. i think he established the importance \ principle to.. that we would not stand back and step aside as adversaries of hours took actions that undercut the stability of a given region and threatens our own security. i think desert storm was a pretty important even. we are coming up on the 20th anniversary in january. i think president bush got it exactly right and i am glad he did. host: one more call, ceballos, on our independent line. caller: good morning to you both. this is more along the lines of intelligence. a couple of hours ago i received two calls on my cell phone from

arab-sounding gentleman. they left messages on the voicemail. as just a private average citizen, i don') know any arabs. i could not understand what they were saying. with the wiretapping situation should be concerned? host: that is a bit off topic. we will say goodbye to you and thank ambassador ryan crocker for joining us this morning. he is that of the business school at texas a&m and thank you for being here. guest: it was a pleasure. host: that will do it for this morning's program. back tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. eastern. have a good day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> president obama visits mississippi, alabama, and florida today and he will be met by local state officials. he will have a ferry ride where oil has come ashore. he will speak att4:40 eastern and we will have coverage. oil company ceo's will be on capitol hill tomorrow.

we will have live coverage as they answer questions from the house energy and commerce oversight subcommittee at 9:30 a.m. eastern on cspan 3. tomorrow night, president obama will address the nation from the oval office. he will talk about steps the government is taking to deal with the gulf oil spill after his trip toothe region. we will have live coverage of that 8:00 p.m. speech and of our website and also on cspan radio. thursday, britain-based bp ceo tony heyward is scheduled to testify about the handling by bp of the oil spill. >> the second one is to continue to press the frontiers of the industry to give access to new supplies to the world. that is drilling wells to 10

kilometers in the gulf of mexico. it is beginning to export under the ice in the arctic. >> bp c o tony heyward on the oil spill. c what other government officials have said about the oil spill with more than 100 hearings, and briefings and other programs archived at the cspan video library. it is washington your way. this past thursday, a cspan -pcrew got a tour of an incident command post in louisiana. it oversees all the gulf oil spill response efforts. for the next 35 minutes, we will hear from top-ranking coast guard and bp officials working at the site.

>> this is the war room. this is the central room that is providdng the direction and developing the strategic plans for operations that are driving 11,000 men and women who are working from the offshore resource area. once flowed to arrive at the services -- service back to the shoreline, we have ever is to protect the shoreline. this is one of three incident commands that are designed to work a lot part of lake across the gulf of mexico from houma, louisiana where we are responsible for the surface to the louisiana shore line for the

second command post is located in mobile, alabama and manages mississippi, alabama, and a portion of the florida panhandle. there is a third incident command located in miami which is focused on flora. over these three into the command post is the area command structure which is locatee in robert, louisiana, outside hammond. >> i see a lot of coast guard people here and people in civilian dress. can you explain the breakdown? >> under the national incident command system, this response

has been developed as part of a unified command a price for it what you find in this building more than 80 different agencies3 come from literally all over the world as experts brought support our mission here.d >> can you explain the different colored desks? >> under this structure, there are typically four command staffs that are supporting the overall running of the operation. there is the incident command which is the white vest i'm wearing a and my staff which is typically a liaison operation, our safety operation for the totaliiy, our legal operation. what is the most come -- important component of the incident command struuture are the five different groups that

make up the body of this response at reported they include planning, logistiis, operations, finance, and resources link para >> telllme what happens in this room? >> what you are seeing is the convergence of the differing sections and their abilities to work together. what you see here in the blow vest, these people are working to reach the overarching object of an ppiorities that are necessary to guide and direct our operations. if you look further down, you translate our planning efforts into what the operation needs to do. the group that you see in red vests are part of our

operations section. they are leading and erecting what gets done along tte water and on the shore line every day. they want to impact success against the mission we have which is producing oil on the water and reducing the potential risks to the shoreline. >> thad allen is the -- >> national incident commander. >> under him? >> there is the area command in which admiral watson represents the coastguard and thesutton represents ppm a state representative for louisiana. a unified command is made up of those three princcpal parties, but it also includes represent us from the epa, the department of interior, the bureau of land management added as a relevant

makeup of that unified effort. >> who is paying for all this? >> the responsible party in this case, in this case bp, is financing this ressonse effort at this point in time >> financed by bp? is happening is- >> that is correct. >> and many people do ou have here? >> we have approximately 1000 people operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. you have a day shift and a night shift for the day shift is made up of significantly larger numbers. the night shift is when our planning and are detailed objective-setting is develop to enabbe next day's shipped to hit the ground running at 6:00 a.m. >> do you talk to all these >> each morning and again at night time, we gather as many people who can spare a few

moments together to come in. we remind ourselves of the mission. that message we break it down into four simple tasks per first and foremost is to keep our people say. everything we do need to be looked at as to how to keep people safe and what we ask them to do. lands of how we can maximize or remove the oil that is coming to the surface 55 miles offshore. thirdly, what can we do as it approaches when it comes past ps and if it comes back -- passes at the source, how to respond in the 10-20 mile range offshore. it becomes pass that line of defense, what do we do in the near shore and shorelines to respond quickly and reduce or remediation and impact when it occurs. >> what have your days been like? >> long and hard.

is energizinggwhen you're people whose sole purpose is to bring everything they know and every idea they have and every idea that someone else may have that can be a part of the solution that helps us improve on a dailyybasis. it is very energizing. it is very challenging. none of us want to be here for the reasons that created this incident and the tragedy that here with a commitment ands are- passion for doing the very best job we can. a unified team can make a difference. >> this is where we conduct our battle against the oil spill. this is our battle map. all people in this room are here for the fight.

this shows you basically where the spell is at. pill is at curren. everybody in this room you see is into a fight and they are supporting the operation in the field. we have the world's most renowned experts in here for oil spill fighting that is unprecedented. we have veterans from the exxon valdez and overseas and from some incidents over. they are all here to help us fight this oil spill. >> everyday is a good day for us. we take this very seriously. that is what is unique about spill we have had to fight inoi- the united states is that every day it is a new battle between new resources, new techniques, new innovations, a new race to

fight for the cleanup of this oil so ttat the people of louisiana can get back to thhir way of life. this is what we can settle the main battlefront headquarters. 7s%fwe develop the objectives d goals to fight the oil spill. we also develop strategies. we send that out to our field commanders and nato commanders and air force commanderr out there. this is so they can carry out the objectives successfully. >> how is this new command+ system working with the coast guard and private companies? >> under the national contingency plan, the coast guard is the lead agency for oil spills. i have a 51% of votes t the vot. i have had discussions with bp

and they understand clearly that i have 51% of the vote in that a party. they are moving in the right direction to take are of this oil spill. we are directing this cleanup. >> how do you feel it is working? >> the coast guard has the legal responnibility for the cleanup of this oil spill. bp has the financial responsibility under the law. therefore, we have to join efforts and make sure that we can execute this oil spill cleanup. my legal responsibility is to make sure they are succeeding in a way that the oil is being taken care of adequately. we are trying to exceed that standard by making sure it is being done more than adequately to the best of their ability. financially, bp is mobilizing the ressurces and that is our job to make sure that happens.

i oversee that nd i make sure they are accompliihing that. >> there is quite a few coast guard personnel here. about how many people from the coast uard? >> there is between 175 and 202 are llcated here. that is what the guy instituted a couple of fridays ago it is clear that we needed more coast guard involvement and direction. that is why you see more coast guard here. out in the field, all the branch directions on the shoreline are all staffed with coast guard people in charge. we have coastguard people in all kinds of positions in operations. we had three operations going

on, air force operations, they do surveillance and direct vessels on the water -- we have a naval operation to scan the oil. we have the coast guard in ball supervising back. the air opprations include aerial disbursements ann unable includes skimming the burning as well. we have shoreline branches of shoreline operations to supervise shoreline cleanup going on in the field. one of my responsibilities is to insure that we involve the entire community in this response. that is a big part of my day. we make sure we have a unified effort going on between the coast guard, bp, and the paris organizations because they are fighting ttis on their ground. i participated in a town hall

meeting two days ago. i insist i am involved. i am off tonight but tonight i have a town hall meeting in another parish. to support to meet the people and tell them what is going on and hear what they have to say. i said to the troops this morning that this is not just a battle for the oil spill, it is a battle for someone's way of life. as a way of life for fishermen and louisiana. unless you put the face of the oil spill, you don't know hat youuare fighting for >> this is the situation status map. we have numerous strategies and defense. the red line is where we spotted oil but it does not tell you the thickness or if we can scan it. kim it.

we want to we eliminated as close of the source as possible. if we collected out in the water, it will not get to the shore. we are pulling skimmer's from the atlantic ocean and we are reaching across the ocean to bring in more. the blackest oil is closest to the source. recoverable. for their way from the source we're looking at alternate response teehnologies like controlled burning where weak corral it and burn it. we also have room for aerial disbursements. when we get permission to use those from the regional response team, we use disbursements out there as well.

further in, around the passes and kotcuts, into eastern louisiana, we have smaller skkmmers that cannot get offshore bbt is designed for in short skimming. we have an army of people out there oo the small boats picking up stuff that gets too sure. there are numerous techniques or strategies to get rid of the oil. we try to prevent the oil from getting to the beach. we used bone to do that. -- we use boom to do that. the wind moves they boom around and is difficult to keep the oil where we wanted.

this is the boom map that we use and the latest projection of where we have seen oil. does not neccssarily recoverable but from the information we get, we are trying to predict where the oil is going so we can be best prepared to prevent it from getting on the beaches. that is the basic strategy. we have sorus recovery, burning, disbursement, further away, leading edge recovery with less- capable recovergneers. we have manual pickup of tar

balls and we have a big tractor that picks up oil and we can clean beaches with that. that is more effective than one guy picking up a car ball. there are many issues out there and it is hot this time of year. we try not to have anyone heard as we are picking up these tar balls and cleaning beaches. our job in here is to support those guys out there. when someone can get something done, our job is to find a way to support that person. >> how do you do all this work? >> it is a difficult battle to fight. the most oil is retrieved when you control the source.

that is the challenge. the best people in the world are working here and they are doing amazing things out there. we are doing things that have never been done before. we are burning long run than they ever intended to. we are exceeding the limits of all our capabilities and learning as we go every day. it is pretta pretty amazing grof people. there are literally thousands that are working 15 hours per day on this problem. >> is this the can -- burning control unit? >> we have cameras on board all vessels.

we know in real time what they are doing. we have two fishing boats and crude oil builds up enough boom and we send an igniter team over. they will like that up and back away and as the igniter debts or roaring, the croats ill start to burn for it wants to get burning, -- the oil will start to burn. we have a minimum aad maximum amount so we try to take the mean amount. we have air spotters' and they will come over approximately -p1,000 feet and let us know whe

the deepest and darkest oil is coming from. what we are doing here is charting where the boats are in relationship to the main site. >> your center of this is where the incident occurred? >> arrived. -- right. >> where the oil is coming up is where we are capturing it. all these vessels are skimming the oil off. whatever they cannot get we try to get after that. >> how far offshore is most of this taking place? >> it will be right at the site. 60 miles offshore. that is around the site and there is where the majority of the burnable oil is.

it produces a lot of smoke. that may be a negative. they see air pollution. once it is burned, it is done. there is very little residue. if we disperse it, i think we spread it out but it would burn it, we get rid of it. i think it is a good thing. that is especially if we get it right from the source. when it comes up, burnet, and we are done.

>> when the field need something, they set up an order request and the request goes through all the people in this room and they basically identified and purchase of andd get back to the field as quickly as possible. that is what these people do here. the gentleman at this table is our alternative response evaluations team. they are designed to look at all these different suggestions that people have, the public as, the government has and evaluate those as far as whether they can contribute to the responss or not. bows what they are doing -- that is what they are doing. . this is important. >> this is our environmental we have the foremost experts on oil spill science. we haae a representative from noaa here and other folks.

they look at what the oil is doing to the empowerment and how we clean up and make sure we are taking care of the environment. i would like to introduce me as ann heyward walker she has worked on the exxon valdez and i have worked with are for 20 years. they want to ask you some questions about your expertise. >> the captain is too generous. >> what would be comparisons? >> comparisons are always tricky because there are so many variables in any oil spill. the setting of alaska vs. louisiana is different, the oil is different, the quality, even though it is almost the same magnitude, this is happening in a different kind of environment. the comparisons are difficult to do.

my rule of thumb is that the only generalization you can do is -- it depends. there are many good things in this bill that will help us minimize the effects that we could say if things are different. the oil and a warmmweather in the gulf of mexico -- you are trying to put this in a larger picture you. out to let people know that an oil spill is always a bad thing that there are situations that make it better. >> what are you doing here? >> we of a small group of technical specialists who are

trying to assess disbursements and evaluate types of disbursements and how much the and factor that into the operational decision making as well as the government agencies who have to decide what is the best long-term plan. >> what would you say about the source? >> that is something that is premature to make any judgments about. >> this is the shoreline cleanup team. they evaluate best strategy to take care of that.

>> cathy is about assessing sure library when oil comes ashore, find it, says what it means, and the cleanup. that and forms what our team does. we have teams in the field right now in helicopters and aircraft and on the ground and in boats and offshore lies. be a track and document ready oil as. unified. we have people from the federal noaa and coast guard and other landowners who are stakeholders. we got together and finding oil and documented expertly nd consistently and we make decisions about what to do. you have a arsh areas around here and sunny beaches so there are different cleaning

techniques to achieve different results. the critical thing here is to recognize what kind of sure line might weehave, where the sensitivities, and how do we clean them? >> we will leave this segment to bring you ive coverage of british prime minister david parliament on afghanistan. >> our thoughts and our prayers should be with their families and friends, their service of their sacrifice for our country must never be forgotten this is my fifth visit to afghanistan but my first as prime minister. i talked with the president visited our truth. i want to set out for the house that this government will approach our mission in afghanistan and have ttat mission -- and how that mission is progressing. let me stress the iiportance of

this. phe zeeo countries touched by the heroism of this generation fighting to protect us in tough conditions far from home. i belieee the countty is entitled to the facts. this statement is the first of several of dates. on a monthly basis, we will publish much more intimate and on the progress we are making. this will include reports on recruiting, training the afghan forces, programs of the morning -- promoting district government. this will include health and education. pur main focus will be of the security situation. for example, in the six months, the afghan army grew over 20%.

at present, the afghan police are assessed to be ineffective or barely able to operate in six of the 13 key provinces in the plan. we want tt take the country with us. let me address the first question people are asking. why are we in afghanistan? i can answer in two words -- national security. our forces are in afghanistan to prevent afghan territory from again being used by al-qaida as a base from which to plan attacks on the u.k. or our allies. the presenceeof nato forces prevents certain forces from returning. afghanistan is not capable of protecting the country and that is why we are there.

al-qaida is under pressure on both sides the border. 18 months ago, the prime minister tell this house that 3/4 of the most heinous plots against the u.k. were taking care of. i advise that the pressure from al-qaida and pakistan has reduced. i have also found that if it were not for the current presence of u.k. and internntional coalition forces, al-qaida would return to the afghanistan. musttwe stay? the afghan people do not want foreign forces on their style -- soil water that possible. the armed forces will not remain in afghanistan one day longer than is necessary. the key to success is training and equipppng the afghan security forces at every level to take on the task of securing

their country so that afghans can chart their own way in the world about their country posing a threat to others. job done, their heads held high. that is why we back to the strategy developed by general much crystal and endorsed by president obama and nato. we are trying to protect the civilian population from attacks. we want to build up the afghan security force as quickly as possible. we want to transfer security responsibility as soon as they are ready for this must be done on the basis of the facts on the ground and not a preannounced a timetable. the current year is the vital year. we are six was entered 18-month military surge and must redouble central helmand along with+

kandahar has been the center for al-qaida. four years ago, we went to he lmand with 3000 troops. that was not sufficient. there are 30,000 there now. in total, we have over 10,000 troops in the country as a whole. we are now even in and out the isaf presence in helmand we have not had enough soldiers for an effective counterinsurgency campaign. this is still a work in progress but the situation is much improved.

the marines have arrived with 80 aircraft and helicopters of their own which are now avaiiable to support all isaf forces in helamnd. a degree of normal life has returned to certain places and people are going about their daily business in an area that was not -- that was completely infested with insurgents before. inevitably, there will be tough fighting as afghan forces with support called the ground for this and push the insurgents into villages. during my visit, i was able to double the amount of teams to tackle the most serious threats facing our young and women -- are young men and women. many of the shortages which

happened as initially which happens to was initially have been resolved. they're not completely solved. we need to do more to recognize the remarkable men and women and place them at the front and center of our society. that is why i announced a doubling of the operational announcement in afghanistan backdated to may 6. i believe it is crucial we renew and reaffirm our commitmenttto the military covenant between our country and those who risk their lives to ensure our security. i do not pretend that we can succeed by military means alone. insurgency's usually end with political statements, not military victories. we need a political surged to accompany the military one.

i have asked for 200 million plans to go toward training and military institutions. we need a political process to help bring the insurgency to an end. as a first step, this means getting individual taliban fighters to put down their weapons, renounce violence, and reintegrate into afghan society. the peace jurka should enable this to move ahead quicker. everyone in affhanistan including those in the south must feel it is their government, their country, and they have a role to play. i agree with president karzai that we need to work toward a wider reconciliation process that works for all the people of the afghanistan. we are seeing a good example of that in canadkandahar which is largely afghan lead.

there is a major drive by the afghan government with our support to improve public services and the rule all law. from now on, what is happening there should reflect a deeper understanding of the influence of tribal structures in afghanistan. paid enoughhattention toothisot- and to the unintended consequences of our policies. i want us to take careful look at the contrast in policy and ensure that the oney going into the ocal economy from this huge contract has an impact does not help fund local in it -- militias or worse, the insurgents. we had the forces needed on the ground and our best people on the military and diplomatic

fronts. i do noo pretend it will be easy. i must warn the house that we must be ready for further casualties over the summer months as the fighting season resumes and as isaf extends its activities. they are putting thousands of miles away to protect our national security at home. like their predecessors, they have the support and gratitude of a whole nation. mr. speaker, when we succeed in enabling afghan to take control of their own security, our troops can come home. even after a troops have left, the relationship between britain and afghanistan must continue as a strong and close one. likewise, we want to build on our plan for pakistan. this is essential for our national security. house.

>> can i join the prime minister in paying tribute to the two soldiers who have been killed? our thoughts are with their loss. i thank the prime minister for his statement today. i welcome early visit is made to afghanistan. all those who are serving in afghanistan should know they have the admiration aad respect of the whole country. ]and on both sides of the house. -- and on both sides of the house. -pthis is to protect our nationl security. since this is the prime

minister's for statement to the house of afghanistan that as he proceeds to take difficult decisions in the best interests of our mission afghanistan, he will have our full support. in that spirit, i welcome the 67 million palace he has announced to help tackle the ied threat. please inform the house in more detail as to what this will be spent on merlin we understand there will be 13 extra vehicles. we welcome that. would that be an additional to the 67 milllon pounds? there is also a needd or well protected vehicles. the government will proceed with 200 light protected controlled vehicles. turring to strategy, the prime minister has reaffirmed that despite the challenges, progress has been made can he confirm

that the government is continuing he strategy which the u.k. has pursued but it has not changed. if that has changed, can you tell us in what respect? hahour and afghanistan needs to bring together a security, working together, and diplomatic efforts. the government will have our support to take the strategy and responsibility for home security and prosperity.3 announced for building up the afghan army's civil service. can he reassure the house that this will not be at the expense of bible existing development programs elsewhere in the world? can he update the house on discussions he has had with the u.s. defense secretary gaaes and whether they addressed the head3

in 2011? stable pakistan. will the prime minister of state house and diicussions he have had with the president and prime minister of pakistan. on the question of the families of our troops, can i ask him if he will follow through the important work with the former defense secretary with my support to back up the wise partners for the families. will the prime minister reassure the house that the front lines will not be weekend to? minister and his defense secretary argued for a bigger army and for the expansion of the army by three to -- by three did -- by three battalions will the prime minister explain to this ouse the reasons for the departure of two firms that

might employ a role innthe strategic defense initiative. can i ask the prime minister to join me in paying tribute to "fallen soldiers for their trip to our nation. >> i would thank the gentle lady for her response and the way in which said it. i know we will have our differences, but on the issue of afghanistan, there is great unity between the neighbor and others. i think that is important. our troops would like to know that everyone in this house is behind what they are doing. armed forces day will go ahead as planned on june 26.

the $67 million is in addition3 mate. we are six months into the obama strategy of the military and political search. we want to see that strategy to grow. through. we must be absolutely clear in oor focus on a national security perspective of what we are doing. that is not to say that development work and building schools and hospitals and other things are not important. we need to get our priorities straight that in the end are root-positive and that is to put security bars prevent this to be very clear. in terms of the development aid,

the 200 million pounds is additional to the existing work we are doing in afghanistan by a preat wit -- in afghanistan. in recent years, we have put enormous pressure on these families offmilitary personnel and we need to do more to help them. i know the pressures we put on people. we want to do more to help with all the issues around military families. finally, the question about the strategic defense review and if that would cover the army -- it would cover all the issues in defense. irvñi would join her in paying tribute to the fallen soldiers. they were strong and dedicated

public servants and everyone owes the may thanks and gratitude. the government needs new time to put in a proper replacement for defense purposes they have done a superb job on the defense staff for it i am working with him extremely well. he can with me on the trip to afghanistan and deserves the gratitude of the house of commons. >> are we agreed that there is a wealth of conflicting

we say on the one hand to the palle -- taliban that we will not cut and run and will stay for as long as is needed to do the job. of the other hand, we say to the afghan government that there is an urgency to sort out the corruption and govern and sprayed the yyu give priva. >> i would like to congratulate my hon. friend for his election win. i look forward to reading over his reports. i don't think there is a contradiction. i think people in afghanistan want to know that the foreign troops will not be on their soil after extended period of time. i think is right not to set an artificial deadline about when troops will leave, but to do all the work we can to build up the afghan security forces and to put pressure on the afghan

government to do all they can to end corruption and put in place good governors. it is time we get on with this work. we ddn't like artificial timetablee we cannot meet.. >> the prime minister referred briefly to pakistan. it did not take the opportunity to respond to the questions about pakistan. can he tell us the assessment of the role of pakistan for good or evil across the spectrum. >> the role of pakistan is vital. whht is encouraging is that in all the cooversations i have had

with president karzai over the last five years, i have never heard him be so positive with his relationship with pakistan as he is now. a stable pakistan and afghanistan are two sides of the the encouraging thing right now is that a pakistan government is pursuing al-qaida in parts of the trouble areas. that is making a difference. we've got to convince the pakistan government and the afghanistan government that we are there for the long term. it is not the long term with truth but the long term with a, food, diplomacy so they don't think we will leave them in the lurch once again. >> may i commend the prime minister.

when we start withdrawing our troops it should be based on we being satisfied that the afghans have maintained their travel ability. >> the gentleman is right it should be an issue of national security and when we can safely leave the job of securing afghanistan to afghan forces. that on -- that ouunumbers us. >> i said it is time to serve the principle. [unintelligible]

>> i as going to say that i+ agree with a lot of what he said. -pit is important that the military feels they can et on varnished clear advice to ministers. is also important that ministers test and probe and challenge that advice. that is how policy should be developed. >> the prime minister pointed3 united states military surge phase. can he assure me that once they talk about future drawdowns that we keep in constant touch with him to ake sure we operate on the same time line? >> i would like to congratulate my hon. friend on his election.

i look forward to the work you will be doing. working together with the americans as our allies is vital for success. one thing that strikes you when you go and see what our troops are doing, sometimes people wonder if it is right that british troops are under american command all american troops in canada are under a british command. our forces were incredibly closely together including the hospitals. >> could the prime minister update the house on production? >> there has been progress. the province with the worst record in terms of production has tended to be helmand

province but production is significantly down. how much of that is due to plop -- poppy blight and how much is due to security efforts. of the picture as we see a more secure afghanistan, we see more alternative livelihoods being followed. we have to get our priorities the right way amount -- round. >> will the prime minister review the domestic departments to make sure that the returning troops have this full support for their mental, emotional, and

physical needs including their housing? >> i am grateful for that question. we have said we will examine every part of the military, to make sure we are fulfilling in the ways we should. housing is a key product -- part of that great u.s. government was putting money into houses and many to go on improving phat. i think mental health is the+ area that needs the most attention. we think of the combat stress placed on these men year after year. we need to recognize that. this is something they will go through the rest of their lives. we have begun to fall of mental health issues. we are working with the ministry of health. >> would youumeet with a small

delegation at some time in the future to discuss this issue? i am n a panel of inquiry looking up this very issue. we want to understand why returnees end up in the criminal justice system. >> i would be happy to meet with you and other colleagues. the whole problem of mental heaath issues, because it has not had enough attention, we are seeing former soldiers ball through the net that is bare. they might be homeless or in the criminal justice system. >> if we are to achieve lasting security success in afghanistan, it is imperative that we observe the maximum possible pressure on al-qaida and the taliban of both sides of the border, can you

tell the house whether it is the government's policy to continue the program of bilateral counter terrorist operations between the british government's and the last allied? >> it absolutely is our policy to continue that work. . .

>> the chief of the defense staff had been intending to extend the side, after having seen to the strategic defense review. i think that's an appropriate time. it is a good moment to pay tribute to the work he has done, which has been genuinely good. i sought myself in afghanistan ann the good leader -- a good leadership he has given to ur armed forces. >> i join with my right hon. friend and of the right hon. lady in tribute to our fallen heroee. since some of us on both sides of the house have been pointing out at nauseam -- ad nauseam since 2006 that this was an undermanned and under equipped army, how does he think it came

about that four successive labour defense secretary's were so uninformed? >> the hon. gentleman does take a very extreme issue with this. is right. we went into helman province was an idea of how dangerous the insurgency could become. the opposition did not have sufficient helicopters or did not move fast enough on vehicles or other equipment rograms. but we have to take from where we are and ask ourselves what is right to do now? it seems to me it is right to give this new strategy of having a correct number ofrk by forces to deliver a proper

counterinsurgency and build up the afghan army and police force so we can bring the troops back home. the point in the end is what will make our country safer? if in behind and afghanistan may not be perfect demmcracy or built -- or brilliant society, but so that it is not a haven for terrorism. >> next year, british and american troops will have been in afghanistan for 10 years. it has cost hundreds of soldiers and thousands of civilians and it has created still look -- created instability in the region. %hould we be thinking of some alternativeewhich involves negotiations rather than constant military activity? >> let me find some common cause with the hon. gentleman which i do believe is we will not stall+ -- we will not solve this

problem by military means alone. then there should be military process, a process to lay down arms and rejoin society and a process ed by the afghan government of engaging with taliban. but there have to be some red lines. there has to be accepting of the afghan constitution and above all, several any link with hawkeye that. so -- severing its links with that will not come if we walk away militarily. -- severing its links with alkali dust. >> if they are suppressed in afghanistan they begin to operate from half a dozen other potential harboring states? given is out of the question that we could ever try to tackle the problem in the extremely costly we have tackled

afghanistan, will he undertake to view with an open mind the hope to have an opportunity to discuss presently? >> i would like to thank the hon. gentleean with his question and know he has expertise in this area. he is right to say there are other parts of the world where al qaed are stronglya established. but that does not negate the need to do what's possible to the severed so that country cannot become too al qaeda. working with the government pakistan can help stabilize the region where huge amounts of terrorism has come from. in terms of the sovereign base idea, i'm happy to discuss ideas, but a military searched as part of a counterinsurgency

must be given time to work. >> in excepting lax security, what progress can your report on human rights in afghanistan? what can you say about the afghanistan the suffered during the taliban years? >> i think there ii some progress that has been made. + when i say we're not going to end up with a perfect democracy or brilliant society, it doesn't mean these things don't matter, they do. but it's about ordering our priorities. + recently, i believe 20% of the representatives were women and i noted that at my press conference with president carter's i. the entire british press was made up -- president karzai.

>> the prime minister has recognized the integrated nature of the military operation and the coalition forces together are trying to achieve security for afghanistan. does he have the commitment of our coalition partners that they have understood this message that we can only leave once therefore the population in afghanistan has to believe we of the commitment to see the job through to the end? >> i think the hon. gentleman makes a good point. the canadiens and dutch have made their own decisions about timetables. %+think it's important to do all we can to encourage other nato allies. i met with representatives of the danish and estonian military's while there. all of our partners remain particularly this year when the number of troops has increased and there's a real chance of delivering a proper counter-%+ insurgency strategy thht rotect the people and pushes the

taliban out and delivers the basic level of security we want to see. >> the prime minister will be aware [unintelligible] he quite rightly military effort must take the highest priority in the campaign, but in his visits and the courts the has received, ask him to reflect on the enggneering resources there is an ground? there is a doubt awhile of massively helps with the military access, it also helps to rebuild communications. those communications can in turn helped the governments of the country. are you satisfied it is at the right level? >> i think the hon. gentleman makes a gooo point. we have not made as much progress as we should hhve on the front of engineering.

if you take the example of the damage should be delivering more electricity to more people, progress has not been anything as fast as we would have hoped it should have been. -pthat is the sort of tangible progress people in afghanistan want to see to demonstrate like this better than a was undee the taliban. we have to deliver that as part of the message of security and stability that will enable us to leave. >> i commend and support my right hon. friends determination to take responsibility for what our armed forces are seeking to achieve. but is he aware that there has been a widespread perception that while we are fighting the war in afghanistan, whitehall has not been on the same wartime footing or tackling problems with our midst -- problems with urgency as we would expect.

will you appoint a secretary of state for afghanistan to drive things forward? >> what i would say to my hon. friend to take a great deal of interest in these matters, we at footing by having in national- security exam -- national security adviser that met on the one which is driving the policy on this. that message has got clearly through to the ministry of defence. getting equipment to the frontlines and we're doing everything we can to make sure that happens and the commitment is there. >> of the security issues, i wonder if i could ask a little bit more about the development of [unintelligible] what development changes d.c. in the strategy and we feel about the whole afghanistan strategy which looks to other parts of

afghanistan? how he feels about the use of instruments like the afghan reconstruction trust fund? and finally, can i ask him to pay another visit to the report from two years ago which still has some relevant messages to give about development strategies in afghanistan. >> i agree with what the hon. gentleman says aboutta whole afghanistan strategy. we of to be careful out to be over focused on helman province. i make no excuse for that. that is where our troops are. this campaign will be judged by that mission. the strategy, is in terms of how we're focused on issues of security and helping to deliver that security. having been on too many occasions over the last five years -- people working very

hard have not been able to get out into afghanistan to deliver a project because there is not enough security. you have to get that right first. >> one of the many problems is that in the past has been confusion over the key objective. i remain convinced as to whether it can be achieved. given that has to be a political and military solution, how worried was the but recent resignations of the president's government of the chief of intelligence and the interior president in seeking that compromise? >> i discussed this iisue with president karzai about the resignaaions and the prospect of resettlement and reintegration. combined with the military surge, this will be vital to securing the future of afghanistan and enabling us to

bring our troops back home. people particullrly in southern afghanistan have to feel they are part of the government. that process of reintegration, with the lines that have been laid down, that's a vital part of making the country more secure. i am grateful to the prime minister for is to let it not only to this house but to afghanistan. it has been clear our forces have been undermanned. instead of fighting one five- year war, we have been fighting 51-year wars. british troops are trading -- are taking of the flags not to be handed over to afghans, but to be handed over to the british. this is a repeat of basra. i would like to the prime minister to declare [unintelligible] >> i know my hon. friend has

great experience in afghanistan, having trrveled there many times themselves. 3 repeat of basra. what is happening is making sure we have the correct number of troops spread across helman and at the country for counterinsurgency. that this mean moving forces from one place to another to make sure they are thick enough across the hall of the ground. it is welcome there are now 20,000 u.s. marines there and it should enable us to enable the security. we should not be worried or shame or anything if we move the disposition of our forces around with their u.s. allies. that was part of delivering a successful outcome. >> i welcome the prime minister's statement. its soldiers have been deployed time. any statement on the equipment

prime minnster did not mention was unmanned aerial vehicles. barry in mind there are tools that are very important, would pe give a commitment that they will be very much there as part of the equipment program? gentleman that read assurance. -- that reassurance. these unmanned aerial vehicles are very impressive and what they can do. there is a great deal of british technology and investment going into them as well as we will make sure they can be deployed -- can be deployed as quickly as possible. >> i recently spoke to soldiers prom the ground there guard to return from afghanistan and maybe of point that the national affhan police equipment is incredibly poor but the police themselves are very good.

could you address that as a key issue? >> i am grateful or that question. the problem is not just equipment. there has been a problem in terms of actual recruiting and training and retaining good police officers. we had the appalling incident last year. it is something that has comee out on all sides of the house. for too long, not enough focus was given to the most important things in which trading the police was absolutely key. trainers and is turning out very good police officers. but for too long, this issue was ignored. >> does the prime minister believe the mine clearance equipment available to our troops is the best in the world? >> certainly, i have a presentation in afghanistan about the equipment being used and the training undertaken.

it is incredibly impressive colin our troops are able to do. i'm sure the former defense seeretary would agree with this -- you have to keep investing and keep on catching up with the latest technology being used by the enemy. they are incredibly cunning in trying to find new ways of making these things harder to find. >> i am grateful to all colleagues for their cooperation. statement of the exchequer. >> mr. speakkr, with permission, i would like to make a statement on the office for budget -- mississippi, alabama and florida today. he will be met my state and local officials. he will have eight very ride to the barrier islands in alabama where oil has come ashore. we will have live coverage of

this statement here on c-span. tomorrow, the oil company ceos will be on capitol, including the heads of exxon mobil, shell, and bp. will have live coverage as they answered questions from the house oversight committee starting at 9:30 on c-spaa3. + tomorrow night, president obama will address the nation from the oval office and talk about steps the nation is taking to address the oil spill. live coverage of that speech at 8:00 on the c-span networks and online. coming up thursday, the ceo of bp is set to testify on capitol3 he'll be questioned by the house energy and commerce oversight committee about the handling of the il spill. that is 10:00 eastern on c-span 3 and c-span radio. >> the second one is to continue

to press the frontiers of the industry to give access to new supplies to the world. that is at drilling wells to 10 kilometers in the gulf of mexico, beginning to explore under the ice in the arctic. >> the ceo of bp on global policy this past january before the oil spill. he will testify thursday on capitol hill. selah other government offfcials have said about the spill. it is all archived at c-span's video library. it is washington your way. >> a discussion now on the in+ floods of the conservative movement, this was part of a conference called the campaign for america's future, a progressive advocacy organization. a quick nnte to viewers -- due to a technical problems, we were unable to show you a brief portion of the beginning of this one hour and 10 minute

event. >> 3 from the folks on the right. the movement has to lead. -pin my experience on the hill d at media matters, it is not enough to sit back and expect the legislators in congress or even the white house to keep -- to be able to change the dynamic of the debate happening every day on cable, which as i established earlier, is the political battlefield of this cycle. that trend is only going to increase moving forward. in my mind, that calls for a more robust support and engagement of the progressive in the structure that has been built up over the last four or five years as a double down and reinvent themselves. we have to be ready to match that threat. we have to stop the lies, the lead -- disappearing and the fear.

that is what we are here to talk abouu. we have a brief video and a full panel. i will be asking our panelists, i will give them each a brief introduction and ask them one question and we will try to come to the audience as quickly as possible. please get your questions ready- >> does that mean someone's 13 year-old daughter can walk into a clinic, have a pregnancy test done, have thhir abortion be back and go home and school bus that night? mom and dad are never the wiser.

>> we have more to fear from the potential of that bill fat -- that bill passinggthen we do from any terrorist right now in any country. >> the mayor of new york said today we are tough and we can do it. how aae you going to feel when it is your daughter that is kidnapped at school by a terrorist? emergency every time we have a katrina or tsunami. >> we are challenged by jesus to look after people as, not as a government. >> what is the big problem republicans have? fighting off marxist and3 liberals and progressive. >> we already suspected of -- >> the news media should do a penetrating expos a and take a look. i wish they would. i wish the american media would take a great look at the views of the people in congress and find out on a pro-america or

anti-america. >> this is baddy. many believes in freedom and likes america because we have freedom. she believes in patient choice health care. >> this motion does not promote life. mr. speaker -- >> when you think about the optics of barack obama potentially getting elected united states, theereckless and their supporters will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did odds of timber 11. >> the reforms i aa proposing would not provide -- not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> i ammdoing a story tonight that i wanted to debunk these fema camps. if you trust our government, it's fine.

if you have any kind of audio] [no6 c16 c13 >> he said he hopes he fails. we hope that -- he said that a lot. i hope every progressiie across america today, i hope those comments sink in because the right wing does want our president to fail. anything is that theseus%- characters on the eetreme right

will stop at nothing to destroy this administration, to destroy a progressive policy agenda from being enacted. this is what i call the total war concept of politics being waged by the right and we have to be aware of it and ready to fight back against it. we have a fantastic panel of experts to talk about what is going on. i would like to introduce a brooklyn based free-lance journalists who has written for an array of friend and non -- print and non-print publications. his new book is a fantastic one called "common sense -- glenn beck and the triumph of ignorance. it has just been released. he has a long history of

incendiary comments from his radio days. despite discrediting himself over and over again, he has still risen to the top. can you walk us briefly through the rise of glenn beck and could you make the case he is surpassing rush limbaugh is the new anti-progressive leader and in what ways is more dangerous? >> a good place to start, there is a phrase that flashed on the screen -- fever swamps. i think that's a good entry point for this discussion. to go back in time of little bit to an age when the most prominent conservative in the

country was not the people we're going to be talking about today but bill buckley, who usee to use this term to describe the sort of stuffy heard coming from the john birch far right in the 1960's after he turned on the john birch society. beck represents the return in triumph of what used to be a must high-profile conservatives call the fever swamps. then we have this degeneracy into beck, and we may live to see him being the most high- profile conservative. but how did he get there? here that it was a pretty unlikely and weird triummh. i don't think anybody could have seen it coming. i don't think he did either.

he started el as a teenager dj -- i don't think he did either. he started out as a teenage dj performing magic and it is a big fan of dramatic radio. he's to practice his or small voice into a microphone and he translated his love of radio into a precocious top 40 year. -- top 40 career. he entered the industry right around the time that top 40 radio shifted gears a little bit into something called the zoo ffrmat in which thinns were wacky and aggressive. it became more about it gimmicks and props and personal battles with competing stations and radio personalities. a certain level of a viciousness entered morning radio when he hit the stage which i think is significant. if there are any constant in his

career, it is probably viciousness, shamelessness, egoo , and a burning ambition which he has realized pretty spectacularly. + estimate across all platforms to be 30 million americans. last year, forbes estimated he made $32 million. talking to these americans, there has been talk about his recent televisions rating dip, but he is still quite successful across the rest of his empire. his fox audience is only a small sliver, so i warn people against focusing too much on that dip, which we do not know if it's a prominent enough, if people are starting to turn away from his act. but most other indicators suggest his fan base is pretty lawyer -- pretty loyal and much too large for comfort. how did he become a movement

leader? it's a pretty recent turn, when you look at the grand sweep of his career. he was not talking politics until around the turn of the last decade. he started as a talk dj only in 2000 in tampa. he was confused as a liberal at the time and didn't have a conservative idea at all. he only found that boys during the recount. -- found that voice during the recount. during 9/11, he started to emerge assthe hard-charging flame thrower we are fascinated with in various ways today. which is one of the subjects%- we're supposed to be talking about is quite interestinn. i think he is one of the main3 movement that started to coalesce within the ron paul

campaign and turn it into a natural home for cultural and religious conservatives who are not too likely to think through whht a consistent libertarianism -pmight be, to put it mildly. numbers wise, rush llmbaugh is still king. but they have established a report, in the way he has with billlo'reilly. they have both anointed him as the kind of successor and i don't think any of them think sean hannity will be next in line. he has faded into the background. >> thank you. and sure we will be coming back to him. something that wanted to throw out for everybody, since coming to fox news just over a year ago, he has mentioned the word

revolution on 85 separate episodes. that ought to tell us all a little bit about what he's about. our next panelist, probably the only one here who is known by one word name -- certainly the heather digby, founder of the blog and hullabaloo. she is part of the political pac blue america and serves on the congress action fund. i would like you to talk about the trends you have noticed in the mainstream media coverage of the tea party. it seems other news alydar taking cues from fox after their incessant promotion of the tea -- other news outlets are aking cues from fox after their incessant promotion of the tea party movement. but there has been a shift since

there were caught yelling homophobic and racist sllrs and is bidding on members of congress. has that name -- has that had an effect on how the legitimate -pnews media covers the t party and what the tank the affect the affect is and what will be in a politicaa landscape this yearr >> one of the things about fox news and the right wing noise machine in general is that it does not have -- has a fair amount of power on the right but ii does not ave a great amount of power that it does have without the help of the mainstream media. theyyperform often as an amplifier of what fox news and right-wing radio is doing. often, they don't even know that they are doing it which is interesting. during the early part of the decade when rush limbaugh was asked to come and do commentary on election night, people were

stunned in the news media that people like me were complaining and jumping up and down at the idea that someone like rush limbaugh would be on a major network talking about election coverage as if he were just another analyst, which we know he is a major -- a major right- wing propagandists. they just did not listen to him. these ideas were filtering back to them. they had been transmitted. the tea party is an interestingg phenomenon. is a fox news phenomenon essentially. they came about through some very sophisticated astroturf thing on the part of these groups like freedom mark bomb -- like freedom works. these are very wealthy sponsors.

they come from the top down any have a bottom-up phenomenon that by fox days and talk radio. when the mainstream media first saw this, i think was very confusing to them. they saw a bunch of white, a wage people like me showing up at town hall meetings, coming to rally is wearing costumes and waving flags bets they don't tread oo mee packing heat. it's pretty irresistible television. for a lot of them, they cannot understand what this phenomenon was. in their minds, protesters are young people with long hair screaming "hell no, we won't know." said they had no basis of understanding thiss it was interesting. over time, it became clear that it was not an ordinary group of americans coming down to the town hall meetings and expressing their opinions. these are very angry people.

the fox news sponsorship became apparent. once you could see what glenn beck and the talk radio people were doing to promoted, and it became clear through efforts by peoole like media matters and we tried to put pressure on the mainstream media to make them understand how this phenomenon is unfolding. they had this concedd up to that point, and it's something that has been with us for 40 or 50 years that this is america and the americas some kind of cross between nixon's silent majority and the sleepy little town of bedford falls. homespun folks' circa 1938. they just did not have any idea of what was reaaly happening. when they see these sorts of people, they become convinced speaking. is our real america

for the first time, we may beginning to see a breakdown of this breakdown of small-town america that they have undermined may not be as benign a silent majority as they thought. the small to be -- town america that they had in their mind may not be as benign a silent majority as they thought. they see themselves as being reflections of that real america. it's very difficult to get across your dealing with an extremist faction in american politics, led by some very wealthy and powerful people. >> i think it is worth noting that the tea party party movement is the first grass- roots, successful grassroots mobilization by the right as i understand it cents a protest overrthe supreme court ruling on a row vs. wade in 1973 which is

a serious development. + touching on what they said about the tea party and glenn beckk 62% of republicans believe president obama is a socialist. 60% believe he was to take away our rights to own guns. 67% believe he is a muslim. 30% of republicans believe president obama is doing many of the things adolph hitler did. glenn beck and the tea party movements are one of the key sources of that. next speaker is the president of the national housing institute which publishes "shelter force." his fantastic book is called

"seeds of change, the seeds of acorn." as we know, a corn became a lightning rod in this past cycle and is no longer with us, sadly. can you briefly explain what acorn is and what happened to them? >> i did write a book about acorn. the best way i can answer that is this way -- i am here to warn you about the most dangerous organization in this country. it's an organization that has been accused of stealing a presidential lection, has been crisis, it has been accused of embezzling millions of dollars, is using federal funds, of having relations with a prostitute as well as engaging in widespread voter fraud and intimidation, intimidating banks

and insurance companies to give them money. this is all true. it is well documented. you know i am talking about. phe republican party. i sayythat as a joke, but it is a great irony that acorn was accused of all these things by republican officials, karl rove, a john mccain, the right wing at the chamber, and has been repeated here -- the mainstream media simply reported and repeated these accusations. they did so often that americans came to believe all of these stories about acorn. they are not true. none of them. but in politics, perception is reality and in the end, acorn

was brought down in small part by their own self-inflicted wounds, but mostly by incorporations, the reeublican party, and the right wing at the chamber. -pbut also its allies in the democratic party and liberal when he was on and they needed the most. it is a remarkable tragedy. i can give you some hint of the drama of this tragedy. just two years ago, a corn and its family of organizations have a budget of $100 million, 1000 police in 38 states, 400,000 dues paying members and a track record of winning victories for america's poor. in less than two years, the effective anti-party

organization in the country to one that has just about closed its doors. what happened and what are the lessons? what do i mean when i say they -pare the most effective anti- party organization in the country? it is important to understand the tragedy to understand how importtnt and effective they were. for four decades, whenever acorns that a chapter, you would find the group getting stop signs up at dangerous intersections. you would see them stopping unfair utility rate hikes,+ helping families buy homes, turning abandoned -- turning abandoned buildings and too foreclosures, improving schools, and even increasing police protection in dangerous neighborhoods. tax counseling programs in 51 cities and they generated more than $19 million in income

through the earned inccme tax credit to help poor families pay rent and heat. -- pay rent and heat.. but the corn's defining innovation was turning a local organizing group -- we have lots of local community organizing groups that do very effective work, but what acorn did was turn aalocal group into a national association that could change federal policy such as increasing the minimum wage as well as victories against corporate giants like household finance corp., one of the nation's largest subprime lenders, h&r block, citibank, and many more. s led the fight to save the lower night after hurricane the drina. -- a lower ninth ward after hurricane katrina.

after 1995 through 2004, a court had read directed an astonishing $15 billion in the government in corporations to improve the lives in neighborhoods of low-income families. these victories came with a serious price. for decades, for years, a corn has incurred the wrath -- acorn has incurred the wrath of the right wing say thanks, the editorial -- right wing of think the editorial board of the "wall street journal." republicans have been attacking them since the first george bush administration and the republican party has been

notorious for its attempts to stifle voting in america and at voting by minorities and the poor. after the close 2000 election, karl rove and the voter suppression machine took voters suppression to a dramatically new level. they targeted a corn lost votaress -- voter registtation or by ordering the u.s. attorney to indict a corn for voter fraud. acorn has never committed a crime, never committed voter fraud. they have never committed voter registration fraud, having committed any crime. after that, they went out and registered over a million voters. >> i have to cut you off. >> i have -- that is the story >> what he is illustrating fit

perfectly in here -- it's a story most americans never hearr, the great work that warren has done and it underscores the responsibility of every progressive organization -- the great work that acorn has done. to go to our next speaker and and comeback to my -pgood friind of feet doesn't -pmind. john is the founder of crops and lyres column of the most influential logs. -- the founder of crooks and liars. he just co-authored a compelling new book titled "ooer the clip -- how the election of barack obama drove the american right in saying." i mentioned -- drove the

>> hi everybody. it's great to be here with this great panel. we put together a quick video to set town of what is going on. thh video almost finished to the end. with eight pastor, sseve anderson in arizona who is praying for obama to die. is this america's future now? theefever swamp is bubbling up into congress. when you see members of congress talking like that, you are driving to the store and there is steve king -- he's in congress, he is a radio talk- show vaudevillian act. i am honored to of co-written a book with david who is here

today, and during the election -- when we talk about a corn, bell is a fox news-driven, right wing -- obama's ties to acorn. mickey mouse is on the ballot and it is a corn's fault. we were able to be in the bets anvils every day we go through story after story. i want to thank media matters for helping sspply some of tte footage. we wanted to show the extremists. what i was struckkby during the primary and then on the day of the election was a historic moment. here we have the first african- american president elected to the united states and most

people were stunned but excited. what was interesting to me is that immediately thereewas a whiplashed politics. that is what i am calling it. e election where when obama is getting sworn in, chris wallace is on thh fox ews saying ii don't even think he is president because they must at the swearing-in ceremony. immediately during the ceremony, there's marry him and trying to say he is illegitimate. -- they are swearing him in trying to say he is illegitimate. understand because we have -- for a lot havebloggers, we interest and because weesee it daily.

ddiby talked about the tea party movement. it is an extension of 1980 and the reagan regolith -- the reagan revolution. researching this book was fascinating because i get to the back into the history of the conservative movement. what we found on the internet is an explosion of new readers coming into politics. a lot of people have not studied find out how does this happen? the tea party just came out of nowhere, but they haven't. at that time, jack abramoff, grover norquist and they are considered patton freaks and the or psychotic where communists were in the government. but now it has switched from russia to obama query have seen3

socialist marxist. you have beck on television calling him a marxist and a socialist. then i need to correct, is actually a fascist. maybe something else. but it is the end of the world as we know it. what it has led to part is coming joining what we call sore loser voters. conservatives who are upset because they lost the election. for the first time in history, you have a news outlets that helped make and opposition party to a newly elected president which i don't believe that that happened before. what proceeds that is in the '90s, we had all of the black helicopter groups which are white supremacists and your

patriot movement, the militia movement. but what happens is they were more in the shadows. but because of fox news and the tea party, they're able to expose themseeves and they get transmitted into the mainstream. all the sudden, there is a wreck sanchez interweaving emission it -- michigan militiamen saying you are not a bad guy. to killout there trying a policeman. silly document how this extremism is infiltrating and becooing more mainstream. -- so we document how this extremism is infiltrating and becoming more mainstream. they were trying to frame it that obama's attack on fox news was to preempp when there was somm violence. they forgot that dr. tiller was murdered.

they forget three police officers were killed in the pittsburgh because he was afraid obama was going to take his guns. they forget about the old gentleman who went to the holocaust museum to try to shoot people because he wanted to go into the fed and 1981 -- this book could have been -- >> we're out of time. >> this could have been examples of hate crimes after obamm was elected and it would fill up the book. >> thank you. those are fascinating and on point observation that i hope we can get into those. i want to come to my good friend, james rucker last. he is the executive director of+ color of change, and online lobby of six and a dozen people dedicatee to and will find ways

of black americans anddforcing politicians to be more responsive to their needs. recently, york for media matters and tried to visit some accountability in the new media environment driven by profit and giant conglomerate media organizations. i was wondering if you could describe the work of cholera of change and what you think the impact it has had and where it should go in the future. -- color of change and what you think impacted has had. >> collar of change is a multi racial group that promotes policies that will grow policies that will -- 3 of box and black people in the congressional black caucus institute was looking to partner to be presidential debates. this was the first instance we ssw with fox on the one hand

really portraying black elected officials and communities in a very negative light. there was an intent to cloak themselves with positive -- [unintelligible] the first than that member -- first thing that motivated our membership was when he said president obama was a racist with a deep-seated hatred for white people. it's an interesting campaign. we were putting together an organized response with a oaa of marginalizing back and creating a problem for fox where they either have to: beck and say this is what he is about or get rid of him.

starting with 300,000 people petitioning advertisers, st. do not support this show. tens of thousands of people making phone calls and our small staff pressuring advertisers and letting them know -- here is what he does in your brand is standing alongside it. is this something you are over 00 advertisers have said no. there is a cost to alienating a sizable part of your market. they have responded. i want to be brief selling it to questions but the key is what3 is makes it very clear here is what is happening. there are folks who point out these evii deeds being done by fox. the white house backed off and

said we're not going to validate you as a legitimate news service. this is where it gets dangerous and is different from rush limbaugh. rush limbaugh has is and that makes good money. people think he is over there. most people don't want to be associated with them. peck exists on what is a legitimate news network. that is part of what we want to do is make him not legitimate and paint that picture and force fox news to basically own him or not, making it issue of their legitimacy as well. the last thing i will say is an organized response -- we have the ability to amplify what media matters but fourth. we can actually make them own it. when you see members on the floor doing that, we can have caapaigns, paid media campaigns driven by everyday people who will respond to that and make it

such that fox can be reprinted -- can be read branded, not faii and balanced, but what they really are. >> thank you. we're going to try to open up to the audience now. i hope everybody has quustions ready. question,ike to ask a please step in to the center. have someone over here? >> you have to show your papers. [laughter] >> delilah illegal? -- do i looo illegal? , and to point out to everrone

that this is a very current thing. media matters has been doing a great job reporting on this. glenn beck promoted the work of elizzbeth dulling who is ne of the most prominent hitler supporters in the united states. he promoted her book, are commuuist-bashing book called "the red network." yesterday he refused to apologize for it. you can understand he may not have researched her entire background before he started promoting the work, although that seems extremely unlikely. to me, this is probably the most significant transmission of far- right extremists and into the+ mainstream we have seen in the past year. if he is not fired for