of people. when they get to be 50 years old, dave will come to the arts. -- they will come to the arts. i have been working a lot to try and bring that generation into the arts. so they do become our leaders in the future. that is of great concern to me. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you so much. >> your dvd copy of this program, call 1-877-662-7726. for a free transcript or to give

us your comments on this program, visit us at q&a.org. >> tonight, french president nicolas sarkozy's addressed to french diplomats. then today's speech by president obama on hurricane katrina. then republican candidate sharon nevada.rom canad tuesday night at 8:00 p.m., president barack obama will give an oval office speech discussing the troop withdrawal from iraq and will shift focus to the war in afghanistan -- or in afghanistan. -- war in afghanistan.

>> fresh president nicolas sarkozy addressed french diplomats in paris. he outlined france's farm policy, emphasizing that french troops will stay in afghanistan for as long as necessary. he also talked about sanctions against iran and called for a review of the international monetary system. france is scheduled to hold the presidency vote for g-8 and the g-20. this is 45 minutes.

it is the case for the global economy, which has not resumed the solid and sustainable growth while the g-20 must prove it has the determination to pursue the necessary reforms. at the the big table, where the decisions are made, new actors have joined the recognize powers. with good reason, they are calling for their rights to be recognized. accept that, with these rights, come duties and responsibilities. they have to recognize that there amazing success means they must go beyond the rigid sense of their national interest and they must make their contributions to solving the world's problems.

at this moment in history, when fate hands in the balance, we need determination and unity. that is in order to fix the scales in their right direction. if the recognize powers and the major emerging countries do not manage to come to an agreement on the goals to be achieved and the means to achieve them, if we're not able to act jointly to combat the challenges of terrorism and proliferation, economic imbalances and climate change, then we will have changed -- we would have failed in their duty. at this moment in history, as france wants to assert its vision, determination, it must as equally try to find each of the major challenges to combine progress and ambition and to unify a variety -- unify

everybody behind the g-20. the fight against terrorism remains a major priority. all analyses consumers -- analyses conclusively confirm that, since 2001, as a cause of the blows delivered on western countries have been significantly reduced. all the debt -- on the other hand, al qaeda has increased their hold on deadly violence in several states, from pakistan to somalis. it's country is confronted with a specific situation, that no correlation between the groups who are working on one end of the crisis to the other, if the situation were to to deteriorate, we risk seeing the of violence.

this is a major concern, a crescent of crisis of terrorism. regarding afghanistan, it is very fashionable on the part of commentators to have catastrophic analysis. we're told every day that the taliban will come back to power and that we should abandon the gas afghan people. -- the afghan people. it is true that the taliban remains strong in these. however, there are not in the rest of the country. we will succeed if we continue our action and all parties must assume their responsibilities, which were clearly established that the london and couple

conferences. we have to defend our -- and kabul conferences. we have to defend our position. the human toll is heavy and this week it grew even heavier, unfortunately. but i would like each of you to imagine what it would be if we were not there. the human toll. let us not forget what the caliban did in the past -- but the taliban did in the past and the afghans that they continue to kill. it is vital that the afghan government improve their hold on a country. they need to fight corruption, drug trafficking, and offer reconciliation to those who

renounce al qaeda and all ties to al qaeda. the afghan government must take serious action to prepare itself to take over the security of the provinces in districts considered stable enough to be transferred to afghan control. our action is support in peace. it is not subject to timetable for the whims of the media. we know what the results of the whims of the media in the 20th century are. those of you in the industry will be aware of this. we have a realistic political objective and thesis political line is a gradual transition with the allies -- from the allies to the afghans. france will continue to be

committed to afghanistan as long as necessary and as long as the afghan people so wish. no victory will be possible without the support of pakistan. this country is courageously dealing with the impact of the unprecedented floods and facing economic and social challenges and defeat terrorism at home. this is what i told president zardari. france will stand along with pakistan. i told the president of pakistan and that the less ambiguity there is, the more the international community will be convinced that it makes sense to help the government. with regard to gamine, the ability of the and terror -- of the entire peninsula, when --

including france, assumed their responsibilities. but the problem remains. it can be solved only through dialogue and vigilance. on the other side of the gulf of hagen in somalia, the stakes are clear. the deadly attacks in july show that the militias now have the capacity to extend their combat far beyond their borders, that victory would transform somalia into a base for al qaeda. it would destabilize an entire region already made vulnerable by the conflict in sudan, which would be catastrophic. france contributes to stability in djibouti. it will stepup in somalia in response to request form of the

african union. 2000 somali troops are currently being trained in uganda while we have already trained 5600 men. everybody must understand that some mollah, yemen, pakistan, afghanistan -- that somalia, yemen, pakistan, and afghanistan have major challenges.

a territory as large as europe, how can they do this alone? for the first time, in july, the terrorists were dealt a severe blow with france's support. that day marked a major turning point. the only strategy cannot be to pay ransoms and to free prisoners in exchange for hostages. this cannot be a sustainable strategy. france plans a full support to the governments that as the to train come equipped, and it buys the forces they need to destroy the groups that threaten to -- and advise the forces they need to destroy the groups that threaten stability.

their security cannot be separated from ours. [unintelligible] at the heart of this crescent of crisis lies iran. the most appalling types of execution dating from the middle ages, stoning, mrs. small hammadi is now being threatened. -- mrs. mohammeadi is now being threatened. this constitutes the main threat to national security in a key area, proliferation. i want you to understand that france supports the development in strict compliance with international standards of

nuclear power generators for electricity. that is what i said during the presidential campaign and this falls under controversy may, but i remain convinced that the civilians nuclear energy and the energy of the future, no nation can have the exclusive right to uphold the technology or the benefits of nuclear energy. iran has every right to civilian nuclear energy. that is why france salutes the power plant that soon will be exclusively and totally supplied by russia. nearly a year ago, in pittsburgh, we revealed the existence of a secret nuclear facility that iran was building for its proliferation activity. i said at the time that we needed to place sanctions on iran if it did not change its policies. we are at that point now. the security council, the united

states, the european union, and others have taken strong, unprecedented measures. it is high time. everyone knows the great consequences of policies that would allow iran to continue its nuclear arms race. in any event, it would be a major international political crisis. we will therefore resolutely support sanctions. some said that sanctions do not work or that they lead to war. that is wrong. they fail when they are too weak. sanctions do not work when they do not have a clear objective. ours is simple. our objective is to make iran understand that it's choices come at an increasingly high- cost. the alternative is the start of negotiations.

but serious, concrete negotiations should go to the heart of the matter. is iran ready for that? we will see. in september, indiana, mrs. ashton and the six meet the a renegotiations. i want is suitable agreement reached in the coming months, that iran complies with the law. the concerns of iran's neighbors should also be considered. if this cannot be achieved, iran's isolation shall increase considerably. some people claim that the violence spanning this crescent of crisis is one call. that is clearly wrong. those who killed in baghdad, in

canada are, they want to destroy their enemies in iran and afghanistan. who does not believe that a piece of the land between the israelis and the palestinians, which will transform the political situation in the middle east? there is the matter of commitment and determination. a peace agreement whose parameters is available to everyone can be reached within a year. negotiations on september the second is creating enormous expectations. it is the best guarantee for israel's security and its complete integration in the region in keeping with the arab peace initiative. it is also the only part in the

interests to read -- to reduce extremism. the entire international community must support this process. france is proposing to hold the second press conference in support of the palestinian people, to develop the economy and the structure of the future state, and, with the egyptian co-chair, we would like the second mediterranean summit held to address economic subjects that will demonstrate the capacity of all participating countries to build a better future for all people of the mediterranean. everybody knows on what conditions peace can be signed in that area. peace between syria and israel is equally possible. france, which has renewed regular dialogue with damascus and is helpful to the entire region, it is involved in seeking an agreement. i have asked the ambassador to

proceed with this goal. he has my whole confidence. it would be integral role for lebanon to lapse into violence -- it would be intolerable for lebanon to lapse into violence once more. france provides its full support to lebanon's democratic institutions, to the present, and to the ambassador -- to the president, and to the investor. france is a friend to all the lebanese people. this is the whole aim of the mission, to ensure lebanon's peace and sovran team, which all of its neighbors must respect. ambassadors in europe hit wavers between the best and the worse. last winter, it was the worst possible outcome. the greek debt crisis became a crisis of the year, whose credibility had been called into question.

allow me to remind you, now that the storm is passed, of a few simple truths. firstly, the public finances of the eurozone are less damaged than that of the united states or japan, both in terms of deficit and in terms of debt. commentators are making extraordinary comments. a few weeks ago, i was at the g- 20 summit meeting in canada. everybody was complaining about europe lagging the rest of the world. they praise to the growth of asia and the united states. today, the same people say the exact opposite. the europeans were able to react effectively. when we had to save greece, $110 billion euros were mobilized. to save the entire eurozone, a

guarantee of $850 billion was mobilized. it would have been battle to take swifter action, beer subtraction. what history will remember -- swifter action. what history will remember it is solidarity and unity. what history will remember is that these problems represented an opportunity for the eu to make more progress in its economic governance. what history will remember is that, once again, franco-german understanding allowed this progress to take place at the crew showed -- at the crucial moment. we must strengthen the effectiveness of european institutions. the next stage, the next step will be economic government of the 27th.

whenever is necessary -- whatever is necessary, meetings will take place in the eurozone. only a few months ago, the words european economic governance were taboo. today, europe recognizes that a true european become a governance is necessary and even essential. -- european economic governance is necessary and even essential. france and germany have made ambitious proposals that were submitted at the council of ministers meeting. in october, the european commission will take the necessary decisions on the basis of proposals. but it cannot be limited to economic issues, however important they may be. there are also issues of security and defense. we will not defend europe with

procedures and the talents of paper. to defend our vital interests, we have nuclear deterrence. in the face of new challenges, the europeans are lagging behind. they should also participate in ensuring the security of the sea is essential to our trade, the security of space, and now the security of cyberspace. france is prepared to take concrete projects. i heard our british allies statements. we are prepared to discuss them without any taboos and we will take important decisions that the later summit in november. in november, i will be at the nato summit in lisbon will we will adopt a new strategic concept. we will have to reform our structures, and adapt them to the new international situation.

threats that call for a renewed relationship with nato and the european union. with russia, we have common interests. we have developed -- would have to develop an unprecedented partnership to ensure the security of the european- atlantic's base. the cold war is over. france, next month, will make proposals for relations with russia, the eu, and nato. ladies and gentlemen, ambassadors, with 500 million citizens and an economic clout equivalent to nearly 30% of total gdp, more than 35% of global direct investments, and nearly 60% of all public development aid, the eu also necessary cards necessary as a global economic power. but it must have the will to play these cards as part of a

coherent strategy aimed at concrete results and reciprocal benefits. europe represents the world's largest market and europe is the largest importer in the world. we must not have any conflict in this regard. we must not give -- we must not hesitate to impose rules of fair trade. we must open up the markets which have been too close td. we must fight to impose compliance with the rules of fair trade. it is not protectionism. we must not hesitate to combat social dumping and environmental dumping. we do not want to ask our industrial farmers to apply laws that only apply to europe and exonerate producers outside

europe. we continue to import products that continue to not comply with environmental standards. that does not go against the rules of fair trade. we are asking europe to undertake trade negotiations with last night to tape. the european union -- with less 9 eventide -- with less naivete. france will be all the more powerful if it sets an example. our ambition with the prime minister and the minister of the economy, to reduce competitiveness with the most high performing countries and to boost potential, that is why we freed up taxes on overtime hours. we decided not to replace one of

every two civil servants facing retirement. politicians on all sides denounced the lack of investment by our companies. the business tax was levied against investments. that is why we adopted a tax provision of that supports corporate research. it is the most attractive of all the oecd countries. we launched the bid loan and we will reform our retirement regime. europe requires this and france will continue to reduce its public deficit, which will be 6% in 2011 and 3% of gdp in 2013. the issue of competitiveness is key and i am perfectly aware of

the fact that our tax systems must be used to prevent relocation of industries abroad. i have asked our representatives to look at harmonization of tax regimes between france and germany. on the 12th of november, france will assume the g-20 presidency for one year. on january 1, france will assume the presidency of the g-8. these are weighty responsibilities. the g-20 represents 80% of the planets wealth. it was set up to establish -- it was established at france's behest. the g-20 has always met at a time of crisis until now. it was very interesting. we had to take risks. we had to act. of the g-20, it has

accomplished a lot of work, which i will not dwell on, particularly as the g-20 will draw the conclusions in november based on what we have decided. now we have to address a new situation, where we have relatives calm. i perfectly understand that it is tempting to limit the ambitions of the g-20 two simply and lamenting the decisions taken complemented -- simply implementing the decision is complemented by a few useful measures. the g-20 will have a management version. but that is not my ambition. the credibility of the g-20 is at stake. at stake.