. as i told you, we must focus on the future. and what i said before is our vision. let's hope that this day is not far away. >> legislation as i indicated to my friends, we, the united states government, has has pled to -- the obama administration has pledged to introduce such legislation. that legislation has been drafted, now circulated in congress awaiting their input

before it's actually introduced. legislation has been drafted and now being reviewed by members of congress. >> word out today that the white house is readying on your recommendation and the dhs recommendation, immigration executive action. can you just talk at all about, from a legally standpoint, you concerned that if you give the president's authority to take such a broad policy might -- do you set the stage for future presidents to do something maybe rolling back voting rights or civil rights or environmental things that you care so much about? are we setting a precedent here to go down this road? >> well, i mean, i'll first say, matt, that i'm confident that what the president will do will be consistent with our laws. we have been interacting with the white house on what i call a rolling basis to look at the

proposals. what somebody can do with executive action is far more limited than what congress can do. a president could not buy executive action, for instance, roll back, let's say, you know, the civil rights act of 1964. that is why the need for a comprehensive legislatively crafted immigration legislation is something that i think is still the hope of this administration, but in the absence of congressional action, as the president has indicated, he is prepared to use in an appropriate way the executive power that he has. >> you're not worried that this is going to -- a republican president, in a future administration, is going to use this to take executive action in a direction, you know, that you would maybe disagree with? >> well, i'm sure there will be executive action that's a

democratic president, a republican president, will take in the future that i will disagree with. the question is whether or not it is lawful. one looks at the history of executive action. you know, teddy roosevelt, i think, used executive action over 1,000 times. i'm sure within that 1,000, there would be things that i would disagree with. there's an awful lot that he did that i think was good. i'm not sure that any of the things that that president did or others have done i would consider necessarily unlawful. >> kevin for cnn. i would like reaction from the european ministers, perhaps, of the u.s. requirement, increasing the requirements for information that travelers must provide as part of the visa waiver process. if you can give us your reaction to the increased request for information from people who qualify for these visas? and mr. holder, if you would also tell us your -- whether you're satisfied with the laws that exist, for instance, in italy and other countries with

regard to material support and those similar laws? >> well, i understand that in order to make this program more successful, we all need more information. but it's good for you to know that in europe, there are two basic principles upon which the european edifice is built. respect of fundamental rights and privacy. now we have to put together these two elements. it's not an easy thing to do, but what guides us are the principles. and here we are. talk with the american administration and government. how can we find the best solution? let me tell you something that comes spontaneously as an answer. all these measures to be taken

should not become obstacles for the free movement. as i said before, in europe, and united states. i cannot imagine visa coming back in europe. we must defend to protect an achievement that we're together. it's very successful. and it has given very tangible, positive results in the way it functions. the fact that we are in front of a new reality, puts us all in front of the responsibility to enhance this program. by providing even some more information. but information that will not touch the heart of the principles and the values of the european democracies.

>> i would simply say, evan, in response to your question, i don't think it's appropriate for me to necessarily pass judgment on the state of the laws in a particular country. other than we, i think, have come together as a group to understand that we want to examine the state of the laws in each of our nations so that we can have the most effective statutory regimes possible. and so we will share information about the state of the law in the united states as we are examining and learning from the state of the law in other countries. >> phillip schwartz with the "washington times." isis seems to have some growing support in some sections of egypt. is there a concern about this becoming a possible new gateway for the organization? and was that a topic that was addressed during the discussions today? >> it was one of the topics we discussed during the last two

days. and right now, our services in europe welcome this issue. i won't give you details on that, but very soon we should be in a position to pmake some announcements. >> from politico. on the topic of cyber crime, we're coming up on almost exactly six months from when you stood here and announced the indictments of chinese officials for hacks american companies and promised we'd be seeing more of the same. what others are you working on to crack down on state-sponsored espionage? >> that's a -- state-sponsored espionage is something we take very seriously and i think that's evidenced by the prior indictments that you referenced. we have ongoing investigations, and when they are appropriately ready for dissemination, we will announce them. but it is something that is of

great concern. not only to the united states government, but to our partners, our allies as well. >> question for you. is turkey the weak link when it comes to foreign fighters, sir? and also for mr. attorney general, do you think there's 100 american foreign fighters headed to the region? are you reading that number as being high or low or more than that? >> on what we try to do, we must engage also turkey. turkey is located in a very sensitive area. we know that the past jihadists have crossed the country. but we cooperated very closely with the turkish authorities, and so far, the results are very, very positive.

when i said before we must engage turkey is because turkey is one of the major stakeholders in the region. they know the situation better than anybody else on the ground. and as i said, they have tried to -- the world in order to protect most of the european borders. this cooperation over the course of the time is going deeper and deeper, but the answer is clear. we cooperate with turkey. turkey's engaged. turkey is committed. and we believe that we're going to give this fight to the end together. >> i think, as i said, ntce has released a document that really breaks down very specifically the categories of people, those who attempted to go, those who we have under investigation, those who have gone and returned. so i would just refer you to

that document, because frankly, i don't have the numbers off the top of my head. >> dave mclaughlin, bloomberg news. mr. attorney general, yesterday a group of banks agreed to pay more than $4 billion for manipulating foreign currency markets. i was wondering if you might be able to just provide an update on the department's investigation, and if you proceed, your investigation resulting in a similar level of fines? penalties. >> yeah, that matter is ongoing. i expect that we should have a resolution of that, at least the beginning stages of a resolution of that relatively soon, and i would expect that we will have resolutions on both the civil and criminal sides with regard to our investigation. but we -- the investigation is ongoing. >> just ask you a question, mr. attorney general, about ferguson. can you tell us a little more about your telephone conversation with officials out there yesterday, and what assets is the federal government

offering? >> well, i thought i had a good conversation with officials who represent the people there at both the state, local, and federal levels as well. our community relation service has been in ferguson since the -- since the shooting. ron davis, the head of our cops office, has been out there and i think done a really great job in interacting with people in law enforcement so that whatever the results of the grand jury determination, we can hopefully have hopefully have a law enforcement response that's appropriate and proportionate. and we are prepared to help in any way that we can. as i said, we have been there since the shooting. obviously i was out there. but our presence there has been continuing. we have our own investigations that are ongoing. both criminal and the civil rights investigation. so we have fbi agents, we have

prosecutors and investigators out there as well. >> do you have a message for both the law enforcement community and the community, itself? >> well, you know, certainly we want to ensure that people who have first amendment rights have the ability to protest, as they deem appropriate. while at the same time making sure that we protect people in law enforcement and that we minimize the chances that any legitimate protests devolves into violence. >> with voters here in the district recently voting to legalize marijuana, do you intend to make any kind of push to congress to reschedule marijuana as a less dangerous drug to fit into your smart on crime initiatives before you leave office? >> well, the question as to where marijuana ought to be categorized as something for congress to ultimately determine, i think in response to a question like that before i

said that this ought to be done on the basis of science and experience. and we should look at what categories one, two, and three are, what drugs are in those categories, and on the basis of the knowledge that we have make appropriate determinations. but that, again, is for ultimately for congress to do. >> one more question. in the back? [ inaudible ] >> would you expect, greater border control cooperation between the u.s. and eu, especially on the eastern mediterrane

mediterranean, and what would such a cooperation -- [ inaudible ] >> as far as we're concerned, you know we have deplored their program. its main purpose to protect -- before it was a program adopted by the italian government. we also have -- playing a very, very important role. not only in defending the european borders, but beyond that in providing member states with initial support for search and rescue. so, from political -- as far as making a humanitarian point of view, the wrob job is done in a,

very efficient way in this part of the mediterranean. right now, according to information we have gathered, more than 1 million regular immigrants, some of them victims of smugglers, they're on the shores of eastern mediterranean. the countries are cooperating, and i can tell you the european union has taken the help on that. now under the italian presidency, one step forward has already been done, but the authorities of the member states, and, of course, european union agencies work very hard in order to intercept all direct or indirect flights that could penetrate through the immigration issue as it has appeared during the last ten

years. last but not least, i want to tell you that this problem in the beginning five years ago it was considered to be a problem only of south and european countries. now it has become a european issue, and with the -- you'll know it has become a global one. given all these new conditions that have occurred in the meantime. >> with regard to the four countries, i have them in my mind, but i see bruce schwartz back there sweating, and i'm sure he's concerned that i'm either going to put somebody in that category or leave somebody out, and rather than do that and create an international incident, we will provide you with the names of those. but i'm not going to -- but bruce schwartz is right there. i'm sure he can share with you those names. i'll talk to yaw laou later, br to make sure i had them correct. >> thank you so much.

>> thank you very much. go back there? according to usaid, an estimated 600 million people on the african continent lack access to electricity. friday, a house foreign affairs subcommittee examines energy supply and security in africa and the electricfy africa act proposed by the obama administration. that's live at noon eastern on c-span2. and later, a discussion on fiscal policy in the next congress and the potential for comprehensive changes to programs like social security and the tax code. we'll be live with the committee

for responsible federal budget, the bipartisan policy center, and the concord coalition at 2:00 p.m. eastern also on c-span2. the c-span cities tour takes booktv and american history tv on the road. traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life. and this weekend, we partnered with charter communications for a visit to madison, wisconsin. >> bob lafall is probably the most important political figure in wisconsin history and the united states. he was a reforming governor. he defined what progressivism is. he was a united states senator who was recognized by his peers in the 1950s as one of the five greatest senators in american history.

he was an opponent of world war i. stood his ground advocating for free speech. above all, bob lafollette was about the people, so he spent the later part of 1890s giving speeches all over wisconsin. if you wanted a speaker for your club or your group, bob lafollette would give a speech. he went to county fairs. he went to every kind of event that you could imagine and built a reputation for himself. by 1900, he was ready to run for governor advocating on behalf of the people. >> we're sitting in the first studio of frank lloyd wright. wright was actually born in richland center which -- wisconsin -- which is not too far from here. his family took him first to massachusetts for a time, then they returned to madison and he grew up in madison, spent his teenage years there and attended

some of -- very briefly a few years at the university of wisconsin before he decided to take off and find his fortune in chicago. decided he should come out to this part of the country which is where her family was, the lloyd-jones. welsh pioneers. and spent his summers here. so he spent his teenage summers in this valley and on these hills. and that's where he got two things. he got his love of nature and his understanding of nature, and he also got his understanding of the topography of these hills. >> watch all of our events from madison saturday at noon eastern on c-span2's booktv and sunday afternoon at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span3. the carnegie endowment for humanitarian --. this panel looks at the rise of

extremists and the return to authoritarian rule following the arab awakening. it's 90 minutes. >> good morning. i'm catherine wilkins, deputy director of the middle east program here at the carnegie endowment. i want to welcome you all to this all-day conference this morning. the topic is isis and the shifting geopolitical dynamics of the middle east. the islamic state leapt into public and international consciousness earlier this year with the horrible beheadings of western journalists. since that time, the public debate over the situation in the region has often tended to be oversimplified and focused on isis, itself, and the effort to degrade and destroy it.

today we step back and look deeper at the complexities in the region today and forces shaping the political situation in iraq, syria, and lebanon, as well as the actions and the policies of neighboring countries in the region. we have an excellent group of carnegie and regional speakers, experts speaking today. our last session will be with deputy national security advisers. that session will begin promptly at 3:00 p.m., and anyone attending will be asked to remain seated until mr. blinken leaves the building. finally, we have c-span and a number of other news agencies filming the conference today. i ask you to please be conscious as you move around in the back of the room. now, with no further adieu, i'll turn the microphone over to vice president of policy and director of the middle east program who will moderate our first panel. thank you. >> thank you very much, kathe

katherine and thank you for organizing this conference at such a timely time. the reason we were late, and i'm sorry we are, is because we just stepped out of a meeting in which our president jessica matthews announced that she would be stepping down after 18 years of service. and of leading the carnegie endowment to where it is today. offering a unique global vision and that deputy secretary of state is going to saucceed her n february 4th. so i thought i would share the news with you. okay. so our time this morning will focus on iraq, syria, lebanon, and the kurds. why we have included the islamic state in the title of this session, we want to go well beyond the islamic state and consider the local roots of the current fragmentation and violence in these countries.

as well as the challenges posed by the rising influence of nonstate actors. including radical islamist groups such as isis, al nusra, and others. our focus will be on understanding the key factors influencing the political and security dynamics in these countries, and the likely impact of the international coalition's engagement in the region. finally, we will also examine the dynamics between the kurdish regional government and baghdad as well as shifting relations between different kurdish groups including the ptk and syrian and iraqi kurdish factions and implications for the region. i'm very pleased to have with me an extremely strong group of panelists this morning. they include our own senior associate at the carnegie middle east center who will be joining us by video conference. i hope he's there. i can't see him from here.

focused on the dynamics of the syrian conflict. the political role of arab armies. and security sector transformation in the arab world. we are also joined by an associate fellow of the middle east an north africa program at chatham house. he was formally a researcher at the center for academic shia studies. his research has focused on iraq, clerical authority in shia islam, and middle eastern history and politics. and to the far left is denise natalie, a senior fellow at the defense national university here in washington. denise was formerly a researcher working in the kurdish regions of iraq, turkey, iran, and syria. she specializes on the kurdish issue, regional energy security, and post-conflict state building. and finally, to my immediate left is joseph who has just

joined us here in d.c. as a visiting scholar at the carnegie endowment. he's a professor and researcher in paris and a research adviser at the academy diplomatic internationale, a think tank based in paris. his research has focused pry pairly on lebanon and syria. with that, i'll turn the floor -- where are you, in beirut? >> yes, i am. >> good. >> i was actually -- the sequence you had me in the agenda which was last, so i'm going to ask you to stick to that if you could. >> sure. you want to be last? >> well, not first, anyway. >> that -- that is fine. that is fine. i'm always afraid technology will not be helpful and, but

hopefully it will be today and we will keep him with us until the end. so then if that's okay with you, then we'll turn to you. >> thank you very much. i'd like to thank the carnegie endowment for inviting me today. it's a great pleasure to be on this distinguished panel. i was invited today to address the situation in iraq, the outlook for the new government, the efforts to disengage sunnis from isis, and the role of iran and the shia militias. i'll start by saying prime minister is clearly making many steps in the right direction. some of these have been symbolic. he's banned the use of his pictures in all government buildings. security checkpoints. military establishments. but others such as dissolving

the office of the commander in chief are serious attempts to break away from maliki's policies. of course, many of you know that office was established by maliki to bypass the military chain of command and move iraqi army units without even the knowledge of the ministry of defense. of course, the key security policy now trying to push, and even some shia partners are hesitant about this idea of the national guard, it's one of the key demands of the sunni arabs and serious about establishing and standing up these armies. it's clear that the sunni arabs will no longer tolerate central government forces, especially sectarian iraqi soldiers who man checkpoints and control security. the proposed bill of the national guard would not just draw up soldiers to protect the provinces, but the key aspect is that the commanders of these

forces will be local commanders. now, of course, this is, i believe, a short-term solution. a necessary one to empower sunnis to push back against isis. but it could very well be a serious problem in the future. especially if there are cross-provincial security incidents as we've seen over the last years. for example, if militants cross anbar, you know, and conduct terrorist operations, it won't just be groups facing each other, but in effect, many armies. sunni army versus a shia army. and it's not clear how the central government is going to react or even control these units because they will be answerable to the government. and, of course, as with everything else in iraq, the devil is in the details. of course, who makes up the units in the shia provinces? will it be conscription, shia

militias, will it be sunni militants who will turn against isis? none of this is clear. as a concept, everybody now seems to have agreed on the national guard, but the details have yet to be worked out. i also just want to mention, it's very different to maliki in terms of his leadership style, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be successful. so, friends who have worked for decades with him say he's the exact opposite of maliki. though he comes from the same context, the same party, the same islamist sort of conspiratorial paranoid background, he's much more open than maliki, and this could be his downfall as well. where maliki was stubborn, refused to listen to even his closest advisers, abadi seems to be too open, listens too much. he wants everybody's opinion around the table, and seen even

by some of his friends as indecisive. maybe the office of the prime minister is going to force him to react, but this is definitely something to watch out for. i also want to say, it's interesting that he's the first iraqi prime minister since alawi who isn't the preferred candidate of iran. up to the last minute lobbied very aggressively to keep maliki in power for a third term, and it wasn't actually the iranian -- sorry, the americans or the shia rivals or sunnis or kurds. it was the religious establishment in niger which effectively blocked iranian dreams of a third term. we talked about influence in iraq, but it's not a one-way street. i would just nuance that, saying whatever leverage iran lost because of that decision, they have more than made up due to the reliance of the iraqi government on ideologically

driven shia militias. these are the militias holding the line, holding the lines of the outskirts of baghdad. captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008 captioning performed by vitac