them. that'll be a decision that has been a further down the road depending on how far they get. my comments were taking a bit out of context. when i said a later date, it was based on this to the specific cascapabilities. >> as u.s. troops consolidate, do you worry their movements are becoming more predictable. will become targets -- will they become targets that how you guard against that? >> we have not consolidated on the basis. we have many outposts around the cities that we have established as we conducted the surge. we have not all come back into a small number basis. we will still occupy hundreds of small outposts around iraq, they will just not incited the cities. that will help us move around.

we have to resupply in the cities and moved to conduct some ordination, clearly, we will continue to do all the things we do now. we will clear the routes. we will walk with the security forces to coordinate and help us. we have been doing this for a while. i feel comfortable we will continue to do it. it is not the same as being in the city. we will work her way through this brita there is a big concern about that, yes. >> looks like we commit to round up to 2. >> one in the conditions of the military has really been to move down the sectarian rivalry that existed. how convinced are you that the military has advanced to a

professional level, a disciplined level, of where those old rivalries that have pretty much dominated the way security forces had performed for decades -- how convince are you that those will not rise up again and create the kind of retribution we had seen? >> that is a great question. i would assay that we have seen the confidence of the forces has grown tremendously since the beginning. this is the dark days of 2006. what we have seen is the army grow professionally. we have seen them conduct operations across the country in a non sectarian way. the biggest improvement of any force here in the last two years has been in the national police.

they have brought in new leadership. they have gone through a significant amount of training. they are seen as a legitimate and credible force that conducts non-sectarian operations around iraq. i call them. the local police is the one we probably worry about the most. that is why we have not turned over security yet to the local police. they are the ones that might be influenced locally and politically. they have made great progress as well but not as much. what i have seen is the professionalism of the national police, the professionalism of the iraqi army, is significantly better than it was 2.5 years ago. i would be unfaithful vice said it was 100% across the boards. it might not be. the large majority has really move forward. i believe them causing sectarian

problems is much -- the chance of that is much less today than it has been ever before. >> is there a bigger threat than outside influences, like al qaeda? >> i worry about the political drivers of instability. it is arab/kurd political issues that might rise. it is political issues that could rise. it is intra-sunni issues that could cause some attention. it is those political issues that we have watched very carefully. what i have said earlier is that we hope they will resolve those through diplomatic discussions, etc. and not good to violence. that is what they have been doing for the large part.

there is no reason for me to think that will not continue. we watch it very closely. we watched those indicators. one of the things we watch carefully is a return to any type of sectarian activity. we will watch if we see an increase in sectarian activity. we will watch if we see those indicators of insurgent groups returning at a higher level. we will work very closely. we will talk on a daily basis with the minister of defense, interior, and the operational commanders here. we want to ensure we understand what these indicators are. >> one of the untold stories during the surge was the special operations unit. this was against al qaeda leaders.

they were going after the leaders. will we continue throwing this or will it be turned over to iraqi commando forces? >> we have worked this very heart. we have began to be transparent and all our counter-terrorism operations. we have been doing that now for several months. we join operations with the rocky -- with iraqi forces. we now have an iraqi group who is dealing with our technical and analytica partners to help s develop targets. we have been building this partnership for a while. i believe we will be able to continue with these operations jointly. i feel pretty confident about that. >> you lost for two soldiers

yesterday. -- you loss four soldiers is to be. are you concerned about there being fewer americans walking around in baghdad that they are more attractive targets? >> obviously, we lost four soldiers last night in baghdad. it is always tough when we lose soldiers here. actually, this did not happen in the city. it was outside of the city. what i would say is -- that is when the signatures that we have to look at. if we have less movement, will the target specifically u.s. soldiers? we have not seen that yet, but obviously, we work very closely. we will continue to work closely

with our security force partners in order to make sure and limit the risk. under the secured agreement, we have the right to self-defense. if we see there is a problem, we will have to rework with the government of iraq to ensure we are able to actively protect our men and women. we will do everything we can to protect them. >> how would you do that? would you pick the phone and call an iraqi counterpart and say look what happened last night? we have to change the terms of that operation? we do on the micro level? are you talking about something more formal? >> what we would do is locally, the brigade and division commanders will be working on it. we think it needs something bigger, then we will work with the minister of defence. it depends on the situation.

we will work that with them. we have built strong relationships with all the iraqi leaders. we will use those relationships to work out these issues. >> last time, you are surprised by syria operations in securing the borders and stopping the infiltration. do you still have the same assessment regarding serious role with iraq? -- with syria's role with iraq? >> they had done something recently that was encouraging. they picked a few individuals up that were involved with foreign fighter facilitation. that is very encouraging. i am hoping as we continue to

engage, we will work through these issues and assist in continuing to taqmmp down the facilitation that is coming through syria. >> last time you were here physically, you mentioned that you expected a low level insurgency to continue beyond 2011. what is a low-level insurgency look like? >> i think how i feel is that there will be some small cells and groups that are dispersed, not able to coordinate with each other, but they are still willing to conduct a pact in order to make their political points or in order to create some local and stability to gain

influence. i think that is how i would best describe it. >> cells -- you mean al qaeda? >> they could be al qaeda. they could be shia extremists. in they could be sunni extremists. i expect to be very small, not connected, not have a lot of robust ability -- capabilities, but would be able to conduct some attacks and activities over time. i think we have to have the iraqi security forces prepared to deal with this type of threat. >> we have time for about one more. can we close it? >> i just wondered if you could tell us something of your personal feelings today. you are division commander. now you are at the top

commander. as you watch the developments today and all of the cell of return -- celebrations in ceremonies, what had been your feelings and overall dominick thoughts? reap -- a dominant thought? >> i appreciate that question. i think back to 2006 when i first got here as a port commander. the violence was so high that it was hard to see a way out, but today was just another sign that i have a lot of hopes that iraq will be able to move forward as a secure and sovereign iraq. they could be a long-term

partner with the united states who has a democratic government. today gives me more hope for that. i see them take a more more responsibility and they want to take on that responsibility. the iraqi people want the forces to take that on. if they want to see a smooth out. they want to see it move in the back room. they are not ready for us to go yet, but they are ready for us to allow them to attend to exercise their security responsibilities. to me that is very encouraging. frankly, the last six months have gone a bit better than i expected. i thought the first six months of implementing the security agreement would be a very difficult thing. it has not. we have worked together and we continue to move forward and the terms of the security agreement. that is what is the hope and

belief that we can do this now beyond, now that we have moved out of the city. they are still going to be bumps in the road. there are still going to be violence. there is still going to be problems. i think that we are going to be able to work through the. i am encouraged by that. i think the elections coming up will be a big step in accomplishing that. as i look back, i feel more encouraged by what i have seen today. i feel more encouraged about where we are headed. i think it is on the take me about 45 days to do a good and honest assessment on where i think we are. do we have to adjust this in any way? i expect i will be able to do this sometime in the middle of august. >> we have reached the end of the allocated time. let me throw it back to you one last time. we will see if you have any

final thoughts. then we will let you get on your way. >> sure. i would just say that today was extremely important for iraq. it is psychologically important to them. it is psychologically important that they now have made progress with their security forces that they made progress so that they can now take charge inside of the cities. it is important for us that we understand this and recognize this and allow them to exercise that authority. it is important for us to fit in our role as it continues to adjust. it is important for us to maintain our adaptability that we have shown out for the last three years and as we continue to change and be very initiative to improve security.

i expect our leaders will continue to do that. we continue to have the best soldiers, stilsailors, marines come in the world. their sacrifices are incredible. the family sacrifices are incredible. as you to the fourth of july, i ask each and everyone of you that you remember all of our soldiers who are deployed around the world both here and in afghanistan. remember their sacrifice and their families sacrifices. thank you so much for being here. i'm sorry i lost my temper a little bit on the numbers. i do not want to be inaccurate to you all on the numbers. if i give you a number, it is not going to be right. in a significantly less of what it is today. it is significantly lower visible on the grounds -- less on the ground. i feel confident we are on the right track. thank you very much. all of you have a great fourth of july.

>> thank you for your time. thank you for the inside be the only get from this commander burda thank you. we look forward to doing this sometime down the road. >> thank you. >> how c-span funded? >> donations? i have no idea. >> government? >> it gets its funding through the taxes. >> federal funding? >> policies been funded? 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiative, no government mandates, no government money. >> the minnesota supreme court today unanimously ruled that democrat al franken won that state senate race. his opponent, and norm coleman,

made a statement from his home in st. paul. we will follow his comments with senator elect frank and speaking to reporters in minneapolis. this is 30 minutes. >> my wife is in rome. she joined up with a group of folks from the cathedral of st. paul in february when we thought that this was long it decided. she is there praying. i am sure she is at peace with the decision. i decided conversation with al franken, congratulating him on his victory. i told him it is the best job that he will ever have.

will the government of laws, not men and women. the supreme court has spoken. i respect its decision. i will abide by its results. it is time for minnesota and to come together. the leader has been chosen and we will move forward. i congratulate our newest senator, al franken. just a few words about my legal talent. sure, i wanted to win, not just for myself, but for my wonderful supporters who worked so hard. so many have worked and prayed so hard. for the important values that i always fought for. it is important to stand up for thousands of minnesota into boats were not counted like others were. -- who's votes were not counted like others were. we needed to do everything we could to get it right. i am grateful and humbled by the

people of minnesota who gave me the honor to represent them. even more grateful ally for the wisdom, courage, patience, and understanding of the last few months. the future is not nearly as important today as the path that we must now all travel lunch together to strengthen our state and our nation. these are challenging times. these are some of the most challenging times i have ever witnessed of 30 years of service. i have never believed that my services irreplaceable. we have reached the time were further litigation it damages the unity of our state, which is also fundamental. we all need to focus on the future and the future today is that we of the new united states senator. i congratulate al franken. he enjoys the vantage that our congressional delegation has over the other five had attended by people on capitol hill. he represents minnesota.

speaking of which come we to take a moment to thank amy klobuchar for her staff. they have done a great job the last six months trying the burden of two united states senators. she is an extraordinary public servant. i do not reach this with any big regret. i ran the campaign. i conducted the legal challenges. i have always believed you do the best you can and be the result of to a higher authority. i am at peace with that. the future plans are subject for another day. we live in a great country and a great state. we have confidence, we can all come together and arrive at a better future that we all seek. thank you. may god bless you and minnesota. they got continue to bless the

united states of america. [applause] >> this means we are ruling out any more appeals. this is done. >> i have congratulated al franken. 2008 is a long time ago. it is over. we will work together to support our new united states senator. >> was added to step away from more legal battles? was it money? why me to step down? >> i wanted a chance to raise the issues that we thought had to be raised. a lot of folks have not been counted in their votes. we went to the highest court. the issues have been heard. this is the first court that fully considered it. they rejected. it is always been a balance.

we need to ensure that voters have their votes counted and to understand the challenges that minnesota faces. as you weigh out that balance, we have reached a point that we move forward. >> do the their votes uncounted? >> if i didn't believe that, we would then have process the appeal. that is history. i am not looking back. i am not questioning what is counted on what is not. minnesota has decided. we are a nation of laws. not men and women. the court has spoken. it is time to look forward and not look back. >> [unintelligible] >> i think we have learned a lot about the nation throughout the process that we've never looked at before because it had never been disclosed. i anticipate that we will look

for two more uniformed process. you learn from mistakes. you learn from challenges. this is unprecedented. minnesota and our goodell learning in fixing in moving forward. -- minnesota ns are good at learning and moving forward. not everyone of votes in the stats. the plan didn't always have a lot of discussion. -- the pendanundits always havea lot of discussion. i felt there is a strong sense of this was fundamental to be counted. i never really worried about 60 votes or 59 votes.

>> 16 votes -- what does that mean to the senate? >> we will have to see. we will have to see. it is not just about him. it is other senators. senator specter was a republican. now is a democrat. i think a lot of folks are putting a lot into this 60 in number. when it comes to the big issues, there are a lot of democrats that will always vote for the party line. some republicans and not always a boat with the party line. in the may -- it may not be as big an issue. >> [unintelligible] they are trying to get all votes in an open ballot.

do you support that? >> i presume that others are going to be talking about this election. maybe in the future. for me, i am focused on saying that we have a senator and i congratulated him. i am not looking for two more discussion about this election. this election has been a godsend. certainly with the state, they are worried about the economic future. this has been a full employment act for the media. if there is some more juice to be got out of what happened and you got all the votes, but the play itself out. whatever i can do. >> what about the legacy of things that you were prada? >> i start with the things that

do not the most publicity. this is the people work that we did. there is nothing more gratifying as i was sitting in a restaurant a few weeks ago and a family celebrating, a woman comes of to me shows a picture of her baby. she said it was tough for me i would not my baby and we are celebrating today. it is the people things. on the policy issues, certainly the work that we did in the united nations over separate si, working with our farmers on energy. being a voice of energy independence. i'm going to continue to be involved in those discussions. i have been blessed to represent the people in the greatest state in the nation. i think the smartest folks in the nation. there are a lot of great ideas. a law degree ideas came from some farmer you hadn't -- some

of the greatest ideas and washington came from a farmer with ideas. i am proud of my 32 years of public service. >> when you going to make some announcement on your future? >> soon. sometime next week. i will be talking a little bit about the future. you got the last question. >> [unintelligible] >> i did talk to the governor and let him know that i was coming out here to make his life a little easier. i wanted to say that he was going to be there anyway. i think we are all going to look forward. we need to seize the opportunity that we have. it is a challenging time. let's all work together for a bright future. god bless you.

>> thank you everybody. thank you for being here. thank you so much. frannie and i are so thrilled that we can finally celebrated this a victory, and i am so excited to finally be able to get to work with the people of minnesota. i received a very gracious call from senator: a little while -- senator coleman a little while ago. he wished me well. i wished him well. we agree that it is time to bring the state together. of the last eight months as the nation has watched us all unfolds in the state, minnesota unfolds in the state, minnesota people have earned the right t