and standard operating procedures against threats beyond piracy such as terrorism, narcotics trafficking and smuggling. efforts like these bolster the defensive capabilities of everyone involved without diminishing pre-existing bilateral or multilateral relationships. they are i believe, a model for how all of us can better address the challenges by foster in collaboration in and among nations in the gulf. because the rate of security issues affecting the gulf are all interrelated they are best addressed through a comprehensive approach. when nations work together, military, diplomatic and economic. primary example i am offering is iran. whose pursuit of a nuclear weapon sets off an arms race in the gulf and his regional meddling has already cost too

many lives. we have watched the aftermath of the iranian election with interest and concern. this is an issue that should be decided within iran by the iranian people, we believe that the iranian people deserve to have their voices heard free from violence and intimidation. the new u.s. administration has reached out to tehran appeared as the president said, the question is not what around is against, but rather what future it wants to build? that future must not include a nuclear weapon or destabilizing activities in the region. in gauging diplomatically on this issues will test iranian intention and claims of good faith. even as the u.s. in cages in iran we will move to strengthen nonproliferation norms and work with allies and partners to see that their fundamental security interests are protected. if necessary, we will take action by conducting

counterterrorism operation and sharing intelligence from the illegal shipments of weapons or materials. iran has opened a threatened the state of israel, and has complicated efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace. president obama is fully committed to supporting a two- state solution the, the palestinian state living in peace and security alongside israel. this outcome would do much to weaken the proxies of iran, hamas and as balad. this violence is directed in undermining not just israel but other governments in the region. there is little doubt that iran is engaged directly in a campaign to influence the development and direction of its neighbor to the west. iraq, are run trains and supplies groups trying to destabilize the elected iraqi government. through violence and attacks on iraqi security forces,

government installations and officials. iran engages in more subtle forms of coercion in tended to shape the direction of the new iraq. the embrace of iraq by its fellow gulf states will help to contain the ambitions of iran. the iraqi people want to be your partners. given the challenges in the gulf and the rowdy of our run, you should wish to be theirs. the benefits of -- will be mutual. they want to play a constructive role. whether they can do so depends in substantial measure on the nations represented right here. for the better part of 60 years, the government of iraq has been a bad actor in the region, inflicting suffering on its own people and many others. old wounds to not hill easily.

iraq should be considered for membership in regional forums such as gulf cooperation council's. security progress has been made in iraq over the last two years. there are those who wish to see the new iraq fail and who would continue to kill civilians. as we have seen lately, success and depends on the fortitude of the iraqi people and the leaders they choose. as the u.s. responsibly draws down its presence, we look for sustained international and regional support that will allow iraq to take full charge of its

own security and rejoin the family of nations. afghanistan is outside the regional focus of this conference, it is a vitally important topic. al qaeda and its ideology were incubated in the failed state of afghanistan. the extremists have largely return their attention there in the wake of reversals in iraq. as we have seen from a tax and a cut a planning and activities across the middle east and europe, danger reaches far beyond borders of afghanistan and pakistan. afghanistan has become the u.s. military's main effort and central front. the president has authorized 21,000 additional u.s. troops, including 10,000 marines in the southern part of the country reinforcing our british, canadian, australian, dutch, and danish allies.

president obama has ordered a new civil military strategy focused on protecting the afghan people and appointed a new leadership team. our goal is and afghanistan that does not provide is in short to al qaeda, that rejects the role of the taliban and has a government that looks towards the needs and security of the people. the government is all our -- sending more than 400 civilians to the country, most of whom will be deployed for the road construction team and various other units labor into being -- bring improvements to the people of afghanistan. with the new strategy, we in our -- international and afghan partners will have capacity to make real headway. of course the situation in afghanistan cannot be in isolation from its neighbors.

the taliban resurgence began when pakistan made peace agreements with various insurgents and extremist groups on our western border. this allows for more freedom of movement and an effective piece of movement. that approach by the pakistan the government has come to an end. there is no clear recognition by the pakistan is -- pakistan is. the recent offensive was an encouraging first step. also encouraging is the support afghanistan has received from other nations including members of the gulf committee. we are grateful for that, but we urge you to do more. to improve governance, economic development and security capacity, the application of more resources and improved cooperation, better integrated civil, military and diplomatic

strategy and the benefit of lessons learned, both in country and in iraq present a historic a fleeting opportunity to turn the situation in afghanistan around. i hope you will help us take that opportunity. in closing, i would like to strike a note of optimism about the state of affairs in the gulf region. i think it is warranted because many of the problems in the middle east have a long history. we should also stop and recognize the elements of the overall picture that has changed, include in iraq slowly but surely fighting its way out of the darkness of the recent decade, a positive political trends in places like lebanon, pakistan and iraq. last but not least the unprecedented cooperation between the nations of the gulf as you and we face is very

difficult and dangerous threats to our common security. as i said at the outset, american administrations led by both parties going back some six decades have regarded the stability of the region as the vital interest to the united states. the president's i have been privileged to serve all recognized our security and prosperity were closely tied to the security and prosperity of the middle east. president obama is no different. he has president -- pledged that we will continue to be engaged in this part of the world. as we look ahead, let us pledge to keep these efforts strong and make them even stronger and cast aside old animosity and work together in friendship forging ever closer ties between your militaries and u.s. central command, and with each other. all of this will bring a better and brighter future for all of

our people. thank you very much. [applause] this week saw the release of more than 150 hours of secret audio recordings from the nixon white house from early 1973 on the agreement to end the vietnam war. >> they are not to have any advance information is that clear? the message is not to be from me. >> more from the new release tape of this afternoon on c-span radio. tomorrow on washington journal, a look at with the unrest in iran means for the future of the government with jack goldstone of george mason university. then a discussion on the economy, unemployment and world financial markets with peter barisi from the university of maryland. and then the producer talks

about a film, shouting fire, stories from the edge of free speech at 7:00 a.m. on c-span. how c-span funded? >> it is publicly funded. >> donations? >> government? by mike it gets the money surtaxes. >> i don't know. helices been funded? 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span as a public surface -- service. no government monday -- money. president obama and german chancellor angela merkel had a press conference. they discuss the future of guantanamo and global china -- climate change.

it is my pleasure to welcome angela merkel to the white house. we had a very productive discussion in the oval office. our country serve together in afghanistan.

in recent months i have come to appreciate our partnership with chancellor angela merkel. i value her wisdom and her can or. i admire her for her leadership and pragmatic approach to getting things done. she and the german people have welcomed me to germany twice, during the nato summit and in dresden. today, i returned the hospitality. angela merkel shares my belief that soap -- no single nation can meet the challenges alone. the united states and germany, one of our closest allies an indispensable partner will continue to play a leadership role across a range of challenges. we are building on the steps we took at the g-20 summit.

i underscore our commitment for strengthening financial regulations and i welcome the chancellor angela merkel. as we prepare for the g-8 summit in italy and look ahead to pittsburgh, we agree on the need to avoid protectionism. let me say, to answer, that i have been impressed with your approach to and criminal some pierre i hope the u.s. will match economic today when our house votes on the critical energy bill that will promote a new generation of clean, renewable energy in our country. the chancellor and i discussed the situation in iraq. we speak with one voice.

agree that the iranian people have a right to assemble. their bravery in the face of brutality is a testament to their enduring pursuit of justice. and violence perpetrated against them is an outrageous. despite the government's efforts to keep -- we see it and condemn it. the iranian people will be the ultimate judge of their government's action. the iranian government has other responsibilities. working with germany and our other european allies we will work from unleashing a nuclear arms race and the middle east.

we want greater prosperity and security for the iranian people. we also talked about all parties need to redouble their efforts to achieve a lasting peace for the israeli and palestinian to live side by side. the chancellor spoke eloquently of germany's lasting opportunity to the safety and security of israel. germany will remain a critical partner and our efforts to bring safety and security to israelis, the arab states and the palestinians, who must recognize israel's right to exist. germany has been a strong

partner in the nato mission in afghanistan. we honor those who serve there, including american and the german soldiers who gave their lives there this week. the chancellor and i reaffirmed our commitment to a new relationship with russia. in moscow we will continue to explore ways in which the u.s. and russia can advance our common interests, a joint commitment to reducing our nuclear arsenal and strengthening global proliferation. in meeting these challenges will be neither quick nor easy. i am reminded of the lessons from my recent visit. the chancellor took me to eight broke church devastated in the second world war. thanks to the donations of the

germans, americans and people around the world it was rebuilt. and it was restored. today it stands as a stunning symbol of what is possible when countries work together. in that spirit, i want to welcome my friend, angela merkel. >> thank you. we have very but fond memories of your visit to our nation and moving memories to the former concentration camps. we are more aware that germany would not stand as it stands today after the second world war, but now in the 24 sec the

central challenges cannot be met by just one nation going alone. we need to do this together. we conducted our talks. i would like to underline that the iranian people need to be given the right to peaceful demonstrations. the iranian people need to have the right of being counted, the rights of human beings are indivisible the world over. we do not agree that iran -- that iran gets a nuclear weapon. there needs to be visible improvement here.

germany and america will work closely together related to arms and we like to wish you, mr. president, the best in your trip to russia prin. we need russia. we want to forge a common bond wherever possible with russia and also china. we have done that over the years to the united nations and would like to see the continued. you have made important steps here in united states and

through financial market regulation. you can see where these regulations me -- meet. we are very grateful that we are able with the united states, we now have to emerge and -- from the economies. this morning when i was in congress, i sensed this is a sea change. this points to the fact that the united states -- it should be

not underestimated to come to a good, sustainable results during the conference. i have been in many debates in my country and european union. i know what is at stake. it is tricky when you try to come to certain common grounds. i wish you every success. i think it is so important to say we want success in, and we want to talk to emerging economies thank you for the graciousness that was offered to me. >> we have time for some

questions. >> we apologize for installing yourself in iranian affairs? >> how many questions are you getting in here? first of all, what i said originally was that given the structure of the run and government and that power

resided with a toallotrope compy and at that point significant differences on national security interests that we initially had talked about double met the talk about for example nuclear weapons development in iran, the exportation of terrorist activity that we could not automatically assume that there would be a huge shift on those particular national security issues, depending on who won the election. what is clear is, over the course of the subsequent days that mousavi has shown to

capture the imagination for the spirits of the forces in iraq there were interested in opening up. that he has become a representative of many of those people who were on the street and displayed extraordinary courage and bravery. i believe is up to the iranian people to make decisions about who their leaders will be. a government that treats its own citizens with that kind of ruthlessness and violence, that cannot deal with peaceful protests who are trying to have their voices heard in an equally peaceful way, i think has rules

outside of universal norms, international norms. the chancellor and i share the belief that what has happened in iran is unacceptable when it comes to violence against its own citizens. we call on the iranian government to uphold those international principles. what was the second part of your question? >> will you apologize? them i don't think mr. ahmadinejad addlightly.

the u.s. is gone out of its way to not interfere in the election process in iran. i am not concerned about mr. ahmadinejad apologizing to me. i would suggest that he think carefully about the obligation he owes to his own people. he might want to consider looking at the families who have been shot, that is where mr. ahmadinejad and others need to answer their questions. >> [unintelligible]

>> first of all, i have to discuss with the chancellor our interest in closing guantanamo. it has become a symbol internationally, our very legitimate pursuit of our national security and our concerns about international terrorism. we will be looking for the help of our friends and allies, as we

execute that process. it will be admittedly difficult politically. in the past i have spoken not only to the chancellor, but other european union's who are pleased that the e you provided a legal framework on how to deal with the detainees in guantanamo, and we have received a positive response from countries across europe in the general sense of wanting help. i think that particular specifics of what particular detainee might be transferred where, those are some still under preliminary discussions. i think that chancellor merkle has an obligation to make sure that germany's national security interest comes first in these considerations. we understand that. we expectha