ready to help whenever our governors choose to call on them. a call footbridge across the gulf coast, guardsmen are supporting local, state, and federal authorities in a number of ways, from reconnaissance to hazardous material training. guard aircraft are also assisting in the response and helping to coordinate the vessels that are out on the water. here in alabama in particular, about 200 of the roughly 450 guardsmen who have been specialized training to assist bp with claims processing. this is a multi-purpose force that is prepared to handle almost any challenge and i hope our governors put them to good use. .

it is line to take time for things to return to normal. there is going to be harmful effects to many local businesses and it is going to be painful for a lot of folks. folks will be frustrated and some will be frustrated. but i promise you this. things will turn back to normal.

we are going to do everrthing we can 24/7 to make sure that communities get back on their feet. in the end, i am confident that we will be able to leave the gulf coast in better shape than it was before. i appreciate all your efforts and to all the local a officials, we appreciate you, too. let me mention a moment about our coast guard and air national incident coordinator thad allen. thad allen was about to retire. he is working as hard as anybody in this country right now to help deal with this crisis. members of the coast guard have bben doing outstanding work each and every day. them that the country is proud

of you, grateful to you, and keep up the good work. all right? thank you very much, everyone. [applause] i want to take this one question because there has been some reports in the news. i am going to be meeting with officials on wednesday.umber of- we have begun preliminary conversations about how to structure a mechanism so that the legitimate claims that will be presented, not just tomorrow, not just next week, but over the coming months, are dealt with justly, fairly, and promptly. so far, we have had a constructive conversation. i hope is that, by the time the chairman and i meet on wednesday, we have made sufficient progress and we can see the structure that will be in place. it is too early now at this

point to make an announcement. but by wednesday, my hope is that we have made some progress on this front. all right? [inaudible]o >> i am going to let federal and address that qqickly. we talked about it during a -- allening to let fat alathad address that quickly. we talked about it during our meeting. >> we have shallow water ski mask deployed on shore. they have become a major research to battle this offshore. we have to push the enemy, if you will, 20 miles offfhore and do the maximum scamming out

there. -- maximum skimming out there. >> [inaudible] >> your only going to get to questions. this is an issue that has come across the gulf. bustles of opportunity can -- vessels of opportunity can range from a shrimp boat too small vessels. each one will have different%+ capacities. some of them will able to take skimming equipment of the talk that admiral allen has discussed. some will not have that capacity

that will be able to send signals that spot oil pared some of them can shovel supplies -- spot oil. some of them can shovel supplies back and forth. we're taking inventory. all of the vessels have presented themselves. we will assess which can go out. those that can lay of the boom and which can engage whichskimming, -- which canning gauge in skimming, those will be assessed. at any given time, the priority may be -- we just want to get some stuff ouu 20 miles before it starts coming in closer. that means you will not necessarily see a lot of skimmer's close and -- skimmers closing in.

we have to make sure that we have a full inventory. we know exactly what the capacity of each of these votes are. we make sure that people are being trained. -- which of these some -- each of these boats are. we make sure that people are being trained. >> [inaudible] >> i have seen some beautiful beaches over mississippi. we saw them flying over. i will be honeet with you. we will stop as much of the oil from coming in as possible. that is our no. 1 job. it turns out that if the oil hit

the beaches, that is probably the easiest to clean up. is a concern bviously, for tourism and a concern for an entire gulf region. but those beaches will recover. the oil, when it hits the beaches, we can send it to people out there to scoop them up, dispose of them properly and the beaches will look pretty pristine a year or two years from now. the biggest concern we have right now or the marshes, the estuaries, the wetlands where, if you start to see the oil seeping in, natalie canada kill oyster beds end -- not only can it kill oyster beds and hit ecosystems, even the repair efforts in those areas can actually destroyed the ecology in the region we are

coordinating with the best scientists we have available. allen is making sure that we are grading priorities for areas that need to be protected first and foremost because they may have the most difficult time to recover. they are not putting in -- in some areas, they have decided not to put any boom in front of beaches. if the oil gets there, it is bad, but it is temporary. all right? thank you, everybody. >> you just heard president obama talk about his trip to mississippi. >> i am going to make a longer statement later. i just want to thank governor bermer and the first lady of

mississippi for hosting yeus. we have a range of local and state officials. admiral allen provided a detailed report about what was being done specifically here in mississippi. he fielded questions and suggestions about things can continually improve. one of the things that came out of this discussion is how to make sure that there is effective coordination in terms opportunity that are out in the water right now, make sure that they're responding as quickly as possible to the oil before it starts getting closer to shore. there are a range of issues that went into communications. some of these smaller vessels have radios on them.

have we done an effective inventory which ones are large enough and have enough trained personnel that they can actually lay boom or should be skimming. the local incident commander had gathered a lot of these suggestions and will be moving on them in the days to come. we aaso talked about claims, to make sure that people here in mississippi and throughout the region are going to be adequately compensated for the damages and the lawsuits that they are experiencing right now. i will be meeting with the chairmen and other officials from bp on wednesday. we are gathering stories right now so that we have an absolute

clear understanding of how we can best present to bp the need to make sure that individuals and businesses are dealt with in a fair manner and in a prompt manner. again, there were suggestions on that front as well. i just want to thank everybody here who is involved. folks have been working 24/7. the governors, they have been on a constant state of full alert and have been putting in a lot of time and energy working with thad allen and making sure that, in working with this disaster, that we are minimizing the short term in packs and using the resources to fully recover. something that has repeatedly been emphasized, here in mississippi, but true in florida and alabama and portions of louisiana, there are still a lot of opportunities for visitors to come down here.

a lot of beaches that are not yet affected or will not be affected are available. we just want to make sure that people who have travel plans to the gulf area remain mindful of that. if people want to know what they can do to help folks down here, one of the best ways to help this to come down here and in -- and enjoy the outstanding i will be making longer, get to it alabama this afternoon. thank you, everybody. >> tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern, president obama will address the nation from the oval office on the gulf of mexico oil spill. this is president obama's first oval office address. it will be available on c-span networks. the british secretary of energy and climate change was on the

floor of the house earlier today. rise in oil explosion and the consequent oil spill on the gulf of mexico. from london, this is about one- half hour. >> statement secretary of state. >> thank you, mr. deputy speaker. i welcome you to your position. the house will wish to join me in expressing our deepest sympathy for those three very injured in the explosion in the gulf of mexico.

and for all individuals and communities affected by spilling oil or fearing that thhy will be affected over the days and weeks to come. our thoughts must be first with them. on the 20th of april, an explosion and subsequent fire on a drilling rig operated by trans ocean under contract to bp in the gulf of mexico effectively killed 13 workers. it sank. substantial quantities of oil were leaking into the ocean. the blowout preventer, which should have sealed the leak, failed. the causes of the accident and now -- of the accident are now subject to a u.s. presidential commission of inquiry and to civil and criminal investigation. there has never been such a large fleet of oil so deep in the ssa. attention of the -- attention by bp and the direction of the u.s. authorities to seal the leak

have been unsuccessful. it is also no fault that the league is worse than previously believed. the u.s. government estimates the daily flow of the leak is now 35,000 barrels to 40,000 barrels a day. bp hopes to increase significantly the amount of oil is capturing. moreover, the league will not fully be stopped until august at the earliest, when the first relief well should deniable the original well to be plugged. there's also an enormous operation to help the impact of the oil on the water. admiral thad allen and more than two thousand boats have been involved in skimming

-- in skimming the water and using dispersant chemicals. thousands of workers and volunteers on sure are removing oil and maintaining coastal

defenses. the house will wish to join me in paying tribute to those involled in this work. we sympathize with the u.s. government's frustration that oil continues to leak at the rare rate that it does. to appreciate the scale of this environmental disaster, each week, the quantity of oil equivalent to the total spillage of the exxon valdez is escaping into the gulf of mexico. the u.s. administration has said that bp is doing everything asked of it in the effort to combat the spill. we have looked to the company to continue in this and we will do everything that we can to help. the key priority must be stopping the environmental damage. in a telephone conversation, president obama reassured the prime minister that he has no interest in undermining bp's value and the frustrations in america have nothing to do with national identity.

hon. members will remember that, in 1998, the also rig in the north sea exploded with 167 fatalities. following that disaster, our own regulatory regime was significantly tightened and we split the functions of licensing and health and safety in the u.k. the u.s. has announced that, in the future, these functions will be held by a separate organization. we hope that we have some experience in operating such a system. my department and the health and safety executive have been discussing this with the u.s. counterparts. it is my responsibility to make sure that the oil industry remains with the highest possible standards. i have thursday his review undertaking. the industry's record in the northern sea is a dish -- is strong. but with the beginning oo

exploration in deeper waters, we must be vigilant. initial steps are already on the way, including doubling annual inspections from decks to drilling rigs. we are building on the work already begun by the newly formed oil spillage and response advisory group. i will also ensure that lessons relevant regulators and operating companies. mr. speaker, i now turn to the position of bp. it is usually regrettable that to the company's tactical efforts to stop the spill have, to date, been only partially successful. but acknowledged the company for its strong public commitment to stand by its obligation, to hold this bill, and to provide a remedy and payment of all

legitimate claims. as a bp chairman has said, and these are critical test for bp and bp must complete them in order to rebuild trust in the company as a member of the business community in the united states, in the united kingdom, and around the world. bp remains a strong company. prices --ts share although its share prices have fallen sharply since april, the company has the financial resources to put right the damage. it has exceptionally strong cash flow and it will continue to be a major employer and vital investor here and indian states. in many ways, bp is effectively an anglo-american company with 39% of its shares owned in the u.s. against 40% in the united kingdom. there has been much speculation in the press about the impact on u.k. pension funds and whether

the company will pay a quarterly dividend. this is highly a matter for the bp directors who will weigh all factors and make a recommendation to their shareholdees that is in their best interests, which also includes the best interest of many u.k. pension funds. many citizens have real and legitimate worries about their pensions. but i would like to reassure the house that, not only is the bt financial sound -- not only is bp financially sound, but pension funds that hold bp shares generally also hold a very diverse portfflio of assets. their exposure to a single company, even a company as economically important as bp, is limited. in concluding my stomach, i wish to express my government's profound sympathy to those in the .s. affected by this accident and by its aftermath. the priority must be to address

the environmental consequences of this bill. our concentration is on practical measures that can help in this crisis. this disaster is a stark reminder of the member mental dangers of oil and gas production in ever-more difficult areas. coupled with the effect of high carbon consumption, this highlights yet again the importance of improving the energy efficiency of our economy and the expansion of low-carbon technologies. we must and will learn the lessons of these terrible events. >> mr. deputy speaker, let me start with a thank-you for the secretary's statements and keeping the house informed on the development on the gulf. let me also join him in the regret over the people who have died in this tragedy. we shall never forget the people who lost their lives in this accident.

can i also join him in the deep oil spill that he mentioned in his statement? i believe it is in the interest of the environment and the employee shareholders, and be a coordinated response of the governments of the u.s. and in the u.k. sector companies of all this accident, of but does he agree with me that all of the involvied in the deep water horizon project should be subject to investigation

and that finger-pointing at the peak in particular is not helpful? secondly, on the issue of regulation, does he agree that any process of learning lessons need to look at not just the accident that private companies but the regulators of the u.s. minerals management? [applause] [unintelligible] could he also, in his response on the specific understanding of the level of regulation in place in the u.s. compared to the united kingdom? can i welcome what he said about the licensing of drilling in the deep water of u.k.? does he agree with me that it is essential that we look at any lessons learned before beginning the process of that deep water drilling? fourth, very importantly for the long-term future, mr. deputy speaker, does he agree with me that the central section of the

deepwater horizon is that he cannot dig deeper and deeper for oil -- is that we can dig deeper and deeper for oil, of plundering the world's resources? i do think that the opportunity should be seen on both sides of the atlantic by the prime minister and the president may need to send a clear message [unintelligible] it will take decades, but it is a transition that needs to start all around the world. fifth, in the context, does he agree with me that, out of the tragedy of deep water, the best thing that we can -- the best thing that can happen is a push toward low-carbon energy around the world? america passing the climate in energy bill and in the securitization of the national tree [unintelligible] does he also agree with me that

domestically, we need to play our part and that also means maintaining support for the local transition? looking for the budget next week, i do say to him that it is important that, if we are to make the low-carbon transition ourselves the investments being promised by the previous government will need to go ahead as soon as possible. this is an environment wake up for the world. this disaster must change the rules of the game across the world. this requires strong leadership, including being tough with our allies. if the governor provides that kind of strong leadership for bp emplooees, for pension holders, and the environment, we will have crossed the port. >> i am grateful to the gentleman for the manner with which he has approached this. the truth is that there is not a lot of difference in our

purchase. i think we have seen more examples of what can happen if people attempt to slam up rather than deal with these issues in a measured manner. trans ocean is a well-respected united states company and it was using technology which was indeed produced in the united states, the blowout preventer produced by cameron and was produced to american petroleum industry standards. a love that's it, i think it is crucial that the full investigation take its course. we simply do not know. so many of the people who could have told us what happened are no longer alive.

we simply do not know exactly what events were that happened on the deep water horizon and we need a proper process of investigation if we are going to learn those lessons. i have already said something about the difference in a regulatory regime between us and the united states. the most important features the decision we took after the piper alpha disaster to separate the licensing and regulation from the health and safety side. but that is certainly not the only lesson that we be -- that will be learned from this disaster. when we have more clear understanding of exactly what went wrong, i am certain there will be a technical and other regulatory response required. in the interim, we have made that step of improving inspections. because we have already announced the increased number of inspections, i do not believe that it would be appropriate to stop the drilling going on west of shetland. i think the regime has been

shown to be robust. but we do not need -- but we do need to go on learning the lessons. on the final point that the hon. gentleman makes, i very much agree with them and that we do not need to accelerate the process of the move toward low- carbon economy. whatever else the risks are, for example with the offshore or onshore wind, the tidal stream, the future generation of wave technology, they are not in the same order of magnitude with the sort of risks we are currently running in the drilling and increasingly hostile of environments -- increasingly hostile environment in the world. i think that message is an important one.

this is an environmental wake-up call. hydrocarbon oil and gas will play a part in the transition period from economic history, -- a part in transition. from our economic history, we know that we cannot simply switched off steam power and move on to electricity. these things do take time. but it is an important -- but it is un important -- but it is an important time for us that there

is no time to lose. >> we will have reassurance that we are operating in two different environments. weeneed to recognize that these mistakes in a difficult environment are the responsibility of the whole industry. the whole industry will have to solve them in partnership with the regulatory authority. tennessee to him that we have to ensure that 25 million barrels of oil we got out of the north sea we need to get out and environmental energy need to work together? >> is absolutely right. this is a crucial industry force. not least those of those working in the environmental safety and health and safety should be as high as we possibly can make them. i can assure him that we intend to make the case. >> [unintelligible]

things seem to of calmed down. i am glad to hear that. it partly has to be because of the bp itself, along with its partners, knows what we need to do, knows what the responsibility is with regard to clean up, and understands and is able to quantify just how much it will cost for those people. >> the gentle lady is absolutely right as the guest today with bp's tony haywood and i spoke with another board member. -- tony hayward and i spoke with another board member. i hhd not realized until those conversations the cooperative efforts across the country to find a solution for this. it is in the interest of all oil companies to make sure they can

reduce its and assure the public and people who are affected in louisiana and other coastal states thht there are genuine and technical solutions. >> i reenforce the secretary's recognition of the human tragedy involved in this disaster. on the president was reassuring that he did not intentionally want to affect the finances of bp, he may have an intense -- he may have unintentionally done so. we can ensure effective cooperation across countries to ensure solutions.

>>

[unintelligible] blowout preventers are subject to rigorous inspection and to ensure rigorous inspection -- and to ensure that it does not happen here.

>> my hon. friend is absolutely right. it is in fact the case of that, and a regime and and in the u.s. regime, the blowout is checked on a regular basis.

hear, the blood pressure had been checked within two weeks of the disaster. it still failed. clearly, that is one of the things that the investigation will have to get to the bottom of and one of the things that we will need to learn about operating at these steps add at this sort of pressures, whether the blowout preventers are fail- safe or if they need to be yet further fail-safe mechanisms built into them. we will certainly look into that. i think he is certainly right again to draw attention to the human tragedy and the importance of maintaining safety for all of those who work in the industry. statements? it is not just the technology that is important. bp has identified that, the seven policies of the disaster, so far, people were ignoring warning signs. that tends to happen when people inexperienced or they are afraid to challenge their superiors. we have learned from the tragedy. that we have made huge progress in the north sea. there is a major problem in the attitude toward public relations. until that issue is sorted out in the north sea, will continue to have problems.

p> thank you. i would certainly be happy to look at the issues he raises. i personally believe that it is important to have trade union oversight in these matters, in cases where the companies are unionized. and a guarantee to otherpective employees that safety will be given the attention it deserves. >> [unintelligible] companies to outsource environmental and safety critical processes failed to take their responsibility seriously when it really counts, before disaster strikes. they lost their very license to cooperate. what this session will his department have with businesses in the energy sector to get a grip on their direct environmental responsibility instead of simply balancing the rhetoric of corporate responsibility? >> i think my friend for that question which is very cute and well directed. i think there is an issue of but come out of the inquiry, about the extent of outsourcing -- extent of outsourcing. however, there is another side to wait. -- syed to it. the oil majors -- there's another side to it. the zero majors will argue that sometimes the level of expertise can bb higher than -- the oil majors will argue that sometimes the level of expertise can be higher than they have. all of the big oil companies will be enormously more aware of the potential reputation all -- reputational damage possible. i would hope that will provide an additional incentive to make sure that corporate governance is strengthened and that the ethical of corporate governance is strengthened. >> can i draw his attention to a helpful answer from the minister from -- from the minister of energy in? two raids mar in panama and three in liberia and two in [unintelligible]

in given the public concern about where they are registered, has he ordered a review of the safety of those particular rigs? if not, why not? >> that is precisely why, when we conducted the - review of our existing regime, we thought it was -- conducting the immediate review of our existing regime, we thought it was imperative that the rules and regulations that set out safety and environmental procedures are directly applied. that is exactly what we have done. much of the shipping of the world is registered in what often seems to be exhausted -- seems to be exotic jurisdictions. whenever the basis of registration in u.k. waters, they have to be of two u.k. regulations and we will not take any risks. that inspection is under way. the increase in the pace -- there is an increase in the pace of inspection as i speak. >> on a more positive note, can i ask him if he has [unintelligible]

>> i am grateful for his suggestion. some of the reporting back that i have heard from the united states suggests that another british lawyers turning up on this screen may not help. one of the things that have had happened is that bp efforts are being directed by one of the american executive directors. we do not want any elements of national identity to creep into this issue. bp is effectively an anglo- american company. it was previously bp amoco, amoco being an american company of.

this company is going to go on playing a very important part in the economy of the u.s. as well as the uk for many years to come. >> congratulations to you. i think the minister for his statement. thank you for bringing some calmness and other west of waters. -- in an otherwise choppy waters. deep water drilling is partially a direct result of america's insatiable demand for more and more oil. the commentary against bp is doing intolerable damage to a company here and it is grossly unfair. there is recognition in northern ireland that america recognize that those comments are doing damage to your

companies. >> if there were no oil spill of the scale of deep water horizon off the coast of northern ireland, i think that he would be among the first people who would be insisting that we do whatever we possibly could to stop that and it would be absolutely enormous. the skill of this -- the scale of this, in terms of trying to compare to valdez, it is not exactly the same. you're looking at 200 barrels a day of oil escaping. hear, the latest estimate is 50,000 barrels a day. the sheer scale, frankly, we have to ask fellow politicians

to understand the reaction we would be making if this was going on in our waters. >> i wonder if i can press the secretary of state for a more full answer to my hon. friend's question in regard to investment in other technology. -- other technology? it needs to be matched, particularly in the context of sheffield, by ending the uncertainty. wouud the secretary of state support a wishing to see a speedy end to that uncertainty and a confirmation of that support?

>> when i was doing politics, philosophy, an economics at oxford, i was told that socialism involve the language of pluralities. on the basis of public expenditure commitments undertaken by the government in the last six months, including sheffield forge masters, i did recognize a government that was making choices about hard earned taxpayers' cash. as we just heard from the chancellor of the exchequer, the treasury has penciled in 44 billion pounds -- $44 billion pounds in cuts without finding a single one. this government, having inherited the legacy that we have, to scale the deficit of what we have to review and we have to see the crucial projects that must go ahead. that is the process that we >> given that we are very neil

peak oil and a capacity and -- very near the peak oil capacity and given that and conventional oil, like canadian [unintelligible] and evolve an acceptable climate change costs, what plans do we have to move the process flow toward as i am sure he wants to diminish oil consumption drastically before there is another horrendous catastrophe for the that the price of oil spikes horrendously? >> i think we share a lot of the same in stings -- a lot of the same instincts. in the next year, we will intend to accelerate their move to low-carbon.

saving energy is by far and away the most low-cost means of closing the gap between our energy use and energy production. we also intend to a accelerate -- to a accelerate to the production of low-carb and sources of energy. that is something we will be bringing forward measures. this is a time of transition. nothing can be done overnight. we're talking about enormous investment that cannot be

others suddenly switched off. but we have a route map to a low-carbon economy which really does reduce our carbon emissions by the amount called for by the climate change act. i think we intend to make sure that we are credible for making this. >> in the wake of the gulf of mexico oil spill, a number of ceo's will beny c e zer meeting on capitol hill. thursday, tony hayward will be speaking before a house investigation committee. live coverage is at 10:00 a.m. eastern also on c-span 3.

for more information on the spill, visit our website, c- spill.rg/oil spil >> the command post overseas response efforts. for the next 35 minutes, we will hear from top-ranking coast guard's and bp officials working at the site. >> this is the central room that

is providing the direction in developing the strategic plans for operations that are driving 11,000 men and women who are working from the offshore sources area all the way back through to the louisiana shorelines and our efforts to protect those shorelines from any impact. this is one of the three incident commands that are actually designed to work collaborative lacrosse the gulf of mexico from home of louisiana, which is responsible for all operations on the surface, from the source to the louisiana shorelines. the second incident command course -- command post is in mississippi, alabama, and a portion of the florida panhandle. a third command is focusing on florida. over these three is in command posts are the -- is the area

command structure which is in -- >> coming in, you notice that this is a bp building. >> this building was designed to be a training facility for our offshore and onshore field operations. it is a location where we train, develop, and expanded the skills and capabilities of the men and women who are involved with producing low oil and gas in the operations. >> i see a lot of coast guard people here in a lot of people in civilian dress. >> this response has been developed as a part of a unified command approach. what you actually find in this building, as well as in our operations is more than 80 differing agencies, companies, individuals who come from literally all over the world as experts, brought together to facilitate and support our mission. >> can you explain what all of

the different colored vests are? >> under the incident command structure, there typically of your command staffs that are supporting the overall running of the operations. you have a unified incident command, which is the white vest that i am wearing and the steadfast -- and the staff that supports me. one of the most important components are the five different groups that make up the body of this response effort. they include planning, logistics, operations, finance, and resources. >> tell me what happens in this room. what you're seeing -- >> what you're seeing is the convergence of the different sections and

their ability to work together. planning is what you see here in the blue vests. they're working to ensure that we develop the overarching objectives and priorities that are necessary to guide and direct our operations. if you look the little bit 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. there are people who are physically leading and directing what gets done on the water and on the shoreline every day to impact success against in the mission that we have, which is reducing oil on the water and subsequently reducing the potential risk of the impact on our shoreline. >> thad allen is --

>> the national incident commander. admiral wants and represents the u.s. coast guard. doug suttles represents bp. a state representative is available for louisiana. the unified command is made up of those three principal parties, but it also includes representatives from the epa, the department of interior, m.s., and -- mms, and it depends on the incident command unified structure. >> [unintelligible] >> the responsible party, in this case bp, is financing this effort. >> everything that is happening in this building is financed by vp?

by bp? >> yes. we have 1000 people with a day shift working from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and a night shift. the day shift is made up of significantly larger numbers. the night shift is when the planning and the detailed objectives are developed to enable the day shift to hit the ground running. >> what happens at those meetings? >> each morning and at night time, we actually gather as many people who can spare a few moments together to come in and, number one, remind ourselves of the mission. and that message, we break it down into four simple tasks. first and foremost is to keep our people safe. everything we do needs to be looked at through the lens of whato keep people safe in

we ask them to do. second, the source, how can we remove the oil. thirdly, what can we do as it approaches, when it comes passs us at the source? how do we respond in the 10 miles to 20 miles range offshore. if it comes past that line of defense, what do we do in the near-shore and shorelines area to respond quickly and to mediate impact when it occurs? >> what are your days like? >> heart, but energizing. when you are surrounded by the caliber of people and whose sole purpose is to bring everything they know and every idea that they have and every idea that someone else may have that can be part of the solution that helps us to improve on a daily

basis, that is very energizing. it is very challenging. none of us want to be here for the reasons that created this incident, but all of us are here with a commitment and a passion for doing the very best job that we can as a unified team to make a difference. >> this is essentially the war room for this oil spill. this is where we conduct our battles. this is our battle map. all of these people ii this room are our warriors. they are here for the fight. they tell you where the spill is that. all of those symbols symbolize staging areas and the access that we deployed for this response. everybody in this room that you see, everybody in this room is in the fight, are planning the fight, and are supporting the operation on the field. we have the world's most

renowned experts in here for oil spill fighting that is unprecedented. we have representatives from exxon valdez and veterans from overseas and from the incidents over there and they are all here to help us fight this spill. >> everyday is a new day for us. that is what is unique about this will spill compared to any other oil spill we have had to fight in the united states. every day is absolutely a new battle. that means new resources, new techniques, new innovations, new ways to fight the cleanup of the soil so that the people of louisiana can get back to their way of life. this is what we consider the main battlefront headquarters to this response. >> this is where we basically develop the objectives and the goals to fight the oil spill. we also develops strategies.

we send that out to all of our field commanners and naval commanders and air force commanders that are out there so that they can carry out those objectives tactically. >> khalilzad working wwth the coast guard and working with -- how does this work with the coast guard and of with the companies and bp? >> i have 51% of the vote in the authority. i am the authority here on the ground for this oil spill. i have had this discussion with the bp and they endorsed and clearly that i have a 51% of the vote in that authority. my job is to make sure that they are moving in the right direction to take care of the soils bill. make sure that you understand that we are actually directing, under our authority, this cleanup. >> how do you feel that is working?

the coast guard has the legal responsibility for the cleanup of this oil spill. bp, under the law, has the financial responsibility. therefore, we have to join efforts to make sure we are able to execute this oil spill cleanup. my legal responsibility is to make sure that they are proceeding in a way that the soil is being taken care of adequately and we are trying to exceed that standard by making sure that it is done more than adequately, but to the best of their ability. they are resppnsible for mobilizing financially the resources, the aircraft, the boats, the vessels, the people on the shoreline, to make sure that we get this cleaned up done. i oversee that. i make sure they are accomplishing that. .

we have three operations going on. we have air force operations to a survey and find the oil. we have a naval operation for skimming the oil. and we have coast guard involved in supervising the operation. it includes aerial disbursements enabled includes

burning as well. and then the shore based activities that we have. we have the shoreline branches, supervising the shoreline cleanup effort that is going on. one of my responsibilities is to ensure that we involve the local community in this response. and that is a big part of my day. i maintain touch with all the parish presidents to make sure that we have a unified effort going on in the field between the coast guard, bp, and the paris organization. this is on their soil and their ground and we want make sure that there included. i participated in a town hall meeting two nights ago. i absolutely insisted that i'd be involved. tomorrow i have a tom hall meeting and it is important to me that people to tell them what is going on, to hear what they have the said. this is not just about all for the oil spill but someone's way of life. the way of life of the fishermen

and the people of louisiana. unless you put that face on to this bill, you do not know what you are fighting for. -- on to the spell -- onto the spill, you do not know what you're fighting. >> the red line is where we have spotted oil. it doesn't tell you that thickness or whether it is recoverable were scrambled. -- or scalpel -- skimmable. we want eliminated to the resource as close as possible. we have the most capable skimming vessels, every skimming vessels available in the gulf. we have some fun down from the online, specific, and we reach across the ocean to get the

skimmers that we need. or bringing on new stock every day. it is the most efficient way to clean up the oil so that it is freshen recoverable. and further away from the source, we're looking at other response technology. we carl rowan and we burn it. -- we corral it and we've learned. when we get permission to use those from the response team, we use dispersants out there as well. further and, we have around passes and cuts, moving east and west into louisiana, if you have smaller skimmers. for the stuff that does make it to the shore, we have whole army

of people out there on small boesch -- on small boats, picking up the stuff that does get to shore. numerous techniques and strategies to get rid of the or. we try to prevent the oil from getting to the beach or the march or sensitive areas. we use boom to do that. when it is a nice calm day, we're doing that. when we get the weather that comes through that moves the boom all around, it is difficult to keep the oil where we do not want it when you get that weather. in addition to the boom, we have manual recovery. this is the projection of some of the impact that we have had. i am sorry. this is the blue maps and you can see areas that we have -- this is the boom map.

this from the information that we get, trying to predict where the oil is going to be best prepared to prevent it from getting on the beaches. that is the basic strategy. we have search recovery, burning, dispersing, and further away, leading edge recovery with less ccpable skimmers. and then shoreline pretends -- defense and protection. that is a whole slew of different activities. and manuel take up to absorbance and collecting of sorbents. we have each clears out there. it washes the san basically and we are using that to clean beaches. much more effective than one person taking a but hardball -- picking up a tar ball. we're trying not to get anyone

heard as we're picking up the tar balls and cleaning beaches. changing absorbent, and replacing boom. moving boom around to where we think that oil may go. our job here is to support those guys out there and we do that by mostly been on the phone all day long talking to people. sometimes people cannot get things done and our job is to find a way to support that person that is out there doing the job. it is a very difficult battle to fight. most oil spills, use your this bill. every day we're fighting a new oil spill which is a challenge. the best people on low world -- in the worrd are working on this. we're doing things that have never been done before. we're burning longer than they have ever intended. we are exceeding the limits of all of our capabilities and learning as we go every day. it is an amazing group of people

out there doing it. we're not necessarily getting the credit for being effective. we get harped on where we are not doing as good a job as we want to do. but there are literally thousands that are working 14-15 hours a day. >> basically this is the control boom unit. we have cameras on board part of what they're doing real time. this is what we're doing, trying to capture the oil in a bind. we have to fishing boats pulling a gun at a slower rate. as it accumulates, please send an nai action -- and in mission team over.

-- we send an ignition team over. we light it off and back away. the crude oil will start to burn. once it gets burning, we start -- it starts propagating itself. we have a small minimum amount and a maximum amount and we try to get the main. we use air startees. that will let us know where the deepest, darkest oil is coming from. that is where we're coming from. this one here, we're charting were these votes are. -- we are charting where these boats are. >> at the center of this is where the incident occurred.

>> as you can say, this is our task force right here. anything around here, where the oil was coming up, this is where we are capturing that. and these efforts are all skimming the oil off. >> whatever they cannot get off the scam, we get there. >> how far offshore is this taking place? >> 60 miles offshore. over 60 miles offshore. >> that is where the majority of the oil is. the world against dispersed or becomes emulsified because of weather, it is hard to burn. we cannot get in there. it has to be black crude oil for us to burn. you are looking at all lot of smoke. it does produce a lot of smoke. and and maybe a negative to say that air pollution. but as much crude oil as this is burning off, that is a positive.

it is done. very little residue on there. with this person, we spread it out. but if we burned, we get rid of it. it is gone. and it's best to get it right from the source as soon as it comes up. burnet and be done. -- bern its and be done. -- burn it can be done. >> primarily what happens, the request goes to all the people in this room. they identified, purchase it, and get back to the field as quickly as possible. these gentlemen here that is all

-- our alternative response technology team. fayed are designed to look at all the difference suggestion that the public as -- all the different suggestions that the public has an judge on that. that is what they're doing. >> ok. i will talk about this room. this room is our environmental unit. we have the world's foremost experts and all signed. we have some prime industry folks. their job primarily is to look at what is the or going to do to phe environment, how do we clean it up and make sure that we're taking care of the environment. and now like to introduce the director of the doubt oo -- the exxon valdez incident.

i've known over 20 years. i wanted to say hello to them. in the want as you some question about your expertise and your experience with the valdez. >> the captain is too generous. >> compaaisons are always a little tricky. there are so many variables in any one of oil spill. to say alaska of versus louisiana is different, but quantity, the same order magnitude, but a much different environment. the comparisons are difficult to do. my rule of thumb working on spills is that the only generalization you can do with any validity is "it depends." there are good things on this bill. -- this spill. it minimizes some of effects.

>> can you talk about that? >> i think that certainly the oil, and the fact that the gulf of mexico was a wide, open body of water, that is a helpful thing. you have to put this in the larger picture and let people know that an oil spill is always a bad thing, but there are situations that make it better than they could be. >> what you do from here? >> we have a small group of technical specialist trying to assess and evaluate the type of dispersants, and how much dispersants are being applied. and we factor that into the operational decision making as well as the government agencies who have to decide the best long-term plan for this bill. -- for the spill.

this is something that is premature. >> this is the shoreline cleanup assessment team. they are lloking at the shoreline and the cleanup that is being done. they are really about a wedding the tactics to deal with that. -- evaluating the tactics to deal with that. richard will know what more about that. >> do you want to come through here? you are in this capital of are assessing the shoreline. some oil will come ashore. when it does, we need to find it, access what that means, to decide what to do, and then clean it up. that in a sense is what our team does. we have teams in the field right now in helicopters, aircraft,

boats, and working the shorelines. they track and the document where the oil is. they do not do this -- that unified team is paat of bp, people from the federal, local, and coastguard, and state representatives and other landowners. we go out together, we find a also, we documented expertly and consistently and make decisions about what to do. we have marshy areas around here. we have sandy beaches, all sorts of different types of shoreline. for each of those different shorelines, certain cleaning techniques to achieve different results. . the critical thing here is to recognize what kind of shoreline we have, how to clean them. and then we data that added together, we put it all into technical instructions, and we get operations working through those instructions.

and then we have our experts back out in the field, making sure that it is done, done well, and effectively. that is how we do it. i can show you the room. you can see exactly -- what i should say, all of our people are out in theefield right now. this is not a busy room. at the beginning and end of the day and through the night, the moment that they rock gathering the data, this is the quiet point. if you look at the wall over there, this is a big logistics operation. we have about seven teams out in the air, 1 boats, and on the ground. what are they going to document. that is the logistics of where everyone is at the moment. we have people on the bonds making sure that they stay say. when they come back in from the field, they are at this desk. there set up and ready to go.

they discuss everything, all the surveyor's coming back and diicussing exactly what we have seen. they can describe in ways that can be replicated consistently so that we all understand exactly what we are looking at. and them what they do is pull all that together in documentation and stick it into a large data base to generate the report, and we come up with things like this. this is a shoreline map. this is where we show areas of heavy pollution, medium pollution, like, and the blue areas are no oil. we look at how much is there, what does it consist of, and from that, we generate what we're going to do about it. that is essentially how we generate things. and then we work with the guys in the main room. he saw the operations guys with the red jackets. they are organizing in the field.

how we're going to go about it and then what we do. we have people from noaa and pelorus, the architects of this process 20 years ago. you need to be expert at what we're doing. we brought the experts to work alongside bp. they were critical in making sure we have the absolutely right thing to do, and we don't cause any other damage. the marshland treatments are the right one. if their wildlife sites of concern, we address that. if theee are archaeological sites that need to be protected, we keep people away from them. it is the right approach for the right place at the right time. those are the aspects of shoreline assessment. >> are you with bp?

>> i am from bp. i've only worked for bp for about three years. i have 20 years of process management. i am based in the u.k. and i'm out of a corporate crisis headquarters. i help bp across the board on+ dealing with all of these crisis. i am one of the small teams of how bp operates. i've had 20 years of responding to oil spills in about 26 countries all around the world. america is just one area i am working. it's important made sure that the short line -- it's important to make sure that the shoreline is taking care of. each week you get a different challenge. if you want to get a summer some of the challenges, logistics'. getting people out into the field from the truck to a vote

-- from the truck to the boat. it takes hours to get people to a location. the key challenge right now is heat. it is hot out there. there are significant logistical safety challenges just to get to your job. that is probably one of the key one. if you're talking about well on short, it is the marshes. you have very sensitive marsh land areas. contrary to what the general public might think, the best way to clean up the march is not just to go in there and start stripping out and taking the oil out. marshes are very sensitive and you need to be careful with that. the biggest challenge is getting people to understand that doing very little, flushing to go out gently, taking care of the marshes, not trampling the vegetation, they are doing a little bit but effective work. it is much better than doing a

lot of ineffective and damaging work. on a sandy beach, you can clean it very quickly. the idea that there is go in and get a quick, it absolutely holds true. just cleaning up the oil is not going in and scooping it up. there is a lot of expert work that goes into how best to do it and which way to go. >> you can see there are a lot of folks looking at a lot of data. they are looking t health risks, responders, and they're looking at a safety and health concerns response. and in a situation where you have our response, a lot of people moving fast on short notice, and you have an element of risk. that is true on the land. you take that out into the sea,

and you have a tenfold risk factor. there as all -- there are a lot that data, on how the crews are operating and how they are doing business out at the source, out within their response area, assessing that and making sure that everybody is safe and that we can continue doing that mission. the crew health and responder help it is paramount so that we can continue to be affected. -- responder health is paramount so that we can continue to be effective. >> this is the cafeteria where we keep our people fed. among the services that we offer our laundry services. people are selling at hotels and motels all around our area. you can drop your laundry off 24 hours a day, and as long as you get it here before 8:00 on any

given day, if you can pick it up any time around 5:00. right now we're going up to four we have full-time medical services available. you can get it climbs in there, sure. -- you can get a glimpse in there, sure. if the door is open, because they have folks in there right now. air operations come from this office right now. 24 hours a day. their pilots put up -- there are pilotsshooked up with the system. there's both fixed-wing and helicopter assets that are necessary. on any given day, we have as many as 125 being directed out

of this area. incident commander offices there. >> is this the bp incident commander office? >> yes. this is the office of the entire unified command. a lot of coast guard folks in here, and others including state and federal agencies would have an area. we also have a spiritual side we have eap assistant plans and programs, and we have a chaplain.

there are regular church services throughout the week. >> i notice that there are trailers. can you talk about them? >> yes they are around the perimeter of the building. you see a lot of mobil's -- mobile command post that we call them. a lot of the local police and the coast guard has a trailer set up. some are being constructed in. as we continue to grow as a unified command, the real estate has become an issue. we want to get our folks room to work, have enough dedicated tasks and lines and phones. as you can say, some other rooms are starting to pack in. unified command is continuing to grow. we want to give them room to grow out and have place to work

again. -- and have places to work again. >> tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern, president obama will address the nation from the oval office on the gulf of mexico oil spill. this is as first oval office address, and live coverage will be on the c-span networks, including c-span radio and c- span.org. up next on c-span, a look at sub-saharan africa. this area has been heavily affected by hiv-aids, more than

any area in the world. after that, ryan crocker. and later, british prime minister david cameron on afghanistan. >> the second one is to continue to press the industry to get access to news applies to the world. that is drilling wells 10 kilometers into the deep gulf of mexico, beginning to explore under the ice in the arctic. >> tony hayward on energy policy this past january before the gulf oil spill. thursday he will testify on capitol hill. see what others have said about this bill with more than 100 briefings and other programs all archived at c-span is video library. it is washington your way. >> now state department conference on sub-saharan africa. topics include promoting economic growth and democracy in the region and health care.

assistant secretary for african affairs johnnie caason addresses the gathering and takes questions from the audience. >> good afternoon, everybody. i'm cheryl benton, the deputy assistant secretary for public affairs. it is my great pleasure to have you here this afternoon and welcome you to the state department. this is a tremendous turnout. i know it is pretty hot outside. my daughter said that she was soaked all the way through. it is important to our president, who we all know is a son of africa. speaking in connaught -- ghana

last year, he noted the suffering and setbacks that africa has endured. he said that america will be with you every step of the way, as a partner and a friend. we're pleased that so many friends of africa are here today to talk with the secretary of state and other department leaders about the many ways we are partnering with and committed to africa. this is the second in a series of diplomacy briefings organized by the public affairs bureau of the state department. these briefings are designed to bring together representatives from non-governmental organizations, academia, the think tanks, scholars, congress, and the diaspora to converse about issues. and i wanttto emphasize we are as interested in what you have to say as what we have to tell you. so please ask questionn do not

be shy. before i introduce mr. crowley, i would like to mention a change in the agenda. one undersecretary to talk about the finances has been called to the white house. in this place will be the director of the saddam programs. -- sudan programs. a couple of rules for the road. but your thumbs on you, turn them off, or put them on vibrate. -- put your phones on mute, turn them off, or put them on vibrate. i don't have to come out and did you. the restrooms are just outside. additional media will come in for the secretary. this might be a good time to take a stretch but do not leave the room.

it will only take a few moments to set up. all material, biographies, etc., for today') conference can be found on our website. click the public affairs button. i am not sure if rita lewis is in the house yet, but i wanted to introduce her. rita? i do not see. grand entrance. she is one of our senior leaders, for intergovernmental affairs. i want to in knowledge her because she is not on the program today. we also have with those a congressman from the great state of new jersey. don, please stand up. give him a round of applause. and finally, i thanks to mr. samson and managing every

aspects of this. it akes everyone look very good when they are in league. we thank you very much for that. now like to introduce my balls. he is the state department spokesman and he is so little late coming down because he is at his other day job, briefing the press. this is p.j. crowley. [applause] >> looks like a much less one read audience than the one i was just visiting with. thanks very much for being here and welcome to the department of state. it is important that you are here, because we recognize that the future of africa it is not just going to be dependent on things that we do in government and government activities, and so much more involves people to people, businesses to businesses, and so the solutions to africa are as much in the

private sector and the ngo community as they are in the public sector, formally, in terms of programs. the department of state and throughout the united states government. last fall about three months after being confirmed by the senate and shortly after traveling to africa with congressman payne and the secretary of state, i was doing a briefing where we had a journalist from nigeria suggesting that the obama administration was ignoring africa. notwithstanding coverage from excellent journalist to report on the continent every day, it is true that africa does not get the same kind of rhetoric killer media attention that other parts of the world might. -- regular media attention than other worlds of the -- other parts of the world might. but that is not true. the department of state.

with the speakers that we have arranged for you, we can begin with south africa and the hosting of the world cup. it will preoccupy us for the next month. we are there helping to ensure that the world's most visible sporting event is secure. but the on the world cup, we have renewed strategic dialogue with south africc because we recognize that south everett koop will be an anger of stability in sub-saharan africa -- that south africa will be an anchor of stability in sub- saharan offer. we have focussd on nigeria, of philae important country of western africa going to an enormously difficult political transformation, and has stabilized under the last few weeks following the recent death of their president.

we have not tried to impose a solution on somalia following this morning's "new york times was "tragic story about 12-year- old young man being enlisted to defend the transitional federal government there. we have our own standards in terms of assistance, but the solution -- and when you think about the solution of security and the ongoing effort to try to defeat a subject -- a stubborn insurgency, we are also mindful of the pirates emanating from somalia off the coast there, interfering with the vital sea lanes that support our economy and others. and we recognize that a solution to piracy in somalia is in fact an effective government on land in somalia. after the extraordinary work of

johnny carson and others, you will hear from this afternoon, we're working hard on the future, and the very real likelihood that we will seek to merge into a new nation in july of next year, which won't need enormous international assistance to be able to govern itself. these are some of the challenges. johnny will go through a much more significant lists and the second. but there are success stories as well. not the least of which is the situation in liberia. liberia and, long a problem in africa, now becoming a significant part of the solution. just use one example of where the president is providing direct assistance and counsel next door as it tries to work is

back to a civilian and constitutional rule. we have a succcssful engagement recently with that later, and then you've gone done playing a significant role in the passage of u.n. resolution 1929 last week, and so there are many news stories here as well. the man who has led this effort, sometimes with very direct diplomacy, it is our very for speaker, the enormously capable assistant secretary for african affairs and my friend and colleague, johnny carson, to begin our discussions today. -- johnnie carson, to begin our discussions today. [applause] >> p.j., thank you very much for the kind introduction. i would also like to thank cheryl benton who has put this

program together. i also would like to extend my warm welcome to congressman payne, the chairman of the house subcommittee on africa, as one of africa's leading supporters and our policies. welcome, congressman payne. good afternoon to a very large audience. including a number of faces that are familiar with me. i would like to thank the bureau of public affairs again for organizing this diplomacy briefing hearing, for inviting me to join all of you today to discuss some of the key priorities that we see in africa. i want to begin by emphasizing the strong commitment of this administration to working with our african partners to bring

about a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous africa. bill ball administration -- the obama administration seized immense potential in africa and we're determined to work with africans across the continent to help realize that great promise. often africa has been overlooked as a top policy priority within the united states government. i can tell you that this is not the case with this administration. president obama is not complacent about africa, and he is determined to forge a deeper and more lasting impact on our relationship with the continent. and not just through words, but through concrete action. as evidence of this commitment,

vice-president biden concluded yester day a week-long trip to africa. a trip in which i participated. some in the media focused on the world cup as the centerpiece of his africa visit. but this trip was more about substance than about sport. the vice-president use this trip to focus on the administration highest priority in africa. the current situation in sudan. in egypt, the vice president met with president mubarak and other senior a egyptian officials to discuss sudan policy. and canyon, -- in kenya, he met with the leader in many key

ministers. in south africa, i accompanied the vice-president to his extendeddmeeting with former south african president mbeki, the point person on sudan policy today. the vice president's trip was just the most recent example of high-level engagement by this administration in africa. the president's trip to ghana by president to the continent,_ africa's importance to the president and also to the united states. and last september at united nations general assembly, the 26 african heads of state. over the past year, the president has met in the oval office, most recently less than

2.5 weeks ago, a president surly johnson -- president surleigh johnson. and during the nuclear summit in april of this year, the president had bilateral meetings with the south african president j. kept summa -- jacob tsuma. all the presideet's senior farm policy advisers have followed his lead by traveling to the continent. the u.s. department representative to the united nations, ambassador susan rice, visited five african countries last june. a deputy secretary jack lew travel to tanzania and ethiopia

and in 2009, and was in mali and nigeria last month, it concluded -- including a visit where the secretary has given us authorization to open a consulate general. undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs maria otero ahead of a delegation to the african union ssmmit in january 2010. we discussed a range of issues including democracy, governance, and climate change. last month, under secretary otero led the u.s. delegation to the first meeting of the democracy and governance working group of the u.s.-nigerian national commission, one of three authorized by the secretary lecher. the other two are with and go

luck and south africa. -- angola and south africa. last year, secretary clinton made an 11-nation trip across the continent. this is testament to the importance this administration places on africa, and our commitment to meet and work with our african partners to address the immense challenges facing the continent today. through our engagement and programs, the administration is seeking to advance five policy priorities on the continent. first, we're working with african governments and the international community and with civil society to strengthen democratic institutions and to protect the democratic gains made in recent years in many african countries.

since the 1990's, we have witnessed an impressive wave of democratization, during which dozens of african countries have moved from dictatorship to democracy in one of the most impressive in advance of the last century. recent democraaic elections including those in botswana, ghana, and south africa serve to remind us that africans believe in democracy as well. the recent elections in ghana and another state were especially impressive as they have resultee in a peaceful democratic transitions between two different political parties. worrying signs of backsliding in terms of democracy and good governance in a number of

countries, largely as a result of what elections, the harassment of opposition politicians, and the thames by some presidents to extend their terms of office. we have also seen a recurrence of military coups and military intervention in at least four different african states over the last two years. the political and economic success of africa portends a great -- depends a great deal on the effectiveness, sustainability, and reliability of its democratic institutions. we are encouraging governments across the continent to get elections right. level the playing fields. cleanup voter rolls and open up access to the media. count the votes fairly and

transparently and give democracy a chance. and in that vein, we have been deeply engaged in helping to resolve political crises on the continent, including in nigeria, where we encourage political leaders to follow their constitution and to stay on a democratic path. and where we encourage the senior leadership and the militaryyto stay in the barracks and out of politics. we have been active diplomatically during a difficult transition period, as well as in and niger of the last 12 to 18 months. second, the commission -- the administration is committed to working alongside african

nations to is promote and sustain economic development and growth. despite impressive economic growth in recent years, our car remains one of the poorest regions of the world. and the continent has yet to be fully integrated into the global economic community. africa's share of world trade his lust than 2% -- is less than 2%. and their tremendous wealth in oil and minerals and natural resources has not translated into greater prosperity for all of the continent's people. africa also faces a massive digital divide with the rest of the orld, which further inhibit the ability of african countries and companies and businesses to3

the administration is bringing significant resources and programs to the table to help address these challenges. we're actively working to promote economic growth and development, including through in new $3.5 billion food security initiative called feed the future, which will assist 12 african-focus countries engaged in growing and modernizing their agricultural sectors. the obama administration will continue to work with our african partners to maximize the opportunities created by the african growth and opportunity pact. we will actively explore ways to promote private sector growth and investment, especially for

small and mediim-sized businesses across the continent. third, historically the united states has focused on public health and help-related issues in africa. we are committed to continuing and maintaining that focus. we will work side by side with african governments and civil societies to ensure that quality treatment, prevention and care are easily accessible to african communities. from hiv-aids to malaria, africans and your and suffer a number of epidemics that weaken their countries on many fronts. sick maen and women cannot work. sick children cannot go to school.

and none of them can contribute to the long-term growth of their nation's economy is or will beings. to help south africans -- the african health crisis, one that is occurring across the continent, africans as well as the international community must invest in the continent's public health systems in training more medical professionals, to help them combat diseases that simply should not kill people in this day and age. the obama administration will continue the pepfar prrgram at the previous administration started in its fight against hiv-aids. in addition to combating hiv- age, and malaria, and polio, the

obama administration has pledged $63 million to meet public health challenges throughout africa. fourth, the united states is committed to working with african states and the international community in to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflicts and disputes. conflicts to stabilize states, stifle economic growth, an investment, rob him africans of the opportunity for education and a better life. conflicts can set back nations for a generation. throughout africa, there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of conflicts over the past decade. the brutal conflicts in sierra leone and liberia have come to

an end. and we have seen liberia transform itself into a democracy under the able leadership of president alan johnson -- ellen johnson surleigh africa's first female head of state. it gives us hope for resolving other conflict situations in africa. despite the successes, however, pockets of tomorrow -- turmoil, political unrest, and civil strife remain in somalia and the eastern part of the congo, as well as places like madagascar. these conflicts create both internal and an external

instability. they undermine africa's chances for sustained economic growth and for democratic advancement. the obama administration is taking a keen interest in working with african leaders and african regional organizations to help resolve some of these conflicts. over the past 18 months, special presidential envoy for sudan, retired general scott christian, has been focused on ensuring the full implementation of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement. it will permit the people of south sudan or the first time to vote in january 20 -- january

2011. as a part of our effort to ensure that that referendum takes place, we are collaborating closely with the special envoys' of the african union and united nations who will be visiting this building and meeting with officials in this building on wednesday of this week. my colleague will go into more detail about what we're doing on the sudan. the secretary will probably do so as well. we are aaso enhancing our diplomatic presence in south sudan, by assigning 10 new foreign service officers to our

consulates, including a very senior officer who will ride their within the next 10 days. -- who will arrive there within the next 10 days. he has been working intensely to bring peace and stability to the eastern congo and to and the extreme violence that occurs in that region. this remains a top priority for this administration, and his clothes, barn -- coordination with other ambassadors, some of whom are here and will be speaking shortly, the special envoy is working to address the serious issues that continue to

undermine stability in the great lakes region, especially in the eastern congo. we will also continue our cooperation with regional leaders to look for ways to end somalia's protracted political and humanitarian crisis. we continue to call for well- meaning actors in the region to support the peace process and to reject those extremists who seek to exploit the suffering of the somali people. additionally, the united states is proactive in working with african leaders, civil society organizations, and the international community to prevent new conflicts. in january of this year, we worked closely with the government's of morocco and france to put in place of a

transitional governments in one country. in a few weeks, that country will hold democratic elections which we hope will begin a new tradition of democracy in that country. fifth and lastly, we will seek to deepen our cooperation with african states to address both old and new transitional challenges. the 21st century ushered in new trends and challenges for africa -pand the world. africa's poverty puts it at a distinct disadvantage in dealing with major global and transnational problems like climate change, narco trafficking, trafficking of persons and small arms, and that illegal exploitation of africa's minerals and maritime resources.

meeting that climate and clean energy challenge is also the top priority for the united states and the obama and ministration -- the obama administration. climate change affects the entire globe. its potential impact on water supplies and food security can be disastrous. as president obama said, "while alberts it gives all less greenhouse gases than any other part of the world, it will be the most threatened by climate change." often those who have contributed the least to a problem are the ones who are affected the most by it. .

there is no time like the present to deal with this issue, because this has consequences for all of the people of africa. barack obama emphasized in his speech in gonna -- ghana, that the policies are based on the premise that the future of africa is up to africa. the correspondent commitment to enact the reforms and the policies to bring about the real change, we hear in the united states believe that we can achieve and help africa achieve our shared goals of a more peaceful and prosperous and democratic africa. for africa and for america.

>> we have about 10 minutes left so we will take a few questions. >> thank you for the summary of all the things that are going on at the present. can you give us an update with what is happening with africa? because it seems to come into -- in the last administration, there was a very specific plan and they seemed to embark on wanting to do things that were perhaps more appropriately done by civilian agencies. >> thank you very much.

africom was established to provide administrative and political and policy continuity to the department of defense and their operations on the african continent. prior to the establishment of africom, there were three military commands in charge of africa. the european command and the central command. the creation of this established, for the first time , a single command units for the continent. just as we have the european command, the central command for the middle east, and parts of the asian continent, and

southcom for latin america. africa was the only part of the world without a distinct command. the policy to africa, this is formulated and made here in the department oo state. in africa, the defense department plays an important but subordinate role to what is done by the state department. and we believe that they can, in fact, make contributions and these contributions are best made in the area of defense, where they will help to encourage the african military is to be more professional. not to be involved in politics. not to engage in military

intervention. but to be the protectors and the defenders of the country and not the predators against other people. we think it is important to allow other u.s. government agencies, like the national institutes of health to continue to carry on and do the important works that they are dding on the continent. i would not look at this as militarizing the policy in africa. this would be counter- productive to the message of democracy, and stability that we want to have. we want professional armies that respect constitutions and democracy, and the rights of the people. this is a secondary goal. this is not the primary role.

>> i will take your questions, and then we will take both of them -- >> thank you. in the list of priorities, which were quite comprehensive, i did not hear any mention of the role that the african state plays in terrorism. what kind of support will you provide those states that are supportive and ready to step up to play a role in the national objectives and the national priorities when it comes to global terrorism? >> i am sorry, go ahead. >> we will take your question. >> thank you. i want to know what your position is on sierra leone, and

what you are willing to do. what you are willing to do on this side. >> they are like liberia, and they have come through a very difficult time of civil unrest and instability, where hundreds of people were killed, and even thousands more mutilated in the worst sort of way by one of the most vicious groups of people ever to walk the continent. and we favor the return to democracy that has occurred in sierra leone, the united states government supports sierra leone through their development programs, and through programs such as the peace corps. and we will continue to wish them well, and we will continue to work with the democratic

governments that have been elected to continue the progress that has been made. the issue of terrorism, in the united states, we see this as one of the most important global priorities. many people forget the fact that africa is also experiencing terrorism. very deadly terrorism, very serious terrorism. three years before 9/11, in east africa, on august the seventh, simultaneously in nairobi -- al qaeda destroyed the embassies in both countries, taking 214

lives in nairobi. 5000 injured, 32 people killed in the embassy, including one of the finest foreign service officers. this is not the only place, because they come back again. they came back in 2002 at the paradise hotel. and again, they were using this to bring down an airplane. we have seen terrorism occurring, in the sudan and we have seen this across this area. no part of the world is immune to terrorism, from the kind of organized terrorism that struck us in new york on 9/11. we have been working with african countries under two different programs in east africa, and in west africa.

and we are trying to help the african countries to strengthen border security, and improve their customs, to enhance their intelligence collections with the external terrorists forces, and reduce the risk at the airports and ports across the continent. we have found african countries to be sensitive and concerned, and these concerns are not only hours, or the global community, but also those of african countries as well. having said that, most of the terrorism that we have seen was perpetrated in africa and generated externally. and we all know that africa has

very large and substantial muslim communities. by and large, those communities, whether they are in nigeria were senegal -- or senegal or kenya, these are all very moderate islamic communities, very much pro- west, and many of them are very close friends of the united states. >> we will take one more of these very quickly and then we will move on with the schedule. >> thank you very much. can you talk briefly about the driver for sustainable development in africa, which has treated well for the individuals with multiple income, for the purchase of goods, so the

individual can have some means of looking after themselves or their family. if we think about -- you did not talk about the regional collaboration. and what the administration is doing to strengthen this, and within that framework, there is a sense of intelligence to solve some of these technical problems that they must have in order to attract their own natural resources. >> thank you for the question. the administration is committed to working with african regional organizations, and last week, -- in tanzania, the ambassador to tanzania presented his credentials to the east african

community, to become the first fully-accredited representative to east africa. he will serve concurrently as the ambassador to tanzania, and also to the east african community. this is clearly meant to manifest our commitment to helping the east african community to have a very good relationship with the east african community and encourage them to move to greater regional economic and commercial integration. and we have a representative and he is the formal ambassador to the african union, and approximately six weeks ago, the united states invited to this

building, and to washington, the chair person of the african union, the former japanese foreign minister as well. and all of the commissioners of the community to come here, to meet with the senior u.s. officials and the department of state, as well as officials across washington. they had meetings with commerce and meetings at the justice department, including with the attorney general here, eric holder, to talk about the drug- related issues and how we could deal with these issues and you may have noticed the level of collaboration is very high, based on the catch is that have been made in sierra leone with the help of both of those

governments. but they also met with the head of the u.s. trade representative's office transportation, as well as the senior officials. and we believe strongly that regional integration is going to help to facilitate not only political stability but also a substantial economic growth. and we believe that we have to work with the african union and organizations in the east african communities, and in west africa as well. this is an important part of the policy initiative to do this. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> this weekend on "book tv,"

byrd on growing up between the israelis -- and a piece on juarez, mexico. and landis on "matterhorn," following a group of soldiers through vietnam. join us on twitter. 30,000 viewers have. >> a look at the sanctions against iran and the wars in the former ambassador was a guest this morning. this is about 40 minutes.

>> he is with the bush school -- and you were in washington last week. the testimony in front of the role of the -- in the middle east. >> we have reviewed the strength that hezbollah has developed in the last quarter of a cent -- last quarter of the century. they are clearly on a roll. and the threat -- they are a threat to vital u.s. interests. they're not just there for the foreign governments -- there is the lebanese entity, and as such, it makes sense for us to engage them. not to compromise with them, not

to cut deals with them, but simply to engage them. you do not affect your adversary -- you have to be in the game and you have to be engaged. this is the way that you mess with the minds of the people who are not friendly. >> two years of the bush administration, have things gotten worse or better since you left? >> the fighting with israel in 2006 demonstrated clearly to all of us the capabilities that they have, as a military entity. by all accounts, they have rearmed, restocked, and perhaps are an even more formidable power than they are right now. >> he is with us until 10:00

eastern. the topic is iraq and afghanistan, and the numbers to call into -- for republicans, pnd independence and others -- we will get your phone calls in a moment. you served as the former ambassador to iraq. and the headlines are on more insurgent attacks in baghdad. discorded attack killed dozens in baghdad. we spoke to one man about how he viewed the lack of progress in iraq. >> there were two big stories out of iraq today. the terrorist attacks that you mentioned, and the convening of the parliament to begin the process of government formation. this is the yen and the gang.

the backdrop of terrorist violence, at the same time that the people of iraq did along with their unique political process. these bombings have been part of the landscape for some time. they are tragic, they are evil, but i do not believe that they will affect the political process. they will get on with their business in a unique way. >> how have you looked at the approach to the rack and a drawdown of soldiers, and the wrapping up of the efforts in canada are -- in khandahar. >> the administration is engaged in iraq. he has made numerous trips out there, and the leaders are regularly in washington. there is no question that the administration is being very

serious about them. there is a very long way to go and it will take a lot more engagement going forward. we negotiated the agreement with iraq before i left in 2008, calling for all the forces to be out by the end of 2011. this is an interim step, going down to 50,000 by the end of august. this was not part of the agreement. this was a unilateral step by this administration. i think that this will be workable. but i think given the continued instability, and what we have seen today, this will have to be carefully calibrated. i would call this the surge in afghanistan. i think that this is essential. this is necessary but not necessarily sufficient.

it is clear to me, watching afghanistan as i have, that until we have a dynamic in afghanistan that is similar to what was in iraq, we're not going to change the course of these events. i think that the surge in afghanistan is crucial, this is taking time and this will take a lot more time, in afghanistan and in iraq. this calls for strategic patients and more fundamentally on the part of the american people. >> president karzai allowed a crack down and showed that this was based on combating bad government, but reports say that the pakistan security

forces and intelligence forces may be helping the afghanistan army more than was previously known about. >> i was the ambassador to pakistan from 2004 through 2007. the relationship that they had was something that we were dealing with and we are still dealing with this today. there is no question that pakistan has deep ties with the taliban, and they have this at the beginning of the '90s, continuing after 9/11. as the people of pakistan would because we have had thisets experience before. when the americans engaged with them in the 1980's, then we would back out. until there are certain of our commitment, there will -- they'll be careful not to be

left alone with these enemies that they cannot deal with. this is ambivalent and at the same time, we have seen them increasingly attack the government, with the military itself. and so, they have declared war on the state of pakistan and increasingly we see pakistan responding with a more robust effort against the taliban inside of pakistan. and i think in a more cooperative endeavor, given the challenges that we face. >> we have the ambassador to pakistan and syria, kuwait and lebanon in the 1990's. we have lesley on the independent line. caller: hello. >> you mentioned the threat of

hezbollah. an i am not certain the term -- the term that you used. term be dealinghould with hezbollah. i know that the coury of lebanon on has been financially in better shape than almost here. i am wondering what exactly you are saying that the u.s. -- how the u.s. should be engaging with hezbollah becau our relationsh with love and on would be a friindly one. what exact are you saying and how should we be relating to hezbollah in engagent? are you talking about the george bush pollcy which is non- engagement ann military force? or are you talng about diplomatic sit down, let's talk?

gut: thaa gives me a chance to expand on my earlier comments. i think we need to do a number of things. first, we have to have a strong and efctive relationship with the lebanese government and with the llbanese armed forces. they are a series institution i the country. have had an uneven relationship over time. we now are in gauged with them and we need to continue to give them training -- we are now engaged with them and we need coinue to give them training and to one day ba substite to hezbollah. in terms of engaging with heollah, i mean just that.

we talked to virtually everyone in lebanon, but we do n talk to hezbollah. and ihink weeare weakening our own hand by not talking to them. we do not know very much about them because we do not deal with them directly. we do not know with thei differences and divisions are. im sure they are ther we will learn more b talking to them and we might see some advantages that currently we are blind to. this is not a bush policy or an obama policy. it has been a consistent policy that we do not talk to terrorist groups or organizations. when i was in iraq we talked to anyone who would ttlk to us and we did not worry about labels. the influence we were ae to bring was a big help in winding

down the insgency. i would like to see us be more creative n just in iraq but in lebanon and elsewhere in the rld. host: so you're ok with talking with the taliban. guest: i am ok with it. it does not mean confering recognition or anything else anymore than it meant talkkng with insurgent elements in barairaq. host: there is a story about rhee integrating some former detainees as the hdline risky experience that they consider redeemae. do you think it is a good idea?

guest: we have to be adaptable in these battles situations. again, the individuals who are coordinating the effort in afghanissan, general mcchrystal, has been at this a long, long time with greatuccess i afghanistan and iraq. general petraeus has been with me f a year and a half in barack and he is overseeing both efforts. we bring a lot of cceativity to this effort. >host: 8 republican caller. -- a republin caller. caller: i do not take issue wit anything your guest has said. when all the noise is at out,

something like your guests are conspicuously absent from the so-called round tables. it sounds as if it is their job. logic rules. we have a president ihe attempts to perform along these lines, he isalled a cobddler of terrorists. he is called a socialist and a secret stalker. insanity. my party. we do ot ha a chance. our foreign policy should be3 criticism at the shortest edge.

this gentleman who was- he brought nucar weapons to pakistan. from this poi forward, our hoe was on fire and we had to start trying to figure out the relationship between pakistan, india, iran. this is a tough neighborhood host he host: he called it a tough neighbhood. guest: would like to comment on the first part of his remarks. i could not agree more. we')e fighting real battles against real enemies in these tough neighborhoods of the world. back here, the level of extreme

partisanshipas gone to the3 this cannot be about labels an mper stickers. i have been proud to serve as ambassador in both democratic and republican organizations. there is a continuity among them on issues of national teat and strategy. our adversaries are all fairly well united out there. we do not do any service by going after each other back here at home for no particularly good or logical eason. just because the politics oo identity. now i will talk about the tougher neighborhood beyond our borders. host: the think it makes it tougher back home for people like yourself, does it make it

tougher to be an ambassador for foreign seevice officer knowing politickhe go along stateside? guest: what u have to do is stay in your lane and do what you wereent out to do, which is to make assessments, make recommendations, carry out policies, engage the people in your assignment. don't get caught up in the political swirl bk home. that is what i have tried to do as ambassador to iraq. you cannot be obliviouto it. host: next call from cincinnati. ccller: i wanted to ask about

someone in basra and he did no seem to have power. his father was an ayatollah. he went to ayatollah school or some kind of thing. if he graduates this school -- host: who are you talking about specifically? caller: io not know his nam host: any idea of that? guest: i think our caller is talking about the head of the trend that is from central ir and theon of a revered and dtinguished grand ayatollah who was assassinated

by saddam hussein in 1999. he has been in iran sdying theology since the beginning of 2007. he has takenself out of the political discourse in the r iraq. %+longer he's there, the less influential he will become. is a proud state. they have limed affinity towards iran against whom they fought in a bitter ground war om 1980 until 1928. the longer that he is in iran, the less politically iluenced he becomes. host: michael on our independent line.

caller: my question -u have worked in pakistannd work with the government'. at the time, we needed the governmento crack down on the talbot coming in -- on the taliban coming in. what haseen the tone of dialogue with the government that rose toopower in less than decraticashion, you could say. our relations with pakistan -- is it aimed solely a fighting pakistan -- and fighting terrorism or about autocracy and nuclear non-proliferation, gues that is areat question. i do believe that that relationship does he to be a broad one prick it cannot only

be about fighting terror. hastede -- it has to be a broad one. it cannot be only abo fighting terror, the improvement of good governance, the extension of rule of l, everything pakistan needs to stabilize as secure decracy. that will take a long-term u.s. commitment that will have to transcend administrations. we start on th wita significant packages that were by no means limited just to military insecurity. we n have the blue bar admistration -- lugarrpact which has good governance, education, as well as for security assistance. pakistan has a lot probls.

they are not going to be fixed overnight. we neeto establish herself as a strategic partner over the long run and then just stay with tit. i applaud the continuity and i think we need to carry that forward. host: connecticut. call: can you hea me? i have a question.%+ at the hght of the iraqi war, there were billions and billions sent by plane. bush appointed a consulting ut of the bahamas to track this money. some of the moneyent to the right place but the majority went to places they cannot account for it. are there anything in place so this does not happen in

afghanistan? guest: this gets at accountability, how our resos are used. e of the innations in bairaq was the creation of the counsel and it has been headed up by stuart boland. there has been a similar , special inspector general for ghan reconstruction. i think the model is the right one. iraq where we learned to fix a lot of things. drawing from that experience and applying it to afghanistan and

deloping the structures for monitoring inspection investigation and oversight are what we need. host: connecticut. democrat caller. caller:n the lead up to the iraqi war went george bush was saying about the weapons of mass iraqi war went george bush was saying about the weapons of mass government's trying to give the document that showed they had destroyed the weapons of mass destruction and it did not seem to make any diffence. did you have any input to try to get the msage through to the bush administration that they had destroyed these weapons? what do you thinkhe chances are of an israeli strike against the iranian nucleaa facilities

within the next six or eight months? . . i did city estimate that said that some hussein had weapons of mass -- i did see the estimate that said that saddam hussein did have weapons of mass destruction. there were not many voices at the time that said that there were no weapons of mass destruction. we have made some changes in how intelligence is evaluated. we just got this one wrong.

and the same question on iran. out of all the challenges that we are facing in this region, iraq and afghanistan and pakistan, one of the greatest may be the prospect of a nuclear-armed iran. there are several ways to deal with this. and we have two options. we could accept and attack. i d' accept or attack. we have to do exactly what we have been doing, -- it first on the the bush and administration and now under the obama and the administration by making this an international threat toward --ot just a problem for israel or the u.s. to engage the international community. we need to do everything we can

to impede their effort to develop nuclear weapon. we want to slow it down and buy time and that is a good investment.3 world with us but ii will be very hard. host: under5 minutes left with our guest. he is now the head of the george bush school of public policy at texas a&m. here is a call from texas, good morning. caller: tha you for taki my call. i see that the main problem is the war i not obama. the problem is howard stern's anus. host: arlington, virginia, go ahead caller: i am polish american and i just watched the pish news. polish will pull out their troops from afgnistan. the main reason is the polic

and how to manage the country. and how to manage the country. we have to change the policy war in afghanistan to help the3 instead of spending so much money on the military industrial complex, we have to redo the roads which ardangerous and many other things. we have to enrich the heart and soul of the afghani people. we're spending so much money on companies doing business in afghantan. guest: thank you for the question. been a tmendous ally both in iraq and afghanistan.

i served with polish forces in iraq. their courage,mitment, and achievements are a great credit to poland and our bilateral relationip. in afghanistan,think we are pursuing a complex mui- facetepolicy that is focused not just on security nd milita operations, but also trying to help afghanistan build a viable and sustainable infrastructure. this is not new. when i reopen e embassy in -pafghanistann 2002, i made the case that in addition to our tradition assistance program in areas like agriculture and educati we need to make a difference in infrastructure because the devastation was so total that improvements in agrilture, for eeample, were not going to count for much if

farmers could not get produce to market. that led to american products like our involveme in the kanduhar-kabul highway. we cannot do it all. i am pleasedo see efforts derway to try to coordinate afghanistan across the board. this will require a huge international effort. we will not prevail. e afghan government will not prevail. just by military means. afghans have to see that their life is getting better and more importantly that the prospects for their children's lives are far better and they can support the current afghan government and its intertionalackers led by the united states. the alternative is letting the

country revert once more to the taliban. hoss: we will hear from riverside, georgia, good morning. calleryou are on the air. go ahead. hang on, i pushed the wrong button. there you are. caller: thank you for taking my call. can you hear me? host: weekend. caller: we ta about democratic elections and whether we like it elected because fatah is aically about taking the people'')s mon. we have also given nuclear weapons to pakistan,india, and israel, yet we want to hold iran to another standard regardin their desire for what they say is a peaceful nuclear program.

ve nuclear weapons here that were supposed to be downloading with russia. we let israel dictat whais going on in the region.. israelis supposed to be our democratic partner. yet israel is dictating everything that is going i would suggest and i hope that the ambassador would agree that we leave that region alone and let them work out their own problems so that we can take care of our proble here at hom we have soldiers all over the world. pe haveeen a germany, japan. let them come home and let them take care of their own people. host: you want to wrap up the militar and diplomatically?

caller: i would sayilitarily but not diplomatically. guest: i would have to say that we see what happens when we disengage from these tgh parts of the wor. we disengaged from afghanistan and pakistan after he soviets pulled out of afghanistan in 1989. c:í7incidently, on the way out e door in 1990,e slapped sanctions on pakistan because of their nuclear weapons program. does notorrect to sayat we supported it or gay nuclear weapons to india or pakistan. -- or gave a nuear weapons t india or pakistan. india or pakistan. we disgaged. military terms. we did not completely disengaged diplooaticallyut we were no longer much of a force.

at happened? that was the road to 9/11. the afghan civil war haapened. the taliban emerged on top in the early 1990's and gave sanction to al-qaida. a w years later, we got 9/11. host: why did we disengage in th region? guest: we figured that there are strategic competitor, the soviet ion had been defeated in afghanistabetter work there was done. we saw the world through purely bipolar terms. we knew it woulde essie in ñiafghanistan -- we do it woulde meand afghanistan. faugwe thought we would let them fight it out any wayhey could. we would not be engaged. it was a failure of engagement on our part based on failure of imagination. we will not have that excuue

this next time around if we decide we wt to disengage now militarily. we know how bad movie goes. i, for one, don't want to see it again. host: john, on our independent line. caller: i am so infuriated over what is going on with our country

i hope the school is doing well and i hope the library in dallas is doing well and i hope he is happy ere. to the issues -- first of all, he had surveillance. our country was safe when they put in surveillance of all the wire tapping and so rth which got so mh criticism. got so mh criticism. all that time, they were able to do tteir damage. by the same token, i wish that george had jumped right in in iraq right fr the beginni. every day they waited and allowed for all these people to investigate ando all that stuff, ,ñsekr&oge0s knew, dd o

it because i knew their work nuclear-weapons there and i am most peop feel there were even though they have not found on, that doesl ss not mean theyr not ther host: any response to her commts? guest: the george bush school here at texas a and m is named after george h. w. bush, the 41st president a his library is here at texas a&m. the 43rd president with which i was privileged to serve is establishing his library in dallas. o separate presidents, two different schools, two different libraries. half hosthost: mocratic caller,. caller: george bush started this

by bombing the midd east and staging of us in saudi arabia. that is where we went wrong. ronaldeagan creed saddam hussein. he case - he gave him tens of millions of dollars in military aid and when the monster got out control, pap bush added to take them out.. that is what started al-qaida and the jihad movement and that has gotten us where we are. the fact that you can casually sit there and defend your ridiculous behavior. we have streth in iran and almost destroyed america and the process with thesezú" ridiculos illegal foreign wars that are against what this country was founded on we have no business interfering. we aresing is real as our hezbollah over all these years. host: majoroint, let's hear from the ambassador. guest: that is a point of view. i was present at the timeof the

1990-1991nd desert shield and desert desert storm event. i was director of the iraq- kuwt apart from the state department. i would take a different point of view on that. president george h. w. bush's decision to use u.s. military forces to liberate kuwait was a critical step not only in and of itself but also in establishing that the united states would be decisively engaged in the post- cold war wor, not a new world order as it turnedut . i think he established the importance \ pnciple 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: onmore call, ceballos, on our independent ne. caller: good morning to you both. this is more along the lines of intelligence. a couple of hours ago i received two cas on my cell phone from arab-sounding gentleman. ey left messages on the voiceml. as just a private average

citizen, i don') know any arabs. i could not understand what they were saying. with the wiretapping situatn should be concerned? host: that is ait f topic. we wl say goodbye to you and thank ambassador ryan crocker %+ >> on tomorrow morning's "washington journal," byron dorgan will talk about the liability of bp over the oil spill. after that, we will talk to the head of the heritage foundation. and we will go over the new health-care law with neera tanden.

"washington journal" is each morning at 7:00 on c-span. and general petraeus will talk about the security situation in afghanistan. the live coverage begins at 10:00 eastern. >> see what your member of congress has said. search the congressional chronicles. everywhere from every appearance on the house and senate floor since 1987. and for a snapshot of every member of the congress, the congressional directory, available at c-span.org/store. >> and now, david cameron on the military efforts in afghanistan. he broke he -- he spoke at the house of commons in london for about 5 minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to