not going to get us all away until there is political reconciliation in iraq, until you see a government that is able to economically create jobs and things like that in order to promote sustainability and security there. i think the president strongly believes this is something that is not either or, it is not military or economic. it has to be both. >> the president in his remarks yesterday on the committee solutions and agenda, he was commenting on iraq and he said by 2011 all u.s. troops will be out of iraq. the team all, there will be zero, not one to left, especially since the legislation he sponsored before as a senator said we need to leave some amount of troop presence there to protect civilians, to fight

terrorism, etc.? >> there are two different deadlines here. the plan the president has and commanders on the ground and the commanders here are implementing is in about 14 months you will see the removal all combat brigades from iraq. there would be trainers and a residual force that is left, but understand, when the president says all our troops will be out of iraq, that is in accordance with the deadline established in the status of forces agreement signed by the sovereign government of iraq. >> does that mean there will be troops there after 2011? >> there is an agreement that has been signed between two countries to denote the end it -- the end of military involvement at the conclusion of 2011.

>> concerning the trip next week, as the president spoken with -- ? >> they spoke yesterday about issues that will be on their agenda. >> we have a briefing at 3 tock 33 this afternoon? -- 3:33 this afternoon? >> yes, they will walk you through each aspect of the three stops. >> could you elaborate on the phone conversation? >> they spent a few minutes discussing the issues they are going to discuss in the upcoming summit. >> which issues? >> reduction of nuclear weapons. [unintelligible]

only in relation to the notion that it will be discussed next week. >> for a couple of weeks now the internal report from the cia on the interrogation techniques of that agency has been delayed. there are concerns among those. the aclu has been fighting to get this. it will be lost right before this holiday weekend. what is the status and what is it being delayed and will it meet or exceed what you have set as a standard of transparency on the this particular issue? >> here is what i know of the report, and i would refer you to justice, because part of this is based on freedom of information act litigation involving the acl you -- the aclu, an outcropping

of the memos that were released earlier this year. it is my understanding that the interagency review of the document and what can be released is continuing and i did not anticipate that will be released today. >> this week? >> it is my understanding it is doubtful it will be released this week. >> is part of this is to increase the amount of information that is available? is part of the process part of the delay to make this as transparent as possible, or is it presently legal issues? >> it is a combination. part of this report is an outcropping of that freedom of information act did the nation

that resulted in the release -- at litigation that resulted in the release of the most. some of the information now, you can go back now to the older ig report -- unredact some of that material. that is what is going on in the agency. >> the iraqi police is looking into the death of the woman. is their reaction to that? >> i think that is -- it could be on going, a campaign of misinformation as to what is going on. the notion about the death of an innocent woman would be staged

-- even with them it is shocking that that would be what would come out. >> mousavi earlier today put out a statement in which he called for the protest to continue. he said he considered the government now to be illegitimate and he demanded the release of political prisoners. does the president have reaction yet to that statement, and has the president called for the release of people who have been detained in iran? >> let me check and see if that is something we have done or not. obviously, you have for the president speak on a number of occasions that he strongly believes in the right for people to gather and protest without fear of harm or violence.

obviously, there are still a lot of questions that surround the most recent election. i will leave its at that. >> honduras, one of the triggers of the coup was the president's attend to alter the constitution. does the white house believes that the president of honduras shares blame in his ouster, and what message does the white house have to other leaders in latin america? >> let me get guidance on that. i do not know except to say that we are working in order to prevent what happened from happening, and i think -- i do not want to stray too far from the notion that there is an

interim government -- enter american charter -- inter- american charter that establishes rights and rules relating to democratic governments. that is obviously relating to the oas. >> did you ask president zelaya to not proceed? >> to clarify, a person said he is going to send representatives to washington to talk with the u.s. government. is the white house or the department planning to talk with them? >> not that i am aware of. >> zelaya, if he returns to

honduras, is going to be put in jail. comments? >> i would reiterate that oas has laid down conditions in the timeline in order to support the democratic rule awful lot. -- rule of law. >> with regard to health care, this is going to be controlled more by congress than the white house, but the white house sound on the basis of which -- the pace of which things will proceed and the pace of which on a calendar negotiations would proceed? during the campaign the president has emphasized his desire that the policy making play out in the public eye. so far there have been town

hall meetings, but in terms of how the policy is being crafted, that is going on in congress behind closed doors. can you do to make sure he is able to have this play out in the public? >> look, i do not want to interject into the committee process, but i have been asked about this on any number of occasions, reactions to different aspects of bill markups. these are done in a public way. what the president has talked about and particularly the step taken by walmart demonstrates, as i have talked about this week, unlike previous attempts to reform our health-care system in a way that is comprehensive and brings down costs, those

players are still at the table. they are actively participating in working and finding a solution. the president thinks that is how we are going to get and during comprehensive reform to an issue we have been debating for 40 years. >> one of these questions -- >> for me? i have been asked about it many times. >> issues such as the possible taxation of insurance benefits, and these are things that are yet to be determined. the weight the legislation often works is everybody says we will talk about it when we get there, and then is in the bill. you're trying to avoid that in this process. how will you make sure that is done publicly? >> since i have been asked about it 10 times in the last two weeks, it is being done in

secret, somebody is doing an awfully important job of keeping it -- an awfully poor job of keeping it that way. >> may i ask a follow-up question? >> i did submit a question to the website today about public auctions. my question is about the justice department did not appeal a ruling in this discrimination in case involving the potential library of congress higher who was planning a gender change. why not, and is that part of the president's commons he made? >> -- comments he made? >> let me find out about that. >> what does the president feel about certain senators and the public auction not supporting the bill?

>> he does not have much to say except to reemphasize the principle he has of the importance of providing that a public auction to give those that are not able to buy insurance through the workplace or that are having trouble in the normal health insurance market go through an exchange that will provide greater torres, transparency, and more competition -- greater choice, transparency, and more competition that we will believe will be more cost effective. the president is a big believer in an auction -- in that option. >> is this helpful when the president is trying to convince senators and they are saying they're wrong to withhold money, we are going to pressure groups back home?

>> i do not have any reaction to that. >> thank you, robert. medicaid is a big part of the health care problem, and it is costing $300 billion a year. that is a big reason the state's need help. last year rhode island became the first and only state to get a waiver on medicare -- medicaid. as it is they will allow washington to cap medicaid funding in turn if they can determine eligibility, put limits down, and reform the system. allowing the states that have waivers on medicaid, is that something that is on the table? >> i do not know the degree to which that is something that -- how much they have involved in

that. you mentioned medicaid represents a growing fiscal component for states. especially in harder economic times. that is something that has to be at and address, and anything that is -- in anything that is comprehensive. that also strengthens the argument for changing the way health care is done and ensuring it is done in a way that is affordable, not just for families and small businesses, but for state governments. thanks, guy. -- guys. >> is it too late to email questions now? [no audio]

>> tonight we will show the president's national discussion on health care in its entirety. that is at 8:00 eastern on c- span. this holiday weekend we will hear from white house domestic policy advisers who have worked with presidents from nixon to george w. bush. they will discuss their relationships with chief a status on friday at 8:00 eastern trip then they will talk about experiences selling policy agendas to the public. that portion saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern, and also lessons they have learned from chief exec is. that is sunday at 4:25 p.m. eastern time on c-span. now a state of our briefing.

the guest has worked on engagement efforts in both the white house and the state department. this is about 20 minutes. >> good afternoon, everybody. i am pleased to welcome the special representative to moslem countries. we will talk about the efforts to create opportunities for dialogue with muslims around the world. before asking questions, if you could identify yourselves, we will appreciate it. >> good afternoon carey i am

sorry you had to wait. take until difficulties. i am the special representative to moslem communities. i would like to tell you about my background. i will tell you about the role the secretary and visions for me. i was born in india and grew up in massachusetts. i went to school in massachusetts. i have had experience working in public and private sectors crit i was vice president for a company in the private sector and had a chance to think about private perspectives. how to you harness difference sectors. this perspective has allowed me to think about what is possible.

i have worked since 2003 in three different parts of the united states government. i was in the agency for international development. i was at the national security council. for the last two years i have been at the department of state. the role that was created was the first of its kind and was an opportunity for me to engage with embassies with muslims across western europe. i mention it because it is important when we talk about how we are doing things now. a strong part engagement is to understand the nuances that are taking place. while i had a european portfolio, i had the opportunity to work with and disease in south asia and africa and the middle east. that brings an opportunity to think about the grass roots level, to think about what

mainstream muslims are doing and how to create dialogue. that is where this leads us. the new rule is a historic role and it is the secretary's vision of engagement. i had the opportunity to brief her at the end of january on the work we had done in europe. in the briefing she got it. she understood the nuances and the need for our country to build relationships overseas. she is somebody who has been doing engagement for a long time. when she was first lady she was the person who created a program at the white house. this is something she got when we talk. what she asked me to do is leverage my experience to think about how we can have the department work on muslim engagement in a way that is out of the box, innovative, that is

dynamic, that works with and the seas so we get to the next generation of thinkers. in this role i will be doing that. the office of the special representative it is a way for us to execute her vision, and on the heels of cairo, when we heard the president talk about his commitment to engage with muslims, this is our effort to work on that important agenda. that is the history behind this. that is a little bit about me. through the questions we have today you will ask deeper questions than that, but i hope this is one of many briefings we have. i look forward to an opportunity to get to know you more the months ahead. >> i covered the state department for reuters. can you sketch out how you hope

to reach out to muscles around the world, what concrete kinds of things you hope to do, whether town halls or traveling or academic exchanges? secondly, you talk about reaching out to mainstream muslims. a much harder target our non mainstream muslims. he had ideas about how to reach out and improve the image of the united states with muslims who may be on the fringes, and have strongly held and perhaps negative views of the united states? >> part of the way in which i look at things, the lands in which i look at things, and if you look at the diversity of islam in america, it is multifaceted. our mosques are in every state

of our nation. muslim-americans are more -- are for more than 80 different ethnic backgrounds. when you think about approaches for engagement, i think about that. there is no one bullet that will fix everything, not one program that will engage all muslims. it is understanding what is taking place on the ground. it is finding opportunities to get to know what others are saying and thinking and dreamy and bleeding. acting as a facilitator and an intellectual partner, the might of the united states is not just one way, it is to waste -- how do you bring ideas together. my experience in europe tells me how diverse it is. or a fifth generation ethnic

german. how do you think about these differences? i am thinking about the european example. it is now wants to. it's a suspect, listening, being created. it is creating many different types of initiatives to be able to do that, so you mentioned a town hall -- a fantastic mechanism. there will be a large and small ways that embassies will want to engage. i have been honored to have a chance to work with and the seas overseas. they are looking at ways to engage, but to whom and how could you ask another important question. i used the term mainstream. as we think about the different demographics and the different types of communities in different parts of the world, i will reach out to a broad range

of them. what i am trying to do is try to foster more dialogue, to find ways to listen where we have not before, and to build opportunities for dialogue. >> can you be more concrete other than the town all example, which is the only one picked up. can you be more concrete about other ideas you may have for ways to actually do this? >> you do very well know the public diplomacy arm of the state department has been engaging with ethnic communities around the world. the use a lot of different mechanisms, exchanges, round tables, where developing and convening meetings with like- minded thinkers, innovators, on to the norris, whether it is creating a community project, creating a network that did not exist before.

it is important for us to listen to what is needed and to be the form that helps facilitate. >> congratulations. in india, is there a need for this position? do you think there is a problem around the globe that this position was important? >> i was overwhelmed with response in india, and i am thankful you are raising it, because it was special for me. the way the secretary is thinking about engagement, we understand muslims are an important component about how we

think about actions overseas and how we facilitate dialogue. the president has made clear this is a party, and this is our effort to engage within state, and the seas, with that demographic. -- within state, embassies, with that demographic. >> can you tell us where your first trip will be to prove >> -- will be? >> i promise i will tell you. >> is there any particular problem you will address? >> the important thing to do is to think about the right approach and what the right trip is going to be and there is no perfect place. it is what will make sense for the schedule.

i look forward to being diverse about visits and hitting all the regions of the globe. >> the previous administration under karen hughes went on a listening tour of turkey and saudi arabia, and the appointed a special envoy. they realized that it was about american foreign policy. unless you change this, you're not going to win the hearts and minds. the you think you are going to run into the same problem? >> what i do know is to the opportunity to facilitate a strategic and nuanced and will the faceted approach, there are going to be a wide range of questions that come up.

foreign policy comes up. the vast majority of young muslims i met were interested in thinking about their futures and thinking about how to participate in communities and thinking about what they need to do to engage in a communication with other countries and with themselves and with the united states. i hope the approach is going to be one in which a lot of questions will come up, but it is going to be important for us -- i said the word "listen," respectfully listen. respect and dignity are so important to me. the way in which we think about what people are saying. when i need a young person who is 16 in oslo who is talking about a critical issue or the young man i met in bangladesh or any of the countries in between, those issues are real and they have their younger, th