that we get by making an agreement with another nation and then honoring it. it is self enforcing. i run a committee that basically tracks down violations of security agreements. in my time here, a little over eight months, we have not had a single incident. we attack accusations of violations of the security agreements. we find that there are none. -- we have had accusations of violations of the security agreements. when investigated, we find that there are none. that is a very important building credibility in this part of the world. the fact that ball rolling -- barring political change, we will be at 0 on the first of january. >> leaving aside the politics,

in your military government, will the iraqis need continuing partnership and assistance after 2011 for the security requirements that they face? >> we have a comprehensive plan right now to work with the iraqis. frankly we are very busy right now working with the iraqis. when you focus on their 19 major capabilities that we work on with them, and then identify the conditions that need to be established by the time that we leave, if we are working in we have a plan where we can leave here as scheduled. there are things that they might like to do or could be done better. but those things will come into the political. >> i wanted to ask you about your own goals for fort hood.

after the article 32 hearing for major is done and other pretrial matters are taken up, there will be a recommendation for a court martial or not and then there might well be a recommendation for testimony. will you be involved in that in any way as the commander? >> i will not from here. it depends on the timing. when i left, i signed over legal responsibility to my deputies when i departed the country. i have been over here and it will depend how hard -- how far this progresses and other legal considerations that will be assessed at that time. right now, i am removed from the fort hood case and i have the legal authority here over a

number of soldiers. we will deal with that in the future. >> there was a legal fight over whether you should be deposed in the case. did you ever set for deposition? >> i did not. i was in the process of deploying as i came down. given the technology that we have today, we could have done it from here. but to my knowledge there was never any request to be to post since i have been here in iraq. these are all important legal process see is that we follow the procedures exactly to the law to make sure that the fate -- that the case is fairly tried. >> general, it looks like you have exhausted the pentagon press corps of questions. i sent it back to you. >> again, i like to thank

everyone. veterans day is coming up and that is really important for so many who have served this country and serve as an inspiration to everyone. again, they are and our thoughts and prayers here in iraq. here we continue to grow capabilities incapacities for the security forces -- and capacities for the security forces of iraq. and we move in a positive direction. i am proud to work with r server project of the work our service members are doing in each and every one of them is making a difference. thanks for coming to the press conference and i appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today. >> general, thank you very much for your time. >> with election results final, use the c-span video library to

see what the candidates said. search, watch, and share any time off rate. it is washington your way. president obama addressed the indian parliament in new delhi today. he is endorsing india's bid for a permanent seat on the u.n. security council. india is his first of on a 10- day trip in asia. this is about 35 minutes. >> most of all the people of india, i thank you for the great honor of addressing drug representatives of more than 1 billion civilians in the world's

largest democracy. [applause] i bring the greetings and friendship of the world's democracy. the united states of america including nearly 3 million proud and patriotic indian-americans. over the past three days, my wife michelle and i have experienced the beauty and dine in note -- the beauty and dynamism of rigid of india and its people. the advanced technologies that are in power in people who are the backbone of indian society. from the diwali celebrations from the university that will

chart india's future. to you, leaders to help to bring india to this moment of extraordinary promise. at every stop, we have been welcome to with the hospitality for which indians have always been known. to you and the people of india, on behalf of me, michelle, and the american people, please accept my deepest thanks. [applause] [speaking indian] [applause] i am not the first american president to visit india, nor will i be the last.

but i am proud to visit india so early in my presidency. it is no coincidence that india is my first thought on a visit to asia, or that this has been my long as it joined other countries is becoming president. in asia and around the world, and india is not simply emerging -- india has emerged. belief that them relationship between the united states and india, down by our shared interest and are shared values, will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century. this is the partnership i have come here to build. this is the vision that our nation can realize together. my confidence and our shared future is grounded in my respect for india's treasured past -- a civilization shaping

the world for thousands of years. indians unlocked the intricacies of the human body and the bass notes of our universe. it is no exaggeration to say that our information age is rooted in indian innovations, including the no. 0. [applause] of course, india has not only open our minds, she expanded our moral imaginations with religious texts that still summon the faithful to lives of dignity and discipline, with pilots who imagined a future where the mind is without fear and the head is held high. [applause] and with a man whose message of love and justice and doors, the father of your nation, mahatma gandhi.

for me and michele, this visit has held special meaning. throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, i have always found it always found inspiration in the life of gandhi and his simple lesson to be the change we seek in the world. [applause] and just as he summoned indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions in my own country, including a young preacher named martin luther king. after making his pilgrimage to india a half century ago, dr. king called on the's philosophy of non-violent resistance the only logical and moral approach in the struggle for justice and progress.

so we were honored to visit the president's word county and king both stayed. and we were humbled to pay our respects at raj ghat. i might not be standing before you today as president of the united states had it not been for gandhi and then measured that he shared an inspired america and the world. [applause] an ancient civilization of science and innovation, a fundamental faith in human progress -- this is the sturdy foundation upon which you have bill ever since the stroke of midnight when the tricolor was raised over a free and independent india.

and despite the skeptics who said that this country was simply too poor or too fast or too diverse to succeed, you surmounted overwhelming odds and became a model to the world. instead of slipping into starvation, you launched a green revolution that fed millions. you invested in science and technology and in your greatest resources, the indian people. in the world sees the results come from the supercomputer's you bill to the indian flag that you put on the moon. instead of resisting the global economy, if you became one of its engines. reforming the licensing raj on

leasing and economic marble that has lifted tens of millions of people from poverty and created one of the world's largest middle class is. instead of succumbing to division, you have shown that the strength of india, the very idea of india, is its embrace of all colors, all castes, all creeds. it is the diversity represented in this chamber today. it is the richness of faith's celebrated by a visitor to my hometown of chicago more than a century ago, the renowned swami vivekandanda. he said that holiness, purity, and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. and instead of being lured by the false notion that progress must come at the expense of

freedom, you build the institutions upon which true democracy depends -- free and fair elections, which enable citizens to choose their own leaders without recourse to arms, an independent judiciary and the rule of law which allows people to address their grievances, and a thriving prepress -- free press and vibrant civil society which allows every voice to be heard. this year as india marks 60 years with a strong and democratic constitution, the lesson is clear. india has succeeded not in spite of democracy. india has succeeded because of democracy. [applause] just as india has changed, so too has the relationship between our two nations.

in the decades after independence, in the advanced its interests as a proud leader of the nonaligned movement. yet too often the united states and india found ourselves on opposite sides of a north-south divide, is strange by a long cold war. those days are over. here in india, two successive governments led by different parties have recognized the deeper partnership with america is both natural and necessary. in the united states, both of my predecessors, one a democrat, one republican, worked to bring us closer, leading to increased trade and a landmark civil nuclear agreement. since that time, people in both our countries have asked, what is next? how can we build on this progress and realize the full

potential of our partnership? that is what i want to address today. the future that the united states seeks in an interconnected world, and why i believe that india is indispensable to this vision, how we can forge a truly global partnership -- not just in one or two areas, but across many. not just for our mutual benefit, but for the benefit of the world. of course, only indians can determine india's natural interests and how to advance them on the world stage. but i stand before you today because i am convinced that the interests of the united states in the interests we share with india are best advanced in partnership. i believe that. the united states seeks security, the security of our country, our allies, and

partners. we seek prosperity -- a strong and growing economy in an open international economic system. we seek respect for universal values. and we seek a just and sustainable international order that promotes peace and security by meeting global challenges for stronger global cooperation. to advance these interests, i have committed the united states to comprehensive engagement with the world, based on mutual interests and mutual respect. and a central pillar of this engagement is forging deeper cooperation with 21st century centers of influence -- and that necessarily must include india. india is not the only emerging power in the world. but relationships between our countries is unique.

for we are too strong democracies whose constitutions began with the same words, the same revolutionary words -- we the people. we are too great republic's dedicated to the liberty and justice and equality of all people. we are two free market economies where people have the freedom to pursue ideas and innovation that can change the world. that is why i believe india and america are indispensable partners in meeting the challenges of our times. since taking office, i have made our relationship a priority. i was proud to welcome prime minister saying -- singh for the first official state visit of my presidency. for the first time ever, our

governments are working together across the whole range of common challenges that face. the united states not only welcomes india as a rising global power, we fervently supported in we have work to make it a reality. together with our partners we have made the g-20 the premier forum for economic cooperation, bringing more voices to the table of global economic decision making, and that has included india. we have increased their role -- the role of emerging economies like india at international financial institutions. we've valued india's important role at copenhagen, where for the first time all major economies committed to take action to confront climate change and to stand by those actions. we salute india's long history as a leading contributor to the united states peacekeeping missions. and we welcome india as it prepares to take its seat on the united nations security council.

[applause] in short, with india assuming its rightful place in the world, we have an historic opportunity to make the relationship between our two countries a defining partnership of the century ahead. and i believe we can do so by working together in three important areas. first, as global partners we can promote prosperity in both our countries. together we can create a high- tech, high-wage jobs of the future. with my visit, we are now ready to begin implementing our civil nuclear agreement. this will help meet india's growing energy needs and create thousands of jobs in both our countries. [applause]

we need to forge partnerships in high-tech sectors like defense and civil space. so we have removed indian organizations from our so- called entity list. we will work to remove and reform are controls on exports. both of these steps will ensure that indian companies seeking high-tech trading technologies from america or treated the same as our very closest allies and partners. we can pursue joint research and development to create green jobs, give india more access to cleaner, affordable energy, meet the commitments we made it copenhagen, and show the possibilities of low carbon growth. together we can resist the protectionism that stifles growth and innovation. the united states remains and will continue to remain one of the most open economies in the

world. and by opening markets and reducing barriers to foreign investment, india can realize its full economic potential as well. as g-20 partners, we can make sure the global in economic recovery is strong and durable. we can keep striving for a doha that is a balance so that global trade works for all economies. together we can strengthen agriculture. cooperation between indian and american researchers and scientists sparked the green revolution. today india is the leader in using technology to empower farmers like those i met yesterday to get free updates on market and weather conditions on their cellphones. if the united states is a leader in agricultural product -- productivity in research. now as farmers and rural effects

face the effects of climate change and drought, we will work together to spark a second, more sustainable ever green revolution. together we are improving indian weather forecasting systems before the next monsoon system. we aim to help millions of indian farmers -- farming households save water and increase productivity, improve food processing so crops did not spoil on the way the market, and enhance climate and crop forecasting to avoid losses that cripple communities and drive up food prices. as part of our food security initiatives, we're quite a share in the is expertise with farmers in africa. and this is an indication of india's rise -- we cannot export hard-earned expertise to countries that see india as a model for agricultural development. -- we can export hard-earned expertise to countries that see india as a model for agricultural development.

the wealth of the nation also depends on the health of its people. we will continue to support india's effort against diseases like tuberculosis and hiv aids, and as global partners, we will work to improve global health by preventing the spread of pandemic flu. because knowledge is the currency of the 21st century, we will increase exchanges between our students, our colleges, and our universities, which are among the best in the world. as we work to advance our shared prosperity, we can work -- we can partner to address a second priority, our shared security. in mumbai, i met with the courageous families and survivors of the barbaric attack. and here in parliament, which was itself targeted because of the democracy it represents, we honor the memory of all those who have been taken from us,

including american citizens on 26/11 and indian citizens on 9/11. this is a bunt that we share. it is why we insist that nothing ever justifies the slaughter of innocent men, women, in children. it is why we are working together more closely than ever to prevent terrorism attacks and to deepen our cooperation even further. and it is why, as strong and resilience societies, we refuse to live in fear. we will not sacrifice the values and rule of law that defines us. we will never waver in the defense of our people. qaedaa's fight against al and its terrorist affiliate's is why we persevere in afghanistan, where major development assistance from india has improved the lives of the afghan people. we're making progress in our

mission to break the taliban's momentum and to train afghan forces so they can take the lead for their security. while i have made it clear that american forces will begin the transition to afghan responsibility next summer, i have also made it clear that america's commitment to afghan people will endure. the united states will not abandon the people of afghanistan or the region to violent extremists who threaten us all. our strategy to disrupt and dismantle and that the al qaeda and its affiliates as to succeed on both sides of the border. that is why we have worked with the pakistani government to address the threat of terrorist networks in the border regions. the pakistani government increasingly recognizes that these networks are not just a threat outside a pakistan, they are a threat to the pakistani people as well.

they have suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists over the last several years. we will continue to insist to pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable, and the terrorists behind the mumbai tax must be brought to justice. [applause] we must also recognize that all of us have an interest in both afghanistan and pakistan that a stable and prosperous and democratic. india has an interest in that as well. in pursuit of regional security, we will continue to welcome dialogue between india and pakistan, even as we recognize that disputes between your two countries can only be resolved by the people of your two countries.

more broadly, india and the united states can partner in asia. today the united states is once again playing a leadership role in asia, strengthening old alliances, the deepening relationships as we're doing with china, and the engaging with regional organizations in which india is also a partner. like your neighbors in southeast asia, we want india not only to look east, we want india to engage in east, because it will increase the security and prosperity of all our nations. as two global leaders, the united states and india can partner for global security, especially as india serves on the security council over the next two years. but just as a stable international order that america's six includes a united nations that is efficient, effective, credible, and

legitimate. and that is why i can say today, in the years ahead, i look forward to a reformed united nations security council that includes india as a permanent member. [applause] now let me suggest the with the increased power comes increased responsibility. united stations exists to fulfill its founding ideals of preserving peace and security, promoting global cooperation, and advancing human rights. these are the responsibilities of all nations, but especially those that seek to lead in the 21st century. so we look forward to working with india and other nations that aspire to security council

membership to ensure that the security council is effective, resolutions are implemented, that sanctions are enforced, that we strengthen the international norms which recognize the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all individuals. this includes our responsibility to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. since i took office, the united states has reduced the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy. we have agreed with russia to reduce our own arsenals. we put preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism at the top of our agendas. we have strength of the cornerstones of the global non- proliferation regime, which is the nuclear non plea reparation treaty. together the united states and india can pursue our goal of securing the world's vulnerable nuclear materials.

we can make it clear that even as every nation has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, every nation must also meet its international obligations -- and that includes the islamic republic cover run. -- of iran. and together we can pursue a vision that indian leaders have espoused since independence, a world without nuclear weapons. this leads me to the final area where our countries can partner -- strengthening the foundations of democratic governance, not only at home but abroad. in the united states, my administration has worked to make government more open and transparent and accountable to people. here in indy, you are harnessing technologies to do the same, as i saw an expo in mumbai. your landmark right to information that is in power in citizens with the ability to get

the services to which they are entitled. [applause] and a hold officials accountable. voters can get informations about candidates by text message, and you are delivering education and health services to rural communities, as i saw it yesterday when i joined with the villagers. in a new collaboration on open government, our two countries are. share our experience, identify what words, and develop the next generation of tools to empower citizens. in another example of how american in indian partnership can address global challenges, we will share these innovations with civil society groups and countries around the world. we're going to show that democracy more than any other form of government delivers for the common man and woman. likewise, when indians bode, the

whole world watches. thousands of political parties, hundreds of thousands of polling centers, millions of candidates in poll workers, and 700 million voters. there is nothing like it on the planet. there is so much that country's transitioning to democracy can learn from india's experiences. so much expertise that india can share with the world. and that is what makes rigid and that is what is possible when the world's largest democracy embraces its role as a global leader. two largest's democracies, we must never forget that the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others. indians notice, for it is the

story of your nation. before he ever became -- before he ever began his struggle for indian independence, gone the stood up for the rights of indians in south africa. -- gandhi stood up for the rights of india's rigid indians in south africa. india has championed the self- determination of peoples from africa that asia as they broke free from colonialism. and along with the united states coming you have been a leader in supporting democratic development and civil society groups around the world. this is part of india's greatness. we all the understand every country will follow its own path. no one nation has a monopoly on wisdom, and no nation should ever try to impose its values on another. but when peaceful democratic movements are suppressed, as they had been for burma, then

the democracies of the world cannot remain silent. it is unacceptable to gun down peaceful protesters and incarcerate political prisoners decade after decade. it is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of an entire people hostage to the greed and paranoia of bankrupt regimes. it is unacceptable to steal elections, as the regime in burma have done again for all the world to see. faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the responsibility of the international community, especially leaders like the united states and india, to condemn it. and if i can be frank, in international fora, india has often shied away from some of these issues. but speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering in the affairs of other countries.

it is not violating the rights of sovereign nations. it is staying true to our democratic principles. it is given meeting to human rights that we say are universal. -- is getting meaning to human rights that we say are universal. it ultimately increases on our security in the world. so promoting shared prosperity, preserving peace and security, strengthening democratic governance and human rights -- these are the responsibilities of leadership. and as global partners, this is the leadership that the united states and india can offer in the 21st century. ultimately, though, this cannot be a relationship only between presidents and prime ministers, or in the halls of this parliament.

ultimately this must be a partnership between our peoples. so i want to conclude -- [applause] by speaking directly to the people of india watching today. in your lives you have overcome odds that might have overwhelmed a lesser country. in just decades, you have to achieve progress and development that took other nations centuries. you are now assuming your rightful place as a leader among nations. your parents and grandparents imagined this. your children and grandchildren will look back on this. but only this generation of indians can seize the possibilities of the moment. as you carry on with the hard work ahead, i want every indian citizen to know -- the united states of america will not simply be cheering you want from

the sidelines. we will be right there with you, shoulder to shoulder. [applause] because we believe in the promise of india. we believe that the future is what we may get. we believe -- what we make it. we believe that no matter who you are or where you come from, every person can fill their god- given potential just like a dalit like dr. ambedkar could lift himself up and penned the words of the constitution to protect the rights of all indians. we believe that no matter where you live, whether a village in punjab or the bayh lanes of chandi chowk, an old section in

bangladesh or, every person deserves the same chance to live in security and dignity, to get an education, the fine work, to give their children a better future. and we believe that when countries and cultures put aside all habits and attitudes they keep people apart, when the recognize our common humanity, then we can begin to fill these aspirations that we share. it is a simple lesson contained in the collection of stories which has guided indians for centuries -- the pachtantra. it is the spirit of the inscription seen by all who enter this great hall -- that one is mine and the other a

stranger is the concept of little minds. but to the large hearted, the world itself is their family. this is the story of india. this is the story of america. despite their differences, people can see themselves in one another and work together and succeed together as one proud nation. and it can be the spirit of partnership between our nations, that even as we honor the histories which in different times kept us apart, even as we preserve what makes us unique in a globalized world, we can recognize how much we can achieve together. if we let the simple concept be our guide, it if we pursue the vision i describe today -- a global partnership to meet global challenges, then i have no doubt that future generations will live in a world that is more prosperous and more secure

and more just because of the funds that our generation has forged today. so thank you. jai hind, and long live the partnership between india and the united states. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> president obama is on a 10- day trip that began in india. next from the "daily beast" summit, a forum on india. this is about 25 minutes.

>> neither sam or i are running for the presidency. we're very privileged to have him here. there is a characteristic of innovation that i think is wrapped up in the story of sam and what he has done. so much innovation really only happens when a truly innovative person takes the idea and follows through on that. the second chapter of innovation is that it affects all groups of people, indeed whole nations. that is the story. he grew up in a small village in india. he ended up as an adviser to the regime of gandhi. that is chapter 1. chapter 2 is what he is in the midst of doing.

he is leaving for new delhi again on monday. what we start by telling them the 1980's chapter of this remarkable story of wiring a whole nation, not only that technical part, the wiring, but what it does for a country and its people. >> in 1980, i had served a company in chicago, and i decided to visit india after having made a little bit of money. i have never been to delhi. i was in a five-star hotel and could not make a telephone call to chicago. with arrogance and a little bit of ignorance, i said that i would fix this. i decided to commit back-and-

forth for several years, trying to convince governments that we needed to focus on it for nation building. i was convinced that communication technology brings about openness and connectivity, networking, democratization, decentralization, and social transformation. based on my own background, i was also convinced that technology is the great social level er. i believe technology can be an entry point to bring about generational change. i get a chance to meet miss gandhi then. i told her that we needed to focus on i.t., sustainability

through indigenous development, not relying on multinationals, and at the end, she said, what you want? i said get me some money and three years. we built all of the products that in the would need to wire role and urban india. we trained almost 30,000 people. that started a whole new revolution and then the new prime minister, i decided to come back to india, change by nason of c back from u.s. to india -- my nationality back from u.s. to india, and start

working on all aspects of telecom software. i remember jack welch coming to india. he wanted to meet at the prime minister who was busy. he asked me to handled jack. jack and i have breakfast. he said that he was here to sell engines. he said, i am -- i said, i am not here to buy engines. i'm here to sell you software. he said, i am not buying software. what do we do? finally he let me sell him to tell him a little bit i said, give me a $10 million order. it's jack davis a $10 million

order. i picked up the phone and that that is how the software industry us started in india. we had a great time in the 1980's. i was convinced that i.t. would change india, the democratization of information was changing -- transforming indian democracy. >> give us a sense of the scale of what you're talking about. when you started, how many phones in the population? >> in 1981, we had 2 million telephones for 800 million people. it used to take 15 years to get a telephone connection. if you got a connection, at the time you got out tons, half of the time you had to wait.

it used to take 25 connections to get a telephone connection. to go from the u.s. to india, one man wanted to get married and decided he was going to marry a telephone connection. [laughter] today we have 700 million mobile phones. we are adding 10 million to 15 million every month, new connections. in the next 34 months, we will probably have 900 million mobile phones. with the first time, a country of 1 billion people is connected. we aren't connected -- we are a nation of connected people. 10 years ago, we were a nation

of 1 billion unconnected people. my job is to look at public in frustration -- public information infrastructure. >> that is chapter 2. i want to wrap up chapter 1. when listening to you, it seems it is not difficult to wire up 1 billion people and so on. there were all sorts of obstacles that you had to overcome, some of which were sociological, some of which venal, some work infrastructures, through which you had to do to get into where it is. >> first of all, i had to decide that i wanted to build the nation and not build the business. i had to give up everything -- i took a one rupee salary for many

years. i had to take the ibm approach. simplicity, openness, transparency -- there were stories in india that there was a plan to demand in the prime minister's office, me. you're working with the system that does not expect outside intervention. to change it overnight. i had to give up my nationality. it was very painful but it had to be done. i have that children -- i have got children, one raised in chicago. my parents were in chicago. i moved my family and left my

parents there. it was pretty tough. i have all the support from the prime minister. the political will was very important. without political will, i could not have done what i did. then the real support came. in india, the have 550 million yen, below the age of 25. , below the age of 25. we need to build their future, their prosperity, jobs, education, that is the main challenge today. it was tough. >> and there were systemic problems. the nature of government, the level of corruption, lots of people benefited from the system the way i was. you had to get over all of that. now, chapter 2, which you are

engaged on now, it is even more pervasive and impressive than chapter 1. explain wiring the country for all the information in the use of clouds has a generating mechanism. >> for the last five years, i have been working on knowledge commission. seven of my colleagues and i look to this. access to knowledge which includes the languages, translations, broadband and others. school education, higher education, vocational education -- we've also looked at the creation of knowledge, patents, copyrights, for

entrepreneurship. the use of knowledge in agricultural e-governments. we spent five years preparing a road map for the next 28. it is all on the map. if you go to knowledgecommission.gov.in, you can find recommendations to the prime minister. for the last few years time focused on building six different platforms this predominately connected country. i will build a broad band platform, wiring all urban cities, all libraries, all institutions -- the government has already approved, it is

under way. then we will create a it platforms. the former head is working on that. 4 billion people will have ids, faces, fingerprints. then we will have applications, paid -- these are the six platforms that we need to create. to do this, we need to connect 250,000 local governments. we have 800,000 kilometers of fiber already underground, all dark fiber most of it. we are using that fiber for the

telephone companies to wire up all the local governments. it will improve education. last night, there was a discussion on education. they're really good thing was the role technology. people do not learn the same way i learned 50 years ago. the teacher does not deliver content. today most of the time, 90% of the time, the teacher creates content and delivers content. the role of the teacher would change to that of a mentor. how you define a new teacher? we're looking at a lot of new things in light of what technology can do. without technology, we cannot meet our aspirations. we don't have enough teachers,

we do not have an up buildings, not enough doctors -- everything that we plan to do in the next 10 or 20 years is going to be built on i.t. >> in the session on education, you mentioned -- one of the points that they made is that there is a built-in resistance to change that can be overcome to some extent. what you're proposing is even more radical than we were talking about in america. what is this a jubilation of the public in the government and the educational establishments as far as a change of that dimension? >> like here, we also have teachers' unions. we have a lot of lobbies. we also get lots and lots of resistance. our job is to go out to the public like a democracy, openly

promote our ideas, and carried the people with us. in many places it is a green field situation. i will give you one example. in the u.s., we have 12,000 centers for government. in india come we plan to build four. we're starting in 2010 as opposed to 1918. we have an advantage mainly because we are doing it now. they are counting on that. it is fighting the battle every day. >> the session we have coming up after this is on india and china. you obviously are taking some radically different approaches

to the use of technology and the use of information, because such different political systems. how would you characterize -- if i could put it this way -- the competition between these two great and very large countries and the roads that they are on, and what is your prospects? >> i don't see it as a competition. we had 1 billion people deserve, they have a billion people deserve. we're focusing on democratizing information. we're going to focus on an open government. they will focus on technology for public services, education, health. we have very serious problems of our own. the disparity between the rich and poor, educated and uneducated. typography -- 550 million below the age of 25.

it is not being done fast enough. our pattern will be different. it will be slower than china. in shanghai, the wanted to build a road going from the airport to the city. they drew a line and said that is the road. in india, you cannot do that. you have to go through like this. but that is the price you pay for democracy. and we're happy to do that. >> we describe a bit the scale of transformation that comes when you wire a whole country toward mobile telephones. what we did not do, and maybe we could do an example so that people can get an idea, how does it change life? in rural india today, which is fundamentally different now that you have telecommunication where

you did not have any of any kind before? >> interesting. first of all, people can pick up and call their member of parliament and scream. they think that is great. wycombe up at midnight. -- wake him up at midnight. two, they get a lot of information about their job, weather forecasting, information on seeds, pricing for the goods and services. if i have a lot of tomatoes to sell, i can find out where to sell. i think communication has opened their horizon. we still have a 19th century mindset, 20th-century processes, and 21st century needs. but when a little kid in a

village gets in front of a screen to visit the guggenheim museum, it changes his perception. when i came to america in 1964, i had never made a telephone call in my life. i had a master's in physics and i had never seen television. i knew how to design one, but i had never seen one. compared to that, kids today see the world day in and day out. so their aspirations are very different. their reflexes are very different. i think technology has given us a new road map to build the nation. we are excited about it. we think the next 25 years will be very particular for india. we have a window of opportunity for the next five years to seven years to put all of these things

in place. that is all someone like me at my age can do. >> this is a little off the subject, but we have a unique situation. you are an indian with a long american heritage. we have a president about to go to india on what is a more consequential trip than usual. what are some of your thoughts about what would happen on the strip, particularly in your area of modernization and development? what would you like to see come up? >> there are a lot of expectations about this trip. everyone believes that the oldest and the biggest democracy ies coming together would mean a lot to the world. we have signed a nuclear treaty. we need lots of energy. we believe in open government.

and i believe this visit of the president obama is being watched by the rest of the leaders in the world as an important event. i hope we can send the right signals to the world, that we want to build a different kind of world together. i think the u.s. needs india and indian needs the u.s., more so than ever before. earlier, the u.s. looked down on india, for a long time. there are all kinds of stories about how mrs. gandhi and reagan got along. i think it is about time to look in your eyes of the same level of respect and begin a whole new chapter. a lot of hope will be -- he will be spending two days in mumbai. we will see if he can work out

some programs on open government and send signals to the world that we want to democratize information. >> that is a good note. >> if you give me one minute, i forgot to talk about innovation. >> yes. >> we have set up an innovation council in india to look at five aspects of innovation. one, innovation as a platform. is not about products and services and technology and high-tech and laboratories. it is about innovations in government, the social sector, families, and looking at innovation as a platform. two, innovation for growth. we believe, especially i believe that the blessed problems in the

world -- the best problems in the world are sold for the rich. we want to get the best problem- solving for the poor. the world is looking to us to solve this problem. we want to create a new ecosystem for innovation, 3. we want to look at disposable vs. durable. we want to make sure innovation comes out of the labs and into the minds of the people. it will take a decade. but the process is on. >> thank you so much. that is quite a story. [applause]

it was a pleasure to have you here. >> thank you. >> now more from the daily beast innovators summit. this panel looks at the future growth of india and china. it is 40 minutes. this is about china and india, but i will throw in a third country, the u.s. there's a quite a bit of news coming up. there is the g-20 and what will happen in congress afterwards. we need to talk about how it relates to india and china. on our panel, starting on my far left, we have robert hormats.

he is currently in business, economic, and cultural affairs. we have the publisher of brave and investigative reporting. on my right, we have an mit professor of political economy and international management. on my far right is an economist formerly with goldman sacks. she has written a provocative book on how the west was lost. let's go started. bob, let me start -- first, we have a few statistics to give

people the scale of what we're dealing with and the change. china has the gross national product of about $5 trillion. compared to that, the u.s. has a gross national product of $15 trillion. but the chinese figure is growing at a rather dramatic rate and they are closing the gap all the time. the third player here, india, it is only about a fourth the size of china in terms of gnp. but the growth rates in all of these cases, except our own, are on a fast scale. china is expected to grow this next year at 9.5% and in debt at 9.8%. compared to them, we are expected to grow 2.5%. what do we expect from a trip that obama is taking and how special do we think this one is

vs. normal international presidential trouble? >> i think mr. especially number of ways. >> let's make sure everybody -- i think this trip is special in a number of ways. >> let's make sure ready can hear. >> a first of all, it is the longest time that president obama will have been outside of the united states. if you look at the path of this trip, there is an important signal. he is going from india to indonesia. then he is going to korea and japan. these are the four biggest democracies in that area. if you look at this trip, it is really to underscore several things. india, the growing importance of it in u.s. is political, security, and more.

it is growing into a vibrant democracy. south korea went from an authoritarian system to a democracy and now is a very prosperous system. of course, what our old allies in the region is japan. working with these countries, we do support democracies in the region. when you look at india, in particular, there is a tendency to look at india vs china. but it is in the and china. -- but it is india and china. india has demonstrated dollars to growth of the last several years. it is not depended as heavily on exports as china.

you do not have whatever the benefits to china has in terms of growth. one of them is not democratization of information. one of the points that the president will emphasize in india is how we can work with this democracy to work in respect with open government and democratization of information, increase trade, increase cooperation with india and the security of the indian ocean, and support for the politicians in india who have been reforming the country at a rapid rate. the meeting in korea is the meeting of the g-20. so india is an important part of the g-20. you need to have partners within the g-20 to cooperate on certain items. we will work with india very closely in the g-20 on a whole range of things. then he will go to japan for an summit.

-- aipac summit. the united states has not been playing as proactive their role in east asia as many countries would like. the fact that the president is making this trip and a visiting these countries, he will demonstrate the u.s. will play a much more proactive and energetic role in the asian region. this trip is designed to do that, not just because of china, although that is an important part. these countries want a strong american presence in the region, whether china is there or not. >> let me get you to address that point. we have had a policy for quite some time, public open engagement with china and not so

public containment -- containment is too strong, but this constraint. this is servicing that archipelago more than we have done in the past. i wonder if one of the reasons for that is the fact that china has recently gone far more belligerent in a number of ways against us in particular and the rules that we set in the norms for international behavior and its neighbors. >> trying to characterize china's position, i do think that the chinese have been asserting interest in the region, in particular areas in the region where the u.s. also has interests. secretary clinton made it clear in hanoi a few months ago that it matters, the territorial dispute issues, and are not issues that can be resolved by

china. the u.s. has a strong interest in this region as well. the neighbors of china want to make sure that the seventh fleet remains there, that american troops/marines remain in okinawa, and especially with what is going on with japan and china. asserting that the south china sea is not china's lake is a demonstration that the united states is trying to exercise a strong military role in terms of countering china, but to demonstrate that the united states has strong interest there that other countries in the region have strong interest through our presence in the region to underscore those interests. but the other point is economic. if we will grow -- we heard the panel yesterday talk about weak growth in this country. if we will grow this economy and create jobs, one of the major

ways of doing it is to demonstrate that we can work with these other countries to expand markets in the asian region. that is an important part of recovery now and domestic prepared for the next several decades to come. we want to -- and domestic prosperity for the next several decades to come. by going there and participating in the g-20, the aipac conversation in japan, we want to say we have a strong economic role to play in the region by demonstrating that we are working with countries, our friends and allies, and continue to have a strong security interest in the region and we want to strengthen political cooperation with these other democracies. the chinese have what they call a string of pearls, where they develop commercial relations throughout the region from china all the way through to sri lanka.

but we have a string of very strong democracies that we want to work with in our own interest, not so much against china, but to show that we have a sustaining role in the region. >> this is a new phenomenon to a certain extent. the receptivity to american role -- eran aggressive >> i think our neighbors feel more reassured by america being there than in america receding in terms of its economic, political, and security role in the region. bear in mind that the united states has been encouraged by every country in the region, including vietnam. it is one of the strongest advocates of the united states continuing to play an active role in the region. virtually every country in the region wants it. the old notion of balance of power is not a conventionally used word, but i think there is

a feeling that a strong american presence in the region is very comfortable. we do not have territorial objectives in the region. but we do play and have for long time played a strong and balancing security role in the region. i think that is what they want to see us do more proactively. secretary clinton has been doing this with her trips. president obama will make this point very clearly. we want more trade with the region. and we have an abiding long-term security role. these are important to us. you can do this with a security role, but you also have to keep a lot of economic engagement. >> let's go inside china for a moment. revaluation of currencies is a hot topic right now. it is likely to come up at the g 20.

-- at the g-20. i want to hear more house important a factor this is in china's success story versus a number of other factors. >> that is a very good question. if you look at the chinese roles in the last 30 years, in the first 15 years or so, it was mostly domestically driven. domestic consumption was rising extremely fast in the 1980's and the early part of the 1990's. one of the reasons was that you cited a figure about the gdp growth. it has been fast. it has been 8% to 9% consistently for the past 30 years. but if you look at personal income growth, it has been extremely uneven in the last three years. in the first 15 years, the growth was very fast. personal income growth powered personal consumption.

that was a typical growth story when gdp was growing and consumption was growing. what has happened in the last 10 years or maybe the last 15 years is that the household income is like the united states, if you look at median income growth in this country. it is relatively flat. it is not flat in china, but relative to gdp growth and income growth, it is flat. personal consumption has suffered. i would view the currency issue more as a result of those factors that have inhibited the growth of the personal income rather than a deliberate policy , that sort of mercantilism philosophy. one of the consequence of the relatively slower pace of income growth is that a lot of jobs

have been created in the export sector. that becomes a political issue. how can they be right when they say that the currency issue is not a technical issue, but a political issue? but the reason it is a political issues that some much of the job creation is concentrated in the export sector. if you look at the service sector of the chinese economy, is 40% of the gdp, much lower compared to india. the service sector is one of the most labor-intensive sectors. i would argue that the way to go forward is not so much to focus on the currency issue on the chinese side. it is to further creating jobs. >> you mentioned the human situation in china. for the last three decades, china has had 15-year program after another mainly focused -- had one five-year program after

another lonely focused on infrastructure. they have another one starting that is on investments. but it is different. >> is an interesting shift. it is subtle, but it is an important shift. >> it is not so subtle. >> the outsiders look at the five-year plan and they think it is a homogeneous. this one is different. this one is a result of the fact thehe requisitiorecognition tht personal income growth has lagged gdp growth. "inclusive growth" has made it into the official document about economic development and economic growth. china has a higher or comparable level of income inequality as

compared to the united states. the coefficient is very high and what many people do not know is that china, in the first 15 years of the reforms, has had a slight improvement in income distribution. it was really in the last 15 years that income inequality becomes a huge issue. they have massive importation for politics, for society. i am happy that, for the first time, at that level, they recognize it as a problem and began to address it. >> to summarize it, it looks like they will invest -- if they follow through -- in education, social services, and knowledge-based job creation. we may not notice it that much right away, but, within a few

years, you will notice a tremendous change. >> in terms of the science and technology, they have made massive investments all along. the r&d share of gdp is may be about 1.8%. typically, you have to% or that range for more developed companies. to have such a high ratio is very dramatic. if you look at the chinese scientific publications, the number is rising. >> the number patents are way up, to. >> -- way up, too. >> science and technology capabilities are rising significantly. the issue is not about the

science and education. it is more about the -- many people do not know that china has, in the last 15 years, invested less in basic education as compared to other countries. the shortage of the public investments was more than made up by private investment, by royal household, by the peasants. but the problem there is that, if you add the households, you have a high percentage of their income in basic education. then do not ask them to consume televisions and electronics and bicycles and all these other things that your economy is producing. this is the social contract. now there recognize that the lack of public spending on education is hindering. in china, if you talk about economics, if you link the lack

of social investments, the people are not spending because i have to spend so much on their basic education and they do not have the money to spend on other things. >> let's turn to india for a second. it has followed in the wake of china, several decades later, with sustained large growth increases. it is an economic miracle of the sort. although, you have been very forthright in pointing out some of the holes in the pizza, soda speak, and the things that are either not being -- so to speak, and the things that are either not being addressed or will not be addressed. talk to us about the current situation and sociology in india and where you think is going. >> everyone is assessed for the

american dream. in india, -- everyone is obsessed with the american dream. in india, it is kind of an obsession with the kind of equality, liberty, and compassion. these are the deep ideas that were sunk by the founding fathers, an outstanding group of men. the one thing that resonated most strongly is that he has to be a gandhian to do his work. in india today, you have a situation where you have a very large number people, two hundred million or 300 million, who have

economic growth. but you also have 700 million people who still not have a story to their lives. you talk about a population of africa that lives in such abhorrent poverty. it is terrific that we'll have mobile phones, but the truth is that there are many people, 500 million people in india who still need sustainable food. a lot of the conversation, what would work for america? what would work for india? we have a lot of problems. what excites india about america are americans.

we do not like at all american for policy and the way it has played out. for many decades, america has backed a very undemocratic series of regimes. >> is a new head magician. [laughter] >> are you less optimistic about the relationship? >> similarly optimistic about the synopsis. i'm hugely optimistic about it at the people level. i have friends who live in america and they are very much part of american culture today. when i meet my american friends,

i resonate to them very slow and we -- very strongly. but when you look at american for policy, there is a lot we fall back on. i do not think we are obsessing about china. if china is of assessing about us -- is obsessing about us, we have 800 million people that we have to feed and educate and it is a huge yard. india's best and brightest are not trying to make a great corporations and great wealth. it is up to hundreds of these guys to crack the conundrum of extreme poverty in india. i am little amused that i would imagine that, if you lack economic well-being, you would be neurotic about it. but a lot of the conversation here has been that an incredibly

economic powerful country. without a single inflexion a more principles in that conversation, it is about the money that china has. we do not get any tech marks in india for practicing a democracy, which is very complementarcomplicated. we do a better job of managing our democracy. there is a kind of innocence at large. we are a complex country. we're trying to deal with things in a complex web. i do not think that it is china

or america that people in india would obsess about. it is usually imperfect as a society. but the the idea behind that is fairly sound. we are a work in progress. i think we are doing it the right way. >> you have provided quite a bit of coverage on corruption as an issue. how serious is it? is it growing? will the economic growth for it continue? >> for some reason, it is linked to corruption issues. to me, it is a symptom, not a cause. i think the causes inequality. if you have any quality at the scale that we have in india, correction is inevitable. -- corruption is inevitable.

we have religious trouble, cast trouble, we have the second largest population of muslims in the world. there is the right-wing hindu stream. i think these are greater battles in india. >> you have some very vigilant maoist up to the north. >> we have sought a government policy that is more humane toward this idea of the maoist period actually, -- of the maoist perio. most people that a line around them are the poorest of the poor. they have been driven to the gun because the state's policies have failed them for decades. you need to adopt a more humane

approach. you need to provide food and education and you need to stop going into the forest and dumping these guys out. every single corp. in india today wants a part of the forest. >> we will turn to you in just a few minutes. please think up some questions. raise your hand and i will call on you. >> you have one of the more dramatic news. there is a debate going on about whether the decline we are

suffering in the u.s. is a bad pass for a while or are we on some historical decline that will go on and on. you have some rather dramatic figures. >> i am glad i am speaking after him because it is important, this discussion about what is going on in the u.s. should be set in this context. an article came out last week about restoring the american dream. in it, it talks about how he was raised in india, watching dallas and how he was completely obsessed with the big here, the cars, and the shiny americans. the thing that struck me the most growing up in africa was that i had the same experience. we have 1 billion people in africa, of which 60% are under the age of 24 and living in dire

poverty. everything we discussed here apply to an opera for club -- apply to africa tenfold. capital, labor, and productivity drive growth. if you look at the quality and quantity around capitol, labor, and productivity, is clearly a story that it leads toward the emerging world. in many ways, because of the structural issues we have been discussing around the united states in the last couple of days, it is leaning against the united states. i do not think the united states is all over, said and done. but i think there are a lot of policy issues, not just around the united states specifically, but also having gauge with bigger regions, such as 1 billion people in africa -- but

also how they engage with bigger regions, such as 1 billion people in africa. we have to start to have a bigger engagement and a bigger discussion around what america's role will be, particularly given that, in places like africa, the united states policy and approach has been one couched in aid. but now, africans and the african leadership has decided that that has not worked for 60 years. they are demanding more. they're very simple people. we want what you want. we want education and health care. the reality is that there are more potential sources and financial opportunities with the chinese and the indians. i hope the next time we sit up hear about thell

president traveling to lend, not to give. the issues are much bigger than that. >> there is a very big one for us that you focus in on. we made such a mess of things that, for a time, we need to close our economy for a time, create jobs, and take care of our own people. protectionism may be more current. >> my next book argues that the u.s. is facing what i call a hobson's choice. you have two alternatives. either you stay open to the rest of the world or you close up and try to figure out how to deal with what i believe are structural issues. i think the u.s. will be facing

structural unemployment. this is someone -- this is someone that no one in this room has experienced a loss to come from outside. i know that the u.s. people are left or right or democratic or republican or black or white. no one wants to have a discussion about protectionism. given the fact that you have a large number of jobs that are and, if you looktha at what globalization has done in terms of the ginnie coefficient, there should be spaced to have a clear discussion around what the possibilities around having some sort of protectionism is at least until you can fix some of the structure problems in this country. i know people do not like that discussion. they claim that, because we're so integrated now, it would not

be possible to have some kind of more aggressive protectionist policies. but the reality is that it has to be on the table and not just on the fringe of the discussion. it has to come back into the mainstream. >> maybe we can get that discussion started here. but it will have to be brief because we're constrained for time. >> that is the worst possible answer. it is not an either/or question, whether we are protectionist or not protectionists. many countries are far more open to the global economy and have much less income disparity than the united states does. scandinavia, they are far more open to the global economy. the problem with the united states in terms of dealing with policies is it will not deal with protectionism or restricting the flow of immigrants or restricting the inflow of capital. i think the question is will we

be the number one economy or the leading economy of the next 20 years to 30 years? the wrong way to do it is to cut ourselves off from global competition. the right way to do is to go back to the first pamela discussed yesterday and deal with our own internal issues in a more purposeful way. education, we're not dealing with education. we will now be world-class economy 20 years from now without a world-class education today. we do not need protectionism to do infrastructure. we need a purposeful approach to do with that. we need to reduce energy dependence. we have the capability to do that. we need to get our country to address this. we need to deal with a number of internal structural issues on our own.

to say that the rest of the world as the cause of our problems diverts us. cutting us off from competition is exactly the wrong answer and countries that have done that in the past have not succeeded. they have failed. in this global economy, it would be so disruptive to the average american consumer and the average american consumer. they need to expand jobs and profits. the asian economy is a competitive economy. you have to have free flow of information and goods and services. that is a good issue to debate. >> we will have to stop and get a few questions in before closeout in five minutes.

>> for the past 40 years or 50 years, the pla has been cooperative with the u.s. military. however, the last decade, the new guard has been inculcated with the paradigm with the united states, particularly the u.s. military, the enemy of china. what does this say of the u.s.- china relationship? >> i am not an expert on the military. you are right that china is not a democracy, but i have to say

that the internet technologies -- this is an innovation summit -- the internet technology is dramatically affecting the political discourse and the discussions in china. there is a rising level of transparency in china on the internet. the official channels are trying to suppress the information, but they are succeeding, but not completely. there is more transparency now. about the pla, the kind of claims that china has been making about the china sea and others, they have remained remarkably consistent. what has changed, obviously, is the power that china has today to make similar claims in 1972 that will not have the same impact that you do now when it

is the second largest economy in the world. in the communique, there was a reference to south asia. a lot of my friends were angry. how can the u.s. and china get together and talk about issues related to south asia? the reference point has changed. i am not sure how much the record has changed. the power itself has changed. it is tough. >> it is. we are virtually out of time. but i want to give them a chance for a very quick summary. let's start with you.

>> i want to underscore that everything has to be on the table. i do not think we cannot read dismiss certain things because we have an emotional attachment to the status quo. i do agree that having an open society where capital and trade moves freely is something that we should all aspire to and want. but the fact of the matter is that the united states has a history of preaching "do as i say, not as i do." the u.s. has intervened in a number of sectors. this is just another way of saying that it is important for us to have the discussion about the implications are. i do believe that there are gains clearly for the u.s. in terms of trade, but i think that we should be open-minded to the fact that you could see an increasing coefficient in terms of income inequality.

we should at least have the space to have that discussion. it is not crazy. i do think that is the most important thing to remember. >> largely, i think that in his success or failure will weigh very heavily on the world. successnk that india's or failure will weigh very heavily on the world. if india succeeds, i think a new kind of ideal will come into play. there are hundreds of volumes of gone these writings -- of ghandi's iwritings. one thing he spoke about very

intelligently is the idea of sustainable life. that idea will come back in the coming decades to haunt us in a huge way. there is the question of productivity and growth, but there's also the question of consumption. maybe it might find roots again in india and take flour. we will see then. >> just before we quit, she mentioned an article that i think is in the "time" magazine issue that came out on friday. it is not an op-ed column. it is a very long and detailed cover story and a striking one. he takes a position that i have not heard him tick before. he does not go all the way to protectionism, but he does say that we need to rethink how when

do we will be and what kinds of initiatives we will launch now to close the gap that is growing between us and some of the state capitals countries of the moment. help me think this panel for this discussion. [applause] thank you. >> next, a discussion on how the u.s. is responding to china's significant increase in military spending. from today's "washington journal," this is 40 minutes. a republican house. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our guest is drew thompson, director of chinese policy at the nixon center. some say that china is a growing threat. is it? guest: threat is a combination of capability and intent. we can track their capability, but it is difficult to know what their intent is.

it is an opaque system and we do not have a lot of cooperation with them at the moment. there is a lot of mistrust in the relationship, and mistrust goes both ways other countries have robust military and they are not a threat. we have a much better sense of intent. with china, we don't have much sense of that. host: if you look at the united states, $663 billion, compared to chat, $98.8 billion. we are at spinning china but a lot. -- we are outspending china by a lot. guest: there is a lot of question about the methodology, how they come to that number. the real question is, again, what are they going to do with that? a lot of their investment is not improving significant abilities, in some cases direct a -- against -- a lot of their investment is on improving

significant capabilities, in some cases directed against the united states. if you look at how they ship their military, much of the spending went towards improving the likelihood of the soldiers. the increase the budget for food sought to elect 50 cents per day for soldier that is suddenly millions and millions of dollars. one has to take a surge in grain of salt with the total amount -- a certain grain of salt with the total amount. i the way, it is on an upward growth trajectory. -- either way, it is on an upward growth trajectory. host: there is military tension right now. why? guest: i would not call attention so much as mistrust maybe we don't appreciate one another. the united states does not have many competitors. the only potential competitor on the distant horizon is possibly china. there is mistrust, there is not a lot of the mountains of

cooperation between the two, and that is how the u.s. builds its cost with other partners in countries, we cooperate together -- builds trust with other partners and countries, that we cooperate together. there is a deficit in the amount of we trust one another. that is not the same as the tensions. there are interests or we have chinese platforms and u.s. bonds in close proximity. -- chinese platforms and you as platforms, and to close proximity. host: the president is skipping town and this could add to the mistrust or whatever is going on -- is skipping china and this could add to the mistrust or whatever is going on between the countries. guest: he has made that visit, and president hu jintao is

supposed to come to the united states in january. he has of the places he has to visit, including a long- postponed trip to indonesia, where he spent time as a young man. i think it is difficult to say that it is a mistake to skip china. we are expecting secretary of defense dick to visit china at some point before he leaves off -- secretary of defense robert gates to visit china at some point before he leaves office. look at where secretary clinton and robert gates are right now, in asia. they've been going back constantly. the u.s. presence in the region is fairly significant, and it is not just about china. host: 4 the chinese, culturally, what does it mean that secretary gates did not expect an invitation from china and now he says he will go, and for the chinese and their culture, what

does it mean? anything? nothing? guest: i don't think it means anything specific rate and terms of culture, you have to look it -- the more broadly -- i don't think it means anything specific. in terms of culture, you have to look into a more broadly than just the schedules. the impression was, certainly in southeast asia, but the west is not maintaining a very active presence politically -- that the u.s. was not attending a very active presence politically, diplomatically, and that needed to be corrected. some people see the u.s. as had a containment strategy and there are fear mongers and had their -- fear mongers in their culture who worry about the relationship with the u.s. and see the u.s. with mal intent. host: we are talking about

china's military buildup. drew thompson is the china studies director at the nixon center. what is the pla? guest: people's liberation army, 2.2 million chinese citizens who are active service members in the defense of their own country. it has a long and rich history, starting out with the civil war period. it is essentially the party of the army, the army responsible for keeping the communist party in power. it is a professional army, for sure. host: what impact does a buildup of the pla have for america and other countries? guest: that is an open question. the build itself is not necessarily a challenge or threat.

the question is what do they intend to do, what is the nature of the buildup? that is a question that japan and other countries in asia -- they have to engage china very carefully and cooperate wherever possible to determine what the intent is. the build runs a lot of risks. china has engaged in a very progressive modernization process, but it controls the pace of that itself. it determines how fast it wants to grow, a major concern amongst chinese strategists is that they get caught up in an arms race. unfortunately, they have found ourselves in another plastic and traditional security bill, -- found themselves in a rather plastic and additional security dilemma. it is spiraling into something more expensive than they intended. host: i want to get out there

for our viewers your background on the issue. guest: well, i have lived in china for about 10 of lthe last 20 years. when i was not living there, i was working and studying on projects for china. i've been working on policy issues here in washington for about 10 years now. host: oregon, mark, democratic line. you are the first color. caller: good morning, folks. thank god for c-span. sir, your expertise is appreciated. for me, all of this revolves taiwan,ime -- around and that which is going on around north korea. what is the inability -- inevitability that taiwan is eventually going to become part

of china, and what will the creek for us? -- what will that create for us? guest: taiwan is central to the military and security relationship with the united states, and it has always been something of a challenge. in 1932, the negotiated document a -- 1972, the negotiated document between the chinese and president nixon noted taiwan as a divisive factor that we needed to manage. it is impossible to predict how taiwan will turn out. the mainland's an-- mainland and taiwan are inextricably linked to the question is whether a peaceful resolution will be achieved to the satisfaction of the taiwanese people. it will continue to be a source

of stress as the u.s. maintains its commitment to tim -- t o o taiwan. it places taiwan in a position of strength. it is somewhat ironic that much of the tension that has occurred in the last year has been related to the announcement of taiwan.sale tuppeo but it occurs at that time went across great relationship -- cross-strait relationship is at its best place ever. host: tweet here. guest: that is a really good question. china has been investing really

heavily in creating new submarines and a land-based missile defense. it has been actively getting technology, both domestically and imports and other means to create an effective classic strategic deterrence. that said, it is still very small. and as a handful of missiles compared to the united states. if we look at the negotiations with the russians at the moment, china is a marginal actor, as the u.s. and russia compared their stockpiles. china has the minimal means for deterrence. the use this summer it is important, because that provides -- more c-span.org -- the use of submarines is important, because that provides a more active deterrence. submarines are very difficult to deter, very difficult to track.

most of the countries in the area don't possess adequate capability to conduct an -- to conduct anti-submarine acts. host: ohio. good morning, gary. caller: since we are spending six times more than -- host: than china. caller: ok, and the reason for that is all of our foreign aid is on the military bill. if they are going to talk about putting money and cutting -- cutting money and cutting money from social security, they have to start with foreign aid. it is all wrapped up together. why is a person from industrial

part of your background be -- or about the military buildup if it was not just to protect our interests of big companies in china? guest: well, i mean, if you are looking at economic interests abroad, both the united states and china have a significant international interests that they have to protect, and the military is one tool to protect them. if you look at the u.s. marine corps, one of their primary missions abroad is not just invading countries like afghanistan and providing security there but evacuate american citizens in places -- n citizens from places where there has been a natural disaster or unrest the united states will

need to protect investments abroad. it has gotten more and more economic interests, and more and more major chinese companies are investing abroad i infrastructure. the pla will eventually be called upon to protect those interests, either directly or indirectly, putting boots on the ground when needed to evacuate chinese citizens, or supporting foreign militaries or the investments are to protect chinese interests, much like the u.s. does one cooperating with allies abroad. guest: space and cyber is a complicated issue an important one. secretary gates in ' has

announced any partnership initiative -- in australia has announced eight new partnership initiative for surveillance. australia is uniquely qualified because of its location. remember when john glenn flew over in his first flight and perth turn on the lights for him -- it is at the crossroads of space. it is natural that we would work together on that. that is not as heavily -- not necessarily geared to confront china. there is a need for this regardless of china's rise. all countries face cyber threats. last week, we had a major attack in denmark, and we don't of -- who conducted -- we had an attack in myanmar, and we don't know who conducted it. it may have been the myanmar

government. it's hard to pin down. there is a universal need for developing nations to build cyber infrastructure to defend themselves. there is no reason that china cannot be part of an architecture and the feature that contributes to the security and -- the internet -- part of an architecture in the future the contribute to the security of the internet. host: next call. caller: the question i had was already asked about the monetary amounts. my idea is to cut the military and half -- military in half and use the money to help us your incident using the money to help everybody ever placed -- to help us here instead of using the money to help everybody everyplace else. host: this is the topic this

morning, china's military buildup. drew thompson is the china studies director at the nixon center. michael on the republican line in sterling heights, michigan. caller: i am of the vietnam veteran and i am apprehensive about red china. the red chinese have killed 61 million people. communism was caused more human misery, death, and despair that all of the annals of human experience. it is not on the scale as under mao zedong but it is still a totalitarian system. guest: china is still a police state, but they are a far cry from the comments of the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's -- from the communists of the 1950's,

1960's, 1970's. they have opened their economy and lifted hundreds of millions of poverty. the standards of living are much greater than they were 30 years ago. the question is, how is the u.s. going to adapt to the changes, how will we coopt china, and how will we help china should its choices so that it can treat its own people with compassion and dignity and make sure that their rights are protected as well as being irresponsible pleasure to turn the current -- as well as being a responsible player, the term at the current administration is using, are around the world? host: medina, ohio, leslie, go ahead. caller: drew, thank you for your candid and honest report.

it is refreshing. china has changed, and to the vietnam veteran, he is right on, and it is something that can come back, even though it has moved from the vill -- veitnam era. we have got to spend our military resources on anti- submarine were for a -- warfare. at how we collect the money -- and how will we collect the money they vote? guest: in terms of chinese holdings of u.s. treasuries, it is about 6% or 7%. it is far from being a dominant older -- holder. that should make us all take a deep breath and pause.

china cannot use its holdings of treasuries as economic leverage against the united states. it would not be in their interest rate it would harm their currency as well as ours. they contain no advantage to doing that. -- they can gain no advantage by doing that. i think it is really a non- issue. it happened in the last election cycle -- it is not a weapon. in terms of the chinese submarine abilities, they are growing, but they are a long wait from being able to operate abroad. they are still a coastal forts, and if you look at the way china is investing in its navy, they are looking more and in -- investing in coastal craft than the blue water may navy. the 10,000 at the stores would be the largest ones in its fleet

-- the 10,000 destroyers would be the largest ones in its fleet. only two are on a range with the largest u.s. frigates. in terms of the submarine, isn't asymmetrical threat. -- it is an asymmetrical threat. the u.s. has a fairly strong capabilities to protect its floating assets. the real trick is working with our allies in japan, south korea, malaysia, to help build their capacities and defend their maritime rounds so that they can ensure that when some marines entered their territory, it is peaceful -- submarines enter the territory, is peaceful. host: republican line, you are on with drew thompson.

caller: i want you to address why china is doing what is doing, and go back to the first of the unequal treaties, the treaty of nanking, and how all these wars began because of trade deficits with the british. this is white china today is doing what they are doing grid -- why time that today is doing what they are doing. history repeats itself, but the circumstances are always different. when the british assault on the faulty chips before, -- they lost -- one of the british sold them at befall the ships will for -- sold them the faulty ships before, they lost the battle. they know their history and

past. host: sounds like she knows the history as well. guest: up until 1997, when hong kong was returned, they see that as the century of humiliation. it was a time of great uncertainty and tortured. -- and hardship. they were grappling with the challenge of bringing in foreign technology, and was a big challenge, and they did not succeed. i had a different formula where they can bring in technology -- they have a different formula with a can bring in technology and they are not worried as much about the communist party mandate. we see the same thing with the internet. when the internet was introduced into china, we thought it would be the undoing communism and the

leadership. it has not turned out that way. they had adapted they are continuing to adapt. the world is not as bismarckian as it was. china is not falling into the same trap as the soviet union dead. the question is whether or not the new security relationship in the future is going to help the united states and china or whether it will be 80 some equation -- whether it will be a zero sum equation. host: 4 worth, texas, john on the democratic line. caller: thank you. i find it a little bit ironic that the trillion dollars we owe china was entirely borrowed that could invade iraq and afghanistan. it seems like your guest is currently concerned about the buildup of the chinese military.

one of the previous callers said it is not even 1/10 at the size of our own military. correct me if i'm wrong, but i see that as the ankle you are taking here. guest: there is a lot of distrust of the united states abroad. there's a lot of concern that the united states means other countries harbor we see that a lot in central asia. -- there is a lot of concern that the united states means other countries harm. we see that a lot in central asia. the u.s. presence there they don't see as legitimate, they don't see it as being endorsed by the united nations. china is not injured into security efforts in afghanistan -- china is not contributing to security efforts in afghanistan. they don't see us as a trust for the actors in central asia -- as

trust with the actors and central asia. they see a different model were they would like a more consensus-driven approach that is more encompassing. and unfortunately, one that potentially excludes the united states. that is where the u.s. needs to push back, partly because our presence in these organizations were the chinese have a dominant presence is an important way to show the chinese and other countries that our intentions are generally positive. host: steve is joining us on the democratic line. caller: my comment is simply, i believe that china is in a lot of ways wiser than we are because they know history better than we are. china has very little interest in -- and thanks very little about taking us over -- thinks

very little about taking us over or competing militarily. they are building their military because they have to in this world, but they have figured out a way to weaken our country and strengthen their country is economically. guest: i think there is something to that. the real challenges economic interests and protecting them, but around the world and at home. the military has a minor role to play there. it is more important that the u.s. continues to pursue a trade agenda more aggressively, that it does not sit back and lose out in the realm of economic condition. we see china forming a free trade relationships with the allies.ost important

yet we are still providers up security. look at asean. even as the u.s. relationship with several asean countries grows, china has trade agreements with all of them. that concerns many countries in southeast asia. they are economically dependent on china, and china might use that as coercion. i think it is difficult to see at this point, but in the future is a possibility. the trading relationship between the u.s., china, and the rest of the world is complicated and integrated. but thankfully, in some ways, it is not really a security question. the role the military here is ensuring of freedom of navigation, freedom of control. that is an area where you see positive developments. you see china's contribution to the maritime policy missions in

africa, cargo to and from the gulf. it is a vital contribution to security, and an area where china and the u.s. have a similar goals. all countries have a similar interest there. it is the areas where economic interest coincide with mutual security interests and we have opportunities to cooperate. host: drew thompson is the nixon center's china studies director. line.n the republican mode caller: i would like to see comments on at the position of the philippines and that part of the world as we close down military bases, and appoint a submarine -- a point with the

submarines is also being closed. if you read about world war ii, that is every geographically important part of the world. guest: it is, but the uss made it very clear that it will --us has made it very clear that it will maintain the structure. it is not looking to expand, secretary gates has made that clear. but is looking to expand with a military allies, and it is that just southeast asia, but northeast asia as well -- not just south east asia, but northeast asia as well. the philippines is critical, but the u.s. as determine that maintaining a civilian relationship with the leadership is more important than maintaining these bases that

date back to world war ii. the infrastructure in places like guam, building relationships with the singapore, settling issues with japan -- we have a lot of debate about the status of okinawa. host: a couple more phone calls. harrisburg, pennsylvania, independent line. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. mr. thompson, i hear more about the chinese military buildup. i go back to november 1950, and the puppet regime in north korea and the lives lost and the frozen feet and hands of our soldiers that did not have the proper equipment to fight. i think about that, and i think about what they might do in the

ensuing year or two or possibly five if they have a troop buildup if they go after soft. and the korean peninsula -- if they go after south korea on the korean peninsula. guest: since normalizing relations with south korea in 1992, they have had a fairly balanced relationship and the balance it with north korea. i don't think there is concern in south korea about china somehow invading south korea. again, there is economic interdependence between the two countries. china -- it is their no. 1 trading partner. there is concern in south korea

but the economic relationship that surpasses the european or u.s. relationship might translate into a lack of leverage. i'm not a big believer in that. i think it has proven so far to be effective. an active trading relationship was not created a different security environment. it is not about whether the economic relationship creates leverage. it is about what the to these countries can maintain economic dynamism -- it is about whether each of these countries can make an economic dynamism. should there be a situation where china is compelled to send forces to north korea, it is impossible to know what the terms would be or what the causes would be. it is hard to predict the future in this respect. we have been guessing that north korea would collapse for a

long time and we have been wrong. the prospects are slim at the moment, but if we look at the china and north korea relationship, china is committed to making sure north korea -- to ensuring north korea's survival. but that is not a military equation, it is mostly an economic one. it provides investment to north korea to keep its infrastructure rowling. that is how they are supporting it, not with weapons or troops. host: washington, d.c., go ahead. caller: you have described how china is building an asymmetrical capacity in the taiwan area to deter the united states from coming to taiwan's

defense but i want you to comment on our end to do it -- our ambiguity to not coming to the defense of taiwan. guest: the u.s. is committed to helping taiwan defend itself. i think that the current president of taiwan is on track towards that. he used his first term to cement an economic relationship that benefits taiwan and now he is looking for political advances in its next term. he has hinted that there are opportunities for dialogue between the two sides, opportunities to attract two, associations with retired officers, as well as the possibility for a peace treaty. there are positive developments

that the u.s. policy towards taiwan have been able. host: 10 at t -- tennessee, you have a question or comment? caller: i wish the united states would stop spending so much money on defense, being a threat to the rest of the world, and perhaps the rest of the world would look at us and say, "we don't have to spend all our money on defense." we are the only country taking over other countries. host: republican line, and new jersey. caller: two things. one, in general, i see the threat of war in the next 10 to 15 years to be quite large. if you look at it in terms of history, china has abandoned communism. there is the old story that nobody believes in communism except american college professors.

china has instead taken up the 19th century nationalism that is giving its people a unifying idea, which is the source of all the troubles of europe in the 20th century. i think that we sort of seat china with the same sort of psychology that germany had vis- a-vis where the u.s. as the hegemon is denying china its place in the sun. ec had a lot on chinese chat boards where they log on to make comments, were they constantly referred to the united states as holding china down. and anything that was it a tribute, a tributary or possession of the chinese empire, should by natural light be under the sway of beijing

today. and contrary to what democrats have said, the united states military -- there is a basic misconception. we pay our pride its $20,000, sgt $40,000, colonels and generals $150,000. the huge military budget we have is a lot personnel expense that people like china do not carry. host: we will get a response because we don't have a lot of time. guest: we don't have a lot of time to answer every complex question. i don't think we're headed to war with china or anyone else but the u.s. has a fairly good image abroad in many places. the countries that fear the worst of the united states are the ones that know the least about it and have least contact. it is monday, which all the optimists to date. i see this as and -- we should

all be optimists today. i see this as an opportunity to cooperate where possible. that is where the pla presents a number of opportunities. him and carried assistance in disasters. -- humanitarian assistance in disasters. the incidents recently where pla doctors serve on u.s. medical ships to learn from each other and build relationships. we are increasingly seeing extended the personnel -- exchanges of personnel. as that goes on, we will see less and less of these extremist views on chinese blogs. when they have the opportunity to meet u.s. officers and find out that we are not hellbent to invade china or central asia or colonize the rest of the world. they are not seeking at the moment to expand their

territory. there are lingering territorial disputes, but jchina at the way it is now is the way it is next, we hear remarks from the u.s. ambassador to saudi arabia. this is 30 minutes. >> the ambassador to saudi arabia. he served earlier in the kingdom and his military career role. he attained the rank of flak officer in -- in the armed services.

>> i want to thank you for the opportunity to come back here and present. i am just back from seattle this morning, where we have had a reverse the trade mission from new york to seattle. i will talk about that later. some of you have come here for insight, but i have to remind you that if you look at the program, i am really just the warm-up act for the muppets. i do not know how that will fit on my resume. before i go into my remarks, i would like to digress just a minute and address this marvelous group of cadets.

it was 40 years ago this year that i embarked on a journey of service. i graduated from the air force academy and my twin brother graduated from the virginia military institute. i can assure you that it is a journey that will take you to unexpected places that will have unexpected turns, but it is a career of service that is a magna rafik -- magnificent career. a life of service in as many forms. for those of us to find ourselves jogging in the twilight of our careers, we are encouraged that you have such a wonderful generation to hand the baton to. we wish you well and we ask you to run a good race.

it is good to take this opportunity to reflect. i want to give me some insight into where it -- into what we will be doing over the next few years. before embarking on the path, and that with every former ambassador going back over 20 years. he's faced very unique circumstances and had unique challenges. i will argue that -- it often frames what you can do. it also france your limitations. preparing for a new assignment. it was in your next speaker today that i found inspiration. he found himself in the united states in a very difficult time.

he traveled to nearly 35 states trying to have a conversation with people about what saudi arabia was and what the importance of the bilateral relationship. if you take nothing else away from this discussion, please understand my personal commitment to continuing that conversation from my end. it must continue in both of our countries as we move forward to facing the key problems impacting our nation's and the world. i came with one clear goal, to put into practice the vision that president obama set forth in the cairo speech. to refresh and relationship with muslim communities around the world. and to form a relationship based

on mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual interest, and mutual was possibility. this has served as an important guideline. to begin with, our relationship has caused us to broaden our mission and objectives and operation. saudi arabia had one year, accompanied to wars. it was imperative to get back to two-year torso that we have stronger expertise and stronger working relationships. i think i commented to this group last year that this was our number one priority. i am proud to tell you that families of our diplomats have

returned to mission saudi arabia adult ripostes. i firmly believe that you cannot have a mature relationship in a country, a country that is so centered on the family, if you leave your families at home. in the past, what did that tell our partners? they told our partners that we were ready to leave in a moment's notice. understanding the security situation and the enormous amount of work that the government of saudi arabia has done to change the dynamic there, the state department was very helpful in november of last year and we moved families back. we're back to two-year assignments. we have families back and two months ago, we had the first baby born to the american community in saudi arabia and other six years. families are back. my experience tells me that you cannot do the job of

representing the united states isolated behind walls. saudi arabia, we spent a years building walls. without families. we are now moving to a more visible u.s. presence. more openness, and expanded contacts with the press and the media. it has advanced the impact of our work. in addition, we are also reconnecting with the american community. over the last few weeks, i have attended a number of business events and all three of those and each time i asked, how many in the business audience is new

to saudi arabia? i get a flood of hands. easily 30% in every group. there is a new dynamism in the u.s. business community and the indices' there to support u.s.- saudi business and our american citizens. i am happy to say that we see the results of that effort already. not the defense exports to saudi arabia have increased almost 10% in 2010. the commercial team has lost delegation back to the states every month of last year. we are scheduled to leave one back every month over the course of the next year. i have led delegations to chicago and houston as well as the events of the past week. chicago was a major event in april to focus on policy and connecting american and saudi

businessmen and businesswomen, almost 1200 at that event. we're planning a similar event in atlanta and april of 2011. i'm especially encouraged by the fact that there are 107 american companies who have exported to saudi arabia for the first time in 2010. agriculture exports haveincreas. in case someone is not reading the rules, -- workers all over this country will be busy over the next few years. building and assembling multibillion-dollar helicopter purchases by saudi arabia. business and trade are on the upswing. we will continue to aggressively pursue this very important aspect of our mission because if

you are going to redefine our bilateral relationship at the top, you have to build a foundation and that foundation begins with business. the united states is also a big and growing market for intellectual development. saudi students have responded to president obama's call when he said that we must recognize that education and innovation will do the currency of the 21st century. we have between 25 and 30,000 saudi students in the united states today and when you add in the families, that is about 70,000 saudis as far as that experience. 1000 additional scholarships will be granted for students coming to the united states. not only -- we do not need only

encourage people to come to school year, but we have to make easy. that brings us to the subject of visa. over the last five years, issuance is in saudi arabia have grown for -- a fourfold. in 2000, we have 68,000 visas. last, we had 67,500, this year we will surpass 80,000. because our staff has been working diligently to clean out the process by which we eat -- if you go on line today, you will get -- if you are a student, we will get you tomorrow afternoon. we will not have a student in this class because of a visa

process at the embassy. we have not compromised security at all. please tell your friends that are process has been optimized for volume, not last minute requests. some do take longer than others. if you plan to months ahead, i can guarantee that you have about a 97% success rate of having a visa and hand when you are ready to go. there are a wide range of issues that i could talk with you about for the rest of my time. yemen and iraq, palestine, syria, all are issues that are a life's work for many of you here in the audience. rather, i would like to speak with you at saudi watchers and offer you five strategic issues,

the outcome of which i cannot yet predict. they will have a significant impact on saudi arabia development and the way it interacts with all the partners. the first issue is jobs. the kingdom is recognized that saudi arabia needs to evolve to knowledge based economy. we need to do this in the next 20 years. what this really means is that they have to create about 3 million jobs over the next decade. it is a daunting task, but one we can contribute to their success. it is in our interest to do so. i encourage partners to boost job creation both in the united states and in saudi arabia simultaneously.

we're also lending our expertise in the form of an entrepreneur worship seminars and and there were over nine saudis to attended the president's summit last april. in addition to promoting -- we are helping to support a business climate that attract foreign investment. we focused on contract law enforcement, intellectual property rights, and patent protection. last year, our focus was on intellectual property and because of the very hard work of the saudis, they were able to come up with a winning list. the focus -- the focus now is on contract law protection. i am delighted with the number of saudi lawyers that i have much better now making careers in contract law. the key to success is job creation.

it will be a key element in their stability in the future. the second issue is the role of nationalism. last month, saudi arabia at celebrated its 78th generation of the saudi national day. it has been 78 years that saudi arabia it became a country in 1932. interest, they only had public celebrations of this event for the last five years, since 2005. this year, there were festivals throughout the country. there were 15,000 people died wanted -- at one event. young people were out waving flags and balloons. there was laughter and pride in the air. in years past, the tributary holidays were often considered to -- they were not religious

holidays. what i see now is a move toward a national identity. youth are the center of the saudi optimism. this national identity is supportive of both. at the same time, we are seeing a rich embrace of regional identity. as manifested in the festival. want to see how this manifest itself over the years to come. the third issue i would draw your attention to is the arab initiative. aside from the headlines of the day and the replay of pensions and old arguments, i think it is important to reflect on the efforts of saudi leadership,

particularly to the work of the to take a bold move for peace in the region. dennis ross notes team is timing of initiatives over the years, over the troubled history of the conflict. whatever the past frustrations, it is worth noting the efforts of king abdallah, beginning from 2002, with the arab peace initiative. it is worth reading the document yourself. it is not to prolong. because you will see a strategic vision and attention given to the desires of all sides of this conflict. it has huge implications for the region. strategic consequences for both the united states and saudi arabia. the arab peace initiative is a

concept. it is a framework which can be built upon. we hope it will be built upon. again, i urge this audience to read the document and the initiative. in light of current events, to keep up our faith that this issue can and will be addressed. secretary clinton recently said, we are working to support the direct talks between israelis and palestinians and the principles of the arab peace initiative are more important than ever. saudi arabia is committed to a solution. the absence of a peace agreement carries strategic consequences for the kingdom. king abdallah has shown the kind of personal courage with this document and consensus that reflects the kind of boldness

needed other modern-day states men. -- states men. the fourth issue i will address is the role of women in saudi arabia. he wrote last spring a wonderful article that has a great title. it was called, saudi arabia -- the second sex and the third rail. the women's issue is the third rail of saudi politics. touch it and risk being burned. let me offer a couple of thoughts. in her interview with king abdallah in 2005, barbara walters noted that the king was

surrounded by women in his life, all were making a difference. she wintertime an effort to the national family safety center -- she spends her time and effort. in the brief time that i have spent in saudi arabia, i have been hugely impressed by the academic performance of saudi's young women. 60% of the college student in saudia arabia are women. areof last year's graduates women. the new campus currently is under construction down by the airports will eventually enrolled over 40,000 women. to put this in perspective, in

1965, the literacy rate of women in saudi arabia was about 5%. all this has been done since i was in high school. now we have a young generation of women, all well educated and motivated and armed with blackberry and applications known to mankind. but largely at of the workforce. to achieve the kind of economic success that will employ 3 million saudis over the next decade, the kingdom cannot afford to leave this intellectual capsule on the sidelines. saudi women want to contribute to their country. they want to give back. yesterday, you heard dr. -- she was a magnificent contributor

and part of the saudi embassy here in washington. this afternoon, you are going to hear from a woman of great courage and character, intellect, and motivation. they and thousands of other caring and wise women aren't charting their own uniquely path so that the dreams of all saudi children can be realized. these are women of faith, a family, who have aspirations. they deserve our respect. lastly, i want to touch on the future of dialogue. earlier this month, my good friend hosted a reception. it was a reception for the -- it

was not an event held in isolation. candela has been instrumental in launching an interfaith -- kin hubbard a lot has been instrumental in launching an interfaith dialogue. it culminated at the united nations high level conference in new york in november of that year. it was also at the culmination of a much larger called the national dialogue, which focused on religion, education, and the family. this has been a significant initiative for the saudis in the battle against extremism and the parallels the president's initial data -- initiatives for a new beginning in this islamic world.

there relationship based on mutual trust, and mutual respect. if we are to change the tone and tenor of the conversation between that part of the world and hours, it will be through ongoing dialogue that is encouraged by the leaders of both of our countries. i would like to close by quoting from the holy koran. oh, mankind, made you into tribes and nations. so that you may know each other. this remains an aspiring book that inspires men and women that embraces the diversity of our world and to work together for peace. as president obama pledged, we are committed to pursuing that he's and world prosperity in the

spirit of partnership based on that trust that i mentioned. this work is not easy. it is not because of a single day or a single year. it is worthy of our continued effort. thank you for the time today. [applause] >> i will articulate several questions to the ambassador and he can choose to answer would never once he wants. the ones that have been submitted here, the increasing role of america's defense and aerospace companies, both in the kingdom and here in the united

states. if you would be comfortable commenting on that and relating it -- you have talked before about the value of having saudi arabia to study, live, and worked in the united states. before they return to the kingdom, if at all possible and turning in the companies that are in the private sector that are involved would saudi arabia and how that gives them the cutting edge when they return to the kingdom. to be involved in a dynamic private sector component of the relationship. how is that going if it is going at all? it really has not taken off in a massive way. in related to all of this, how can the u.s. political leadership be educated to stop using saudi arabia as a punching

bag or as a symbol of opposition to u.s. policy? how should the united states respond to the presence of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula? can this be done without increasing opposition to the u.s. presence or elsewhere? can it be done without undermining long-term u.s. strategic economic, political, commercial, defense operation goals in the region? in the of those. >> in the defense of aerospace, that is a small part of what the industry -- and what i spend my time on. you win a contract and you come in with a -- lots of americans to do the work. that is not what the saudis are looking for. they are looking for a long-term relationship.

what america brings is a lifelong commitment to training and education, a culture of innovation. they are looking for jobs. to bring the education and training associated with that. you are looking at a model that -- and i will probably point out alcoa. a small group of americans, but over time, you are going to -- it is being run by saudis who have been going through the hands on training of how to run an operation. that is surely the model. it is also a lot cheaper than trying to pay expatriate salaries trying to go into the country. if you, a model of training and job creation, you will succeed. i will not for a minute try to answer the question on political leadership, but might good

friend, the former senator of georgia, can explain what is in the politicians had. [laughter] the question about a qaeda -- al qaeda, i am? a surprise because most people do not understand and appreciate the very close relationship that we have with the saudis. we are very quick to -- they had their own 9/11 in may of 2003. since that time, they have been a very close partner. they have approached it from a much different approach than we've. they do not see winning the battle against extremism as a kinetic solution or a military solution em. it is all about undermining,

changing the basis support within a country for extremist movements. the national dialogue, the way that a member of al qaeda comes back in for repatriation. the focus on the family and tried and not creating 100 new extremist while you try to capture one. it is a completely different thought process and we are taking a go after the terrorist. this whole notion of job creation, dialogue, to reassess the support for extremism. the saudis have been a very valuable partner and solving -- working with our shared concern in the arabian peninsula. the realization that these are

not problems that have military solutions. >> please join me in thanking ambassadors met. now we will have a networking opportunity and then we have to clear this room so we can set up for lunch. take your personal belongings with you. the author of eight different books will be at the back of the ruins signing copies if you wish from those who obtained them. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> the national commission on the deepwater horizon oil spills is that there is no evidence that the explosion was caused by bp putting profits over safety. when the fifth meeting airs in entirety in our prime-time