if they weren't convicted then they should not have been languishing in a facility like that that became a symbol for many around the world of us not sticking to our ideals and our traditions. but it was done. we have spoke wenyt european -- we have spoken to the european union about us closing the -- closing guantanamo. chancellor merkel has been open to speaking to us. we have not asked her for hard commitments, and she has not given us hard commitments beyond having discussions about are there ways we can solve this

problem. i don't anticipate that it's going to be resolved at any time in the next two or three months. i'm very appreciative not only of chancellor merkel but other europe peen -- other european countries to work with us. because i think we have a shared interest in battling extremists and terrorists at the same time as we have a shared interest in upholding other principles. those things are compatible, but it is going to take some time. we are going to be looking at individual cases, seeing are there people who can safely be transfered. if they are safely transferred, you know, where would they be transferred to?

it is a conversation we're not just having with germany, but the broader european union. >> allow me, if i may, to answer one point in the question to say it is fun to work together with the american president because these are very serious and thorough analyst cal discussions. we have proved that in london and in previous meetings. i think that is part of our job, isn't it, that you exchange different views that you may have also, and where ever it was necessary, we have come to our common conclusions, so i very much look forward to our future dugses on guantanamo -- discussions on guantanamo. this has been a long-standing issue. we very purposefully at the time

accepted mr. kunas who has some relation to germany:-- germany. there are talks going on with the interest major of the minister. very intensive discussions which we wish to continue, and if -- and in the end, i am confident that we will find a common solution. i believe a question from the american side maybe. >> you know, jennifer got the mic. sorry, jake. >> it was handed to me, so i'm going to keep it. >> there you go. >> you challenged all the parties yesterday and again here in your opening remarks to take actions -- the israelis, the palestinian states, things they

have been asked for years, things they have agreed to do but still today remain unwilling or unable to do them. what are your specific next steps? why do you think your approach is realistic? and to chancellor merkel, you talk bd a timeline. can you be more specific about that, please. >> as i said at the outset of my speech, yesterday was just one speech, and it doesn't replace all the hard work that's going to be done. that was done before the speech and is going to have to be done in order to solve what has been a 60-year problem. and i'm under no illusions that whatever statements i put forward somehow are going to supplant the need to do that

work. i think what is different now is you are seeing a u.s. president and a european administration engage this subject. i have been in office only five months yet we have seen extraordinary activity on this issue. that sent a signal to all the parties in the middle east that we are serious. i have asign signed -- i have assigned george mitchell, my special envoy, who has met repeatedly with all the players in the region and who is going to be going back next week in the wake of my aappearance in cairo to follow up with each of the individual parties on a whole host of negotiation points and powtenks tension

confidence--- and potential confidence-building measures that can be taken. i have already met with prime minister netanyahu. our governments are in close contact with how we can move forward on some of the items that might be inhibiting restarting talks. you have probably seen more sustained activity on this issue in the first five months than you would have seen in most previous administrations. the reason we are doing that is because not only have talks ground to a halt, but there was a sense that all sides were getting so dug in and so cynical that you might reach a point

where you could never get the parties back at the table. i think given what we've done so far, we've at least created the space, the atmosphere, in which talks can restart. now, i just have to say one more time, the united states can't solve this problem. the united states can be a partner in solving the problem, but ultimately the parties involved are going to have to make a decision that the prosperity and security of their people is best served by norks -- negotiations and compromise. and we can't force them to make those difficult decisions. what we can do is to provide them a framework and a forum and

the support for such an outcome to be achieved. i'm sure that one of the things i very much appreciate is chancellor merkel's willingness to put the prestige and resources of the german government behind that same effort. i think the entire international community will have a responsibility to help these sides achieve a peace that will ultimately good for everybody's security interests. >> well, i believe that with the new american administration, with president barack obama, there is actually a unique opportunity now to see to it that this peace process has to be more careful with this negotiation process to be revised again.

yesterday's speech in a way opened up also the door to the arab world again, and the way it was described just now, you have sort of made steps along the way, and when steps are made along the way, we feel that we can perhaps be helpful to acome any this. for historical reasons we have a close relationship with israel, we have a close relationship with the security of israel, and we also have the fervent wish that a palestinian state be built. this agenda needs to be worked on step by step, but it is certainly to the parties themselves have to show a readness, a willingness to do something for the peace and security of the world as a whole. i see this as a core issue, and essential and crucial issue. and this is why we all have the wish and willingness to bring this record forward. the rourkal opportunity, i think, is there, even though looking at many, many countries in the arab world, even looking

at many countries in the arab world, they have a great interest in progress in, because for the economic development as well, they need peace there, they need security, and we should have every interest in bringing this about, and we will bring our contribution to it. >> you will, later on, mr. president, visit the former concentration camp buchenwald. he told you about his period in the camp where he suffered hardship, and that this sort of made you do it. and if i may, chancellor, a year of putting increased -- concrete targets on the agenda.

will america in the post-kyoto process be willing to commit itself to concrete reduction targets, or are you pursuing a different kind of approach similar to your predecessor in office? >> well, first of all, one of the main reasons for me being in europe this week is to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the landing in normandy. this is a moment that, obviously, is of great importance to the united states. so many lives were lost during this period, it marks the beginning of the end of world war ii, and many of the veterans of world war ii in the sunset of

their years. and so having an opportunity to acknowledge them once again and the sacrifices they made we very important to me. as part of that trip, we thought it was very important to -- for me to visit buchenwald. first of all, i've never traveled to one of the concentration camps. but this one has a personal connection to me. it's not only that i know eloisa and have read about his writings, and i've stated this before, it's also that my grandmother's brother was one -- was part of the units that first

liberated that camp. and i've talked about this before in the united states, perhaps not in germany, about the shock of this very young man, he couldn't have been more than 19 or 20 at the time, was such that he ended up when he returned having a very difficult time readjusting to civilian life, and it was a memory that burned in him for quite sometime. and that, you know, was something that i'm -- that i learned about as a young person, and for me then to come and be able to reflect on this very difficult history and to not only reflect on the dangers of

when people are in conflict and not acknowledging a common humanity but also to celebrate how out of that tragedy you now have a unified europe, a germany that is a very close ally of israel, and the possibility of reconciliation and forgiveness and hope. all those things, i think, are part of why this visit is very important to me. in terms of climate change, ultimately, the world is going to need targets that it can meet. it can't be general approaches. weaver going to have to make some tough decisions, and take

concrete actions if we are going to deal with -- we are going to have to make some tough decisions and take concrete actions if we are going to deal with a cataclysmic disaster. we are seeing progress in congress around energy legislation that would set up for the first time in the united states a cap and trade system. that process is moving forward in ways that i think if you would have asked political experts two or three months ago, would have seemed impossible. so i'm actually more optimistic than i was about america being able to take leadership on this issue, joining europe which over the last several years has been ahead of us on this issue. as i told chancellor merkel, unless the united states and

europe with our large carbon footprints are willing to take some decisive steps it will be very difficult for us to persuade countries that on a per cap fa basis are -- per capita basis, anyway, are still much less wealthy, to take the steps they need to take to control carbon emissions. so we are committed to working together, and hopeful that we can arrive in copenhagen able to display that commitment in concrete ways. >> allow me, if i say, as a visit to buchenwald a, that this is deeply moving to see an american president, president barack obama, in buchenwald, and he talked about his background in regard to this question.

look at buchenwald. buchenwald is an example of these horrible concentration camps liberated by americans. it was during the soviet period, and again it also the time when germany was divided, it again became somewhat symbolic. people in that part of the country were not able to enjoy freedom and security. now after the end of the cold war we go there after germany has been reunited, after germany has been reunited, that we also enjoy freedom and democracy as the united states do, and that is very moving, and that shows you that actually history makes things possible if a sufficient amount of people believe in the dream of freedom. >> thank you, mr. president. one, just to follow up on jennifer's. what are some of the gestures of

good faith that you would like to see from the palestinians. but then regarding your visit to buchenwald. since the holocaust, a constant refrain in the united states has been "never again." but u.s. president after u.s. president has sat back and let genocides happen over and over again, whether cambodia or rwanda. what depuzz "never again" mean -- what does "never again" mean to you, especially in regard to the fact that genocide is going on in darfur, there were accusations of genocide going on in sri lanka a few weeks ago? does germany not have an obligation to take action to prevent genocide from happening in other parts of the world? >> with respect to confidence-building measures or next steps, again, i'm going to be sending george mitchell back into the region next week. he's going to be meeting with

all the various parties involved. i think i have said publicly and i have repeated in the speech some things that are going to have to be done. a lot of attention has been given to my statement that the israelis need to stop settlement construction. i recognize that it's received a lot of attention in israel as well. keep in mind, that all i've done there is reaffirm commitments that the israelis themselves have already made. in the roadmap. i recognize the very difficult politics within israel of getting that done. i'm very sympathetic to how hard it will be, but as israel's friend, the united states i

think has an obligation to just be honest with that friend about how important it is to achieve a two-state solution for israel's national security interests as well as ours as well as the palestinians. and that's an area where steps can be taken. they are not the only steps, by the way, that israel can take and will need to take in order to advance movement toward peace . and i mentioned some of the other issues that i've discussed with brim prim netanyahu's -- with prime minister netanyahu's office, such as dealing with the humanitarian crisis in gaza and allowing reconstruction to proceed more aggressively. what's been interesting is that less attention has been focused on.

-- focused on the insistence on my part that the palestinians and the arab states have to take very concrete actions. when it comes to the palestinians, we know what they are supposed to be doing. they have do continue to make progress on security in the west bank. they have to deal with incitement issues. there is still a tendency, even within -- among palestinians who say they are interested in peace with israel, to engage in statements that are incite a hatred of israel or are not constructive to the peace process. now, i think to his credit president abas has made progress on this issue, but not enough.

we still have not seen a firm commitment from the palestinian authority that they can control some of the border areas that israel is going to be very concerned about if there were to be a two-state solution. there is still problems of corruption and mismanagement within the authority that have to be addressed. so there are going to be a whole set of things having to do with the palestinians' ability to govern effectively and maintain security and if they are not solved, israelis are going to have trouble moving forward. and the arab states, what i'd like to see is indicators that they are willing, in israel

makes tough commit lts accident to also make some hard choices that will allow for an opening of commerce, diplomatic exchanges between israel and its neighbors. now, all these things are going to take time. they are not going to happen immediately, but i am confident that if we stick with it, having started early, that we can make some serious progress this year. on the issue of genocide, i think "never again" means that the international community has a obligation even when it is inconvenient to act when genocide is occurring. so on the issue of darfur, for example, i didn't simply mention it in a speech yeds before a

muslim audience talking about genocide nationals taking place within a majority muslim country, but i also raised it in discussions with president mubarak of egypt who has strong diplomatic relations with the country of sudan. and i've assigned one of my closest national security advisors as a special envoy who has been traveling throughout the region trying to not only solve the immediate humanitarian crisis that exists and that was made worse when president bashir kicked out many of the snalm nongovernmental organizations that have been providing nonhumanitarian assistance. we have been working to solve that immediate problem and get humanitarian assistance back on the ground, but what we've also

been doing is to try react vitvate -- reactivate the possibilities of a peaceful -- a peace settlement between car toom and some of the -- khartoum and some of the rebels in dar 23ur -- in darfur that would allow the internally displaced people from darfur to start returning to their homes. so we have been very active on this issue. it may not have received the attention in the press that some of the other issues have, but we are spending a lot of time trying to make sure that we make progress and that the people of darfur are able to return to their homes and live in peace. >> well, first, experience, part

and parcel of our history of our past experience in history is [unintelligible] and after that comes an everlasting responsibility for the safety and security for the state of israel. if you like, this has been the resolve of any german government, and it will always -- since israel came into being, and it will always be. as of genocide, all over the world, we have a responsibility. and we work closely together. we, all of us, have made the experience along the way, that this quite often takes much longer to resolve than one would like it and can be satisfied about. but military intervention alone without any political framework that we put on these issues is also not always successful. we have that experience as well. this is why the european union during the e.u. africa summit

established closed link -- established close links with african countries to shoulder their responsibility or helping them shoulder their responsibility, for example providing them with the necessary equipment but also through political discussions. i think due to the decisions we have made over the injuries, that we were able after the second world war to live together peacefully, we have an onl obligation to not only create peace within europe, because we have been able to do that, but to actually share with others the knowledge how we manage to get that to happen. dignity of man is invie labble. this is what is what is described in the german constitution. this goes not only for the germans but for every human being all over the world. we as germans after the second world war have made an experience that was not a matter

of course. the allies extended a helping hand to us, to our neighbor france, the united kingdom, but also the united states of america. we need to share this experience in order to prevent other tragic cases from occurring. and we will always be at the side of the americans. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> how is c-span funded? >> private donations? >> i don't really know. >> from public television? >> i don't know where the money

comes from. >> federally? >> it comes donars. >> how is c-span funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies created cable. no government mandate, no government money. >> "washington journal" is next. that's followed by live coverage of president obama and other world leaders in normandy france commemorating the 65th anniversary of d-day. >> and coming up on "washington journal," reporter jared allen has written a book on detainee tear gations. -- ininterrogations. and