then, the former world bank president, paul wolfowitz, talks about the downgrade of sovereign credit across the world. guest:" is next. "washington journal" is next. . . for democrats, 202-737-0002.

for republicans, 202-737-0001. for independents, 202-628-0205. you can always reach us by e- mail, journal@c-span.org. if you have called in the last 30 days and got in through, let others call in this morning. you can also reach us using twitter. twitter.com/c-spanwj is how you do that. here is the front page of "the washington post." "the forecast for the gulf coast is grim." in the center we have a picture so of the oil boom that they are using on the gulf coast. "worsening crisis undermines besio reforms. -- ceo reforms."

the front page of "the philadelphia inquirer," "a parallel relief gusher could take three months." "president obama traveled to louisiana on sunday for a firsthand briefing on the gulf of mexico oil spill. officials in washington said that they were putting their hopes into a parallel relief well. fishing was restricted yesterday for least 10 days. largely from the waters between the mouth of the louisiana to pensacola bay."

we wanted to speak to a staff correspondent, occurred victor. -- kurt victor. what is the white house most concerned about? the loss of jobs? environmental impact? what, specifically? caller: you nailed it. first of all they have been dealing with horrific weather down there. the unpredictable nature of this. the exposure of the coastline, a vital area for the global and local economy has enormous exposure. and you have an economic issue that is very important. plus environmental issues with these fragile communities.

and crabs, fish, across the board the c sued -- seafood community is at risk. a potential disaster that the white house is sensitive to. they're also worried and would never acknowledge the potential political fallout. did they respond quickly enough? could they have done more? they have political issues that are converging and making for a very challenging atmosphere. host: the president and his administration wasted no time when it first became apparent last week in saying over and over that bp will pay. what is that message? ocaller: of the white house is walking a delicate line. they are saying that they are

doing everything they can to help the local economies to prevent the environmental damage that looks imminent. of what they want to do the same time is make sure the public recognizes that bp is responsible for this brig. they have filed the papers assuring that they have fail- safe procedures in place to prevent the very kind of catastrophe, preventing such a calamity from happening. >> looking at the next step for federal response, who is the key person on the ground?

>> it is interesting, at this point their mantra is all hands on deck. they do have a coordinator down there. watching the sunday shows, clearly the interior secretary, the homeland security secretary, they are all basically on hand. the mantra you will hear from them is that we have been on this from day one. i am not sure that there is absolutely one person. i think that there will be a multi-agency response to this catastrophic disaster. host: thank you for the update this morning. caller: delighted. host: what do you think about the federal response to the gulf

oil spill? here is joe from apple valley, california. caller: i think that everyone is blowing everything out of proportion. from one to the next, yelling and screaming at each other. they cannot agree on anything. as far as barack obama, he is doing really good. i do not understand why everyone is on top of him. host: you said that they're blowing it out of proportion, are you talking about the impact of the spill? caller: no, i am talking about like they did on hurricane katrina. are they jumping on a fast enough? crazy talk. host: kevin, go ahead.

caller: at this point my concern is if we're looking at something that makes sense, these processes for the oil spill in the gulf should have already been in the workings. we should have known that these were problems and we should have known that we needed this apparatus ready to deal with this problem. host: you leave more culpability with bp in this case? caller: at this point we know we should have had a shut off valve. the basically everyone throws out the option saying that there is nothing we can do. host: "the washington post" writes about the response. "a somber forecast about the

spill, barring a sudden triumph with a blowout they hope to capture the oil with containment domes, the idea being to lower the huge domes over the preventers and pump the captured oil to a barge. but the domes are still being fabricated in the louisiana. -- and fabricated in the louisiana." jerry, good morning. go ahead. caller: something i have been missing from your guests, if they want to talk about risk when you take these kind of risks that happened out there safety is important. you need to have that in order when you do projects like these.

this is near to what happened in alaska. thank you. host: "the wall street journal" has a headline, "disaster invokes specter of the valdez. can bp foot the bill" fellow we will show you the president's comment -- bill"? we will show you the president's comments in a moment. caller: this is actually going to be bigger than katrina. this has the potential to actually be environmental chernobyl. something that will affect the economy for years to come. my question -- is it not possible to be able to use the navy to control the situation in

terms of an appeal for a charge of a non-nuclear warhead? develop the charge so that the explosion will actually reseal the well? i know that we are not supposed to use the military in domestic situations, but john warner actually got congress through a public order to say that the military can intervene. it seems that the missions that we have with the the military that we have, the navy should be able to come up with something that can be dropped. we ought to be able to create some ammunition to create an explosion the cap the leak. i am wondering if the option is

being talked about or discussed. there is my comment. >> that collor and others have raised the comparison to katrina because of the disaster in the gulf. when robert gibbs was asked about it yesterday he was asked by a reporter, "has the president express that he is mindful that some people might want to draw connections between this and hurricane katrina? "i have no doubt that i am happy to compare the response, we are dealing with an issue of environmental and economic devastation. the analogies are tougher to make in an event where the storm has been tracked for several weeks and comes ashore to kill people." part of the response from robert gibbs yesterday.

libertyville, illinois. republican line. caller: this is the response i expected. the problem here is the government really being incompetent. i worked in the oilfields. i guess in other places they have used a different type of valve to stop this. we do not have enough regulation. i hate to say that. host: you hate to say that there is not enough regulation? caller: not on the coast. this is a problem with government and the whole thing. we had the same thing with the

sec scandal. off no one is getting in trouble and it is all political. this is terrible, what has happened out there. he should really concentrate on this instead of running around talking about immigration. the law should be the lot and it should be enforced. -- the law should be the law and should be enforced. host: there is a "the new york times" story on the financial and, "if democrats close in on a goal overhauling financial regulation several prominent experts say that the legislation does not even address the right

problems. according to a finance professor at the massachusetts institute of technology. in telling the public what they needed to know about this, senate republicans echoed concerns for the labor day -- delayed debate. they say the government's must press forward." jolie, independent line. go ahead. caller: how are you all doing? host: tell us how close you are to the gulf coast.

caller: i am sitting right on that and i do not see no oil. this whole thing is kind of nothing. we could have had dome out there three or four days ago. host: is that going to do the trick? caller: i used to work on them oil rigs. i do not know what the problem is. they got about 126 gallons flowing out of that thing. it is simple underwater physics, all of his. oil floats.

host: you are not concerned about the fishing industry being affected or shut down? caller: i am sad about the beaches in mississippi and alabama. they have these currents out there in the gulf. i do not know the cycle right now. the only thing we have to worry about is the wind-driven at element. host: of the headlines in sight of "the financial times." "anger against bp on the coast." here is some of what the president had to say yesterday. >> we are working closely with state and local communities to help every american affected by this crisis. let me be clear, bp is responsible for this week and will be paying the bill. as president of the united states by will spare no effort

to respond to the crisis for as long as it continues and we will spare no resources to clean up the damage. while there will be time to investigate what happened on that ray and hold responsible parties accountable, our focus now is on preventing the leak and more damage to the gulf. host: that is some of what the president had to say yesterday. we are asking you about the president's response and your thoughts on the oil spill in the gulf. next caller. caller: i am surprised that people are already blaming the obama administration for the response on this issue. you know, the republicans have been doing this thing for the past few years. this is what happens. this is what environmentalists are saying.

just one act away from being a catastrophe. host: you are surprised that their response, are you hearing that just today for more broadly? caller: people calling this obama's katrina? c'mon. they want to blame obama because of an accident? it is not his fault. host: we have showed you the president's comments. here is back to the story from "the financial times." "the director of the local coast zone management department said that it was clear that bp did not have a response plan. they counter that they attack -- tackled the leak on several fronts.

a rig is in place to dig a relief well but they are waiting for the water to come? -- calm down." suzanne, santa cruz. caller: this is marvelous. obama did nothing for eight days, moved in equipment that was not ready for this. we know the basic science. burn off alight oil on the top and the heavy oil drops to the bottom. these liberals in the white house oare rubbing their hands together. they want to do windmills. here in california we have all of these windmills we cannot even turnon because the liberals say that they disrupt the flight patterns of certain birds.

this whole thing, they are in charge and they are just loving it and they will blame bp. host: that was suzanne from santa cruz, california. dale, independent line. caller: good morning. there is a technology available that i have not heard that is being proposed to be utilized called bio remediation. host: what does that do? caller: the moat -- more sophisticated is it is a special nutrients to help micro organisms reproduce and have the oil break down into simple fatty acids. host: they are saying that some 5,000 barrels per day are coming

out of here. can handle that? caller: there has got to be a ramp up process. no one in the world is ready for this size of a spill. but the increase production and the advantages of bio remediation can actually cause the oil to be cleaned up is this is supplied ahead of the beaches, getting ahead of the oil spill you are racing to see if you can get it faster. host: we are talking about the oil spill in the gulf. later this morning we will be bringing you coverage from the united nations of ahmadinejad speaking at the nuclear conference. the report this morning from "the new york times" says "the

obama administration has been mounting a country by country campaign to go beyond the treaty and make sure that the push for atomic mastery does not ignite a regional nuclear arms race. in recent months diplomats have been shuttling to the middle east in pursuit of agreements that would allow for a nuclear power while relinquishing the right for fuel. the administration is trying to entice middle eastern states out of enriching for fuel, but using a step known as reed-processing -- reprocessing. they can both become clandestine means of making nuclear fuel. reducing the chance for bomb grade material with better

processing at homeof the man thd the fruitless search in iraq said that it was an attempt to close up the holes, that it was an attempt to isolate the iranians. they have a different agenda according to some, an acknowledgement of the atomic arsenal of being signed on to the non-proliferation treaty. secretary of state clinton was asked about it yesterday." here is what she had to say. >> if we're willing to abide by the non-proliferation treaty, that would be welcome news. but i do not think that that is why they are coming. they are coming here to confuse the issue. there is nothing to be confused

about. they have held under all kinds of restrictions and obligations that they have not obliged by. we are not going to permit iran to try and change their story from their failure to comply in any way that upsets the efforts we are in the middle of, which is getting the international community to propose consequences for their behavior. host: a front-page look from "usa today" shows a couple of stories, including the car bomb in new york and a picture of a crisis in the golf course -- gulf coast. "urgency increases as impacts stretches from louisiana to florida." mark, independent line.

caller: good morning. a gentleman spoke about oil being on the surface of the water. my understanding was that it leaches down into the bed of your fishery and that that is what is so dangerous about it. i really think that they've done all they can. they spend three or four days not allowing anyone in the researchers, people have to remember that. you have got normal procedures and you have to go by the experts. you have to block it off with floating gizmos. i think that everyone has done what they are supposed to do with that point. a darn shame.

maybe this is a bad enough catastrophe, and i hate to say this, maybe it will get through the heads of those concrete think people that were singing drill, maybe, drill -- baby, drill. host: next caller. caller: remediation is a good idea, if we could use drones to spray it. i also think there should be some kind of submarine research where they could deal with the settling of material and what materials might interdict that problem. host: is this technology that you know exist or technology that you hope exists? caller: i am pretty certain that

there biochemists out there that can develop something for anything. i have known some, they're very intelligent people. peace -- those people with research submarines could have a part of this. host: going inside of "usa today" they have a chart of where the oil is expected to be as of tuesday. giving a prediction as of where the spill will be as of 6:00 a.m. on tuesday. china, independent line. good morning. caller: i think human beings need to do one thing, really. do what works and do not do what does not work. so far we have poisoned our air and people are making up facts

about that. but it is true. look at the facts. does it work or not work? can you tell me, i got here late, what was the response of the white house? host: we are asking you to rate the response. the president was in the gulf coast region yesterday. we will show you another fled from him in just a moment. we are asking you how you would raid the federal response so far. thank you, connie. samuel, go ahead, democratic line. caller: i have never picked up the phone to call c-span. host: glad the made it through. caller: this oil spill is a natural disaster. this is god telling us that we, as human beings, need to stop

contaminating our bodies and we need to allow spirits to reside within us. this oil spill, these are on for given fruits like oysters that we are not supposed to be eating. this could have a profound effect on every individual in bringing god back into our lives. host: the president was there yesterday. he had a number of things to say to officials down there, people involved in the fishing industry and others down there. here is part of what the president had to say to about the federal response. host: -- >> from day one we have prepared for the worst even as we hoped for the best. while we have prepared aggressively, i know that i will not rest, as the gentleman and

women here will not rest until we stop the source of the while at the gulf being contained and cleaned up and the people of this region are able to go back to their lives and livelihoods. currently the most advanced technology available is being used to try this stuff a leak that is more than 5,000 feet under the surface. because the leak is unique and unprecedented it could take many days to stop. which is why we are using every resource available to stop the oil from coming to shore and mitigating the damage it could cause as much as the the discussion here at the center was focused on if and when we would have to deal with these mitigation efforts. host: president obama yesterday with a clear from jamie, "the gop wants more federal government but says that obama -- the gop wants smaller federal

government but cries that obama is not doing enough, hypocritical much"? virginia caller, go ahead. caller: i liked what suzanne had to say. research experts saying that you could do a controlled burn. i am wondering why they have not done that. i was talking about that last week. host: what do you think the reason is for them not doing that? of caller: i do not know but i find it telling that the last democrat that called wish for a bigger natural disaster. host: independent line, tallahassee. first we have the front page of

"the washington times." hung parliament. u.k. conservative strengthen lead over rivals." one more look at headlines on the british election, "tories came to seal the deal on the u.k." "the u.k. conservative line benefited from a strong debate performance from david cameron

in a memorable gaf from gordon brown. even so they have not consolidated into a parliamentary majority." foon c-span.org even check out r video library for more information. columbia, missouri. independent line. caller: no one seems to understand that this was an explosion and 11 people lost their lives. no one seems to be talking about that. seems like another day, another live from obama. host: tim, democratic line. caller: what i would like to say is first to a couple of comments that you had earlier with a couple of guests. first of all, this is not

obama's fall. something blew up underneath the ocean? i think that with the oil rigs going in, before they even start drilling in the way to shut off. you have a leak like this and no one can get to it? you need to have a shut off valve or something in place. because this will obviously happen again. thank you for c-span, i really enjoy your show. host: florida, bob. republican caller. caller: good morning. i am starting to hear the old excuses coming out of this thing. they have had a week to do this. if the democrats want to claim that they are green, they should

have multiple plans. if they do not have a plan in place for a response in place and have had a week to do with, the one bad thing that bush did with katrina is he waited for a week before he showed up. what the president is doing is getting in front of appear in is making excuses before washes onto the shores. but there is no reason he should not be calling for help from all of our friends. host: houses for the dealing with potential landfall? caller: i do not believe that florida has a plan either. we have not had real oil washing onto our shores since the 1960's or 1980's. that was when we had war

maneuvers. host: incidental oil spills? host: -- caller: the navy will throw away their medical waste. you will wind up with a lot of medical stop washing outcome whenever there is oil in the air, whenever there is war. oil will always washup. host: this is john calling from naples, independent line. caller: i was just calling to say that i read about a study, those of what we have used in the past to clean up oil spills has damaged more marine life and natural ecosystems than the oil, seeing as how it is a natural

substance and the environment tends to fix itself better than whenever we get involved with detergents. host: thank you for calling in this morning, john. about eight more minutes of your phone calls on the federal response to the oil spill in the gulf. the president's nominee for the supreme court has yet to be determined. there were hearings over the summer in the judiciary committee. other picks that he has made, this is paul west's story writing in "of baltimore sun -- in "the baltimore sun." "working methodically and drawing fire from the left and the right, obama is gradually

reshaping the u.s. court. he is also choosing a larger proportion of women and minorities for a lifetime federal judgeships. the diversity is striking." bob, missouri. good morning. caller: this is missoula, montana. host: my mistake. go ahead. caller: a caller earlier touched on this briefly. we have this continuing problem when the corporate people gain control of the government. they go in and stymie all of the regulation that there is, handcuffing the regulators that are there.

when other parties to get control of government, it is all screwed up. gosh, you can do nothing right. we have seen the payout in the coal mines. remember neil bush? this goes on over and over. adults either jumping in the water i do not know what barack obama could have done. halliburton was in charge from the get go. obama really had no idea how bad it was. host: grant, republican line. caller: i would first like to express my condolences to the people that lost the lives. but i am a bit confused.

president obama has been sold as the greatest thing since sliced bread. he will stop the oceans from rising and heal the planet. in he cannot stop this week. i do not understand. could it be that he was oversold to us? could it be that mr. emanuel is well known to have said not to let a crisis go waste? the number of cases where there are oil rig fires likeness are so rare. the last one was back in the 1970's. you have really got to wonder how this accident occurred and what the green peace and mr. obama's radical allies were

responsible for. it will be interesting to see what the investigation for the cause of the accident, up as. host: this is darlene from the independent line. caller: what that lady just said, i was willing to say something about that. what exactly caused this? i wonder who could have done this. i do not know. at any rate, i do not think that bush is any more at fault with katrina that obama is here. if you blame bush for katrina, you have to blame obama also. thank you.

host: appalachia, florida. caller: we make a living here through oysters and commercial fishing. both of which are threatened by this oil spill. host: what is the best word you are hearing about when it will hit the shore? caller: still a bit of a ways from here, we are 60 miles east of panama city, florida. but it is a huge response. they are talking and lot but what we lose our income, i do not hear anything about unemployment for the louisiana oyster people. why is the president not talking about that?

this is because of our offshore drilling policy, which we have been against for a long time. this proves that the people that feared the worst were correct because the worst has happened. one more thing, i think of the oil company and government are minimizing this to triad to upset people. we are looking at losing your complete livelihood here. host: thank you for the employer. taking a look at this story of mine about the rescue of the imf -- rescue by the imf of the greek economy. deep cuts in government spending. more about that in an upcoming segment. madisonville, kentucky, last

reaction to the oil spill. caller: i am sorry that they lost their lives, but they were just doing their jobs. we have still got two oil spills them there. you get some caps in you and kept them off. is not that hard. host: more of your phone calls coming up as we brought in -- as we welcome gov. bill richardson of new mexico. as well as your calls, coming up next. ♪

>> basie's band video library abraham lincoln fact, there are 6000 references to abraham lincoln in our video library. you can find lots of interesting programs online. for a contemporary perspective in print, there is the book, abraham lincoln. >> mahmoud ahmadinejad is expected to speak today at the nuclear non-proliferation conference. find key moments from past speeches of mine that the c-span video library. watch what you one, when you want. -- watch what you want when you want. >> i am worried that new media is headed down the road toward that all -- bad public sector

decisions. host: tonight, michael cops on the communicators. >> "washington journal" continues. host: bill richardson joins us this morning, in town for an event with other governors to focus on job creation. what is the employment situation like in your state? deposed -- guest: we are at about 8%, a bit less than the national level. not quite as much as other states. most of this headline says of the governor presses congress and job creation, what more do you want them to do? is that not enough?

guest: the entire economy needs incentives. we want the congress to focus on job creation now they have completed their action on health care. this event in the chamber, basically the answer is what the states are doing, and of the federal government. and what they are doing is what has come out of the chamber study, that we invest more. workforce development, training people, international trade, investing in infrastructure. in new mexico we brought forth a commuter rail and a space for.

we want the congress to move forward with incentives. we might build 20 new hires in this country in the next seven years. we lost 7 million jobs in the recession. we need to create 13 million more jobs in the next few years said the country remains economically sustainable. host: later this morning we will be covering the discussion at the chamber of commerce. kind of an interesting alliance between you and governor pawlenty. how did this come about? guest: is not political, it is about how we can create jobs. the chamber sponsored a study on on to a vendor ship -- on on to

dinner -- on on to ignore -- entrepreneurship. it is a useful compendium of all of the things the states have been doing. this is a bi-partisan group of governors. we know each other quite well. no offense to what is happening here in washington, but we are the ones suffering in this recession but also the ones that can directly affect the lives of people with our actions. host: a moment ago you mentioned the need to create 20 million jobs over 10 years. president obama often talks about small job creation.

with a number like that is it not true that someone has to start hiring in large chunks? guest: that is right. largely coming from big manufacturing and auto workers. many of the other businesses i think that president obama is on the right track. the stimulus that we received help us to create jobs, health care education. beyond that we need the private sector did become the main generator of jobs. host: we have calls in tulsa, oklahoma. independent line. go ahead.

hostcaller: i know it is stated, but here's some not immigration law, can you talk about that? -- i know this is not the topic, but the arizona immigration law, can you talk about that? they have a program with local sheriff's [unintelligible] i wanted to make that clear, i do not understand it. like i m in oklahoma here.

-- i am in oklahoma here. when they take you to jail they ask you about immigration status. host: more broadly, your reaction? guest: it is a bad lot and i regret that it has created such a very strong anti-immigration hysteria around the country. 100,000 people this weekend demonstrated. what i would like to see is the congress stepped up. that is the problem. this law will lead to racial profiling, as mentioned by the gentleman. i think you would hurt a lot of people by boycotting arizona. what i think the congress needs to do is wake up the natural

immigration bill. president bush, president obama, to their credit they are trying. this bill should crack down on the illegal hiring that takes place. perhaps some kind of accountability for the 11 million immigrants that are not here legally. earned the legalization. passing a background check. getting to the back of a lime, admitting they were wrong. give them a status tuesday in america. this is a hot issue, nationally. host: jobs, the subject you are in town for, you talked about folks that are hiring. what is the projected impact on employment if there were tougher

federal immigration rules? >> one of the facets' that we don't moquette is legal immigration. those that can come here in certain sectors of the economy. it affects europeans. not just hispanics. not just mexico. it is allowing family reunification of those that are already here to be clogged, broken with bureaucracy, for granting many from coming here. i think that the issue should be looked at as a job creation bill. 11 million individuals out there who are not working legally.

host: rick, st. petersburg. caller: good morning. why are you perpetuating the lie that the new arizona bill encourages racial profiling when the bill clearly says not to do that. guest: there is a fan. [laughter] he is wrong. it gives the authority to police officers, many of them good individuals but the burden is on them, if someone looks suspicious they can go through their papers and passport. if that is that racial profiling, i do not know what it is. arizona has a county that is being investigated for civil rights violations. this is clear racial profiling.

the federal government should take care of immigration. my hope is the obama administration challenges this wall, along with other states and organizations. luckily there are three months for it to happen. this gentleman is not right. this is racial profiling. this is why there is such a bipartisan reaction. i think he was from texas? host: florida. host: -- guest: gov. bush, the former governor of florida is questioning this. mark rubio is questioning this immigration law. so, this is a bad situation. i think it is important that the congress -- they have eight months ago, they should deal

with this issue along with energy. eight months is plenty of time to deal with many of the problems we have in this country. host: silver city, charles. democratic line. go ahead. new mexico. go ahead. it would help if i pushed the right button. i apologize, charles. caller: no problem. i have a quick comment and then i would like to ask the governor a question specifically. a while ago it woman blamed greenpeace for the oil disaster in the gulf. you that that comment stand. there is absolutely no evidence that greenpeace or anybody is responsible for that. my question to the governor, will we be using more natural gas in new mexico in our

automobiles and giving the windfarms going? -- getting the wind farms going? host: thank you very much and you are up early in silver city -- guest: thank you very much and you are up early in silver city. natural-gas is one of our cleaner sources of energy. it needs to be used more creatively. solar energy, wind energy, we have become one of the centers in america for clean energy. we need to build more transmission capacity. .

there has to be a coordinated, a cooperative effort. it is a huge tragedy. we should learn from this tragedy into of thing down. we need domestic oil production. the president is right to put a moratorium on some of these pieces. host: what would you said about his policies to open up one of maryland? guest: let's hold off, see if we can find the best resources and technology to see what we can

do. expect the reads and what we're doing. third, we need to look at clean water funds going into the mitigation of some of this disaster. and creating a national oceans policy that protects animals and has an overall strategic look at the ocean. also, enact the protection we have on the land, in the ocean, too, and this means looking at everything we are doing, including drilling in some of these sensitive areas. host: there is a chamber of commerce report, talking about the job loss in new mexico in march, the jobless rate 8.8%. where is that job loss happening? guest: it is happening in

manufacturing. we have had to cut state government. but if you look at our job growth, we have been below the national average because we concentrated a lot of new jobs and renewable energy, we are bringing a lot of movies into the state. we are building space tourism in the state. in other technologies are still showing support -- a lot of other technologies are still showing support. host: you talk about the stimulus. how long is that good for? guest: two fiscal years. we have had minimal cuts in education, we have had some, consolidation of schools, but teacher salaries have not been cut. when i became governor, we were

48th in teacher salaries, now we are at 35. the stimulus has helped us, but it has also helped us in green jobs, high wage jobs, in many ways. i do not think we need another stimulus. i would rather see a private sector-state collaboration, tax incentives ifor small businesse. that is what i would like to see. host: arizona. keith, independent. caller: i would like to ask the governor in question. do you support the obama plan of keeping people working or able to take care of their home? do you understand?

guest: no, if you could explain elegant better. caller: if we decide to lose our homes, where do we go? guest: a are you talking about his foreclosure policy? caller: yes, if the banks do not work with us, what is our option? guest: like you, i do not like bailout. we had a few banks control of most of the economy. i would like to see them broken up. but i also know that community banks are doing what they can to loan money. i think there has to be a foreclosure policy that allows individuals like you, who may be losing their home, to get some help. this is part of the jobs agenda

that many governors want the congress to do. that $8,000 tax credit which was used effectively, has already expired. we want to see people like you get help. host: good morning to sheila in worcester, massachusetts. caller: thank you for taking my call. regarding the immigration issue. i think most people believe there is an issue here. millions of americans support jan brewer. after watching the demonstration over the weekend, i decided to send her a message, a thank you card with a $2 check in closed. i hope everyone else will do the same.

thank you for not cutting me off. host: what does this long been to new mexico? do you see a possible ripple effect? guest: i do not think so. i issued an executive order that if a new mexican is racially profiled in arizona, we have a human rights commission from protecting them. arizona is a friendly state. we are a neighbor state. i called her to tell her that she should not be signing this bill, it is discriminatory. she listened, but i think, politically, she was in a box. now it is having a negative effect on arizona. i appreciate her. we do have a serious problem at the border. we need to protect our border.

we are in a recession, so every american wants to make sure they have a job, but the best way to do with this is to look at the comprehensive immigration system. we have the same problem in new mexico. we have had illegal immigration. host: are you doing anything at the state level that you have not done before? guest: yes, i increase the number of national guardsmen at the border. there was an incident might on the arizona-new mexico border. we gave local share of state funds to do with illegal immigration issues. i declared a border emergency several years ago. but i also cannot think that any state or person should take

action into their own hands. host: minnesota. keisha on the democratic line. caller: this is for governor of richardson. concerning drums, maybe if we did not have an invasion of an ordinance, we could not have problems in the country. in terms of that law that governor brown were pressed, i think it is excellent. i think we are under immigration invasion and the government needs to do something about it. host: governor richards and is with us this morning participating at the chamber of commerce, a meeting of governors.

here is the headline -- has a democrat, this is not necessarily with the old party message used to be. guest: i have gotten some funds. i cut the state income tax from 9 to 4.8. i cut capital gains in half. we have a number of incentives.

if a company moved in and pays the prevailing fair wage, they get a tax incentive. we have a movie tech to attend this. we were able to give about 40 movie company's rebate if they hire and train our people locally. as much as about one half of their training. i agree with the chamber. you want to have the private sector motivated to create jobs host: when you change tax legislation, like that, how quickly do you notice a change? guest: i think that we are beginning to see the tax cut that i made at the beginning of 2004.

we started to see those changes begin in 2007, especially with companies coming in like green new jersey, cheese plants, they saw the state as being business friendly. host: there is a report from the associated press -- a great presence of native americans in new mexico. what is the state of their economy? guest: they are suffering, too, but at least we are doing things in partnership. we probably have the best relationship with native americans in the country. we are trying to get tribes involved in some of the movie- making, burning trouble investors -- burning -- bringing

tribal investors. we also gave tribes 5% of our infrastructure funds, which would allow them to do water projects, sumer, other infrastructure that they need. our native american relationship is one of the strongest in the country, especially in economic development. host: robert in brookfield, illinois. independent. caller: my question is concerning the arizona law, which i understand is a carbon copy of the federal law. the other thing is, the opened southern border represented a clear and present danger to the

security of the united states. i do not think the governor could tell the difference between a mexican citizen and possibly a middle easterner, across the border wearing a baseball cap. they would look similar. i think the southern border needs to be closed. we have to do something about that and then address cover and to immigration. guest: you make a good point. because of the drug violence, drug cartels fighting each other. that has increased security concern that the border. but you have to give the mexican government credit. the president there is try to stop it. he is having some success, but

it is still far and uncontainable problem. in the new immigration bill, we have to increase border security, more detection equipment, more national guardsmen, but that is a federal responsibility we do not have the money to do this. it is clear in, constitution, immigration is a federal responsibility. instead of going after, criminals, we are going to have them look at suspicious people. well, in arizona, there are a lot of well trained policemen, there will be racial profiling. that is not our country. that could not happen. host: albuquerque. just on the republican line. caller: i think you are completely wrong on this

immigration bill. if you would study it better, you would understand there is no racial profiling, other than what you are trying to perpetuate, making people believe that there is. as far as stimulus money, economic expansion, the movie industry has basically been a bust, at least locally. i do not know who is benefiting, except maybe some hollywood people in california. host: are you in the film industry? caller: no, i am not. host: thank you. guest: jeff is wrong. we have created about 4000 new crew jobs. that is one of the things that

we consider. we are one of the best states to film in. we stay competitive because we have an excellent and strong crew base. it has brought almost $3 billion in funds from hotels, gross receipts taxes, presence of movies in our state. on the immigration issue, reuter profiling -- it is clear. if you are a police officer and you have this new rule that says if anyone looks suspicious, you have to ask for their papers. if you are in arizona, you will look at somebody who you think it is not here legally. most likely, they will be hispanic looking, someone you

believe is acting suspiciously. that is a racial profiling. the problem is, 35% of that ever known as population is hispanic. -- arizona's population is hispanic. host: and barbara on the democratic line. caller: governor return, you are one of my favorite people. i understand what you're saying about racial profiling because it has to be -- how can you tell one person from another, unless they had a stamp on their forehead? in germany, they have guest worker programs where people come and work for a season, and then go back home.

mexicans, they just want a job like anyone else. maybe we should get involved with the leader of their country so that they can create more jobs there for their people. that is all i have to say. guest: that is a good point. jobs, i believe, can resolve this problem. i understand that americans are losing their guns, potentially illegal individuals coming across the border can be a threat to them. and we cannot condone illegal traffic into the u.s. the new immigration bill should make it clear there will be deportation if you are illegally, and over. but for those who are already here, who have families, who are law-abiding, learning english, they should not be given citizenship, but maybe they should get a green card, some sort of status, so that they can

stay and work. plus, many of these undocumented workers are doing jobs that americans do not want to do, and they contribute to medicare, social security, and we need to buttress those systems. host: you have had several prominent federal positions, united nations ambassador, secretary of energy. is this the toughest job you have had? guest: it is the toughest, but also the most fun. you can create schools, help kids, really feel like you are making a difference. when things are good, you are lionized. when they are not good, they have you to blame. i understand that. with this tough economy, for

every governor, it has been difficult. host: ronald on the independent line. caller: we have people breaking the law. i do not get a second chance. if i break the law, i am held accountable. how much money are we going to have to pay for these people? i do not get a free pass. it is not fair. also, the government is broke. it is the government's responsibility to protect the shapstate. also, how are you going to give all these people pardons? host: any comment? guest: he represents a lot of

people who are frustrated. if we have been immigration bill, we have to take care of these concerns. what i have seen the senate come up with concerning immigration is, the 11 million people who are here illegally, first to you have to admit that you are here illegally. pay some funds. then you can pass a background check, learn english, and then get to the back of the line. otherwise, you cannot stay. i think that is the best way to do with the typical problem. otherwise, what are you going to do to these 11 million? we do not have the resources or time, and that is not american. we have to do with the problem realistically, at the same time that we crackdown on illegal hiring, at the same time that

we've increased border security. host: some of that frustration may be reflected stress index. the most recent from march. a majority of the nation's counties declined. and they do report in the past year in nevada, new mexico, and florida, have suffered the most. north dakota, vermont, minnesota, and south dakota, have had the most improvement. the term of " economic stress" how does that manifest itself in new mexico? guest: we have been below the

national unemployment rate, but we have been going up slightly. host: so while the number nation might is stated, your numbers continue to go up? guest: yes, we were pretty good in the beginning, but now we are beginning to catch up. i think that is rare that index is coming from. host: does that place more demand on social services? guest: absolutely. in terms of resources, medicaid, we are one of the poorest states. this new health care bill is going to be good for us. host: conyers, georgia. jack on the republican line. caller: 01 of the misrepresentations about the

governor espouses frequently, as well as others, it is that these illegal immigrants are doing a job that the american people will not do. labor is a commodity, just like everything else. if you flood the market with this illegal immigrant labor, to drive the cost down so much that the american worker will not do it. what needs to happen is we need to put military on the border. and then, any employer who hires in a legal immigrant, or has business with them need to be sanctioned seriously, like five years in prison. the way that you fix the hiring issue is you give them a tool to check the backgrounds of these people when they apply for a job. this business about the jobs

that americans will not do this is a misrepresentation. in the past few weeks, there was this rancher who was killed about 20 miles from the border. we were very fortunate that this sheriff's deputy was not killed on friday. very fortunate that he was only injured. i do not think the governor and others like him understand that the american people do not want to tolerate immigration reform which has become a code word for amnesty. guest: even though his general premise is that correct, he made a lot of points that i agree with. i put national guard on the border, but a state cannot do this, even though the governor

is in charge. the federal government needs to provide the resources to make that happen. more technology, detection equipment at the border is needed. we have to beef up border security because of the violence coming from the drug cartels. secondly, i agree that employers need to be more responsible. there needs to be background checks, a number of tools that an employer can use, such as a non-intrusive social security identification card. but there should be fined on employers who legally hire workers. -- illegally hire workers. but i do not agree with the gentleman -- many of the undocumented workers are doing work that many americans do not do. i stand by that.

many of them are here just to better their lives. they are good people, but they should not be given a free pass. they should have to earn their way. that meant they were wrong, pay a sanction, and then try to come here illegally -- legally. host: before we wrap up, i want you to put on your former united nations ambassador hat on this morning. ahead on from john bolten, "get ready for a nuclear iran. what is the best advice you could give to the obama administration with iran? guest: i believe they are doing

the right things with sanctions. i also believe that they are doing a good thing getting international support, unlike the bush administration. i think president obama has also extended its negotiating hand to iran, saying let's try to resolve our differences. that has not happened. host: rio rancho, arizona. go ahead. caller: i had a statement and a question. we brought in two technology businesses. hewlett-packard opened up a plant. the green 2v factory is about to be built. there was this new high school that was just built.

it is beautiful. with all the success that you have had as governor, we want to keep you in public service. what are you both to do when you are not governor? you cannot stop working for us, bill. guest: that is a very smart man. host[laughter] i'm going to take some time off when my term is done and then focus on some issues as a citizen. one of my goals is to visit every major league baseball stadium. i was at camden yards this weekend. host: how many have you been to? guest: maybe half of them, but not the newer ones. for instance, i visited dodger stadium recently, and that is one of the oldest parts.

you would think los angeles, an expansion team, has one of the oldest parks, but it is a newer one. host: is there a book in the works, possibly? guest: there was one, you did not read it, obviously. host: [laughter] i mean after. thank you for joining us this morning. we will be speaking to former world bank president paul wolfowitz to talk about the world economy, particularly the imf funding the greek recovery. first, a news update from c-span radio. >> the chief executive of bp says crews have been able to reduce the amount of oil of reaching the surface with a new approach of using chemicals.

on the "today show" and the bp ceo also said that they are not responsible for the gulf of mexico rig accident that set off this bill, but said that his company is taking responsibility for the cleanup. water issues remain a problem in boston which has interrupted the clean water supply for about 2 million residents. prepares the to be tested once the water is turned back on. the boiled water order remains in effect. in detroit, a police officer is dead and four others wounded from a shootout on the east side. authorities responded to a call at a home that turned out to be vacant. the suspect was wounded in hospitalized. united and continental airlines say that they have a $3 billion

deal to form the world's largest airline. it first need approval from shareholders and antitrust regulators. the new carrier would keep the united name, and would be based out of chicago. economic stress declined in march in nearly three-quarters of the nation's counties. this is according to the a p + monthly analysis of conditions around the country. they said that the gains were due to an improving job market in the mid-atlantic and a steadying of foreclosure rates along the sun belt. those are some of the latest headlines. >> 8 governor's talk about job creation. live coverage as the u.s. chamber of commerce gets underway this morning at 9:00 eastern.

>> c-span's coverage of the 2010 review of the global nonproliferation treaty begins today at 10:30 eastern speakers include iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad and secretary of state hillary clinton . >> there are nearly 6000 references to abraham lincoln in every media library. you can find lots of interesting programs online. for a contemporary perspective in print, there is the c-span book, "abraham lincoln" now on sale in paperback. >> iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is schedule to speak today at a united nations conference of non-proliferation. find his speech on line at a c- span video library.

every program since 1987. >> i am worried that the new media is starting down the same road as traditional media, too much consolidation, too many private sector, the public sector decisions. >> a discussion with fcc with commissioner michael copps. host: paul volcker of its ran the world bank from 2005 to 2007. here with us to talk about the global economy and the imf report, the financial stability of the world is paul wolfowitz. why did decreased need this?

guest: basically, they are spending more than they can afford. the deficit went up to 30% of their economy. to be fair, european banks were lending them money. by the way, the imf is participating, but to share is being supported by european countries. -- and a share is being supported by european countries. host: what do you think this will mean to the political structure of the eu and its ability, the common currency of the euro? guest: there has been speculation that this is the end of the euro, but i think it will stay together on of the problems with greece, i think this is the biggest bailout that the imf has

participated in. greece is going to have to take some punishing steps. this is not an easy decision for the prime minister in greece, war for any of the eu countries. what they have to do in greece has cut the deficit from 13% to 3% and a few years, which is stunning. on the plan will be high in greece. i think you have seen demonstrators in the country, it is unpopular politically. at the end of the day, they are hoping that greece will be better off. i hope they are right. we have had it passed examples with turkey. in the case of argentina, all you have to do was to put off the day of reckoning. host: are other european countries doing the same thing?

guest: there are some countries that are shaking. part of this effort with greece is to try to head off the same time of the attack on spanish dead, portuguese and irish dead. -- debt. they are not in as much problem, but they are not out of the woods yet. host: in the "wall street journal" -- these spending cuts, will we see them in these other countries that are defaulting? will that happen so that they would have to avoid taking up the imf for a bailout?

guest: it is better for countries to do it under their own decision than to do it under imf pressure. i was an ambassador, an economist but always pride themselves on taking these kinds of measures the head of the imf. obviously, some of these asian countries, like china, what they have done is to build up their reserves so that they can handle a crisis. the answer of too big to fail is not to bail out these countries if they fail, but making sure that they have the resources to do with any problems. host: paul wolfowitz is with us talking about the global economic situation. republicans, 202-737-0001. democrats, 202-737-0002. independents, 202-628-0205. over the weekend, "daily finances" had a headline saying that this was in advance of the

imf. part of the story reads -- what concerns and should the u.s. have about these belts in greece? guest: and we are nowhere near the point where a priest is, -- greece is, but we are spending more than we can take in. there would be no one to bail us out, if anything would happen. i think we have not seen the end of this problem, but but we need to emphasize is the need for all countries, including our own, to get our fiscal house in order so that these things do not happen. host: they have a chart looking

at the sovereign debt compared to other g & nations. here are the figures from 1950. coming well back to those post- war years in europe. what is the level that that number should be? guest: certainly, lower than where it is. greece is around 120%. there is no magic number. the fact that country were able to pay down that more time debt, you can grow your way out of it -- that is what we did in world war ii. but one of the problems now is europe is not growing. when the lenders to the program

getting worse, they back away, and you get kind of into a debt spiral where your costs go up, and your deficit gets worse. host: what is it that is, between european nations that make it this way? -- common between european nations that make it this way? guest: greece is not quite as productive as the other countries, but they are tied to the same monetary standards. if this would happen in the u.s., capital and labor would be more flexible and could move around and adjust. greece is not as competitive as other countries, and that is a problem. host: angela on the republican

line. go ahead. caller: with our unemployment rate roughly at 10%, some say that it is larger, if we were to give amnesty to 15 million, and there are no jobs as it is, what will happen to our deficit? it does not look like jobs are coming back. what would we do with all of these millions of people? would we have to put them on public assistance? i am concerned about our deficit in regards to immigration. host: you are talking about if we gave amnesty to the people who are already here? caller: yes, they are not able to get assistance. for example, in arizona, you are not able to get government assistance. guest: i think what's your question indicates it is, and

you may see this become a problem in europe now, is that any kind of immigration, legal or illegal -- unfortunately, one of the reason that we have grown as well as we have is because of immigration. but politically, it has become difficult when we are having this sort of unemployment. we are in a recovery, but it is a slow recovery. you have political consequences here, and worse in europe, that may make it harder to recover. host: peter in rockville, maryland. caller: much of the populace in greece do not pay taxes. how much of that can be tied back to their choice of

government -- as a socialist government? host: over the weekend, the headlines -- guest: he is right. is a problem, not only in greece, but they have been in formal economy that operate under the radar. that is one of the things they have to address one thing to be optimistic that this whole thing is going to work -- and there are some pessimists here -- they would say that that is exactly the kind of inefficiency that can be cleaned up. the irony is, because we have a socialist government, which is closely guarded by labor unions, amy be able to take care of these measures in a better way than they were conservative

government might be able to do. but no question, there are problems of corruption and other things. it is not something that you can say is cultural. right next door in cyprus, they have been able to do with these things quite effectively. there is hope that this package and will work in that way. if it does not work, they will be confronted with a much bigger problem a few years from now. host: you mentioned it turkey earlier in the discussion. as their economy recovered, what steps did they take? guest: turkey is doing very well. they had two other advantages over greece. they benefited in the early part -- in their early years of this decade. the world economy was growing, and narrowed that wave.

but more importantly, they had a government that took some of or could measure that made them more efficient. growth is the way to do with these problems, not a bailout. host: turkey is not part of the eu, correct? guest: yes, they would like to be, and i think that they would be stronger for it. host: next phone call. caller: i am trying to figure out what is wrong with humanity. everybody needs to help everybody. around the world economy is bad. everybody needs to be helping, instead of pointing the finger. my main question is, nobody

covered the immigration rallies. what happened, c-span? host: just to let you know, we did cover one of them. you can take a look at our video library. johnson city, tennessee. like on the republican line. caller: i was curious about the economy. i am 33, i have a bachelor's degree, and i cannot find a job. i went to mcdonald's at one point and they told me i was overqualified. i am watching c-span this morning, my unemployment is about to run out. in tennessee, understand that a lot of people on board to run

out of unemployment. once all of that is gone, and all of the companies go to mexico or china -- i mean, it is that everywhere. what am i supposed to do? guest: a very poignant comments, and it highlights of my jobs is the top priority. -- why jobs is the top priority. we cannot go to the imf and the time that happens, so we need to figure, what it is that will make our economy more efficient. host: here, in the u.s., as the recession began, with the bush administration and obama administration with the stimulus, that this type of

spending was the necessary to boost the economy. there are reports from the imf saying that the sharp rise in government debt created some new threats to the system. where is that balance between what the government should do in the u.s., and in europe, how much can they put into the economy and the growing risk of government debt? guest: one thing that we found which was flatly surprising, from the standpoint of conservative economists, was that we needed more government spending to stimulate the economy. what he would say is that that does not mean committing three, four years from now. real growth has to come from private sector spending and

private job creation. that is where pilot of these commitments in the future could drag down job creation. host: you have been president of the u.s.-taiwan business council for the past few years. what does that entail? guest: 90 facilitating businesses that want to do work in taiwan. for both taiwan and the united states, we did well, we have had a longstanding interest in the east asia. keeping something in perspective, it is awfully hard to do when people are worried about their own situation. we have seen impressive growth in the world economy in the past 20 years, the reduction of the number of four. in china alone, that number has decreased by 400 million.

we want to make sure that we do not lose those gains in the current crisis. host: how do you counter arguments from people who say that we should not be shipping jobs overseas? guest: it is definitely a concern, but what people need to think about is that we are selling a lot into those markets. we are able to move our jobs into higher technology, better paying jobs, and we would benefit from the cheaper production, but it is that balance that we need to strike. host: ky. bill on the independent line. caller: what is your opinion of the cdo? host: the congressional budget office?

caller: yes, what did you think about the cbo? guest: certainly, they have a good reputation. they tried their best to tell it like it is. sometimes, the question is put in such a restrictive way, the answer may not be a way to address the problem. that is usually because of the way the question is addressed. caller: let me say a few things about the cbo? . it is a political institution that was designed by politicians. that math and that they use is skewed. it starts with artificial perimeters and baselines. it has to function within that context. it deals with a set of the variable. at best, and mathematics, it is

an uncertainty. it makes a series of reductions in those variables. so you have these guesses being made from uncertainty. anyone who can predict what the unemployment rate will be like in 10 years is a nut. guest: he makes two good points. that is what i was saying when i said that the question are skewed to get the right answer. and this comes from politicians, you are right about that. the other point, which i would agree strongly upon -- a record truman said find me a one-handed economist because he is tired of people saying on the one hand, on the other hand -- i am amazed at times, how

confident the people come up with projections not only about next year, but five, six years from now. i think truman recognized this uncertainty. we kid ourselves if we think that economics is an exact science. host: dayton, ohio. anna, good morning. caller: could you describe what they should have boughborrowed from the world bank? how much money does the president of the world bank make? indiana "the price of loyalty" the author describes that it was you and vice-president cheney who started talking about iraq in some of the flesfor the bush administration cabinet meetings.

in my view, you and others are in responsible for pushing that invasion of iraq. i wonder if you feel any guilt about the death and destruction that have taken place there? most of the american public has been kept in the dark about what really happened in the country. is the world bank, in any way, involved with the world bank? guest: some of the very poorest countries in the world, we call them loans but they were grants. they did not have to begin paying for 10 years, had 40 years to be paid. i think it was irresponsible to called a loan. what happened, inevitably, was a lot of these countries got into a situation where they own a huge amount back to the world bank and could not pay it back. it was hurting their economy.

some people have advocated for getting rid of those debts. we started to look at that that conference of g8 countries in 2005. i think it did help those countries stop borrowing, in order to the pay, and to start using that money for schools, health care. that was a step forward. but it was also accompanied by strong from march to stop this from happening again. it is too early to see if that is working. host: any reaction to your role in the administration? guest: that is a different subject. the world bank is involved, i believe, in iraq.

and their economy is starting to show some progress. the question about them is where is it today, and where is it going? host: if you were to chart the past decade, looking at 9/11, iraq, afghanistan, the credit and housing bubble, the financial collapse. are there point of connections between those incidents over the last decade? guest: there are big numbers in terms of a loss because of the ongoing cost of the war, but i do not think anything has to do with the money that was lost from subprime house in lending, which was then magnified in the financial system. they are not connected, except that they all come back, in one

form, on the federal budget. host: there was a piece about the european debt. we will give our viewers a look at the chart. there is a hedge fund manager who says -- would you agree with that? guest: i believe it is both. countries acted to bail out greece because they wanted to protect the euro, but also, they did not want to see their problem become a spanish problem, then a portuguese

problem. it begins to add up. they're concerned about the impact on the european economy. by itself, greece may not be that large, but take those four other countries together, that is something that could really slow down european growth. host: texas. josh, good morning on the republican line. caller: i am a first-time caller. i am kind of young, 30 years old. i am kinda new to politics. .

guest: what they are suggesting is a candidate that is more open to the country -- other countries and the united states. host: following the announcement of the imf rescue for greece, an official says chancellor merkel says her gavin and has agreed to some made for bailout. we have a call from mike on the line from athens, go ahead. caller: [unintelligible] host: we go to pennsylvania and this is ronald on the democrats line caller: i hear him speaking constantly in regards to the jobs that have been sold time and time again.

and the stock market has destroyed jobs by taking them over. all of the jobs for the last 20 years that have gone overseas, i think that is where we have lost it. until you get a working dollar back into the u.s., which is going to take a long time you are not going to recover. in kenya comment on that? -- can you comment on that? guest: and in the weakness of the dollar reflects the fact of people see we are spending more than we are not in and there is clearly an imbalance in our trade with the outside world, especially with china, where we have to become more competitive. if you look at the record over a longtime friend, we have benefited from that as well it is a two-way benefit and it has helped to create jobs in the united states. host: domenick on our

independence line -- independent's line. go ahead. caller: i am upset that we have all of the -- all of this oil coming out and the president is supposed to stop it. no, the oil companies are supposed to stop it. let's get this straight of what i am really mad about is that i've got a lot of kids around here that were killed in iraq. there were the best young men in montana. and i made three-toregas veteran -- i may 3-tour veteran and i want you to know that people like you start of the war over there. how come they have not fired you and put you in the rest of those guys in jail? host: dominick, you have made your point. do you care to respond? guest: wars are terrible. we got into this war because we

were attacked. we would not be having this problem today of saddam hussein -- if saddam hussein had not done what he done. but let me be clear there were no lights. we act on a toad -- intelligence that everyone agreed with. host: this is florida, steve on the republican line, welcome. are you there? caller: yes. as you well know, one of the most difficult problems that capitalist economies face is that every business essentially faces the world as an individual and they look out on the economy and they see that everyone else is slowing down, and doing poorly, whatever, so

they pulled back, too. i have a suggestion. what if every member of the chamber of commerce of the united states at once next thursday placed an ad in their local paper for higher iing to e extent that they can? we got almost immediately turn around this economy. -- we could almost see the turnaround this economy. i am serious about this. guest: i wish they could. the we need to think in the country about what could make easier for businesses to do that kind of hiring. one thing i am concerned about is that small businesses are looking at higher and higher taxes and expenses that are on payrolls and we should look at how to reduce that. economists say that is one of

those most effective ways to create jobs is to reduce payroll taxes. host: this was in the guardian last week about particularly europe and british primarily -- a and british prime minister gordon brown about a fat tax. gordon brown claims credit for the international monetary fund to impose a tariff levied on biggest banks and profits and pay. do you think that is an effective way and it should be included in the senate language for raising money to have as a fund for bailing out future failures? guest: i think that idea is probably -- and prejean beverley the one he is talking about but came from the imf -- particularly the one he is talking about that came from the imf has faced many objections. i guess what would worry me

about the proposal is that it takes you down a road of, let's create big funds as a weekend the of big banks when they do fail. what we need to work on is, how can we make it safe for banks to fail? there is an economist that says capitalism without failure does not work. he said capitalism without failure is like religion without sin. it does not work. we cannot have ourselves in this relationship where institutions grow huge, bonuses are huge, profits are huge and then they suddenly start to fail. and then instead of being able to say, look, that is your problem, you created it, we bailed them out. there are a number of proposals and there is one in the "wall street journal" today by john taylor and it is supported by the former secretary of state

and secretary of treasury that would make it simpler legally to allow institutions to fail is that of creating a big bailout. that is the where we ought to be going. paying for institutions when they are too big to fail is not the written answer. -- is not the right answer. host: here is tricia on our democrats line in new york. caller: good morning, i just have a statement, and i'm sure mr. wolfowitz knows what i'm going to be talking about. and i do have a question about the u.s. economy. i do not understand how the american people who are calling in, other than two people who called about iraq, understand how much you had to do with

that. i mean, you are called the architect in a documentary called "front line." it is clear that you are part of a group that was was possible for going to iraq, sir. i understand that you are trying to get off the subject. that is obvious. i mean, come on. set on hussein, you have got to be kidding me. he had nothing to do with 9/11. but he got attacked anyway. but let me must -- let me move on. i just do not understand how people cannot look your name up in google and c. documentation about you. . and see documentation about you. but moving on, i understand that the banks were part of the subprime loan scandal. i definitely -- it definitely

really mess up our economy, but so did iraq, sir. please talk about that. i'm shaking because i'm so upset that the american people do not know who you are. host: you have made your point. guest: she does not know who i am either. the documentary's can make a fax. the of what is a fact is that -- of the fact is that those decisions included many others including john mccain and john kerridge. this was not some small group of people and i was not the architect. i certainly supported what we did and i believe it was the right thing to do. it could have been done differently. it has been very painful and costly as well. but by the way, the cost was budgeted and fayed -- kfor and it did not send shock waves --

and paid for and it did not send shockwaves through the financial system. one of the problems with the subprime loans was not the loans themselves, but the fact that it shook the banking system to the court. host: you mentioned the that some projections on the economy in relation to the cbo did not pan out the way they were written -- were originally laid out. what about predictions on how iraq will turn out for the u.s.? do you think there is an equal chance of falls in some of those projections as well? -- of faults in some of those productions as well? guest: it is difficult to make projections -- a prediction. we will not know how this and for quite some time and the stakes are enormous. one of the callers, i think the last one said that saddam hussein was countering iran.

he was not. if it was not for them acquiring weapons from libya we would have a worse problem. host: how important is it for iraq for the economy to recover? what will that look like when it is up and running? guest: when iraq's economy is up and running it will probably be the most important oil producer in the world, maybe second to saudi arabia if not first. it could probably use that money fairly well. but oil money can always be a challenge. it can be abused. so far, i would say the iraqi economy is improving, but it has a long way to go. host: a couple more calls -- excuse me, though in alabama, last call. caller: in 2006, the irs said the entire 80th of the united states -- atf a of the united

states said -- and the u.s. has borrowed $2 trillion for medicare. how are we going to pay all of this? it is disturbing. it is likely have a problem with medicare being underfunded. 50% of medicare in october, 2009 was underfunded. host: the, you have the last word. guest: he has put his finger on the problem. if we are spending a lot more than we can before and it has got to be fixed or we will be in real trouble. there are two ways to fix it. one÷pç+ráháo raise taxes and the

other is to reduce spending. but unless we reduce7b spendings inevitably, we will have a problem because you cannot tax your way out of this problem. it will have a bad effect on the economy and things will get worse. we will have to tighten our belts and it is not an easy thing to do. host: paul wolfowitz is former secretary and head of the world bank. thank you for being with us this morning. we will spend 45 minutes talking about what is ahead in iraq. rusty berber joins us from the u.s. institute of peace. first, the headlines from c-span radio. >> it is 915 here in washington d.c., and in the headlines, bp says it will pay and "all necessary and appropriate cleanup costs." that is resulting from the blown out oil well that has caused a massive slick that continues to swell in the gulf of mexico.

bp says it takes response will be for the response to the deepwater rise in oil spill and says "we will clean it up." it says -- the document says "we will pay all necessary and cleanup costs." it goes on to say it will pay legitimate and verifiable claims. reimbursement will be on the agenda when obama administration officials meet later today in washington with bpr execs. jenna nepolitano says -- janet nepolitano says reimbursement will be a subject at that meeting, which will include interior secretary ken salazar. also today, secretary nepolitano warned against what she calls "premature decisions one way or another." that is about any suspects in that times square car bomb

incident. no one has been ruled out, including former terrorist organizations. meanwhile, michael bloomberg tells abc that there is a high probability that whoever did this will be captured. and good and bad news just out on the economy. the commerce department says consumer spending rose in march by the largest amount in five months. but that the gains were financed out of savings, which fell to the lowest level in 18 months. and just a modest rise in incomes added to concerns. the recovery could weaken unless income growth increases more rapidly. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> c-span's live coverage of the kickoff of the 2010 review of the global nuclear non- proliferation treaty begins today at 10:30 a.m. eastern. speakers include iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad

and secretary of state hillary clinton. >> a c-span video library lincoln fact, there are nearly six dozen references to our lincoln library, and if you are one of the insurers of this 16th president, there are many resources on line. >> iranian leader mahmoud ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak today at the u.n. conference on nonproliferation. find key moments from his past speeches on line at the c-span video library. every program since 1987. watch what you want, when you want. >> i am worried at new radio is stored -- new media is starting down the road of traditional media, too much consolidation, too many bad private-sector decisions and too many bad

public sector decisions. >> tonight, on the " communicators'" on c-span2. >> "washington journal" continues. >> until 10:00 this morning we will spend some time talking about iraq with rusty barbara, who is the director of -- rusty propebarber, who is the directof -- and votes are still being counted after the parliamentary elections. what is going on? guest: but very briefly, what has occurred is that no one blog has succeeded in winning a simple majority 300 seat of a 25 member parliament. the two top box, headed by the former prime minister and the

state of law, headed by the current prime minister are in a tight race to see who will be the next governor. there are only two seats difference between them. that has resulted in nouri al maliki contesting the initial results of the vote. he won 89 as opposed to the other party, which won 91 seats. he has demanded a recount, initially in baghdad. that is 2.5 million votes that have to be recounted. all of this has slowed the process towards a dormant formation and increased the debt -- the tensions around it and a lot of the maneuvering has gotten to be much more vitriolic. one of the elements in this process that has been particularly worrisome is the justice accountability commission, which as you may recall, was set up originally to

disqualify or remove baathist from government and positions of power. host: end of the baathist are from a hossein's former party? guest: that is right. this body is not transparent. its operations are very murky. it is headed by a former u.s. ally in iraq. they have disqualified a number of candidates after the election. one of the things that is particularly worrisome is the ad hoc nature of applying the rules of the game to this particular post-election government process. host: what is the u.s. particularly concerned about with this vote recount? if the u.s. had their druthers, would they rather work with? guest: i think the u.s. at this point would prefer to see a grand coalition of all the major parties.

it would include iraqiya, it maliki's party, the islamic supreme council of iraq, the kurds, and others. they would rather see a coalition government to be sure that the arabs and the kurds are all represented. it will be nearly impossible to govern without that kind of agreement among all of them to participate. host: we will take your calls on an update on iraq -- u.s. policy in iraq. the numbers are on the screen. what is the next important and it will moment for u.s. forces in iraq? the net guest: to major deadline -- guest: the next major deadline -- actually, the end of this week forces have to begin the serious withdrawal, moving toward the withdrawal of

50,000 troops by august. the remaining number to be drawn down by 2011. the question now, of course, is will u.s. -- the u.s. be able to withdraw on time? it has made clear it plans to withdraw those 50,000 troops by august. host: no matter where they stand or who is in charge of this? guest: that is the position and they're determined to withdraw now. if the decision were to completely disintegrate, the iraqi security forces are unable to maintain security, or if the security forces were to in the worst-case scenario side with one block or another, that might actually require them to consider the timetable for withdrawal. they very much want the parties

to reach some kind of a sudden -- consensus. host: is the general -- what is the general state of security there? guest: it is still volatile. al qaeda suffered two major losses in their leadership in iraq with those who were killed a couple of weeks ago in the air strikes in northern iraq. and there's this possession -- a perception of a cut as this multi headed hydra and every time one had is blocked off and another bros. that has been true, but by and large, -- another one rose. that has been true, but by and large, it has been able to conduct these attacks, but it no longer has a support base in iraq. host: in your piece earlier in the year you wrote about what the iraqis are looking for in the u.s.

has that changed in the last couple of months? guest: by and large, most iraqis do what the united states to withdraw on schedule. -- and you want the united states to withdraw on schedule. but there are concerns about whether iraqi security forces

will be able to maintain security once the u.s. withdraws. interestingly enough, iraqi leaders are not going to be public and indicating a desire for american forces to remain or extend their stay, but in private they will indicate their concerns. for example, in the north between the central government and the kurdish forces, who are face to face with the american troops as buffers between them, that is a situation that could erupt in the event of friction around the length of government formation, or their simple proximity. there are strong concerns about that. we have heard some concern -- reports over the weekend, the foreign minister indicating that perhaps it might not be, at a bad idea of the u.s. were to extend beyond the august deadline -- it might not be a bad idea if the u.s. were to extend beyond the deadline, but

that has not been -- there has not been any indication that will be the way this plays out. host: we have a call from san francisco. good morning to brag on the democrats line. and -- greg on the democrats line. caller: i think every tv station in america should give the public to watch a great program called "no end in sight" and how the american government encourage the looting of iraq. we just allow voting to go on and the destruction to go on, destroying all of the -- allowed the polluting to go on and the destruction to go on, destroying all of the infrastructure. the program is called "no end in sight." it is about how this government of ours was so criminal and negligent in their invasion and occupation iraq.

it is incredible. the second thing i would like to bring off for c-span, you have just now in this seat that mr. barber was sitting in, that should be disinfected and burned, you had an international war criminals sitting at your table. and you let him go out the side door. it seems to me like we have this truck in new york city where they are going to hunt this guy down to the end of the earth and you have an international war criminal in their five minutes ago and he walks out the side door. host: we welcome the views from all sides, as we welcome yours. do you have any response? guest: in response to the looting, i do not think that was a matter of intent on the administration at the time, but it was certainly the outcome of poor planning that resulted in the destruction and death of an enormous amount of iraqi artifacts. that much is true.

there are some 10,000 archeological sites around iraq. many of them are unfortunately still being looted. there is not sufficient oversight over them. that definitely is a tragedy. and something that hopefully international legal bodies are working to try to get some of those artifacts from a large number of them, returned to the iraqis where they belong. host: of next, robert from lancaster, south carolina. caller: yes, sir, what is saying to me is since this country is a she, we have a bunch of other mayors going to other countries and they are more concerned with going into other countries instead of taking care of this one and when they come back they are broke, like a deadbeat father. when he comes home he does not have any money and they don't

know how to take care of the family. we need someone to focus more and i tell people more about this country, sweep around our own doorstep. host: when the u.s. leaves iraq, what will the presence look like in june/july, 2011? guest: that is a good question. essentially, what has to have it is a handoff between the u.s. military and the sibley inside of the equation. there is a great deal of concern -- the civilian side of the equation. there's a great deal of concern about whether there is enough on the civilian side to continue to support iraq's consolidation of its democracy. right now we have some 10 provision reconstruction teams, which are the platform spread around the country in various provinces designed to help with budgeting and help with local government leaders to continue to consolidate their authority

and spend their budgets. most of those are destined to be closed and there will be three or four remaining in addition to the u.s. embassy in baghdad, remaining what they will call "in during presences -- "enduring presence is." it is not clear how they will be able to move around. it is very expensive for an hour. there's a lot of effort on the part of the state department to figure of that question and figure out how they will posture themselves with the u.s. military withdraws. there is a great deal of concern when u.s. troops pulled out as to whether or not the international presence will be robust enough to support this process and to support the effort to try to extend the

government. host: one of your report on provision reconstruction team, this one from december, 2008 from one of your trip reports, are these available on the website come on usip.org? guest: yes. host: columbus, ohio on the democrats line. caller: i did listen to the news back in 2007 and why did i not hear a lot of talk about iraq and the bush companies -- they have an oil company in iraq. it is a fact and no one is talking about it. host: president bush has an oil interest? caller: the family has an oil company in iraq. guest: i have a note knowledge of such a thing as a bush will company in iraq. host: paul wolfowitz mentioned

one -- when iraq's oil production comes back of to see -- but to speed, it will be second only to saudi arabia. guest: of course, you know the a iraq -- the infrastructure in iraq has been severely damaged the time it will take to bring the oil of to raise significant capacity, it is under $2 billion -- 2 billion barrels -- 2 million barrels per day. if it is anywhere near where it should be, it will be a herculean effort. there are companies engaged in contracts with the iraqi government, even without hydrocarbons law in place. clearly, they have made the determination of getting in oil

business in iraq is not in their long-term interest. host: in terms of infrastructure, will those costs be borne by the oil companies or the government? guest: it will primarily be the companies. but there is an enormous amount of work to do to be able to get that oil out of there. and most of it is based in the south, but there is a good amount of oil that is under the ground in the -- in the north. it will require an agreement between the central authorities in baghdad and the kurdish regional government. there will have to be some sort of an accord for them to be able to develop it for export. host: next up on democrats line. caller: i have a couple of questions. one question is, is and co and british petroleum affiliated --

are amoco and british petroleum affiliated? host: our focus is on iraq. is there anything there? caller:amoco was there and now we have petroleum taking it over. guest: as far as british petroleum, i think they are involved in iraq and they have entered into an agreement with a chinese state oil company to be able to develop oil projects in southern iraq. that is under way, but in terms of connections to the other oil company, you would have to ask an expert. host: here is mary in ohio. caller: 1 vote earlier mentioned the documentary "no end in

sight. -- one fellow earlier mentioned the documentary, "no end in sight." people should watch us. i have a friend -- should watch that. i have a friend who has had for years on the ground in iraq. she said in talking to the iraqi people, they do believe that there were many mistakes prior to the invasion. we know that iraq did not have al qaeda. the we know that the office of special plans, these folks were in that office cherry picking and disseminating false intelligence. i understand more than ever before. i am 58.

i understand white people in that region hate us. we invaded the country based on false intelligence. can you tell me why we cannot count the dead and injured in iraq? many of us call ourselves a religious, or christian, and we do not even count their dead. people should be outraged. host: 50 lead on to the a question from one of our our twitter users, how many civilians were killed in iraq since our invasion? guest: i am not familiar with the estimates. i have heard of to 100,000, and others were more than that. i do not know if an exact number is unknown. obviously, there have been a tremendous amount of casualties in iraq, both for u.s. and coalition forces, but more particularly for the iraqis. i do not know many iraqis who have not had a relative that has

either been kidnapped or killed. certainly, there is violence in their neighborhoods. and the trauma that has been left over from that is very profound. it has a lot of iraqis, including our staff, our wonderful iraqiya yusaf who work in a bad debt, it has them -- iraqi staff who worked in baghdad, it has been concerned that there could be some slide back in the direction of sectarian violence. host: she said the iraqis hate us. you have been there a number of times. what is your impression outside of your office and the people you work with their backs guest: it depends on who you talk to -- and people you work with there? guest: it depends on your doctor. many feel that the united states went in there without a clearer idea on how it was going to stabilize and secure.

-- it depends on who you talked to. many feel that the united states went in there without a clearer idea on how was going to stabilize and secure. it is a question of what conditions they fully withdraw under, but they need to withdraw. andrew -- what forces are arrayed to fill a vacuum after that. host: let's go to our republican line. is this paul in leavenworth, kan.? caller: yes, sir. i was in baghdad in 2007. i have three questions for you. oh, forget. -- i forget. [laughter] the first is, -- yes, three questions. the role of the soderquist is

one. and the second is, kidnapping was a big business and lots of people were kidnapped. and finally, the military -- as i remember, the iraqis absolutely love it to a man of and now all of those people -- loewathe to a man the private military contractors. guest: the contractors are by and large a much more constrained situation. we hear about the contractors to be moved around the city of iraq freely, that has been reduced. host: and that is because the iraqi government said so? guest: yeah, the whole blackwater scandal cast a pall over what was already -- the

presence of these foreign contractors was already very contentious for iraqis. i traveled in 2007 as well and i travel around iraq with some of the private to your companies and some of the move with caution and deliberation and moved slowly through the villages. others, in the case of blackwater, for example, moved with high-speed and very dangerously. and there was the feeling that these people could operate with impunity. their ability to move and conduct their business has definitely been reduced. as a result, you have seen a large increase in the number of iraqi security companies doing their own work. host: next up is killer, texas, phyllis, democratic collar -- keller, texas, phyllis, democratic caller. caller: i was wondering if you could tell us more about the

role of our crude tullibee in the governing of iraq -- chalabi in the governing of iraq. guest:chalabi, as the color correcting noted, was a u.s. ally early on in the war and who the u.s. picked to be iraqi prime minister. he is a man with nine lives and seems to be able to have the uncanny ability to keep his political life very much alive. he was a contestant in the last election and did not do too badly. he is currently the head of the justice and accountability commission that i mentioned earlier is in charge of determining disqualification for those with baathist connections.

he is a man who is very controversial. i think the u.s. was badly burned by his assertions of weapons of mass destruction in iraq. he continues to be a powerful source in iraq. -- powerful force in iraq. and there was an article that i read where she was believed to hold a not into the amount of support with the pouor shiites n the country. if he has managed to stay involved and relevant, and will continue to be no matter what the outcome of this election process is. host: the "washington post" wrote that a american officials in recent days have expressed concern about the rent in the fall of the march 7

parliamentary election. how reticent or u.s. officials dot to actually come out and make more prominent pronouncement about the election, or do they want to stay in the background? guest: this is a very tricky issue for the u.s. the embassy and the u.s. government have tried to keep somewhat of a distance in this process, and the spot -- publicly. i think they are very much very behind-the-scenes. but there are calls in certain quarters with in iraq for them to play much stronger role. if this considered -- if this situation continues to be highly contentious, depending on the recount of the vote that starts today and is expected to last two or three weeks, depending on if the outcome of that is accepted by various blocks -- and that is not at all a certainty -- we may see them

playing in a stronger role along with the eu and the united nations to try to come to some sort of political agreement and power-sharing deal for the government to deal with iraq's long-term problems. host: about 15 more minutes with rusty barber. when is the next time you're headed to iraq? guest: it is uncertain at this point. i will be scheduled not to have back immediately and stepping down from my role in three years. my intention is to stay with usip, but i will take a little bit of a break in iraq. but i will stay closely involved with how things turn out in for five months. host: here is oshkosh, tim, good morning.

caller: have you read the transcript that talks about the jewish neocons? host: i'm going to cut you off. when you -- you can call in and talk about any topic, but when you start chastising people based on their religion or race, we will move on. indiana, go ahead. caller: i understand that the united states spends 49% of all of the global dollars on the military. does the u.s. institute do any kind of lobbying to reduce that amount? guest: no, in terms of the amount of money that is used for foreign operations, is that the question? host: are you still there? i think she has left us. guest: the u.s. institute's

mandate is to create a process to resolve conflicts around the world. it is not concerned with what the u.s. budget is. it is concerned with issues that could metastasize into violence around the world. we have two missions that are longer -- our longer-term presence is one in iraq and afghanistan, but we are involved in nigeria, sudan, and various other conflicts around the world. host: and how are you funded? guest: we are funded directly by the u.s. congress. my program for afghanistan and the sudan are funded by the congress through the state department, which then turned around and work with us in terms of the united -- the types of problems that we initiate to resolve conflicts. host: john on the democrats line. caller: i am a long time c-span

watcher and i remember watching before the iraq war when wolf of its -- when wolfowitz was testifying before the congressional committee and and he said we would pay for this war by iraqi oil revenues. obviously, that has not come to fruition. also, last night i was watching c-span and a gentleman on the news wrote a book called "the taliban" and he mentions one of the tragedies is that we invaded iraq and left afghanistan where we could have captured al qaeda, where we could have put a good government in there, and now we are paying for that. i agree with the previous callers that wolfowitz is nothing but a war criminal.

host: the caller was talking about a month rashid, and the rich can see that online or in our video library. if you have any comments? guest: certainly not on paul wolfowitz. i think is important to have diversity, especially -- including as it concerns the decisions that were made. the u.s. has had as much as 50,000 troops in iraq -- 150,000 troops in iraq. we have an enormous civilian ever to go along with the military in iraq. there is no question is very hard for us to be able to fight two wars at the same time. in terms of pay, that has caught -- cost us dearly. but we are now drawing down in iraq and i suspect it will

proceed as the administration indicated it will. whether exactly on time is another question, and in terms of paying for this war, there's no question that the idea was that it would be paid for out of iraq's will money. that was certainly premature. iraq owes $20 billion to kuwait in war reparations. it is very concerned about getting bad debt reduced. until then, there is no real opportunity to pay for america's war dead in iraq by its oil exports -- ward debwar debt in q might well experts -- exports anytime soon. caller: i wonder if there will be an investigation into why --

i know -- why we went into iraq. i know it could be very contentious. host: the u.k. has done that. they held the show caught commission. did you see any of that and have you learned anything at the end of that? guest: certainly, the debate over whether we should have gone in, how we went in, and alternately how we got out of iraq will certainly have an ongoing debate. there may be a call for congressional hearings one day, much as they have done in britain. i certainly do not have an opinion and my institute, it is not our responsibility to call for any kind of a congressionally mandated commission on that. host: the obama administration came in and they were briefed by u.s. officials. guest: part of what we do is to

inform policy makers on an ongoing basis. we have provided input where it has been deemed helpful. u.s. business entities do not take a particular position on policy. all we tried to our -- is to offer a options -- all we tried to do is to offer up options. host: here is hollywood, fla., edie on the republican line. caller: i have a question for your guests. in 1998, i believe bill clinton decided to bomb iraq. there must have been a reason for that. the fallout would be, in 2002, hillary clinton responded to the ladies in pink and claimed that saddam hussein was a threat. it if they're going to investigate -- if they are going to investigate republicans, they need to go back and investigate the clinton administration. guest: i think what the caller

is referring to is the attack that was launched by the clinton administration in retaliation for the plot against george bush, if i remember correctly, in which a missile was sent into baghdad and hit the intelligence headquarters. i do not remember exactly the year that was put -- that was done. but as far as investigating the clinton administration for those, i was retaliation for what was perceived as a specific threat to a former american president. beyond that, i -- i cannot comment on the situation. host: obviously, saddam hussein is no longer a threat. but is he still a presence? guest: he will always be a presence. he is a critical part of a contentious part of iraqi history. the iraqi baath party actually had a public event. there is a broadcast right now

that people euphemistically referred to as the saddam channel. host: is it blocked? guest: i do not believe it is blocked. host: what is on index -- on it? guest: there are some pictures and other laudatory statements about him. he will always bring over -- rain over their history --. caller: does the u.s. compensates the terms of a civilian casualties and damage is caused in iraq? and if they do, how is that paid for? guest: yes, they are compensated in some cases. when the determination is made

that people have suffered a loss of a relative or their property has been destroyed. those are the set on a case by case basis. -- those are decided on a case by case basis. that decision gets made and it comes out of the military budget. host: va on the democrats line. caller: i wonder if you have heard a and people in kabul coming down with amtrak's poisoning the plea? -- anthrax poisoning in kabul? guest: i have not heard anything to that effect. host: how does the iraq government evolve once they get

parliament decided, what do they want to see happen? guest: the most important thing is that the votes are verified and accepted by the parties. most people believe that they will reach some sort of a chord among the various blocks and religious and ethnic participants. the important thing then will be to nominate a prime minister. they will need to nominate a president, and of course, the vice presidents, of which there are two. the first step is for the nomination of the speaker of the parliament. traditionally, these roles have been divided up along ethnic and sectarian lines. you have had a shiite as the president and the occurred as the vice-president and a sunni as the speaker of the parliament. that system, -- and a kurd as

the vice-president and a city as the speaker of the parliament. that system has almost had the effect of institutionalizing the divisions that are so contentious for the iraqis as they stabilize and build the country. host: this is a call from california on the republican line. caller: i want to say that in 1998 it was aipac at first defended the war for iraq. host: you call this program with regularity from different states and under different names. we would appreciate it if you would call using your real name and your real estate. you would be welcome to call then. i want to ask about the role of iran in iraq, the presence of forces in terms of terrorist explosions and dance like that. is that still happening in iraq?

guest: i think there is the perception that there are still irani and elements operating in iraq. there are urging with less frequency and intensity than they have in that -- they are operating with less frequency and intensity than they have in the past. i think there' -- they actually view what is happening in iraq with a degree of suspicion and trepidation. is -- certainly, iran wants a degree of stability in iraq. we have seen a lot of political parties shoveling out to tehran -- shovelinshuttling out th teh looking for assistance and support. in terms of actual weapons,

groups that they're supporting in iraq, my sense is that they are definitely still present, but not as active as they were in the past. what i was there in 2007 and 2008, there was a great deal of effort to try to deal with what were called special groups that were targeting and assassinating iraqi leaders at the provincial level and in some cases, national. those groups are probably still present, but not active. host: let's see if we can get one more quick call in before the house session. richard, your our last call from connecticut, and -- you are our last call from connecticut, go ahead. caller: saddam hussein was not a good person, but did he do anything good for iraq? host: anything good from saddam? guest: if the iraqis talk about anything good that he did, it was basically to have -- i