is ensuring that there is plenty of spare capacity. çwhether it is natural disastes that have happenedç or conflicç due to civilç strife. ççi played a major roleç in providing that element of security to the petroleum market. we have traditionally kept spare capacity of 1.5 million barrels which is a very expensive capital investment to make and operating costs to maintain. . .

barrels that we have absorbed some of our production to adjust to the recession of 2008 and 2009. we are comfortable keeping that cushion. we believe in the long term that capacity will be used and it will be used for the benefit of stability in the overall market, as well as bearing long- market, as well as bearing long- term efforts -- fruits for us as holders of the largest reserves because it will show the kind of responsible stewardship and management of these resources that the consumers around the world expect fr last year, despite the recession, we maintained our investment regime and in fact,

are close to 2 million barrels of new capacity, including some of the largest fields ever brought on stream, on schedule, and that capacity remains today. from our perspective, we do not see their reciprocal assurance from consumers, and i am talking about policy makers in particular, in terms of giving us the long-term signals that we need as producers to maintain the kind of investment regime and commitment to energy supply. there is too much rhetoric in the public domain about moving away from oil, about independence of various nations in energy which is unachievable and in many ways, misleading to the public that it is addressed to. instead, we feel that energy

security should be addressed in the framework of interdependence which i referred to when i talked about the linked and intertwined relationship between suppliers and consumers. that needs to big knowledge as well as a knowledge of the fact we will be relying on fossil fuels and petroleum for the long term. one last word on another element of security which is an environmental element. i think consumers, and rightly so, are concerned about long- term security of the planet, long-term security of living standards through the environmental impact of the fossil fuels that we will be producing, and i believe that energy industry as well as other stakeholders, including governments through incentives and correcting some of the stimulus packages to spending, need to focus on efficiency and clearing the hydrocarbons that

we will be consuming and burning. we on our part are focusing on that in our investment strategy, but i believe that all stakeholders, including energy industry and other academic research institutions and governments, need to join in this as a collective measure. >> are the signals from either the marketplace or the signals, as you say, from the consumers affecting your own investment decisions as you look out over the next 10 years? >> as i mentioned, for now, we of course on the upstream are sitting -- one-third of our capacity is idle but it is idled and ready to come on stream on a very short notice. so today, our investment for the foreseeable future is to replace

decline and depletion of our existing capacity. long term, if we see that the demand supply balance is calling on us to add capacity, we will certainly consider it. we're also investing heavily in other parts of the value chain. one element of energy supply, a lack of reliability over the last year's -- few years was not necessarily in the upstream sector, but we had bottlenecks in the refining sector, in the supply infrastructure, and we in saudi aramco, despite the poor profitability in refining today, are investing heavily in refining with investing in the most modern fleet of double hulled tankers to get our crude reliably and responsibly to the market that needs it. we are spending money on pipelines and terminals to make

sure that people understand that the largest supplier of petroleum energy is committed in the long term not only to provide the btu's and the molecules of hydrocarbons, but to provide them to the market in a reliable and environmentally responsible way. >> thank you. peter voser, energy security implies stability in investment. turbulent times in the economy imply or lead to instability in investment. what impact do you see that this turmoil has had on the longer- term investment horizons of the industry and what it is doing and how you are dealing with those questions at shall -- shell? >> yes, thank you.

good morning everybody. this is absolutely the key question. what the industry has to deliver in the long-term is we have to increase the energy supply and we heard some numbers from tony. most probably the energy demand will double because we have to deliver energy to more than 9 billion people over the next few decades at a much lower cost to the environment. this is an extremely challenging but also a very interesting proposition for the energy industry. so absolutely key is to keep investing throughout the cycle. despite the fact we have a recession around us, the bigger international oil companies have kept actually steady on the investment side. at shell, for example, in 2009, we had the pap -- highest capital investment budget ever in our history which was $32 billion and from the ioc side it was the highest budget.

we will continue that in 2010. if we do not push this in a few years' time, as demand comes back, despite the fact i am happy to hear the barrel's you have put aside for the future, the world will start to see a supply demand imbalance, and i think we have clearly seen that at shell and we're keeping investing. >the second point is clearly also, we need to keep going on innovation and technology investments, and this is driven toward more energy efficiency. this is driven by the fact that we need a lower carbon world, so this is about fuel standards, this is about reducing co2 which tony mentioned also, for example, through carbon capture and sequestration but it is working on alternative energies including some renewable. let me also bring some realism into the discussion here which i

miss a lot when i travel around the world. i have the feeling that from time to time, everyone thinks we can put the light switch from not on to on and tomorrow the issue will be solved. historically, we know that to gain 1% global market share in the energy industry, you need on average 25 to 30 years from the moment you start to do the development into commercial development and then into consumer development, so we should also be realistic about that and actually work on both sides. we need the investments in the oil and gas industry on our fossil fuel side, while at the same time we need to bridge into a lower carbon world including actually biofuels and grenoble's and so on. so i think what we're looking for at shell is to get a more balanced discussion so we can work on both and for that, we

need technology and innovation. let me say a few words about gas. i think gas is underestimated what it could do to the world over the next 10 to 20 years, so this is now rather short term in an industry which works 30 to 50 years. we have seen over the last few years that there is plenty of gas. we have heard from the president as well. we have an energy source which is from a.c.l. to point of view much better than some of the other fossil fuels which we're using like coal. that is where we should focus, getting the gas much more the agenda -- up more the agenda and getting it into the markets for reasonable prices for the consumers and prices for government and for ioc's we can

make money. >> energy security, when it became a big issue, the world was divided into producers and consumers. is that still useful concept, or is a blurred -- it blurred? >> the world needs energy and it is up to the producers and consumers, including the ioc's to deliver an energy mix which long term gives us a sustained energy delivery at an affordable price and at the cost to the environment which is acceptable. i see in the future a much closer collaboration between the various stakeholders including the parents to drive this agenda forward. i see on the iecd side but also in the developing countries at this stage quite clearly, let's

say, a willingness to engage in that process much more in order to reduce volatility in the future. i think we have seen what volatility can do to the economy like, for example, in two dozen a, and we think -- i think we need more stability into that and this is about pricing and volume and delivery and it is clear that this needs collaboration from all sides. >> let me turn to a consumer. dow chemical is one of the largest consumers of energy in the world and the largest industrial consumer in the united states. andrew liveris, what does energy security mean to you and what does energy insecurity due to your business? >> thank you, dan. i am very privileged to be amongst this esteemed panel and a representative of a consumer which of course, as you have

said, we are -- we are approximately for all types of consumers clearly and industrial consumers. the comments that have been said i will not repeat but energy security does not mean energy independence but that is totally a myth. energy security is interdependent and four company like ours, it is deeply rooted in the notion that we add value to energy for all humanity in a variety of different products. what has happened in the last five or six years and we firmly believe that 2009 was an aberration, a great recession. if you think that is the data point on the curve, we're all mistaken. the tech talk -- tectonic shift happened in this last decade is indicative of the one in the early 1970's and early 1980's which was supplied driven. this is -- this one that has just happened to is a demand shift with the rise of the east and china and the industrial base of china, the energy intensity of that economy all

they -- albeit did try to get better. india, elsewhere, the emerging world is treating a new demand cycle which has brought supply and demand a lot closer which has raised the price points of input. we purchased 1 million barrels a day equivalent of oil and gas. that is a billion dollars in 2002. in 2008 that number was $32 billion. the price point changed clearly. four times. i do not say that lightly. if i could raise the price of the products. what hurts people like us and people out there in general, and why we need a different approach to energy security is the word that peter used -- volatility. before 2001 or 2002, we could count on fossil fuels at certain

trajectories on price points. with no china consuming like it or consuming, those were predictable price points. what you saw was value added to energy at a predictable thing. there was volatility, but you could financially hedged it. you could cope with it. when $32 billion is now you're number and the volatility is almost quadrupled in terms of the price point, and the volatility between 2002 and 2008, you could get a 10% aberration in a month or a week on gas or oil. when you got that operation, -- aberration, people like me suddenly stop. i need certainty in the trajectory. how do i get that? energy security needs a comprehensive approach and we have been saying this since 2003

and 2004 on every panel we have been on. it is responsible fossil fuel development. they will be here for as far as we can see. responsible, and are mentally sound fossil fuel development and ndc and all of these things these guys up in -- innovated with is necessary. everywhere and be responsible. this is a big part of an energy plan. you need a menu of options. as a consumer you now have to have physical hedges said another way. all the alternatives need to come onto the table. alternatives that make sense. what are those? we're still innovating. we need to innovate. just like jfk said, put a man on the moon in the early 1960's, how were we going to do that? no one knew. science responded to the challenge and we're seeing that. innovation at all the things you're hearing about, not just

the developed world, china is one of the largest developers of solar. physical hedges are necessary. how do you do that? if you do not know your price points? you need some degree of predictability. try some -- price on carbon and co2 is a necessary thing. it cannot have that uncertainty on top of the other uncertainty which is demand and consumption. those things are necessary. then there is the third bucket, energy efficiency. europe and japan and other nations responded with national standards on energy efficiency in the early 1970's and early 1980's. the average u.s. home has 2 1/2 miles of cracks in it. every home weeks air tat can feel two goodyear blimps every day. this is a national tragedy in the u.s.. fuel standards in vehicles,

yes, building standards, absolutely yes. industrial efficiency standards, my company has done that for decades. it has quick paybacks. co-generation on site, a lot of other things. there are tools and technologies we have on efficiency. if you put your mind set around national goals and efficiency and the u.s. is the one that has not done that but it is starting to allow you have to get all three right. responsible fuel, fossil fuel development, alternatives and putting innovation to work and energy efficiency standards. those three things and a comprehensive approach. >> price on carbon, do you have a view? would you see it as a carbon tax or cap and trade? >> my colleagues will disagree but we're public with the fact we need a market price and carbon that changes behavior and a carbon tax just gets passed on and gets passed on and will not change behavior because you can

pass it on. so you do need a price on karpin, you need an intelligent way to do it. i am not for a cap and trade where the financial speculators make all the money. i understand that point. we need a way for industrial and every consumer to not see it as another way to get taxed. you need to reward big givers. pre-war behavior is now? by deploying some of this money against the development of these technologies. >> thierry desmarest, whether international oil companies or super majors, what ever you call them. what is their role in terms of energy security? >> they are in a central position. when you look at -- to the share of the oil production which is made by the international oil companies, it is only something like 15% or 16%. if you look to the share of investments in exploration and

production activities, it is more like 20%, 22%, so you have coming from the international oil companies a contribution to the necessary effort of investment, and i would say that the ioc's are taking care of the most challenging project. it is not because they have a masochistic approach, but i would say thafor the resources which are relatively easy to develop, the countries who on these reserves do not generally feel that it is really necessary to bring ioc, so we have to consider that we must be the specialist of challenging projects in all areas. >> so, as a specialist of

challenging projects, an interesting phrase, do you see with the uncertainty about price, uncertainty about regulation, uncertainty about carbon, our risk of a kind of wait and see attitude on the part of the industry, either imposed upon them more driven by the dynamics of their own situation? >> no, i do not think so. because it is linked to your question, i think we are -- no one has mentioned the fact that the financial crisis, as a consequence that the oil demand has been reduced in that last two years by 3%, why do -- we were expecting before the crisis demand to grow by a bit more than 1% per year, so in fact, as

most investments have been done as if the crisis has not taken place in the exploration and production activities, if we come back to the concept of peak oil, it pushes the peak oil a bit further, the financial crisis. it may look paradoxical but that is the fact. i do not think that the oil companies will wait for international oil companies, that is clear. the companies have kept their e & p, capital spending unchanged at the last year. the announce the same figures for next year. elsewhere there have been some reductions but i would say it is not dramatic. concerning the capacity of the industry, all oil companies included to meet demand for the long term i would say the problem of peak oil remains.

we have always been relatively prudent in our assessment of a peak oil date in total between, i would say the international energy agency which was extremely optimistic a few years ago, a bit less today, and so cold experts who were announcing the coil has taken place. in our opinion, it will be difficult to raise the oil production worldwide above 95 million barrels per day, which is something like 10% above today's levels, so it is not enormous. it is not that we lack reserves, there is plenty of oil to be produced, but a lot of it is difficult to be produced.

huge resources like the athabascan oil sands, when you look to the new flow of the last two or three years, you have seen a lot of postponements of projects. not that much because of lack of affordability of project but also with environmental concerns. then, the next example among others, so i think we must keep in mind the fact that in a few years from now, the market may be in relatively difficult position and the energy security concerning oil because i think for gas we certainly have more time, will be a big problem. >> thank you.

we have been talking about volatility and what it does to companies. maybe share work with us, you are responsible for country, what volatility does for you and a country and how, when you have a sudden upsurge in revenues and then down movements, how do you manage to deal with thestability and those issues? >> the reforms we conducted in our country allowed us to create a stable economy and a diversified economy. less than 20 years ago, azerbaijan was part of the soviet union and we had 0% in the area economy, a market economy segment. today a market economy is 85% in gdp. we use the wealth which was generated from oil and gas to

invest in non-energy sectors and invest in production. primarily, we managed to overcome the difficulties of the crisis and the changes in oil price with minimal losses. i can give you several figures which clearly will illustrate what happened in azerbaijan in 2009. gdp growth was 9.3%, industrial production growth was 8.6%, inflation rate was only 1.5%. in 2009, despite all the dramatic drops of oil prices, our sovereign oil fund accumulated more resources, and these figures clearly show that our economy can tolerate such

kind of unexpected development. of course, we also suffered from economic crisis and managed to mobilize all our resources. i can also tell you that one of the important elements in 2009 was on like many countries in our region, our national currency did not lose value, it was stable, so that was a big support with respect to the social protection of the people. and today's level of oil price i think is acceptable for companies, for consumers, and for the countries. this level of price allows us to invest more, to find more oil and gas. at the same time, it is also acceptable for consumers because the balance of interests, which i was referring to in my previous comments, is observed now. i hope that in 2010 we will

implement all the major projects which we have in mind. i can tell you in 2009, investments in azerbaijan in total were close to $10 billion which for our economy is a huge amount, and in the future i think that already balanced oil price will allow us to continue to develop. by the way, during the last six years, azerbaijan's economy was the fastest-growing economy in the world and total growth the economy in six years was 300%. so of course in the coming years, we will not enjoy the same speed but what we have already achieved, accumulated, and managed to redirect from oil into non-oil sector whill allow us to continue to develop successfully.

>> thank you. iraq is a subject for three of the ioc's on this panel and with different perspectives. what are each of you doing or not doing there and what kind of expectations do you have in terms of timing and what is going to happen. tony? >> we a >> we are caught asleep -- cautiously optimistic about the potential iraq can play in providing an important new source of supply to the global markets. we are involved in a major contract to redevelop an existing fields that we found back in 1963. the field is producing 1 million barrels a day and we have a plan to take it to three over the next 10 years or so. i think if all of us who are now

participating there are reasonably successful in delivering on the commitments that we have made, it is quite likely that we will see iraq increase its production to perhaps around 10 million barrels a day, within about 10 years. i think it will not be faster than that, although if you added up the contractual commitments to of may, the current -- commitments you have made, the realities mean you need to build capability on the ground and means that things will happen a little slower than we are perhaps planning on today. the reality is that absent any unforeseen political events, which of course you cannot rule out entirely, then undoubtedly the resources there -- it is relatively easy to bring on stream and there is no reason to believe that they cannot be producing 7 million barrels per

day within 10 years by 2020 or so. it is an important contribution, which is back to the debate about where the new source of supply will come from and what are the challenges. needs 100 million barrels a day in 2030 and thierry and i will debate whether it is 95 or 100 but if you build it, it does not sound very much. we have been producing '83 or '84, khalid is sitting on four or 5 million barrels a day capacity. if you build that decline into the forward projection, the that is 50 million barrels. 50 million barrels a day. the industry has to bring on stream in the next two decades four times what saudi arabia is

producing today. that is the way i think about this supply challenge we're faced with. i believe the resources are there to do it. it needs the investment, the fiscal framework, the regulatory framework, and the partnership between governments, ioc's and national oil companies to ensure the supply terms of. it is improperlentirely possibld we have the right framework within we can conduct the activity. >> you have a large commitment living. >> we have -- are in two fields in iraq. i think not much to add to what tony said in terms of the development. the resources that there. i agree it is part of the easier oil and what we can bring to iraq is obviously technology because the country is from a

technology point of view most probably two decades behind so we can bring that. i do see the challenge in the same way. this is a huge challenge which i said earlier to deliver this increased energy. let me put a number against what tonia describes. this is, roughly according to official estimates, we will need $27 trillion to get to the point where tony described. that is just about an enormous factor and more than what the world has just spent to actually bail out the banks and put stimulus into the market. so this money needs to be earned. we talked about volatility so iraq can actually bring hopefully some stability to that but it needs to be developed and we need to earn the money so we can finance this $27 trillion over the next 20 years. >> thierry, how does iraq -- as

a look different? >> i agree that iraq will play a key role in the equilibrium of the market in the coming years. in terms of corporate policy, we have a very consistent policy of minimum return that we want to have four projects. we have seen a lot of excitement of the industry on these projects. we have a bit less enthusiastic because we think that our priority is to bring a return to our shoulders in line with their expectations so we have taken just a minority position on the project, but we're not particularly concerned because there plenty of other projects in the world which will give us are expected terms. >>-- our expected terms. >> khalid, you are about 10

million barrels a day, give or take. what do you think of this? >> we feel and have felt especially in the last few years, a lot of pressure being placed on saudi arabia to respond to all of the growth projected in demand at one point of time, iea and others were using saudia arabia as a plug in at the end of the imbalance between supply and demand and they showed us producing 24 or 25 million barrels at some time in the future and that raised a lot of concern. we no longer have that concern -- have the kind of pressure. we welcome the opportunities in iraq for iraq to produce more and to better its people and economy. we will still be called to produce at least as much as we have been producing, if not more, and we're ready to do it.

i would advise tony, when he is calculating the decline and what the industry has to do to take our 12 million out of the formula, because i assure him we are going to take care of that, it is not -- >> yours is built in. >> we have a long list of projects in our portfolio that will do more than offset oil declined. i say that just reassuring anybody who is listening and concerned about decline and ability of industry. i would also respond to thierry and said the industry as a whole has been amazingly capable of tackling complex chargechallengn terms of not only the technology we have been able to develop and deploy, but also integrating many disciplines, mobilizing

huge amounts of capital and bringing these complex projects from complex reservoirs' all the way to birder to upset the consumers in a very responsible way, so the four trillion of oil that the planet has been endowed with, only one has been produced. plenty of resources out there. granted, most of what remains is a lot more difficult and complex than what has already been produced, but i am a believer in our industry, and going back to what peter and andrew said about innovation, technology, and the capability of the talented people we have in our industry, i have no doubt that we will be able to do a lot more than 95 or 100 that are projected in the next few decades. but long term, it is a deployable resource, and long

term, we will have to get off fossil fuels and everybody needs to responsibly work on this month, a gradual transition, but we are responsible also to communicate that it is going to take decades and not years. one point i want to respond to if i may, to the issue that oofe that enter talked to when he mentioned his cost of feed stocks crippling in matters of years. it is a fact that our costs have went up in multiples. we have within saudi arabia for compare both projects seen that the cost of developing a barrel of oil capacity between the early part of this decade and last year went up by a factor of six to seven, all on shore increments producing relatively easy oil to produce.

so even the cost of conventional easy oil, if you want to call that, is going up. the cost of production, operating costs, are also going up, and that is reflected, and oil price escalation that we saw in 2008 is very bad for consumers, and it is bad for producers because it causes a lot of disruptions in the market but, ironically, it is also the lower end of the price range is even more destructive and we have seen the impact of the industry and many smaller independents but we have also seen the best impact of lower prices on producers of alternative energies and renewals and unfortunately, many of them went out of business in 2009 when will lead to $35. so i think we have to be realistic. we have to aim, we cannot fix prices, market will but

hopefully cure responsible of oil investments and communication we can import price range that will keep investing, keep consumers able to live their lives and produce their product without too much volatility that is very disruptive. >> mrs. a question for peter, tony, and thierry. unconventional natural gas, a big deal, very big deal, just a north american phenomenon, a global phenomenon? >> big deal and necessary. >> north american or global? >> global. >> a complete game changer in the u.s., certainly. transform the u.s.'s energy outlook for probably 100 years and yet to be seen whether the same phenomena can be applied globally. >> i think first, it is good news.

this being said, there may be a few difficulties linked with environmental problems which can slow a bit the pace of growth of production in the u.s. and there will be opportunities elsewhere but not everywhere. . . i am not up next, remarks by general david petraeus. -- >> ok'd next, remarks by general david petraeus. then that admiral thad allen. the u.s. ambassador to he did -- haiti talks about the situation

there. this week on america & the courts, a discussion on the supreme court and popular opinion. the will of the people, how public opinion has shaped the meaning of the constitution, examines the relationship between supreme court decisions in american popular opinion. america & the courts, tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. updated and released just-in- time for presidents day. suzanne's who is buried in grant's tomb? a tour of presidential grave sites. contributor richard norton smith on the concept behind the book. but it is a wonderful way to humanize and personalize the past and take even and movements that otherwise might seem impossibly remote.

there is something universal about that fact that we will one day all be on our deathbed and face growing old. we all have to wrestle with crust -- questions of immortality and mortality. those are some of the themes that run through all this. it is also, frankly, and entertaining book. there are lots of stories and anecdotes to humanize all of these people. >> available now at your favorite book seller or order directly from the publisher. >> and now the commander of u.s. military operations in the east, david petraeus. he talks about counterinsurgency, the role of diplomacy in development, and our history and culture can develop overall strategy. this was hosted by the world

affairs council in philadelphia and is about 50 minutes. for that kind introduction, frank. thank you for your very generous applause. you know the saying that when folks say kind things about you, it is one of those deals where you wish your parents could be here. my dutch-american sea captain father would have enjoyed it. blige year-old mother would have loved it. ñrand -- my dear old mother woud ñrand -- my dear old mother woud have believed it thank you to all of you for braving the weather and all the rest of that. we were down in washington earlier this week where they

have gone through the snow and the gadahn or something like that -- snowmageddon or something like that. i gather that you know how to handle it better than the people further south. i appreciate you braving the weather to be out here today. i want to thank the president of the council for inviting me to speak here today. i want to congratulate you because i understand this is not only your 60th anniversary, but also your -- you were named the best large council of the '90 world affairs council is across the nation. i want to congratulate you on that, too. [applause] we do a little bit of this and we will try to get out and get folks of opportunityçó to see wo is leading their sons and daughters and explain the great

work that our young men and women in uniform are doing. we're done quite a bit of that at the world affairs councils across the world. we have done so much that at one time i said that, i might be getting enough punches on my loyalty card that i should get a t-shirt one of these days. somebody actually sent me a t- shirt. i will not say which council. it is not philadelphia. [laughter] i will explain in a moment why we are a little bit late. i apologize for that. i have not been able to confirm that someone is in the audience who is a very special person. there are a lot of very special people here, i know. but i think, in the audience today, i hope is an extraordinary woman who has genuine generosity and a true

concern for our troopers which is unmatched. she is the finest platoon mom. she is my platoon mom. over the years, she has adopted thousands of men and women in uniform deployed, first in the balkans, and then in afghanistan and iraq, bringing their days, putting smiles on their faces with care packages, cars, and some of the best cookies on earth. she even packs them so well that they managed to survive the transit to our foreign outposts and bases. in 2008, she was honored in new jersey for bringing comfort to countless service men and women overseas. i would like to honor her today by asking her to stand and be recognized. my platoon mom and the platoon mom of a lot of other troopers is elaine harmon. i hope yours here.

[applause] please stand. [applause] >> the truth is that there are a whole lot of platoon moms out there and a lot of others who really are so supportive of our men and women in uniform. we will show a slight evade realist and ceremony and talk about those great men and women who have their right hand in the air. people occasionally asking why in the world do they keep doing that, tore after tour -- to work after a tour, sacrifice after sacrifice. the answer is that they do it

because they think that they are serving something larger than themselves. they do it for each other. and i do it, -- and they do it because americans support and appreciate deeply the sacrifices that they and their families are making on a daily basis to carry out tough missions in very hard spots against enemies that may be barbaric. they're also learning and adapting. i have tried to practice over the years to never take myself too seriously, but do take your work seriously. we do that as well. i want to start today by talking about why i am late. i just came from west point. i attended the funeral service for a great young graduate of

the military academy. he is the son-in-law of a longtime friend and classmate of mine from west point. he was a great young infantry company commander. he was over there doing what he always wanted to do. he was leading great young paratroopers in a very important mission. they were in a tough spot. he led the way. as they say, he made the ultimate sacrifice. i ask that you join me first, today, before we go to questions, in a moment of silence for a great american hero, captain dan within -- captain dan whitten.

>> thank you very much. >> in general, you may be west point's greatest triple threat. you started at west point and went on to be a cadet. you started today on an important mission at west point. it is a privilege to conduct today's conversation with you. general, we are honored that you have taken time from your demanding schedule to be with us today. you have been quoted as saying that there are three tasks that strategically must be gotten right. first is to get the big idea

right. first is to communicate those communications -- second is to communicate those ideas throughout the organization. third is to properly execute the big idea. you did that will interact, positively reversing several problematic years. now was the commander of our nation's efforts in afghanistan, you are ideally positioned to help us better understand some of the key components in afghanistan of a sustainable u.s. national security strategy. given your unique position in this policy area, i would like to ask how will your strategy for securing stability in afghanistan differ from your most recent successful work in iraq. given the vast differences between the two countries and the nature of the two world -- the two wars?

>> that is a great question. i've probably it ought to shape a little bit where i think we are with -- i've probably ought to shape a little bit where i think we are in afghanistan. we have been at the sale long time. but for the first time, we have the implants in afghanistan right. -- we have the inputs in afghanistan right. we have the organizations necessary to carry out a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign plan. there is a whole host of different organizations. it took us awhile to do that. then we got the all-star team in charge of those organizations, general mcchrystal and others.

we have a fantastic international diplomat. and then there are the three stars, the two stars, and a host of others. we have the right structures and the right people. those people have gone the big ideas right, i think. i think that the counterinsurgency guidance that general mcchrystal published its bond. it reflects the lessons -- that general mcchrystal published its spot on. -- the general mcchrystal published is spot on. it reflects the lessons of iraq.

they enable the implementation of the big ideas. the 30,000 forces ordered by president obama as a result of his policy review, the additional funding for the afghan national security forces, the authorization of 100,000 more of those, additional civilians, and a host of other enablers that are so important to carry out the big ideas and the right team that has the right structures can now embark on. with that right, now it is about producing output. it is now time to produce results. i think we will begin to see that. having said that, i want you to know upfront that, all the way back in september 2005 when i was on my way home from the second tour in iraq, i was asked

by secretary rumsfeld to come home to afghanistan. so we did. a team went over there and took a look and did we give him some recommendations. among the observations i offered was one that did not necessarily elicit widespread applause on the third floor of the pentagon. i said that i know that this is a good war. this is a war that we are winning and the violence levels are low. this is going to be below his campaign and a long war. i wish i had not been prophetic. but i think that is clearly the case. it is hard and it is hard all the time. is going to get tougher before it becomes easier. -- it is going to be tougher before it becomes easier. we can see the beginnings of the output. that will likely be accompanied by high levels of violence, just as it was in iraq when we launched the surge and the

violent levels went up considerably and it got much tougher before it got easier. over time, it did indeed get easier, if you will, and it did get better. so i think that is where we are. again, if i could come back to your mention the west point, you left one thing out. that is also where i met my wife. [laughter] it was a blind date, of all things. i had been set up with the superintendent's daughter, to my court. to her horror, she found that -- to my horror. to her horror, she found out that no one had met me. but it turned out ok. we have a young son that is in ranger school right now. the coldest ranger class on record -- good lad coul.

>> i am going to ask the first to questions and then we will get to the audience in a moment. in testimony before members of congress last week, directors of u.s. intelligence agencies stated a new terrorist attack against the united states "was certain" in the next three months to six months. can you help us connect the dots between that assessment and your mission and strategy in both iraq and in pakistan? >> that is another great question. let me start again, if i could be a little strategic about it, and then i will come down to what i think it was that the director of national intelligence and others were trying to express. we generally assess that al qaeda that we focus on so

considerably -- let us not forget that the reason we are in afghanistan is very clear. we are there to make sure that it will not once again become a sanctuary for transnational extremists, like al qaeda, like it was prior to 9/11. there's no question that the there's no question that the 9/11 attacks were there were training camps that the taliban allowed to be positioned there before the individuals went on to u.s. flight schools to carry out their attacks. what we assess in general is that al qaeda has been diminished over the course of the last year or perhaps all little bit more. we generally think there has been considerable pressure on al-qaeda senior leadership in the tribal areas, a combination of various activities by the pakistanis, largely going

against a subset of the extremists there, threatening them. not necessarily those that are threatening us in afghanistan. the combination of that and other campaigns on going to federally administered tribal areas of western bachus don is to put quite considerable -- pakistan is to put quite considerable pressure on leaders, a number of whom have been killed during activities there. afghanistan's the level of violence has gone up. again, not in a positive direction. when you move over to iraq, al qaeda and iraq significantly diminished from the days when there were to learn 20 attacks per day -- 220 attack day to below 20 attacks per week. the reduction of 90% of violence of iraq.

over 90% of " -- high-profile attacks and the rest of that. quite considerable progress against al-qaeda in iraq, albeit with them still present and able to carry out attacks. we see that, on sundays, we have some very horrific results. -- on some days, we have some very horrific results. . @@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'r

went to watch for that and another country and then to the u.k. and then the flight to detroit -- what that showed is the continued capability of al qaeda, with that question. although it is diminished, there is no question that it has capability. there's no question that this is a learning organization. this extremist network -- and it takes a network to take down in network, which is what we have and what we are working on on the military side together intelligence from counterparts and comrades. but what the and i and others were expressing was that, given -- but what the dni and others were expressing was that there could be an attack of some type

in the course of the months or the year would have appeared that has generally been the case for some time, albeit -- or the year, what have you. that was generally -- that has generally been the case for some time. >> i hope i have this right. not a single american was killed in iraq in december of this past year. >> in november, there was killed in action, suicides and accidents. in december, you are right, there was none. in january, there was when. >> the general has graciously agreed to answer some questions.

we requested that you respect to the council's policy and as a question of our guests rather than make a statement. thank you. the first question, tony. >> good afternoon. thank you, general. i am a retired partner with price waterhouse cooper. thank you for being here. there was an article in "time magazine" on secretary gates a couple of weeks ago. it talked in a lotçó about the dynamic of politics and that he was in a unique situation, having worked in the previous and the current administration. i wondered about you and what was the indication of that circumstance for u.s. professional leader in the military. >> i am a huge admirer of secretary gates. i am among several who was

hoping that he would stay on and be invited to stay on and continue to serve. he has done an extraordinary job for our country as the secretary. the truth is that he has been a professional all of his life. he has worked under five presidents, from different parties. parties. he was the deputy director at one time of the cia and then the director before retiring. by then, he had also done the other great leadership, such as texas a&m. but for military individuals, i would like to think that is easier. at the end of the day, he was appointed by a political figure in what is termed a political

appointment. we have to be apolitical. we must try hard to do that. when a particular president mentioned your name 80 times, you were in a special position. çóbut that was a fairly unique position. i do try to remind people of something that i had done that was a private act in 2002. i had decided that was going to stop voting. it was something that i did alone. i did not mention it to anybody. a few years later, i am really glad that i did it because it's that -- because it had established that i did what a truly meant, to be apolitical. but i think the country is best served -- i am not saying that people should not vote in

uniform. i had a certain level -- i had reached a certain level where it might have some significance. but senior military leaders provided their best professional military advice. they do not worry about whether that is going to resonate on capitol hill, in the white house, or even in the pentagon. they do have to have the strategic context in mind. you cannot ask for something that is not there. you cannot place on bridges demands on the system. but you should -- you cannot place outrageous demands on the system. i had told somebody else that's it was their business -- else that it was their business to

figure out if capitol hill liked it or not. when a decision is made, your obligation is to carry out the decision and to do so faithfully and completely. that is what i have tried to do. there was a point in the decisionmaking process where it would be useful in afghanistan. i mentioned it to the president could be assured that general mcchrystal and i are going to faithfully -- i mentioned it to the president. be assured that general mcchrystal and bair going to faithfully follow this through -- and i are going to faithfully follow this through. we are now carrying out the decision that was made by the president. i think that is exactly how it has to be. if we try to anticipate what folks want to hear and shade

ribeyes based on that, your head is down the wrong road -- and shade your eyes based on that, your head is down the wrong road. >> what do you believe is the formula for cooperation between these two different disciplines and how can the american people support it? >> i would like to think that what we did in iraq is a pretty good example. it brought diplomats and the military together. that is one piece of that. is that correct? >> [unintelligible] >> i hope in know that, together with secretary gates, i am one of the biggest chance on capitol hill of increase resources for

the state department and for a id -- for aid. the military did not raise its hand and say that we wanted to do nation-building in 2003. we were told in kuwait -- i was a division commander then. we were pretty focused on this big bite we were going to have ended was a pretty significant fight. you look back with retrospect and said, that did not seem all that hard. do not tell that to the troopers that are on the ground doing it. but we were told to just worry about getting to baghdad. so we got to baghdad a little bit faster than folks thought. we looked around for the man and there was not a whole lot coming up behind us. the hundred and first then goes up to northern iraq and there was nobody there.

i called the italian brigade commanders and said, you know, i think i am about to make a strategic decision. we are going to do nation- building. you say, what was a big deal about that? you have to remember the context. some of my commanders did. did we not say that we were not planted to nation-building and there were speeches about that -- that we were not going to do nation-building and there were articles and speeches about that? we weren't technically or legally, by a national law, occupying power and we needed to get on with this. so we did. we had extraordinary capabilities. we had three or four engineer battalions. those were 2000 people love with capabilities and contractors and they could do design contract in end assessments and everything.

a ultimately, the ambassador got his money. that becomes ammunition. and you keep going on from there. but the truth is that we would have loved to have had just a substantial number of state department and aid personal going with us or quickly behind us. we had to the talents of civil affairs officers. that was -- we had two battalions of civil affairs officers. that was significant. there's a reason why i spoke at the conference this year. it was out of respect and appreciation of what they do. defense, diplomacy, and development are all essential. you cannot accomplish what it is we are trying to do with anything with what we call a whole of governments.

it is the whole -- anything without what we call a whole of governments. it is the whole of garments. i am a huge chain of this. i think we demonstrated that when i was -- i am a huge champion of this. i think we demonstrated that when i was a commander in iraq. we had a joint civil-military campaign. we built fusion cells. to my horror one time, there was a single attache and the whole embassy trying to stand at the ministry of health. this was after the prime minister asked me to take down

ie detained. that told you how seriously things work out of kilter. so we did all of that. then who was one to help build this thing out? there was an army of one, a greek woman could we said, we have a whole bunch of -- a great woman. police said, we have a whole bunch of field clinics. we can bring some hospital administrators and give you an infantry platoon and some vehicles, chou and water. how would this be? of course, it was a big success. so it has to be together. we decided early on that cooperation was not optional between the embassy's and all of the other elements -- between

the embassies and all of the other elements. we were good to our word. >> general petraeus, i am sure that i can speak on behalf of @@@ @ @ @ @ @ >> i have just won a softball question for you today. we call them snowball's here in philadelphia. will you write about your experience as the commander in these two fields when you retire like other people have? can you tell us about how your sort of counter insurgency was

originated and how it developed and how you develop it and where it goes from here? and you for being here today. >> again, it is a privilege to be here with you. beyond that, i am the one who feels privileged. the young men and women that they're the ones who take the big ideas that men at my level try to come up with and try to turn them into reality on the ground, outside the wire and under the armor. it is a privilege for guys in a position like mine to be in the army with them thank you for the snowball. i thought it was going to be another snowball, as you might imagine. i imagine you not asking that would give the answer is no. [laughter] there is a great song by lorrie morgan. thii have thought about writinga

book. obviously, i have an academic background. i have done a fair amount of writing could do not tell anyone that i was a speechwriter for a while. -- i have done a fair amount of writing. do not tell anyone that i was a speechwriter for a crow. with respect for the counterinsurgency doctrine that we codified in the field manual back in 2006, i think it was the firsfastest field manual ever produced. a lot of us had spent a fair amount of time on it. my dissertation at princeton, for example, was on the lessons of vietnam for the u.s. military when it came to advice and the use of force. i had really gone into that and read about the french indochina experience, the french and algeria, the british and oman,

malaysia -- you name it. all around the world, these kinds of endeavors have a certain fascination for folks, i think. i saw a bit of it for myself in central america as a young maj. i get to work with the leader of the u.s. southern command. he was general jack galvin. i saw of how the campaign plan, the national campaign plan for all salvador came together and the components of it. we kept betting this around. back then, they were called lics for low intensity conflicts.

we did do some targeted raids and so forth. bosnia was very instructive in the regard as well. it did not seem like there was a lot of connecticut activity. but many of us were involved in the -- was a lot of genetikinetc activity. but many of us were involved in that. it was very instructive on how you pull this together. so you have a genetikinetic and- kinetic. some folks think that petraeus was exiled 20 came back from his second tour because he was either -- was exiled when he came back from his second tour because he was either too high profile or something else. i was told that i was given

[unintelligible] the guidance was simple. shake up the army. i said, i can do that. you just put the insurgent in charge of the institution. the commander their overseas all of the education for the commissioned, warrant, and non- commissioned officers. the doctrine center, that is the big ideas. the education, that is communicating it to your leaders. the practice, you control the scenarios for that. the lessons learned center, the center for leadership, you name it. we had the [unintelligible]

it was a tremendous opportunity. it was never about 1%. i can tell you about that much. -- it was never about one person. i continue that much. -- i can tell you that much. we had enough time to sit down and capture what we have learned, to inform it with the the history we had studied, our previous experiences, and pull it all together and codify it in a field manual that did have a substantial impact in how it enabled our institutions to be prepared for what we had to do, then in iraq and now in afghanistan. >> we have time for one brief

question. >> five years ago, a number of us had [unintelligible] he impressed all of us. [unintelligible] it is hard to recognize the man today. [unintelligible] could you tell us how you see [unintelligible] >> i think that president karzai has demonstrated extraordinary qualities along the way. first, there's personal courage. i don't know if you have heard the story of how he was brought back into the country and was nearly killed.

it is an extraordinary story in the beginning. then it became a unifying feature -- then he became a unifying feature in leader for the country and help to get it going in the right direction. candidly, all of us allowed the insurgency to become a resurgent. the levels of violence began rising back in 2006. the continued and they have gone up each year a bit more in the cycle of fighting that has defined -- that is defined by the seasons in afghanistan. that has made his job extraordinarily difficult.

then you have to overlay on all of this the tribal aspect of afghanistan that you cannot escape. you have to keep the history, the culture, the traditions, and so forth of afghanistan foremost in your mind as you think about why you're not going to try to turn this country into switzerland in the next year or two years. you have to be realistic in your aspirations. that is one of the very good things that came out of the process that president obama oversaw that ultimately resulted in the policy that he announced at west point in december. so you have to have all of that in mind. again, it is against the backdrop of increasing violence that makes everything so difficult n starts to take on certain aspects -- so difficult and start to take on certain

aspects. that starts to create some ethnic issues that make it even more difficult. he is the individual riding this tiger or bucking bronco, of whatever it may be, with all of the baggage that he has to bring along because it is afghanistan, because there is 70% illiteracy, because the country has been at war for 30 plus years, a country ruled by the taliban most recently and a number of white extremist individuals. i think it is only fair to him that we understand the context in which he is trying to exercise leadership, trying to be the george washington of his country, but in a context and a set of circumstances that makes it very difficult to do its in

the way that we would judge, i think, what is right. on the one hand, we have to have very much what it is what we tried to help the afghans achieve, what he wants to achieve, and also be cognizant of how that country has run and be realistic in one's assessments of what can be achieved, of what we want to achieve, and how we then have to go about achieving it. we have slides. it is the ineligible right of four-star general to use powerpoint. [laughter] i said i wanted to show you this

as i end here. this is a ceremony of the largest realism a ceremony in our history. this is a picture of 1215 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines raising their right hand in the air, reciting the oath of reenlistment. i was privileged to be the reenlistment officer. it was the fourth of july 2008. we did not set out to have the largest ceremony in history. i am a competitive guy, but we have not set out on this. we just wanted to get a couple hundred troopers together and it kept growing and growing. and there we were. again, you said, what in the world? these are individuals, many of them who were on their second or third full year tour of combat, and they were raising their hands and they knew it would be very likely that they

would be asked to come back for yet another comeback tour. as i said, they did it -- and other combat tour. as i said, they did it for a number of reasons. they did it because there is a fierce desire to not let down your buddies, the great individuals on your right and left to work in a tough spot in combat. they did it because, deep down, even though they will not be there just about it, they think they're doing something very important. and they did because they have a sense that americans, their fellow citizens back home, deeply valued what is that they're doing it and appreciate the sacrifices that they and their families are making i want to close again by just saying thank you -- families are making. i want to close again i just saying thank you. regardless of what you think of

iraq and afghanistan -- remember walking away from boston one time and there was a sign of their of that said "hate the war, love the troops." i told my wife, and 50% is not bad. thank you for that end for all the you do to make sure that our men and women in uniform feel appreciated. thank you very much. [applause] >> a little bit more. just another minute. i am sorry. hold on. >> in general, there is an old saying in business that th >> there is an old saying in business that says there is no such thing as a good company,

just the good people. when you change the people, you change the company. uri living example of that. a lot of people in and out of the army and in and out of the public waiting for you to fail. you did not. your strategy helped restore iraqi's in america. that one over a large number of people who ended up helping you. we wish to the best in afghanistan for a similar kind of result. the world affairs council is a non-partisan organization to bring about the discussion about the world's most important events and we thank you for being here. i would likely -- i would like to thank you and invite you to join a generous friend.

he is a physician and an accomplished businessman and an officer of the world affairs council. >>[applause] >> thank you for welcoming me here. i know that you have said that i know the art of doing a 30 minute speech in two minutes. it might take me 30 minutes to start. but thank you for your remarks today. we know that you are fighting a devious enemy. we know that you are fighting a devious and a -- a devious and emmy -- a devious enemy. we discovered comfort in knowing

that you are doing your best to lead the charge, to combat extremism and terrorism, and for more political and economic stability around the world. for that, we thank you and we're proud of you. dunno, in my view, a stable and secure southland -- general, in my view, a stable and secure southeast asia [unintelligible] we recognize the significance of the region. in partnership with the world affairs council, we have established a foundation, a program designed to engage, exchange, and educate citizens of all ages on the complexities

of this volatile part of the world that could potentially put the entire world at risk appeared to end this program, it is my head -- at risk. to end this program, it is my privilege to offer a heartfelt thank you to your longstanding service to the common good enduring during dedication to the core ideals first moralized -- and during -- service to the common good and to your dedication to the core deals first memorialized here it in the city of brotherly love. proclaim liberty it among all lands and all inhabitants. >> thank you very much. it is very kind of you. [applause] thank you. put your hand on there.

thank you very much. the honor is >> coming up next on c-span, add more and that allen on haiti relief -- admiral thad allen. then, the u.s. ambassador to haiti and then the global economic forum on future global energy needs. >> tomorrow, of washington journal, the chair of a private security firm details to fight in afghanistan. douglas wilder discusses his

recent call for president obama to make changes to his advisers. also, neil munro on reshaping the national they. washington journal, on c-span. >> tune in to "book tv" beginning saturday. henry paulson talks to warren buffett on the economic collapse. a historian, on how the atomic bomb changed the presidency and will the u.s. in the world. it read prayers -- every airs on sunday night. -- it rears on sunday night. . re-airs on sunday night.

>> and now, admiral thad allen discusses the activities of the coast guard in haiti relief efforts and he discusses the fiscal year 2011 budget request. from the national press club, this last about an hour. -- this lasts about an hour. >> good afternoon, everyone. we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists and are committed to our profession's future by providing informative programming and fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the press club, visit our website. on behalf of our members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speaker and our

guest at today's event as well as their c-span and public radio audience. i will ask as many questions from the audience as time permits. i would like to introduce our head table guests and ask them to stand briefly when they're called. from europe, jim wolf -- from your right, jim wolf, matt mil narchic, amtt mails, jane lescher, john gallagher, master chief skip bowen, ken yates, do nna winelan, ms. nancy

sully, ken delucky, amy morris, . thank you. [applause] a argus reports directly to the president, the cemetery of homeland -- our guest reports directly to the present, the secretary of homeland security, and the secretary of [unintelligible]

the u.s. coast guard [unintelligible] the earlier continental navy was abolished after the revolution. in 79, and alexander hamilton greeted a bill creating -- and in 1779, alexander hamilton created a bill to create a group of countries. -- a group of couutties. from the 1980 mariel boat lift to the 1991 haitian exodus of 40,000 refugees and the indian ocean tsunami, the u.s. coast guard played a vital role during hurricane katrina when it re skidded nearly 25,000 people and medically evacuated close to 10,000.

its duties include search and rescue, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection, polar ice operations, and national security. i think all of us in washington can relate to the polar ice part. today, at mel allen is speaking on the state of the coast guard and its future -- today, admiral allen is speaking on the state of because guard and its future. [applause] >> thank you very much for that kind introduction. i would like to have a couple of comments. i have two very different to have joined us here tay. nancy and i met last august when we traveled to the north slope of alaska together to witness

firsthand the implications of an ice-diminished the arctic in the summer and its impact on the indigenous populations of there and some of the environmental challenges we face. she has been a great friend and, more recently, has led a task force on ocean policy. very soon, we will be putting out an ocean policy for the country. more importantly, it will be a beckham for marine special planning which will look at how we -- will be a background for marine special planning. [applause] my other guests and i are both from tucson, arizona. she has the unfortunate background of having gone to

tucson high school and went to palo verde high school. we do not have a better friend in the department of homeland security and i did not have a better friend than her. thank you for being here. [applause] let me thank the national press club. we have changed the format of this event over the use to coincide with the national press club series. this allows us access afforded by c-span and we think the national press club. we would like to acknowledge another guest here. we have a unit here today that responded to the initial crisis. .

[applause] and we have crewman from air station clearwater. they'd been convicted and numerous amount of medivacs. [applause] -- they utilize numerous amount of medivacs. >> public to make two other comments. we continue to grieve and support those families and survivors. we wish them the best, today. i did note that the 12th of february is the anniversary of

another tragedy that happened in the 1990's when we lost all but one increment on a boat that was attempting to rescue. to keep them in our thoughts the news spread quickly among capitals around the world. while most were gathering information and try to understand the events, your co- star was acting. we received orders to reboot -- to report to port-au-prince. we delivered command-and- control capabilities and medical supplies and hope. hope for the haitian people and a promise that the world had not forgotten them. helicopters and c-130 is conducd damage assessment overflights.

within 24 hours, coast guard men and women, before anyone knew how many were hurt, hundreds of haitians were thinking our people for providing first aid. for the crews, they created a clinic. they broke off tree branches to use force plants. a junior officer described his initial impressions. >> there were screams, wailing and crying and desperate calls for help. i knew that i was walking into a bad situation, but nothing could have prepared for me -- prepared me for what i saw in that clinic. there was also a story about a new life being brought into the world amidst the other devastation.

he went on to participate in many medivacs. please stand. çç[applause] çxdçfáççóothe petty officeh us today. he treatedt( over 300 critic@ély injured patients and spent six hours to stitch up a wounded man. [applause] by january 25, we had five cutters in the immediate area and nearly 900 customer people

in the theater. qtoday, wet( have at(ç back and xççqnearly 1200 americanok cits and deliveredçç over 700 responders to port-au-prince. it is prettyçxdç amazing for n çorganization whosexd force cod fit ié the national stadium. there was also a superior team play by all of our components. it coordinated the evacuation of citizensç%q?ó. @z the same team work is being displayed with our canadian partners in the winter olympics that bega!moday.

the coast guard address, i would like to note --ç to make a few comments. w3there areçt( budget request(r fiscal yearç 2011 and there is significant progress that has been made. qççw3these forces inçççñrd çopportunities. ççwe create conditionsçxd foe success and we need a clearer vision of our priorities. 5ha> authority to move

our forces are workingçó hard to çsustainçi] --i]okçççç maintaining cutters and tiller new ones are delivered. i have communicated openly to our personnel regarding the details and intent of our 2011 budget. as president obama remarked in his state of the union speech, it is important to understand we are in a constrained budget environment. he said families across the country turning their belts. the federal government should do the same. as a, not, reject the request currently before congress does reduce personnel in the coast guard by 773, but most importantly, allows us to move cutters and aircraft that are aging and in need replacement. some are being replaced to allow us to maintain our existing fleet. the budget contains nearly $1.4

billion to allow us to continue replacing aging assets like are high endurance cutters. the budget contains money to buy the fifth national security cutter. it includes 200 tickets for million dollars for fast response cutters to replace our patrol boat class. we are especially appreciative of the president and first ladies support for families and for the $13.9 million for improvement or acquisition of housing to support our families, and we thank them again. as commandant, i supported this budget as it supplied us the ability of -- recapitalizing finding reflects hard choices, choices that best position the coast guard to optimize our performance to protect the nation within the funding

provided in still replace aging cutters and aircraft. our intent is to manage current operations as funded in order to sustain our recapitalization program. the president's budget does this. this represents the best way forward given a constrain funding level. it is the coast guard's responsibility to manage current operations with the foresight instructor provided in the budget. we can and will do this. we could use some help as well. two things come to mind on my wish list. first, we would appreciate an acknowledgement by all our partners of the following attributes of our service. we are multi mission, service agency that has the capability to respond along our coast and offshore for any nondefense related incident related to our national interest. we support nearly every department specialized agency of our government. we are federal first responders

for the nation. we are prepared to do our job with the resources provided in the budget under operating principles that have served us well for two centuries. we must seek to balance our operations across all of our missions. we should resist the urge to parse our missions. what do our missions have to do with: security? the answer is provided in the homeland security review that is provided on land. security and resilience of global movement systems, effective emergency response, and continuity of functions. all those relate to the home -- part of homeland security. we can expect constrained budgets for the foreseeable future. we are prepared to support these budgets and manage operations. we would ask that consideration be given to creating multi-year

estimates that allow us to plan our acquisitions against a predictable funding stream. we have gone to extraordinary lengths to restructure and build an organization to meet oversight requirements and standards. our acquisition baselines' lack credibility when they are not supported by a five-year capital investment plan provided to congress in a timely manner. to our congressional partners, we are working to change that. we understand and support the budget, and we are prepared to execute it. let me turn to the second force impacting our service, which is coastguard modernization. in my first state of the coast guard speech in 2007, i said there were three things the coast guard must do to position service for future success. modernization is in all three.

first, we need to understand or dramatically change the operating environment. second, we must change to sustain and improve mission execution. third, we must be more responsive to the needs of the nation. i said our challenge going forward would be to adapt our forces so that we would be nimble, flexible, and capable of operating with multiple partners. search operations -- loss sustained performance and our traditional missions. that was the cause for action and the value proposition of coast guard modernization. it is no less valid today than three years ago. what about today? that is a fair question. let's hear some highlights of what has been accomplished. we replaced the organization with a simplified construct

that focuses on the operational unit. we have established logistics centers for aviation facilities, cover and small boat fleet, cyberspace sensors and information technology. any unit in the coast guard with a support issue as a single point of contact. we are moving to induct our legacy assets into a new system that will be used by all logistics centers. for those of you from a larger military organization, this is tantamount to a logistical tree of less failure within the coast guard. for support not centered on an asset, as a ship, aircraft, or small boat, we have created service centers. we have completely revamp our support structure for our reserve component and reallocated positions that

support our reserve is closer to the delivery point. we are looking ahead to future mission demand. the deployable operations group has distinguished itself. we are reducing the total number of deployable units, but let there be no mistake to the value this unit brings for the coast guard and for the entire nation. our unit stands the watch in the port-au-prince harbor. this organization has taken on some of the more perplexing problems in our service, including consolidation of inspections and visits require our operational commands.

the first remaining challenge for the services the integration of support across turn to program lines at the unit level. it is complex, but the solution in concept are simple. we are replacing regional support command with part of a -- it allows for a small boat product line manager to synchronize his responsibilities with one court communication on the small boat. i established a goal at the outset of my term that i will not seek accomplished. the solution lies in the transition to new financial

accounting system being developed by the part of public security. the system is under development and it did not make sense to procure a new system for the coast guard when we would have to replace it several years later. there are numerous areas where recant address material weaknesses and improve our representation to the auditors, we are doing just that. the final step in modernization involves congress. there are four actions i cannot take and the coast guard cannot take absent congressional authorization. one is the proposed roll right synchronized operations. -- world wide synchronized operation. one is the upgrade of the vice admiral to rebel.

i lay out these intentions in february 2007. the request to allow full implementation of coast guard modernization is the passage of authorizing legislation so we can move forward. finally, i would like to talk about cutting readiness. -- cutter readiness. the current condition of our high endurance cutters is a serious concern to me. following extensive repairs over the last 18 months, which continue to experience continue to experience increasing casualties -- the scenarioç underscoresok both covers [8qw3q are in serv. çthis tensionqç between curret support levels and the need to bring this online was critical. ççççççxdqas weççç suppg

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dry dock. okthis was courtedok flawlessly. çxdw3the response was a triumpr the organization, but our fleet. i would like to tell you that we over extended because of the mission in haiti. çthe fact that we would always respond. we would take every resource we have to throw at the problem. this is indicative of the overall readiness of the fleet. rall readiness of the fleet. the average age of our cutters is over 41 years. the condition of our fleet continues to deteriorate, jeopardize in our ability to do the job. that is why we must address future readiness, as we have in the president's budget.

we played to our strengths and punch above our weight. as we continue to adapt to change, there remains certain aspects of our service that are timeless. our core values and operating principles that guide the men and women of the coast guard. these people remain undaunted and they do not need directions and higher authority to ask. a third class petty officer said this in an e-mail to his mother. today was the first day i have truly been thankful to be an american, not because of our infrastructure but because as a country, we will be there when a country of less fortunate is in need. heydey rarely exports anything to our country. -- haiti rarely exports anything to our country.

we will stand aside and put aside are different opinions and help those in need. these are remarkable words these are remarkable words written in such a conci ingful way. it tells me that the state of the coast guard is reflected in our people and in their resiliency. the coast guard today remains true to our model. we have made significant cultural changes and structural enhancements to sustain readiness in the face of ever increasing demand for our services. the state of the coast guard remains strong and brazilian today -- strong and resilient today. we are up to the challenge. thank you, and i would be glad to take any questions you have. [applause]

>> there is no shortage of questions that have come in today, many from service members. we appreciate their contributions as well. our first question is, as a veteran of disaster response, please compare and contrast the challenges of the situation in haiti with the situation in louisiana and mississippi after hurricane katrina. >> that is a terrific question. let me start with the response model for haiti. we are dealing with a foreign, sovereign government. the entire national committee is trying to support it. the way the u.s. accomplishes that support is through our chief -- most emcees are not staffed to handle certain operations. usaid dispatched a senior

official down there to assist the ambassador. that is the person who focuses response by the american government for the government of haiti. in support of that effort, to make entities were established -- to entities were established. a team of folks was sent down by the department of homeland security and other agencies. in katrina, the people we were supporting or the local and state governments, the mayor and the governor. in the u.s., their federal prohibitions regarding what the federal government can or should do. my role as a principal federal official was to work with the task force commander as we put together a response package for the mayor and the governor. there are similarities, but the overall governing structure is different.

>> president obama has vowed no cuts to defense, and the department of defense is seeing a small budget increases for fiscal year 2011. other home and security agencies are adding jobs. how is it that is taking a 3% budget cut and losing nearly 800 jobs in contrast to other agencies that are gaining? >> what is important about the president's budget is that it has allowed me the flexibility to focus on recapitalization and to manage current operations with the funding provided. we can argue about funding levels. everybody always wants more. the real issue for me in this budget is can we continue to recapitalize the coast guard? >> this message came from the parent of a recent coast guard recruit.

how can you justify recruiting procedures when there is a backlog of fully processed recruits being told a could be delayed for a year? why spend the time and money to continue to process records that have nowhere to go and place their lives on hold with a potentially empty promise of enlistment? >> we need to understand what the budget is right now. the president's budget request is on the hill and has to be acted on by appropriation committees and then reconcile. we do not know until close to the beginning of the fiscal year what are funding level will be and our ability to manage the work force close in is constrained by what is appropriate. while we have people waiting to access into the coast guard, until we know what is appropriate, we cannot take the final steps.

this creates concerns about the future and what is going to happen and how we will implement this. as i told my entire work force, we will manage the personal impacts associated with this and pass information as soon as we know it. we will be totally transparent. in the meantime, we will have to manage a workforce that is larger now than we will be able to support in 2011. we will do that in a totally transparent manner. >> as the need for budgetary cuts it grows, has any consideration been given to cutting costly officer billets and replacing them with less costly and listed counterparts? >> it is a question of interest to the field. in the personnel -- there is a reduction of over one else in military personnel, mostly related to the ships that are being played up and taken offline, that will allow us to

recapitalize the fleet, as i noted earlier. in addition, there are over 300 civilian positions being added on. there is a conversion. -- there is a conversion of some positions from military to civilian. as far as the officer to enlisted ratio, of all have our budget people determine that for the outcome of this budget and put it on the block for everyone to read. >> given that the fiscal crisis is not going away anytime soon, is there a possibility that cuts could come to retirement programs? >> i don't believe so. i think the president has made this clear, the commitment to our men and women in the

military is very strong. it is very strong with secretary gates and chairman mullen. it is central to make sure we find full entitlements. that is where restored building the budget, and it will not be diminished. >> how will the lack of funding impact coast guard operations? >>nis is a way for us to receive transponder locating its permission from vessels. we think it is a critical piece of maritime domain awareness. is competing with other items in our recapitalization agenda right now.

our aging cutters are our number one responsibility. we'll have to revisit what we think about maritime security in this country as it relates to the ais system and how we want to conduct operations that support level. we have not had any viable threat to our ports since 9/11. that does not mean there will not be one in the future. right now the discussion is whether or not there is a credible enough maritime security need to build those out, and we believe there is. >> do you foresee expanded opportunities for the coast guard auxiliary to deploy and assist the active coast guard in situations like haiti? >> we love the coast guard auxiliary. they are of great benefit to the nation. they come from the local communities where we operate. they work for psychic income.

we give them but stipe been to report -- we give them a stipend, but this is a labor of love for them. around the world during our cover deployments, we have created a program to provide translating capabilities. we apply their skills where we can match them up with the coast guard. >> how extensively can you use them to make sure that they still love you? [laughter] >> it is kind of a dance. i spent a lot of time going around and talking to the auxiliaries, telling them how much we appreciate their services. when they found out what our modernization plans were, since they are not constrained by title 14 changes, the auxiliary has already modernized.

they have already gone to the structure that we are proposing to congress. i think it is a great partnership. >> web 2.0 is gaining more exceptions. can you explain how the coast guard uses it? does it help the u.s. coast guard carry out its mission more effectively? >> i believe that the convergence of computation and internet data transmission has produced an equivalent in our social environment that is the equivalent of climate change. a doctor said last fall in a speech to the coast guard that

there are three ways to adapt to climate change. you can suffer, adapt, or manage. this is a fundamental change in our social atmosphere. i have tried to move the coast guard into the managed category. we have facebook, quitter, youtube, and video libraries and so forth. this is the way we produce social outcomes. it is part of the work force, and we have to adapt to meet it. and we have to adapt to meet it. given that you are making this transition, what sort of impacts are you seeing negatively when you did not do it and what are the positive impact from doing it? >> i am giving away a strategy.

the responsibility for the fidelity of truth, accuracy of any thing you see on the internet rests with the reader. there are no barriers to enter. that space can be populated by anyone and we found out that the national defence from that it is being populated by people that do not like us. if information is not correct, you have a couple of choices. you can let it stand. you can adapt. ñryou can manage. we have chose to spiñi kill thee with our information. >> he made reference to climate change. what are some specific steps the coast guard is taking to become wore green?

the it task force on ocean policy. beyond that we are doing work at the international maritime organization. i leave the u.s. delegation on behalf of the state department. in november, after piracy, climate change in air emissions were that number to issues -- issuesnumber 2 issues. we have issues with invasive species. we are working to endo international standards -- to invoke international standards. if you look at the north slope of alaska, there are a lot of arguments about the science. i said before, i am agnostic to

the science. there is a territorial sea and an exclusive economic zones. we cannot abdicate that responsibility. i have been told it is not our responsibility, but that is not true. it is a national responsibility and something we have to have a serious policy discussion about. >> with each answer, there are a couple more questions. it is fun to keep shuffling cards. given the importance of merchant commerce to our nation, wide international seafarers have difficulty getting access to shore leave? >> that is a question i have taken up over the last 18 months. a couple of things are complicating this period: security and the coast guard have been working for several

years on rules that would implicate -- that would implement an identification card. anyone who has access to secure space is has to carry one of these cards or be escorted. in some cases, there has been an instruction for crew changes, people trying to get to shore for shore leave, or just doing logistical work when they are in port. we are looking at this, and facility operators need to demonstrate that they have a plan to provide seafarer access to shore. anyone who runs into that kind of problem needs to contact the captain of the port. these people need to have shore leave and access to shore. we support that and make the changes necessary to make sure they have that.

>> why can the international community not put an end to piracy? >> to have an act of piracy, it takes a portable ship and a pirate. there are not a lot of consequences attached to the behavior of pirates. we have taken extraordinary measures over the last 18 months and are putting out guidelines on how to hardin defenses of ships that are slow and more vulnerable to attack. i have issued a maritime security directive that requires u.s. black ships around the horn of africa to do assessments for piracy -- u.s. flagships. this has been enormously successful but only accounts for 1% of that is shipping at the

war of africa. the head of the u.s. transportation command and others predict that have to include legal sanctions for holding people accountable in a court of law someplace. we have an mou withkenya that allows us to prosecute their. >> how will budget cuts impact coastguard operations aimed at intercepting drug smuggling? >> when we allocate resources, it is always a risk evaluation process. we take a look at the intelligence, the threats that are out there, and allocate resources to meet the highest

needs first. countered drugs is an important mission to us. to the extent we have capabilities, keeping drugs from entering central america or mexico. trying to capture a multi ton quantities before they get to central america and mexico is the most effective way to intercept drugs from south america. operational model is sometimes more important than the funding level. it is our freedom of degrees of movement. one of the opportunity costs for haiti recovery was the movement of the coast guard cutter hamilton from the pacific ocean to the panama canal to assume command and control of port-au- prince.

those are the trade-offs we make in conducting current operations. does not matter what the resource level is. the process by which we do it, the intelligence we bring to it is what is most important. >> because of the way the military is organized, the coast guard adheres to the don't ask don't tell policy by agreement, not by direction. the coast guard is able to allow gays to serve openly. even if not ordered to by president obama, will you reversed don't ask don't tell? >> first of all, i cannot reverse it. it is written in the statute and would take repeal of the law to reverse that. under title 10 as a military service and following the direction of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, regarding

this, a review is under way to take a look and build knowledge of how we might fulfill the guidance provided to us by the project -- by the president in his state of the union address. our goal is to create as much knowledge as we can about the implications of the implementation of the policy guidance provided by the president's once it is converted into legislation. >> this questioner says he will provide you with his full contact information if you are interested. despite the two people implanon opportunity complaints and numerous consultations with military and private attorneys, the problems of discrimination toward hispanics in the coast guard persists. is the coast guard going to augment its senior libbers -- leadership with more his bank american membership to reflect the changing demographics?

>> i will be happy to take the intermission and follow-up on the complaint. we seek diversity in the coast guard. all different viewpoints and walks of life, all religions are important to us because they create cognitive diversity. that is people with different viewpoints. if you agree on a central goal and you have different viewpoints, it is like getting a multi line fix. it gives you a higher fidelity solution for what you are trying to do. we want a more diverse coast guard and we are working toward that in our recruiting. it is not restricted to one nationality or ethnic group. we needçó diversity across the board, and that is our goal. >> this question comes from a civilian naval architects and baltimore. in your efforts to constrain government spending, i am concerned the decommissioning of

the cutters might affect civilian employees. what efforts are being made to preserve the jobs of civilian employees in this area? >> 339 civilian positions are being added, so i do not see any negative impact at this point for civilian workers. >> please update us on ship inspection procedures. what is the status of that? >> we have a review going on right now of our ships operations and how our engineering staff on ships handle oily water discharge and bilge water. what we have done is to make sure we are living by the same standards we hold industry to. i have dispatched inspectors to go on board and inspect our

cutters to make sure the same standards we apply to the private sector are being held to. >> the average navy ship is 14 years compared to 41 for the coast guard. we continue to have enough ships that can keep pace with the navy to be operationally effective? >> we will if they are properly maintained. that is one of the reasons we have to lay up the old ships and build new ships. the old ships cannot participate as they have in the past and continue in the future. we are seeing increasing levels of casualty reports and difficulty in trying to support them. we will operate with the navy. our quest is to migrate to the new fleet as fast as we can. >> the 2010 ice season has been

detrimental to cutters. is there a anything in place to recondition them? >> we have had some problems with reliability of our ice breaking tugs. that is a growing concern for us now. our new logistics' organizational structure is taking a look to see if there is a systemic some components or parts of the ship that may be in demand across the fleet that we need to look at. once the assessment is done, we will have to come up with the way forward. that is what planning against it is so important. >> how important is the ratification of the international treaty to maritime security? >> it is extremely important. i have supported for a number of

years. we do a lot of things out there related to governing what is the last global maritime commons. we do it out of practice. we have not ratified a sea treaty. we need to create a traffic separation scheme in the bering straits so we can separate north and southbound traffic to improve the safety of that waterway. a transit strait connects to international bodies of water. it can only be done in accordance with provisions of the law of the sea treaty. we continue to act unilaterally out there using the law of the sea treaty as cover for what we are doing without ratifying the treaty. it is time we ratified the treaty and using it as the government's model for how we operate.

>> other nations naval forces in postcards have spent more resources on the arctic and the united states. should the u.s. be paying more attention to the arctic? >> yes. we have a looming crisis. that is the condition of our polar icebreakers and how they fit into the future capitalization needs. we need to have a policy discussion about what the status of our icebreakers is going to be and what are our intentions. i have been told we need a policy discussion and i believe that is true before we make a monumental decision. we need to understand what we are trying to do in the arctic and a consensus on how we are born to move forward. that discussion cannot happen soon enough. >> given everything have spoken

about today, in five years, if there is another disaster that the coast guard needs to respond to, how would that be different unhear? >> what should not change our our operating principles. those of the principles of restraint, unified operations. that is a proven model. what will change our to medications, technologies, how we apply the operational model with the forces that we have and we can do a better job for the nation. as i said in our remarks, i would resist the urge to mess with our operational model. if you start parsing our

missions and doing a litmus test, you break down the multi mission aspect of this country. we can always do the best job we can do with the business model. i look for changes in technology, maritime domain awareness. operating concepts should not change. >> we are nearly out of time. we have a couple of important matters to take care of. let me remind our members of future speakers. on february 23 we will have tom vilsack highlighting the obama administration's shell nutrition act -- child nutrition act. on february 26, francis collins will be speaking on a new era of quantum leaps in biomedical

research. on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. an announcement for our audience, members of the press who are here. there will be a question and answers session for press only. the election would be complete without the traditional presentation of the national press club's beloved mug to our speaker today. [applause] as noted, this is the last of your for state of the coast guard addresses. it will soon be selling to other stores, and we don't really know where they are. they said a happiest days of the sailor's life or the day he buys

his first boat and the day that he sells it. as you prepare to leave the coast guard, what are you looking forward to, what will you miss, and would you consider other forms of government service sunday such as secretary of the department of homeland security? [laughter] >> with all due deference to my future appears in the room, i have a saying that the smartest apples i have ever met are retired. i hope to increase my intelligence quotient and the 26 of may and become one of those. it has been a great time for me in the coast guard. when i was born, my father was deployed on a high endurance cutters. he was not there when i was born. i am 61 years old and have had 47 addresses. i intend to keep working. i have an interest in not for

profits, in doing the kind of work we have word makes the most difference. i will remain busy, and i do not intend on buying a boat. [laughter] >> we would like to thank you for coming today, admiral allen. [applause] i÷we would also like to thanke national press club staff for organizing today's event. for more information about drawing the press club, please go to our website. thank you, and this meeting is adjourned.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> the u.s. ambassador to haiti updates the situation. then a world economic forum discussion on the economic impact global energy needs. after that come on david cameron and a number of others discuss the impact of government financial assistance for banks. this week, a discussion on the

supreme court and popular opinion. we will discuss the relationship between the supreme court decisions and american popular opinion. >> his film, "hillary, the movie," was the recent subject of a supreme court hearing on campaign finance. >> now to the state department for an update on relief efforts in haiti following the airport. briefing in the reporters is the u.s. ambassador. we will show you the regular briefing by the assistant secretary after this. >> we are back in business. it looks like it's still a snow

day. >> you are more than two hours late. good afternoon, and welcome to the department of state. for those of you in the viewing area that wonder where we have been for the past week, obviously we in washington, d.c have been experiencing an unusual amount of snow. we have all been home shoveling and doing other things just to survive snowmageddon here in washington d.c.. we have had intrepid members of the press corps here with us and have been able to try to continue business under arduous circumstances relative to washington, d.c. we are back in business and pleased to see many of you back in the briefing room. we are one month beyond the haiti earthquake, and we thought

it was a wonderful opportunity having ambassador ken martin here in washington to give you a sense of what is happening in haiti and how haiti has been able to begin to recover from the devastating earthquake of a month ago. haiti is now experiencing a 3 day period of national mourning. we stand with haiti as it goes through this time frame, but it would be a wonderful opportunity for our ambassador to give you a briefing and a sense of where we are 30 days on. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. some of you i have seen down in haiti. i thought it might be useful for you all to get the big picture

of where i see our efforts one month after the earthquake. i will give you a chance to ask some questions. i would like to start out by giving a brief plug to my colleagues at the embassy. those of us here from the united states can be proud of our american diplomats, aid professionals, and soldiers on the ground who have helped deliver an immense amount of aid and relief to very needy people. i would ask you to keep in mind that in many cases, the people providing this assistance are people who in many cases lost everything they own. their houses were completely flattened. they have lost clothing, mementos, pictures.

one of our foreign service colleagues died in the earthquake. others are still hospitalized. it has been a difficult time for us as well, but i am very proud of everyone in the u.s. government who is down there doing fantastic work in terms of getting aid and relief to haiti. one month on, where are we? we are in a very good place in terms of food distribution and water distribution and getting medicines out to needy hospitals. working with our international partners, we have been able to routinize distribution. we are giving people two weeks rations of food, things they like to eat, rice, beans, that

sort of thing. that is an improvement in terms of the haitian perception of our effort. obviously we face ongoing challenges. the next issue we are most concerned about this sanitation and shelter issues. i am sure you heard people talk about that we are coming up in a couple of weeks on the rainy season. we want to do the best we can to reach and touch as many people as possible, as many families as possible with plastic sheeting, which is what we are distributing. they can take that sheeting and put it where they are currently staying, or take it to where they all the billick plan on moving permanently and use it as construction material.

sanitation issues, there are many people who are not in houses who are in these temporary camps and various open spaces around port-au-prince, whether it be soccer stadium or many other places. we are working to provide those people with sanitation, latrine facilities, portable toilets were appropriate. we are not where we want to be with that yet, but it is an ongoing effort. we are working day and night to get those facilities as good as they possibly can be for the haitians who have been displaced from their houses. again, in terms of international cooperation, i have been very pleased with the cooperation on the ground, not only injured

agency but with -- not only interagency but with our international partners. both the civilian and military, in terms of humanitarian aid delivery, we are working very closely with many other big donors including french, canadians, eu, and many others. frankly, it is working really well, and this is something people will be able to look back on in the future as a model for how we have been able to sort ourselves out as donors on the ground in responding to the earthquake. . .

have you talked to him today? >> i was not part of that conference call. i talked to him. i read this and reports. >> what would be the effect of the effort. >> personal popularity is the thing that president clinton brings. i am sure that all people in he join me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

>> there was a report in the "miami herald," yesterday that the government had given the haitian government a draft plan on the reconstruction authority. can you describe what is in addition to or what is laid out in that draft? >> well, president obama has asked us to be as awful as possible in getting ideas to the haitian government and to the haitian people. we are trying to do that. other donors are trying to do that. i am sure that there are other donors that have shared their thoughts with the government. in terms of the specifics, frankly at this point, i have been out of haiti since monday morning and i don't want to characterize it like that because i think i am behind the curve. it will be the nation's decide

what they want to do in terms of their reconstruction effort and any sort of extra texture. -- architecture. that said a key tend the americans were using for evacuation processing is being brought down to is that an indication of the evacuation effort winding down? >> what i know is the numbers of americans being evacuate it has gone down in recent days. i would note that up untilw3 no, as of tuesday, we have evacuated over 15,000 americans from haiti which is the record since i]the 11 non evacuation of 2006. that is aç lot people. i did not know about the status of the tent.

our operation in country has been able to go back toç providing other services for americans who are there such as passports and notarizing documents and lost property and so forth. because that demand for evacuation has tapered off. i do not know the specifics on the 10th but that is the situation on the ground. >> this issue was raised walking into the room. i wanted to ask you about the discussions regarding the pan american citizens who were initially charged. could you be crystal clear with us about the nature of the discussion the u.s. government had with the haitian government about their fate? did the u.s. government ever make any sort of requests that they be released? were there any details about the facts of their cases and the

circumstances surrounding their arrests? could you walk us through that if you would? >> sure. as i understand it, this group of 10 citizens had been arrested by haitian authorities. to the best of my knowledge the incarceration has been done according to haitian law. we have had the approval level of consular access of people to determine that they are being fed and kept safe and they're getting their medicines. beyond that, we have told the haitian government that if they want to have any conversations with us about these people and the situation we are open to that. beyond that, the process is

working its way to the haitian courts. i am not sure there is much else to tell quite frankly. >> to the haitian government express a desire to talk to the u.s. government about their cases? >> a desire to talk about it? i would not characterize it as a desire. we told them that if there were at the point where they want to have the discussion, we would be happy to talk with them. >> there has been no such discussion? >> not with me. >> from where you stand, as the case of the 10 americans become a distraction of the overwhelming needs of the haitian people? >> i would not call it a distraction. to those 10 individuals and their families and loved ones,

it is not a distraction. it is an issue of high importance to them as it should be. we would ask people to remember that there are up to 1.5 million haitians and the port-au-prince area that are out of their houses and are homeless and desperate for humanitarian and medical care. i would not characterize this as a distraction but we have to realize there is a large humanitarian issue, as well. >> what is on the status of the americans right now? >> i do not no on that last question as to where they are right now. to the best of my knowledge, and i have been out of haiti since monday, my understanding is

that they are still in jail where they had been kept. they're getting food and so forth. >> if there are in fact released, will yourç staff take custody of them? >> i am not a consular specialist. typically, we monitor cases of americans who are incarcerated and presumably if they need assistance in getting out of the country, we could provide that with them. beyond that, i would ask you to check with the consular perot to make sure what we are permitted to do. i do not want to mislead you. >> about 49,000 tons were to look third. those deliveries have not stopped. why not focus on tents?

>> i am not sure those numbers are right. the reason for delivering plastic sheeting is several. as i understand, the sheeting is more effective in protecting people from brain. secondly, tents are good for one thing, sleeping. the plastic sheeting can be used as building material. as people are currently at temporary locations, they can use blocks or sticks to put up the tents. there are various ways you could use the shooting. the plastic sheets can be used in a temporary location and when they move, they can take the sheeting and can use it as part

of the new house. it serves to faces. -- it serves two phases. if you are talking about the larger tense with six people, most people would agree that you cannot have the privacy and dignity that you should have in your own self constructed shelter. that is another advantage to that families can be amongst themselves. you can sit, stand, cook. it is my understanding that it is better protecting from the rain given the thickness of the plastic. >> after they are delivered, what is the next step as far as helping with houses and rebuilding? >> as i understand it, we are in the process of delivering

sheets. we hope to use a local labor to continue to cut the sheets to appropriate sizes that people can use. it is going to take a number of weeks to get this out to everybody that needs it. i remind you that we are not the only people on the ground doing this. others are providing this kind of assistance. it is something that we are working on. >> any idea of the number? >> i do not. >> what is the next step? >> after the shelter? the next step is a broader question that the haitians are going to need some determinations on with where people can rebuild again, are they allowed to rebuild in certain areas. if you lived in port-au-prince, you will know that there are places where houses have been

built where if we were to have another earthquake, at some point in the future, it might not be the best place to build. that will be a determination that the need to be made by the haitian government. there are people who built on areas that are likely to flood. in previous rainey seasons, there has been loss of life. if i were the haitian government, i would want to discourage people from rebuilding and those locations. those would be the next steps with the haitian government can determine that rubble has been cleared from the section of town and you can go back and build here. that is how i imagine it moving forward. >> who is doing that kind of city planning? is there a ministry in haiti that did that before and they have enough staff who have survived and have the skills? >> there are several entities

that do that kind of work. there is a mystery that would have a role in that. there " was largely focused on working with international donors and trying to coordinate their efforts. there is also a ministry of public works. the anagram is tptc. they are most involved in terms of urban planning with widening streets and that sort of thing. thus far, i think the ministry of public works will have the key role in that. the president has also named three individuals, one of home is the current minister of tourism but an architect and an urban planner by training.

he is involved in working through their ideas for reconstruction. there is also a man who is involved in that as well from the private sector. there is another in the ditch -- there is another individual involved. they are thinking these issues through. we have offered our assistance to them and i say be as a very broad international community that where appropriate we have resources upon which they can draw, we have been in discussions with them. i am not sure how concrete those plans are but that is an ongoing effort. >> i heard him say in the opening remarks that the response to the earthquake might be seen as a model.

i realize it is only one month since it happened but i would be interested in your lessons learned and thoughts. are there things that would have been helpful to you the first day or the first week with the second week? are there other ways this could have been handled even better? >> being completely frank with you, i have not really had a chance to sit back and think through my lessons learned list at this point. there are some things i am theory thankful that we did do. i can tell you those. those are probably too much at the micro level to be interesting. at the risk of saying that i am putting myself on the back, i will say that i think the fact that we have very good relations with all of the other international players on the ground prior to the earthquake

has really helped smooth the relationship on ground with all of these new actors that have come in. all of these people from various agencies and the u.s. agencies and the u.s. government. the french have had some soldiers come, they have had fire rescue workers, and. i am sure they have had other people come. canada has had a large interagency presence. i think the fact that we had a very frank and open and well working mechanism for court and in amongst ourselves prior to the earthquake has allowed that the earthquake has allowed that to continue at a larger nove