is somewhat disturbing, i say this because there was a lack of information, i think the president is rectifying that. it will be a briefing that will take place this wednesday, joint briefing between the house and senate. swects clinton and secretary gates and other personnel because a lot of the other persisting questions are, are we getting involved in the middle of the civil war? as brutal a dictator as qaddafi is? should there have been more of a briefing for the members of congress? i come down on the side there should have been minimally there should have been briefings that would have allowed the membership to make up their -- make up their minds and most importantly be informed on the decision of the administration. e administration . i further recognize the president was in a difficult spot gaddafi was about to

possibly exterminate the people of benghazi. we were the nation forwardly deployed. we had a unique assets. he felt from the humanitarian perspective they had to strike and hopefully stabilize the situation and then have the other nations move in and takeover. i believe nato will do thatn the ensuing days. that is where we stand. you lived through the gulf of tonkin. that is the issue here for members of congress. it is an age-old tension between the executive and legislative branch, having to act on something in a timely basis with all its urgency, and the need to be informed -- the

>> a look at our primetime schedule here on c-span, at 8:00 p.m. eastern a discussion with middle eastern women who are involved in the protests taking place there, then briefings that took place earlier today with the u.s. ambassador to libya. and white house press secretary carney announced that president obama will deliver a speech soon on libya and the region. and finally, more from french president sarkozy. but first, today's vote in the canadian house of commons, opposition members toppled prime minister stephen harper 166-145.

we'll show you the vote and the comments of the prime minister and opposition leader, it's about an hour and a half. >> you're looking at a live shot on parliament hill. everyone on the inside is not as stately and calm as it is on the inside. they're waiting for a historic nonconfidence vote on an issue of contempt. that will make history. you're watching a special live edition of showdown in parliament. i want to welcome our viewers on the main network in saskatchewan and alberta. welcome to this unfolding story about our country and as we head toward an election, it will all hinge on what you're about to see in the matter of minutes ahead. we're waiting for the speaker of the house, peter millican, to re-enter the house. he'll represide over the motion of nonconfidence the liberals brought forward earlier this

week. that will essentially cite this government in contempt of parliament for the first time in history. the opposition parties will vote for it and that should bring us toward a general election. watching this unfold with me, they've been here for hours, chris hall, greg reston and of course rosemary barton has been on her feet. now peter is joining us. all eyes are glued to this as we watch this unfold. in a couple of minutes ahead here, we've heard from the strategists, let's not cast our minds too far forward, peter. let's set up the drama we're about to see. there's been a lot of motions of nonconfidence. this has happened before. but not like this. let's bring some perspective on this as you watch these things unfold. a government has never fall then way before. >> not this way. not on a confidence motion on this on contempt of parol. . even in the bigger picture, the governments have not fallen by

a vote in the house of commons very often, in the history of our country. i think it's only the fifth or sixth time it will happen. i was there in 1979 when this happened, when the clark government wept down because you didn't know whether it was going to happen, whether the liberal were really going to do it and whether or not the social credit party were going to support the conservatives or the liberals in the megs, which was proposed by bob ray, he was in the n.d.p. at the time. that was a dramatic night. so this has its drama attached to it. on the issue of contempt of parliament and on the very fact that this kind of possess does not happen very often in our country, so it's a good history lesson for all of us. >> it's a history lesson and it's making history. rosemary barton, you're in there. we're a couple of minutes away. because, as peter mentioned, it's the -- it's the first time this has happened, there's a

bit of confusion. it seems as if there'll be two votes to unfold, something the conservatives brought forward this morning and then we think the main vote on the motion of nonconfidence around contempt. can you get any clarification on that for our viewers, rosemary? >> i think the one we were expecting at 2:03 will be a motion that john baird put forward that says that the question new be put to the house, they'll vote on that they'll agree on that and it not be a standup vote, then they'll move to the confidence motion. i should tell you from our colleagues inside the chamber, like katy o'malley and other the galleries are stacked. the press fallry is stacked. the staffers are all there. and the public galleries are stacked. i had a number of emails over the course of the week, canadians who wanted to be here for this important moment in our history. there are a will the of people inside, that's unusual. m.p.'s are talking to one another, crossing the aisle, shaking hands, some of them

daring to take photographs inside the house of commons, which as you know is not allowed. a lot of anxiety about this moment. but there are a lot of people in there that are going to watch it when it happens in a couple of minutes' time. >> peter, before we go, some very fiery speeches about this motion on confidence and contempt. you've been watching it. it's rare to see this kind of passion an then of course now there's some handshaking because as you say, we've got about 30 seconds, some of these folks may not make it back. >> they might not. some of them deliberately won't be coming back because they're not running again, others will lose their seats from all sides of the house. that possibility exists. it's a passionate moment, i'm not surprised some are trying to sneak pictures on the blackberries or whatever smart phones they have to deprab a slice of history for themselves. >> we've got 0 seconds on our countdown, clark. it looks like the train may be

arriving at the station. when it does, we'll go live and there it is, there's the zero on the slate. that means, this is a slate on the feed right out of the house, right off the floor, when it hits that zero, the speaker is supposed to come on and we'll see these two votes. as rosemary said, just imagine the scene inside, there are cameras there, we don't control those cameras. it's packed with emotion right now. this is a historic moment you're about to see for the first time a vote of nonconfidence on an issue of contempt, a government has never been hold in contempt and when the speaker arrives, and this will be his last series of actions as a the -- as the speaker, what you'll see happen is the vote will take place, then the prime minister will make a speech, and the podium is set up right outside the floor of the house right there, the prime minister will announce when he's going to the governor general. these next few moments ahead are very crucial. the clock is at zero, peter, but zero doesn't necessarily

mean zero as we watch for liftoff. you know this better than anybody else. there's a lot of delays going because severn positioning. you know that the party whips, those folks in charge of making sure all the butts are in the right seat, are making sure they've got the votes for this. >> no doubt about that. that'll be happening. to flip back to december of 1989, because it was such a dramatic night as well, the toriis had some of their members were outside the country, they didn't know that it would come down to this, there's pairing, where other parties agree they'll have another members to not sit in, nobody agreed to pair that night, so the tories were caught, i think it's mcdonald and a couple of others, but that night, as soon as the vote, that was the amazing thing, as soon as the vote was over, the government was defeated, everybody threw papers up in the air, everybody was all excited and happy,

shaking hands, like you say they're doing new, because there was a belief on all sides that they had a shot at winning this thing. a poll just recently before then showed the liberals ahead by 10 or more point bus the conservatives were convinced people would rebel against their government being defeated on a budget. they didn't. trudeau came back with a convincing majority shortly after that. but the aura around that night, it was a night vote, 0:30 at night, and it was a pretty -- 10:30 at night and it was a pretty exciting moment. >> and we're in another exciting moment here. the prime minister is in the house. the audience is looking at the zero slate, that doesn't mean there's nothing going on in there's a lot of, as you say, conversation back and forth and this has happened before, chris hall, you can talk about this peter talks about what happened with clark in 1979, also very

famous, we don't know what the results will be, but obviously the harper goth is hoping to transform, finally intoork a majority government but who knows, anything could happen when a government falls. >> we all assume that the vote is going to be against the government, that harper, the prime minister, will stand up and adjourn the house and come out and talk to us about what his intentions are. while the polls are, you know, trending in one way over the last little bit with the conservatives having the lead, campaigns do matter and it's not clear at all how this might play ourt. in the west, for example, where they're watching us now, the n.d.p. and conservatives will be doing most of the battling once the election is called for very important seats. jack will be heading to the one m.p. from alberta, they want to hold on to that. the outcome here is, i think, ordained in terms of today's vote, but in terms of

elections, not at all. >> yesterday, i was talking to bill, who is not run, he worked for sven robinson in the vancouver area for a long time, but he said something interesting, he said in the last five year, he's learn master's degree about parliamentary procedure and how parliament works because he worked within a minority context, the last seven year a minority context. he said, you know, once you get into these minority parliaments, you really understand themy nureba, the procedure, the details of how democracy unfolds. we're seeing it in front of us right now. >> sounds like a fascinating >> i love it. >> tell me, really that countdown clock that's been going on the screen for three hours, it was all to bring us to this point to look at that screen with the writing on it? >>s the thing about democracy, you've been to shuttle liftoffs, the best rockets take

time to leave the ground. this is a lesson of going to the moon. and of course everyone is trying to go to the moon right now. you know, the truth is, we can't predict when this will start but more importantly, we can't predict when -- how it's going to end. as you say, it's easy to get lost in the weeds here but nonetheless, the consequences of this are big. you remember, when you first started covering this, it's pretty exciting on the inside right now. >> there's no question about that. i can see it on rosie's face, she's over there. here we go. >> here we go. the countdown clock finally goes off. these are the whips. they're talking to each other and shaking hands as they begin what will be the procedure toward the nonconfidence vote over contempt. let's listen in.

what the speaker says. >> the question is on the previous question on the motion relating to the business, the honorable chief government whip is rising on a point of order. >> i'll try this again. i believe you'll find unanimous consent in the house that the previous question moved earlier today be withdrawn. >> unanimous consent. the motion is withdrawn. the next question is as follows. they move that the house agree with the finding of the standing committee on house affairs that the government is in contempt of parliament, which is unprecedented in ka nade ab parliamentary history and therefore the house has lost confidence in the government. is it the pleasure of the house to adopt the motion? those in favor of the motion

will say yea. those opposed will say nee. -- nay. in my opinion, the yeas have it. those in favor of the motion will please rise. mr. mccauley. ms. fry.

[reading names]

>> those opposed to the motion will please rise.

[reading names

>> we wait to hear the results, we all know what it will be.

they will add up the votes and this will be history, ladies and gentlemen. >> yeas 156. nays 145. >> history is made. the prime minister is going to speak. >> i move that the house do now adjourned. -- adjourn. >> those in favor say aye. i declare the motion carried.

>> that is how the conservative government of steven harper is defeated, it's not technically dissolved until he sees the governor general. that's history, ladies and gentlemen. that is the first time in canadian history that on a vote of nonconfidence a government has been found in contempt by parliament and this will kick off election cycle, we are waiting to hear if the prime minister. he will speak soon. you can see as the speaker walks away, let me bring in peter mansbridge to get some reaction to what we just saw. there is some jubilation on the part of the opposition but there's a fight ahead. >> the lib rahles -- liberals all threw up their papers as they did in 1979 when the clark government was defeated, i think the conservatives did then too, but in this case,

they're not throwing the papers in the air. they claim it's a terrible thing that happened to them. it was. no matter what happens, stephen harper and his government will be known as the only government in the history of canada that's been voted down in parliament because the m.p.'s, the majority of m.p.'s felt that that government, the harper government, was in contempt of parliament. so no matter what happens here, that's always going to be attached to the history of this government. but the kay will now continue to unfold. the podium is set up for the prime minister just outside the house of commons. m.p.'s leaving the holloway for the last time in this parliament and we'll see how many of them come back and on what side of the house they'll end up sitting on. the prime minister has to address the nation as to what happens next. the government's been defeated, doesn't happen often, as you say, evan, never happened on

this issue. >> and now we wait to see the prime minister. he will, we don't know what he will say. as you say, peter, he'll outline the next steps because it moves very quickly now. he'll announce he'll likely go to the governor general, perhaps as early as tomorrow morning, we'll cover that, and that will kick off an election you said it well this will be like atta too on this government, the question is who will see it? will it play out in the campaign? how will the issue of being held in contempt for the first time in canadian history, how will it play out? let's get to reaction on the floor as we watch this, rosemary, people are streaming out after what was an emotional moment and historic moment. give us a sense of what's happening right now. >> i haven't been able to talk to m.p.'s their running out so fast. i guess heading home to get their campaigns under way.

some independents that actually voted with the government just went past. the galleries were stacked and they were stacked with really important people from the prime minister's office, ray novak, the principal secretary to the prime minister, the prime minister's chief of staff, everyone wanting to witness a really amazing moment and there is a sense in here, i know peter said he could see it on my face, but it's true, it's an exciting time. whether you thought this should happen or not, it's an exciting place to be right now. and everyone is now turning to the big and long campaign ahead of them. first we have to hear from the prime minister and see how this is going to play over the 24 hours we expect, he will head to the governor general sometime tomorrow morning. the end of the day tomorrow with jack lleyton so this has to happen quite quickly over the course of the next 24 hours. >> and they're very busy right now but it'll empty out very

quickly, but not before the prime minister has something to say. the challenge now, and peter, you mentioned this, is to see how the opposition can make this moment and what it represents, being held in contempt, the opposition's framing of this, a government that withholds information, how that matches up against the government's framing that this itself is something that they labeled contempt, something cynical, their version of the budget. we're not just seeing history but the playbook of the entire campaign, at least at the beginning unfold. >> we're certainly seeing the first 48 hours of it unfold here. i think they'll stick to these kind of messages in the first 48 hours but that will -- they will have to move on to something else. i'd be shocked if a week from now we're still talking about this. the parties have to put out their policy, they've got to move issues into other areas. liberals will keep working, you know, trying to play the ethics

card, but they've also got to address the economy. we know that most canadians, they find this mildly amusing every day, about what happens in the process of parliament, but they do worry about their job, about their health care, they do worry about a lot of other things that we haven't heard talked about very often in these last few weeks, at least in the headlines of what's been happening in ottawa. >> it's interesting as you talk. back to 1979. history does not repeat. there is an echo. personalities do play a role. that famous joe who? plays a role. the world of the leaders outside of the key issues does play a role. perhaps the opposition is using this vote today that we just witnessed as a way to see the character of the leader.

character matters. >> it absolutely does. they will try to make that message clearly over the next few days. they have got to expand on that. they have got to go elsewhere. michael has taken a lot of hits in the media over the last couple of years. he has taken a lot of hits by be paid advertising over the same couple of years. that can cut both ways. if he doesn't quite look like the kind of person be conservative have made him into on the campaign, that can work in its favor. if expectations are low and he does not fall that low, it makes him look better than he really is because he is above them. we will have to see how that plays out. for stephen harper, there was a time when he was look at in a certain way and it was not flattering by many canadians. that image has changed over the years. every so often it dips back down

for him. we have to watch the polls. i caution everybody, starting with us, not to get too carried away. we see these numbers bouncing up and down. these things are going to change in the first week or 10 days. most canadians at this moment do not know the government has been defeated and do not know there will be an election in six weeks. when they start focusing on that, we will start to see some decisions made at interest levels are key to all of this. >> we are shaking up the water and there is a lot of sand in it. we have to let it settle. i know you like the countdown watch. we are looking at an empty podium. people might be wondering why we have the dramatic shot up an nt podium. the president will come to the podium and have an announcement.

we decided not to have a countdown clock. greg, you have been watching this closely. >> if i can just built on something peter was saying, canadians do not have a clearer definition of michael yet. they do not have a clear definition of what the liberal party stands for. this is supposed to be a new liberal party after the scandal. he was not around for that. the liberals have not been putting much in the window for fear that either of the new democrats or the conservatives would still them and make them their own. rolling out an alternative to the conservatives will be critical. it will be whatever they put in the window. it has to be catchy and connect with canadians, especially with michael, who does not necessary

connect all that well. -- does not necessarily connect all that well. that has got to be their first in this campaign. >> government have to be defeated. people does not vote in new government, they all came out old ones. steven harper deserves credit for being a good steward of the economy. this will be the platform they run on, sprinkling out money for families who want to have kids in arts programs. there was targeted money in the budget. it was quite a campaign document. there is also the tone issue that we have to pay attention to it. this last parliament did not have a lot of respect. we heard someone say how hard it was to trust this last parliament. we heard the content. most of this is about content. it will be interesting to see

how this plays out and how workable those kinds of attitudes are when the public is asked to listen to the pitch that these party leaders have to make. lot of people have been turned off by what they see and turned off by the overheated rhetoric. it will be interesting to see how the campaign plays on that. >> we are hearing about liberal derek lee deciding not to run. rosemary, we are hearing the buzz. we will see the prime minister speak. what are you learning right now? >> there were a couple of empty chairs during the critical vote. one of them belongs to keith martin. he is not running again. he chose not to be there for this day. his office says he is a way dealing with some business meetings. he is leaving politics because he did not -- he is leaving

politics. he did not want to be here. it just came out on twitter that he was not planning on running again. that was not something that the liberal party had announced yet. he is well known appear in parliament hills. he knows everything about how parliament is run and the rules. just getting back to the issue us -- issue of content and how that will play -- one way of the option -- one way the opposition party can make it stick is saying that they will clean things up and they were going to make things transparent and do things differently. they leave in a different position having been found in contempt for not sharing information, for not being forthcoming and with other issues swirling around them, including the story of the senior aide to the prime minister. this is not over.

this may pop up again during the campaign. if opposition parties can somehow contrast what they told canadians so long ago and what they have now, at issue of content and ethics may not go away if they can do a good job at selling back. >> when you look back at campaigns compound --when you look at campaigns, -- when you look back at campaigns, there have always been issues. even in 1926, there were issues about dissolving parliament. there were issues about pensions. it is a bit -- it is a bit complicated. do campaigns need a sample eshoo? do they think of free -- the

campaigns need a simple issue? today is all as we look back in history? >> they do. it is a hard one to sell. this morning, he was going for the high ground in terms of democracy and the future of it in our country as opposed to the procedural stuff. he has to pitch it there it is going to fly as a big campaign issue. a key to a lot of this will be what happens when the doors behind the podium open. that will be the first signal that the prime minister is on his way. they will drop back into the house of commons in the background. when he comes out and speaks at the podium, the kind of language he uses -- he has led his lieutenants pretty hard in the

house of commons. the back and forth -- if he is going to try to elevate the language here and get away from the overly partisan stuff, you will get the first signal of it in this speech. how many times will he said coalition? we should put a clock on that one and see what happens. there could be a signal here. ok, we are out of this place. most canadians think it is full of this kind of partisanship everyday and it is overly dramatic. now we will set a new level of proper debate through the campaign. is that what he is going to reach for here now? it will be interesting if he does and what impact that has on his own people and on the other parties. it will be interesting. >> you talk about that. clearly, the government does not want to take credit and

responsibility for this election process. they call it an unnecessary election. maybe the prime minister arises up. maybe there is a moment where he leads the partisanship to the lieutenants and he rises up. tone is crucial. canadians may not be paying attention right now. but they might step toward more attention because there will be more advertisements and we are into this election cycle. >> we talked about it earlier. there is uncertainty around the world right now. we have libya and canadians involved in that effort. the doors are being opened here. we will see the prime minister soon. he is only the prime minister until the -- drops. he can tell the people what he represents and what the government represents as we look

forward. he has not been the kind of person who has refrained from partisan jabs in the past. he will be aggressive in saying the opposition party has forced this election. i think he will say it will be unnecessary and the opposition party has threatened the country pulse of recovery. >> the doors -- i think he will say it will be unnecessary and the opposition party has threatened the country's recovery. >> he is not taking any questions now. you are going to hear some frustration from the media after he leaves that podium. that cannot go on. you are in a campaign, he eventually you will have to answer questions from the media. that is not going to work. i expect the yelling will ensue

when he steps from the podium without answering any questions about how he feels and how he plans to proceed. this will be him in and out. we will see him try to oppose any serious questions. >> interesting. peter, go ahead. >> i worked for trudeau in 1980. he had hardly any news conferences. he had won the event a day. they thought they were in control and they were not going to take any chances. i know we will hear rosie shouting out a question. she will be there and we will see if she gets an answer. >> here comes stephen harper for the first comment after this historic bvote. let's listen in. >> good afternoon. i will be brief.

the global economy remains fragile. the economic recovery in canada is strong, but it must remain our priority. that is why the economy is and will continue to be my top priority as prime minister. of all the members of parliament who are part of our conservative government, that is what canadians expect of us in parliament, from all of us in parliament. the budget tabled this week by the minister of finance -- the next phase in canada's economic action plan is critical and important to complete the recovery. it is critical to help those in need with affordable measures.

all of this without increasing taxes of any kind. not only does the content reflect the participation of all canadians and the other political parties, it also benefits from the firm, solid support of canadians. there is nothing, absolutely nothing in the budget that the opposition could not or would not support. unfortunately, the partners in the coalition made it clear that they had already decided to have an erection. the -- decide to have an election. this is an election that canadians clearly did not want. today's vote, which is a disappointment to me, will also

disappoint most canadians in my view. as a consequence, i will have to be meeting with the governor general tomorrow to inform him of the situation and to take the only possible course. i can give you my assurance that our first priority will continue to be stability and security for all canadians in global circumstances that remain extremely difficult. the global economy is still fragile out. canada post for recovery has been strong, but it the meets -- canada's recovery has been strong, but it needs to be out focus. it is the focus of all members of our conservative government. this is what canadians expect from us in parliament, all of us. the budget tabled this week by

the minister of finance, the next phase of the action plan is critically important to complete canada's economic recovery. it seeks to support growth, create jobs, and help those in need with affordable measures. to do all these things without raising taxes. its contents not only reflected the input of canadians, including the input of other political parties. it has the strong support of canadians. there was nothing, absolutely nothing in the budget that the opposition could not or should not have supported. unfortunately, the coalition partners made abundantly clear that they had already decided that they wanted to force an election instead. the fourth election in seven years, an election canadians told them they did not want.

that me assure you that our priority will remain to ensure stability and security for canadians in what remains extremely challenging global circumstances. after i have met with the governor general tomorrow, i will be in a position to take your questions. thank you. >> prime minister stephen harper delivering his first words after this historic vote of non- confidence. he said the vote is appointed me. he said it disappointed canadians as well. he says he will meet with the

governor general. the only possible course of action. he said he will do that tomorrow. he said the coalition partners should have supported his budgets. he said this is an election canadians do not want. he did not take any questions. he said he was disappointed with the vote. he said tomorrow after he meets with the governor general, he will be in a position to take questions. peter, let me get reaction from you. the land which we were speculating on -- he used the tone. he said coalition. he said election no one wants. an interesting speech. it is what we expected. he tried to take the prime minister's road through it. he only used the coalition word

once as opposed to be 42 times that sean managed to get it into each sentence. it is clear that we are headed for an election campaign. the other interesting thing i found was that he was specific. he said his focus in the campaign is basically going to be on the economy. canada through the dangerous waters that exist on that front. it will be interesting to see if over five weeks he manages to maintain that strategy that nothing bounces him off of that strategy. that will be key to the conservatives. >> i want to bring in michael. he is going to speak and when he does, we will take that live. he talked about the fragile recovery and the global situation. he used the words fragile economy and on study -- and

steady world. rosemary, you said he would not take questions. any reaction right in front of h.a.m.p.? in reaction right in front of him? >> that was predictable. we will be able to hear from him directly. he said there was nothing in the budget that the opposition party could not support. clearly, that is not true. if he had wanted to avoid an election, they would have said he could have put up another $400 million for the guaranteed income supplement. that is not a lot of money. there are questions like that that need to be put to him about why he thinks there was enough in there for the opposition party and whether he legitimately did not want an election. he continues to say this is an unnecessary election. i said this before.

i do not think that line takes you far down the road during this campaign because it is happening. democracy is important. at some point, saying it is on necessary may become an issue to canadians who want to vote. >> we had a budget plan that could go lower. it is important to keep the steady course. i understand why they are doing it. a person came out while the prime minister was speaking. michael the coalition of my c united once again. the tone of the press release was indicative of what we will hear during the campaign. he was measured. he has shown his anger and frustration in the past. he was keyed in on two or three different points. >> just to be fair, i recognize

the tragedy of the prime minister. the growth has been good. you had been finance minister on tuesday saying how robust the growth has been. now the prime minister is saying you have got to be careful because it is fragile. you cannot have it both ways. >> like everything in this campaign that is coming up, do not believe everything you hear on the stump or read on a lawn sign. this whole narrative of the economy is fragile out and be careful and cautious is leading voters to one thing, which is this is no time to change government. stick with what you have got. we are the tried and true. to the prime minister's credits, we have been through a difficult and tumultuous time, a world economic crisis we have not seen in decades. most canadians are getting their jobs back, or some jobs

back. they are rebounding economically. family incomes are returning to where they work. that is a powerful message for them to take into this campaign. it is an easy one for them to do. they have a budget that is full of enough goodies to feed the photo ops. that is what we will be seen over the coming weeks, stephen harper handing out something for everybody. >> there are a lot of different ways to look at the right down the economy question and whether or not there should be an election campaign during this period i remember the election campaign in 2008. the economy look more fragile out then. >> let me just interrupt. michael has stepped up to the microphone. >> we were present for an historic moment in our democracy. a prime minister condemned by

the house of commons for contempt of parliament. he lost the confidence of the house of parliament. -- the house of commons. we have just seen a news conference. it was not really a news conference because he did not take questions, nor did he beat her to the fact that this is the first prime minister in the history of canada who has been judged guilty of contempt of canadian democracy, contempt of parliament. he continued to show contempt for democracy by not even mentioning that fact in front of you a few moments ago. we are here to present a liberal team, as you see around me, 18 that is proud, unified, 18 that will present a clear alternative to the harper government. that means a government that respects democracy, that onc

wants canada to be a green country, a country that is proud and on the national scene, a government that looks after families and their priorities as opposed to fighter jets and goodies for large corporations. for the next 36 days, we will be appealing to all canadians and more than 60% of canadians want to restrain mr. harper and replace him. we are the only alternative in terms of replacing a government that has shown contempt for democracy and ignores the priorities of canadians. we are seeking the support of conservatives who are disappointed with the waste by this government. we are calling on environmentalists and others who

want a federal government that will act on the environment. we are also appealing to all of those out there with a social conscience that want to help the poor, help the most disadvantaged among us, help families come out of the crisis. we are appealing to all of these people and saying please come into the big liberal tent. an extraordinary, historic moment in which a prime minister of canada has been found guilty of contempt of parliament and has lost the -- lost the confidence of the house. we saw something even more incredible. a prime minister comes out and instead of addressing the issue, confirmed his lack of respect for democracy by simply going out and making a statement that made no mention of this historic moment in our history. this tells you all you need to know about this man.

we are here as a united liberal team to say we want to form an alternative to the harper government that respects democracy, that respects canadian citizens, that respects our institutions, and that gets back to the priorities of canadian families. child care when you need it, help to get your kids to college and university, care when your family gets old and needs help at home, a secure retirement, in a sheet -- energy efficiency, green jobs, and restoring canada's place in the world where we can take pride that a citizen of canada is a citizen of the world. these of the -- these are the alternatives we will offer over the next 36 days as me and my team present a message of hope instead a message of fear, a message of principle instead of

constant politics of personal destruction. this is where the choices lie. it is extremely important that canadians understand that if you are a disillusioned conservative and you are wondering about why there is all this waste in government -- if you are one of those compassionate canadians who want more social justice in the country, come on into the big red tent, the compassionate heart of canadian politics. there are only two alternatives here. more of this this respect for democracy, more of this content for the canadian people or a compassionate, irresponsible liberal government. thank you very much. >> with respect to the coalition, we understand you want to form a liberal government. since you are still in the opposition, can you tell us if

the coalition is an option? >> all this talk about a coalition is ridiculous. it is a smokescreen. they say this because they are afraid of the real alternative, which is the liberal alternative. what i said is that i am in politics to create a liberal government full of compassion, responsible, open to the rest of the world. a liberal government that respects democracy rather than showing contempt for it, as the prime minister did a few moments ago. >> you do not believe it is a legitimate parliamentary option after an election if the conservatives and win the most seats. >> i have been a liberal since i was 17. it is in my veins. i am here with this team of proud canadians to create a

liberal alternative to the conservative government. if you all teeth for the -- if hen all test for thedp, -- the ndp, you will get more of this. i cannot be clear enough. >> you are not clear at all. do you believe the coalition is a legitimate option? could you please answer the question. >> on the abstract constitutional principle, ask the governor general. i am here and i repeat, the thing that every canadian voter have to understand when they cast their ballot -- they are the boss -- if you all take for the block, if you both for the grain, you will get more of this, more contempt for democracy, more neglect of priorities for canadian

families. the only alternative to a conservative government is a compassionate, irresponsible liberal government. >> how will you explain this to canadians who are primarily concerned about the economy? >> you cannot separate the economy from democracy. one of the reasons why we are a success in the world is because we are a democracy. when a government makes the wrong choices, when you make choices that will harm the economy in the long term, you have to choose democracy. you have to have an election. mr. harper's idea is that an election will threaten the economy and democracy will reduce the stability of the country. that is absolutely ridiculous. it shows contempt for the citizens of this country.

citizens are be asked to decide on the future of their country, the economic future of their country. we will present an alternative that it's full of compassion, an alternative that will create jobs and security -- we will present an alternative that is full of compassion, an alternative that will create jobs and security. >> i will try one more time. is your hope to form a liberal government on election night? if that does not happen on election night, but voters determine that a minority government is what they want, will you accept that? >> that me be clear. in the democratic politician -- i am a democratic politician right to the bottom of my feet and the top of my toes. i it is that the burden of the people. i am here to present to -- i

respect the verdict of the people. i am here to say as clearly as i can to the canadian people, if you all take for anybody else, you will get more of mr. harper. it is perfectly clear. there is no confusion. they know that if they want to replace mr. harper -- i will point out that more than 60% of the canadian public in stable terms have said they do not support mr. harper. the time has come to replace mr. harper with this incredible liberal team. >> this coalition monday is going to stay on your back every day of the campaign week -- your back because people assume that if you do not rule it out, you have something to hide and you will secretly and retain it. he does not do not -- you just do not want to admit it. >> you are buying the conservative line. i am say as clearly as i can to

the canadian people that if you want to replace the harper government, you have got to voted liberal. cannot be clearer than that. thank you. >> that is the leader of the liberal party who brought " work this -- who brought forward this vote of non-confidence. he proceeded to take a number of questions saying that the liberal party will offer an alternative. he mentioned various things, including green jobs. he took a series of questions about what the future holds for the liberals. he talked about a coalition. the government is accusing him of having a coalition with this man. let's listen to what he has to say. >> this government has made

lying a system. this government did not respect the rules in the house. we saw that with contempt of parliament. we saw that with the minister who falsified a document and only admitted it sometime later. we saw this government not respecting canada's rules. we saw criminal investigations carried out because of the actions. this government is presenting narrow ideology that does not reflect the values our interests of people of quebec. the harper government turned its back on quebec. we can see this in its refusal to provide compensation to the quebec government for the sales tax 19 years ago. it is $2.20 billion. they gave billions of dollars to british columbia, ontario.

but for quebec, there is nothing. $60 million for the forestry industry. billions were given to the auto industry in ontario last year. there is a refusal to adopt employment insurance to the current circumstances. they lead the unemployed out in the cold. there is nothing there for them. not because of their own fault, but because the economy has the ball. mr. harper does not deserve the confidence of the people of quebec. people in quebec must penalize mr. harper and vote in favor of democracy. democracy is an important tool. the only tool -- the only party that can bar mr. harper from another victory is the quebec party. i am inviting all of the people of quebec to ensure that quebec remain strong and that it can speak with a loud voice and it's

been the people of quebec in ottawa. -- loud voice and defend the people of quebec in ottawa. >> mr. harper says people have to work and vote -- michael says people have to work and voted with the liberals. what do you think of bad? -- what you think of that? >> the men and women of quebec recognize themselves in the work we do for them. we should not be blindly the block if there is no majority. it federalist parties are not offering anything to the people of quebec. -- the federalist parties are not offering anything to the people of quebec. what i want is as many block mp

's to be here in canada. in order to ensure that quebec is well represented and that it values are represented here, we need men and women who can speak on behalf of quebec. >> you spoke to mr. harper before the vote. what did you say to each other? >> we had a lively conversation. we said another campaign, good luck. hopefully, we will see each other here again. >> if you hold the balance of power -- balance of power in a new parliament, will yourself with the liberals or the conservatives? >> i will make the decision based on the best interests of quebec. it depends on what they have to offer quebec. mr. hochberg called me and that me and -- mr. harper called me and proposed a way of facing a

loss of confidence by the government in the house. he wrote a letter. i signed the letter. i am always acting in the best interests of quebec. >> are you willing to remain as leader of the block until the next election? is that your intention? >> winning a majority and after doing so, i will see the future. >> will you return to provincial politics after this? >> no. >> if there is a liberal or conservative majority government, you will be here for four here's? -- for four years? >> absolutely.

i would not make any career plane's right -- career plans right now. i am optimistic. >> what about when there are provincial elections? >> there should be one this year. the next one in quebec will be next year. i certainly hope to be next to ms. -- at that time. >> the conservatives believe they have made such a good budget that there will be little goodies for everyone. >> we will talk about the little goodies for the seniors. with the proposals they made on the g.i.s., it did not bring sing years up to the poverty level. we will be talking -- it did not bring seniors up to the poverty level. we will be talking to seniors

about that. >> how can you and the other two opposition leaders today to fight another day in the same kind of parliament? >> as mr. harper why did he present a budget like that? he wanted an election and he got an election. >> the voters put him back in place. >> if they do that in quebec -- i represent quebec with determination. i will be proud to represent quebec here. having said that, harper would have done something else. he spent $26 million campaigning with the taxpayers' money. if he does not want an election, he was hiding that pretty well.

thank you very much. >> statements made after the historic vote. michael said, peter mansbridge, that there is a blue door and a red door. you heard that mr. harper wanted this election and provoked it with a budget no one could support. any thoughts about reaction -- any thoughts or reaction about what we are seeing right now? >> we saw the opposition leader deciding he would answer questions. all of the questions were about the coalition. not surprisingly. they will keep coming at him until he makes it absolutely clear where he stands. in his defense, the question could be put a lot clearer. the question is simple. if the conservatives when bank

the most seats, do they have the right to form the first -- it's the conservative win -- if the conservatives win the most seats, do they have the right to form the first government? that is the question. whatever the case and what of the question, he is still not giving an answer that seems satisfactory to the parliamentary press gallery. you know that is going to be the newspaper headline on them as this thing starts. >> this will be one month. this is interesting. he answers strategically. he said, if you both for the green or the ndp, it is a vote or stephen harper. >> mr. harper and the conservatives missed a golden opportunity to work together

with the other parties in the house of commons. to show that it is possible and they are capable of putting families first in our decision. the ndp offered a program and some initiatives. unfortunately, mr. harper rejected our proposals to make daily lives more affordable with lower taxes on heating oil, with an improvement on our pension system for seniors and retirees and to create positions for physicians and nurses so that we will not have 5 million families or individuals here in canada with no family doctor. he rejected those proposals. he showed that he made a choice.

he made the choice to have an election rather than working with the others. are at a critical point. and the election will be taking place. we will present our policies and our team. we will fight the conservatives all across the country. in order to replace them in the house of commons. i will present myself as a candidate for the position of prime minister. mr. harper demonstrated that he was not willing to work with other parties in the house of commons to put families first and their needs in the first place. we made some practical and reasonable suggestions. we said you could take the tax on home heating to make life more affordable. you could improve the pension plan that canadians rely on and that people need for retirement security in the future. we could start creating family

doctors and nurses in family practice so that canadians do not have family medicine could have access to health care for their families. mr. harper has demonstrated that he and his conservatives have no interest in working with other parties. he made a choice and that choice was to take us into an election. now we move to that crucial point of entry into an election campaign. the democrats will be across the country taking on the conservative and showing that we are the party that is actually able to the conservatives from coast to coast. i will be starting in edmonton and moving on from there. our goal is to lay out a program that will put families first as we have always done and to defeat conservative in this upcoming election. >> mr. harper was not defeated on the budget. he was defeated on a budget -- on a motion of contempt of parliament. you are not discussing that.

are you saying it is not important? >> it is important. we had a golden opportunity to create a budget that would respond to the needs of canadians. he did not do that. it is true that we also had an historic moment when the government was condemned by the house of commons or contempt of parliament, content of our democracy. this shows that out what is broken. this election is going to be how we are going to fix it. >> does that mean that if the budget had pat, you would not have voted. -- if the budget had passed, you would not have vote? >> that is a hypothetical question. the leader of the liberal party said it you all a n for thedp, -- the ndp, we would end up with the same thing as mr. harper.

what is your reaction to that? >> the last election showed that it was being -- it was the ndp that could beat mr. harper and the conservatives. the ndp is the party that can fight conservatives and can be baked with them and can -- can replace them -- can debate with them and replace them. that is the old liberal attitude. >> the opposition to the government is divided. >> the ndp will be presenting our policy is to replace the consensus. we will be doing that with an energetic campaign. >> do you think --michael keeps

refusing to say if he will enter into a coalition with you. what do you think the history of recent parliaments shows about that? what you think would happen if he failed to win a m&a? >> i will not try to answer the question for him that he will not answer himself. our record is clear. we work with other parties. i am working to lead the largest party in the house of commons. i i am working with the mandate that the canadians give me to form relationships that are appropriate to get it results we are committing to canadians that we are going to pursue for them and their families. on health care, on affordability, on jobs, on retirement security and the apartment and other key issues. that has always been our approach. >> we did not get a chance to ask michael. it the voters returned a

parliament that does not look all whole lot different, do you think that you and the other opposition leaders, having brought down the government on a non-confidence motion, should stick around and try to work with a government that you have already voted non-confidence in? >> we will be out there working as hard as we can to defeat as many conservatives as we can from one end of this country to another with strong campaigns in order to replace them so that the eventuality you spoke up will not be what we find at the end of the election >>. . >> come what may, you will be sticking around? >> yes. >> some suggest you should be

more transparent about the exact state of your health, the state of your prostate cancer especially if you are running to be prime minister. >> my psa is good. i expect to be rid of the walking assistance. they say you should keep it so you do not lose your balance to cause another factor. i am not sure what other details you want. i could on dress right here before you, but i do not think that would be in the interests good television. [laughter] >> could you repeat that in french? >> the better you do, the more likely it is that the conservatives will return? vote for ndp and you will get

another harper government. >> that is the oldest line in the book. it was the democrats who defeated conservatives. we intend to do that in this election as well. we do not apologize for that. i am running for prime minister. deals for running to lead a large group of democrats that has shown more than any other party in this house that we are willing to work with the other party and work with the house of commons that canadians construct to get things done. >> in the past, you have attacked liberals as much as you have attacked conservatives. don't you want to replace liberals as well? >> we will have candidates in 308 places in the country. there is not a lot of enthusiasm for michael and some of his policies, whatever they may be from day to day. our goal is to replace the harper conservative government,

which we think has been taking the country down the wrong path on a series of fronts. let's remember, he was not willing to take strong action on the economy until he was threatened with losing his own job. he has taken us down the wrong path with afghanistan with the help of the liberals. on the environment, his policies have been a disaster. we are running against mr. harper. he has the same practices of patronage appointments to the senate and fund-raisers that break the rules of appointing friends to keep positions, giving to the insiders in out what what they want as the liberals practice or so many years. i suppose, when we are criticizing one, we are criticizing the other. the old ways have to go. we need a new politics in canada. that is what the new democratic politics -- democratic party is

here to provide. >> on the gun registry, what kind of impact will that have on your campaign? >> jack layton is giving his response to the historic vote of non-confidence. we have had a reaction from the prime minister, who took no questions. michael gave his dues, but he was not clear about whether or not he would form a coalition. we just heard a from jack layton. he probably made the best offer of the day when he was asked about his health. he said he was pointing stripped-down. he said it is not in the interests of canadians. that certainly would have been a capper to the end of a pretty dramatic day. here we go.

tomorrow, things will change dramatically. let's go around for our last couple of minutes. we heard from everyone reacting to this historic vote. what should we keep in mind as we lot of work in this campaign? >> michael has the coalition thing sitting there unanswered. he will keep getting it. he will get it again tomorrow and maybe by day three or four, he will have an answer that satisfies people or not. answer on this health issue has been an issue for them these last couple of days. a tough question to deal with. there is debate over whether it should be asked. it is a tough one. he look pretty calm. he is still giving the same answer he has had all along. he is not bringing out his doctors to explain what his situation is. he handled it easily with a smile. everybody laughed and they moved

on. it is interesting to watch difficult -- to ask -- to what different ways of handling a difficult question. we want to get a last reaction. >> we tried to give all of the leaders equal time. >> jack layton managed to change the channel. i thought it was interesting, the an appeal to environmentalists. he said the liberals are the only alternative. he has got to make that argument. it is going to be a tough one. jack layton thinks they have a chance to pick up liberals and conservatives. i was surprised by this reference to the environment in his speech. we had been talking about it and suddenly it was back on the table. it is clear he is trying to establish that he is a bonafide

leader of a liberal party that has a social conscience. >> greg, what stood out for you dimbleby coalition question came about by times in rapid succession. did he -- what stood out for you? >> they must have anticipated that this was going to be one of the first couple of questions, if not the first one. when he did not answer it and it kept coming back at him and back at him, this is where we are seeing the difference between jack layton, who is experienced at these things -- he will take whatever comes at him on the stump. if you are not right there to respond to it well, it can just be real your campaign quickly. as peter said, this is a question that will come back to him, and quite rightly so. canadians have a right to know

if they are voting for liberals or voting for a liberal and somebody else. >> rose mayor, last minute with you. jack layton took the most questions. in the last comment on what you heard from the leaders? >> not to belabor the coalition question, but jack did not answer this question when he talked about the red door and the green door. he will have to come up with a better answer than what he came up with here. this is not going away. it reminds me of the last election. the last two weeks, that was the only question we asked jack. he managed to get an answer that satisfy us. it is a position that he is comfortable with. michael has a bigger chance of becoming prime minister. he is going to have to nail this down in the next couple of days. if i know my colleagues, we are

not going to let it go. >> we have got to let it go now. i want to thank the chief correspondent with the opening service and rosemary and chris and greg. we had lots of people putting this into perspective. it does not stop here. we will have full coverage of all this unfold the political drama. cbc will be there live when the prime minister visits. peter will not take a nap. he will be there. you will be hearing our coverage throughout this entire campaign. does not stop there. we will also be watching this closely. power and politics is on six days a week. -- be at it again tonight. we will be back here in 90 minutes. i want to thank all of the

people and about in our coverage. thank you for watching. we will be back for another edition of power and politics. there will >> next, a discussion with middle eastern women about the protests there. then, the u.s. ambassador to libya. after that, the french president talks about libya. now we go to new york city for the annual women in the world summit. we will hear from cannot brown, the editor in chief of newsweek as well as from facebook's chief operating officer sheryl sandberg. christie and on and poor moderates a panel. this portion is -- christiane

amanpour moderates a panel of a middle eastern women. this is one hour. [applause] >> thank you for that great warmup. i am tina brown. i am trail to welcome you to the second annual when men in the world -- i am thrilled to welcome you to the second annual women in the world summit. we are supposed to take out a whole different insurance

policy. it is a scary thing. maser -- major insurrections are happening. these are revolutionary days. the observable facts, the amazing fact, at the exhilarating fax or the tv screens are showing us that when men are at the forefront -- women are at the forefront. the the role of women is hammering home the point that the treatment of women is the mark of a civilization and the respect for the human dignity of every individual. over the next two and a half days, we will hear from women who came from all over the world to tell you stories you had not heard before. stories that will move you, and rage you, and cause you to look

at the everyday challenges they face. once you get to know them, we guarantee you will want to stay connected to them and help their efforts in any way you can -- encouragement, expertise, where contributions. there are so many people in this room who dedicate their time and talents to doing that. all of them deserve our thanks. we will hear from secretary of state hillary clinton, madeleine albright, and condoleezza rice. we will hear from a multitude of courageous activist who are moving the issue of women's rights everywhere. it is wonderful to be pardoning with such a prestigious organizations as women for women international and the un foundation. we could not be here without our

sponsors. hp, american express, goldman sachs, 10,000 when, the virtue foundation, and delta. in framing the issues in covering this summit, we have brought in all journalism deaths. so many of the people attending this summer have advanced the dignity and rights to women at personal risk. as a passionate activist said to me last week when she showed me her extraordinary photographs that she brought back up courageous women she did it did in toronto, she said, "they know that you care." that is what we will show in the next few days.

let me introduce my co-host, each of them deeply committed to winning. please welcome sheryl sandberg. [applause] >> thank you. thank you for being with us. i wanted to start tonight by talking about why i am here. we are here because we believe that gender equality is the issue of our era. in the 19th century the central moral issue was slavery. in the 20th century it was totalitarianism. in our century is oppression and injustice towards girls. some of us had the good fortune of being born in a country where we are equal citizens. we know that good fortune comes with the responsibility to help others. for some of us who had the fortune of not being born into

countries where we are equal citizens under the law, where there is no real opportunity for women, we are here because we prevail. we try out over a bursary and we share our stories with others. the women -- we triumph over anniversary -- adversary and we share our stores with others. one woman lead as the -- that is a sex slave for 10 years. she has gone on to live a life of saving others from her state. she has dedicated herself day in and day out to saving others from the same fate that she faced. we are here because we believe. we believe in ourselves and in our fellow human beings. we believe that justice will prevail over time because of justice has to prevail over time.

we are here because we love. we love our doctors and our sons. we want this to be a better world for everyone where everyone has an opportunity to live a life worth living. most of all, we are here because we believe in action. we will spend two days together in your great stories. we are going to find deep inside ourselves not just the conviction, but the dedication to go home and do what we need to do to make the world a better place. thank you, tina. you are one of the only when i in the world who has the vision and leadership to bring us all together. we are all really grateful. [applause] >> our next co-host, dr. ngozi okonjo-iweala -- the managing

director of the world bank. welcome. [applause] >> thank you. my name this ngozi okonjo- iweala and i am from nigeria. my hero is from the world village in west africa. she is a martyr, a wife, and a worker. she also runs a small farm. women like her produce 8% of africa on street food. women like her are the best bouned of africa. in kenya, there are efforts to bring water to 2 million people. in my country of nigeria, they are the ones who transform, process, and market the food. it was only last year that went for the first time in the

country's history were given the right to own land. in the developing world, 1000 women die in childbirth everyday. more than 33 million young girls are still not in schools. i am here to say that is wrong. i know what it means to almost lose a child. that is why i care personally so much for each and every woman who is going through childbirth in the developing world. equality for women is essential for the world. this is smart economics. that is what we say at the world bank where i work. that is white women like louise, the everyday women -- that is why when it might least, the everyday women, are my heroes.

i am delighted to support tina and the summit that brings these heroes and their stories into the spotlight. thank you, tina. [applause] >> dr. judith rogan, president of the rockefeller foundation. >> good evening, everyone. my hero is the story about one woman's compassion for the people in her community. she founded an organization that represented the slump dell -- slum dwellers of mumbai. unless you are counted, you do not count. she organized the slum dwellers to tout themselves and empower them to ask mumbai or services

for sanitation and for running water -- all of the things everyone in the world has the opportunity and privilege to have. she gave the poorest of the poor a collected and powerful voice. her work has rippled across the world. she heads a network of 26 organizations called slum dwellers international. they work in 70 cities. the network in 20 countries. they provide housing for thousands of families and household sanitation for hundreds of thousands more. the is sheila understands from this very simple beginning that you have to bring these great ideas to scale. you have to engage the right partners. her ability, with them, and compassion has engaged world leaders just as she engages the mothers and children on the streets of mumbai. when we convene for this

extraordinary summit, i salute sheila as my hero, not for what she has done, but because she believes she has only just begun. thank you. [applause] >> my dear friend and partner in the summit, a board member for vital voices. she is behind the winning of courage tomorrow night at the un. >> all women are my heroes because all women are strong. tonight, i want to recognize a special woman, a special hero. her name is rebecca. i met rebekah two years ago. she came to visit me. she told me all about her. she told me how she had to flee

her village. she told me how she felt others and she also told me about the village and the community she created with other women and turned it into a village of artisans. i told her, "i have a village, too, on the fourth floor." i took her to the design studio. together, we made some jewelry, which i showed in my fashion show and sold in my shop. rebecca and i share the same space. i want to thank came up for making this possible. i think this is creating wonderful energy. i am humbled and happy to be here and i am happy to invite you all tomorrow night to the un to celebrate my five women he rose at the awards. thank you.

-- heroes at the awards. thank you. [applause] >> meryl streep was with us last year, but right now she is making a film about a woman who personified power -- margaret thatcher. she sends us a message wishing us three days of inspiration banshee hopefully will be with us again next year. i want to let my co-host take over and introduced our next special guest. thank you. [applause] >> mike bloomberg has made our beloved city a safer city, a greener city, a more educated city, and maybe even a hipper city. he is a wonderful man and a great philanthropist. i am en route to and produced a

man i respect, admire -- i am prowled to introduce a man i respect, i admire. [applause] >> good evening. thank you for those kind words. tina, i just wanted to congratulate you on the merger of newsweek with the daily beat. the result is a new endeavor that tina has named "news beat." i think that is a series of shows on the discovery channel, but that is something else. there are quite a few people sharing the spotlight of the issues of women. tina profiles women all over the globe who are making a big difference and inspiring all of us to do better. i certainly see that in new

york. our home is home to more than 4 million women. it is fair to say they probably do more than half of the work. at least, diana told me to say that. [laughter] i do not have to go very far to get a woman's respect -- perspective in city hall. i can ask any of my deputy mayors or i can call a number of my commissioners including the first female public schools chancellor of a major school system or i can't talk to anybody in our administration -- i can talk to anybody in our administration. if you pick people on merit, at least half of them will be women. the real criteria is talent. when we face a tough issue, i

need good advice. i call on another woman and that is my 102-year-old mother. after being on this planet for 102 years, you are an expert on every subject. those are the women in my world. there are so many more inspiring women. you hear some of their incredible stories. many of these when and are acting locally, but their impact is truly global. they are pioneers, revolutionaries, champions, and we can all learn from them. that is why i am glad that tina is holding this event ny i am excited she is holding it here in new york city. the first discussion tonight centers on the courageous women making their voices heard in the middle east. this session is called "firebrands." you will really enjoy it. tina, thank you for doing this. god bless you.

[applause] >> i will never forget what i saw. wind and dragging their children along so they could witness. standing shoulder to shoulder with boys to fight for their cause. the volunteers to help with security day and night -- march 6, 2011 in benghazi, libya. february 19, 2011 from cairo. it was amazing to see men and women together when they took to

the streets. the square was the future of egypt. men and women fighting for freedom. now, we have to translate this into action and change. january 27, 2011 from tunisia. just look at how the tunisian women work side-by-side with tunisian men. they came out to protest. they came out in mini-skirts. it does not matter. they were there. march 6, 2011 from cairo and benghazi, libya. this is on a personal level for every woman who participated -- it is an achievement. it is a stand for what you believe in. i think this will change us

forever. [applause] [shouting] ♪ [chanting]

[applause] >> good evening. that was a wonderful video. my name is christina, and poor. -- my name this christiane amanpour. it is wonderful to have our first panel with these women from these incredible, energetic countries that have finally decided that enough is enough and have done what everyone has asked them to do -- stand up for freedom, stand up to be counted, take to the streets and say they will not live without the rights any longer. let me introduce our distinguished panelists and we will get to our conversation.

next to me is an egyptian poet. she was doing that way before these uprisings began. she is fighting an end to the horrible practice of female genital mutilation as well as standing up for female rights in egypt. next to hurt this sussan tahmasebi, an iranian rights activist. she is working to and gender based discrimination in iran. she has won many awards for her work. next to her is a saudi arabian activist and writer. she has lost several campaigns for women bought the rights in her area. she is committed to pursuing

that. it is not an easy task in saudi arabia. next to her is the beloved and well-known founder of women to win an international. she has an incredible history from our own background that brought her to the united states and put her front and center of the international battle for wo men's rights. we all have been energized by what has happening -- but what has happened in egypt and before that, tunisia. you started before people started to take to the streets. what were you writing? what was her poetry? >> i have been blogging since

2006 for the dream of having egypt a democracy. by democracy, i mean equal rights for all including muslims and non muslims, including men and women. i fought for civil rights and individual rights. thank god we are seeing this happen right now. >> what was it about january 26 that put people into the streets? you had been blogging. one of the organizing principles was the death of a young man in alexandria. >> that is right. we never thought it would turn into something really big. we were protestors. we came together and decided to go to the streets on january 25 to get the police a hard time. january 25 is an anniversary. we were angry at them for their systematic use of torture and

their treatment of people in general. a few months ago, a young man, 28-years old, was murdered by a policeman in alexandria by refusing [unintelligible] 2 they grabbed them from a cafe and ask them for identification. they beat him to death. this moved everyone, including the people in the cyberworld. we decided we must speak out. >> it was this young man that was the tipping point for what happened in egypt. his pictures were on all of the posters when we went to the square. in tunisia, before that, he was a young man who set himself on fire because of economic distress.

what is behind the 1 million signatures campaign in iran? what is important about the signature in your activism? >> i think you probably know this, but perhaps the audience does not know this. we have achieved quite a bit. right now, young iranian women are more educated than their male counterparts. we have female doctors, lawyers, businesswomen, university professors. but in terms of the legal rights, their rights are not in line with their social gains. for example, men are allowed to practice polygamy. when men can have guardianship of their children. it is hard for them to get a divorce. in 2006, we started a campaign to try to address this disparity.

our strategy was interesting because we engaged in dialogue with people, because we realized that cultural awareness is important, and we ask them to sign a petition said they can be agents in their home state and their own desire to create change. >> how were you able to do that? did you do that openly? in iran, 2006 was not as bad as post-2009. how were you able to do that? >> it was a peaceful approach. it was a civic approach. we wanted to give our signatures to the parliament. from the very start, we had problems. we were denied a space to hold our meetings. we were denied spaces to hold our meetings all along, even the meetings in our homes were broken up. our members started getting arrested.

>> did you get 1 million? >> no, we did not get 1 million. it has taken us a long time. we have done very creative things, none the less. >> what you said at the beginning is crucial. everybody looks at iran and many of these countries and know that oppressed. paradoxically, iran and other countries, women do have much more access to schools, jobs, and many of the other things than before the islamic revolution. traditional families and never let the women out of the house when it was a mixed society and when it was a much more secular society. now there are no morse excuses for keeping women at home. -- there are no more excuses for keeping women at home.

it is the legal right that is needed to be regained. women really do not have those rights in iran. as bad as it is for women in iran, it is much worse for saudi arabia. if you cannot drive. you barely can work. things are changing, but in many areas of business, it is still not allowed. i want to show a video that you took, i think. did you take this video? it is about you and your friends. >> yes. it was me and my sister in law. it was 2008. >> i want to play this so that you see this and realized that this piece of video was a massive act of defiance. >> [speaking arabic]

>> she was driving with her sister on international when an's date. where were you? >> on the east coast. in the eastern province. >> i remember back in 1990 when

we gather there before the first gulf war. a lady who had a shop where we went to buy things -- we were not actually -- we were calling the troops and getting ready for the war -- she called me before the war started and what may up. she said, "report what we have just done." she and her friends were driving in a parking lot of the supermarket. dust was so huge. it was 20 years ago. each and every one of them got severely penalized. their families were severely penalized. their husbands, brothers, and relatives who were working were either fired or worse. it was a terrible situation. that tiny act of driving in the parking lot, not outside on the street. you were outside. did anything happen to you?

>> no. it was the desert area. it is illegal to drive outside the city limits. there was no problem. i thought they would go after me, but they did not. they are getting smarter. they do not want to get these ideas to be more world-known. >> when he watched in saudi arabia and see all of these protests happened in your part of the world -- many women taking part whether it is in egypt or tunisia, where it is happening -- will it ever happen in your homeland? >> it is happening. unfortunately, it is not getting enough coverage because it is saudi arabia. it is happening in the province where i live. there were clashes. some people got injured.

we are not really a quiet area. tomorrow is a big day for saudi arabia. they have already started a campaign on facebook. tomorrow -- it is going to happen in the capital city. i think that will affect the rest of the country. to see it only in our area, they are going with iran or they have influence. i just want to say something about iran and saudi arabia. iran is really bad. the situation is bad for everybody. but this is one side of the coin. the other side is the darkest side. we lived in a very dark area. nobody knows about us. our stories have never been heard because we are very strong in terms of oil. we support the west with the oil. also, it is the homeland of islam.

even outside -- for me, i cannot be in any area outside because saudi arabia can stop any interview. they are very powerful. >> let me ask you -- we talk about the power of social media. i want to ask you -- the king has just come back from a long time abroad. he immediately gave $36 billion to various people to try to preempt any uprising. there are many people who say that they like can't, -- that they like him. we are not like tunisia and egypt and about to go rushing into the public square. what are the facts about saudi arabia? our people and patient or do they accept this very slow pace of social reform? >> became is a decent man.

but if we have only one decent man fighting an army of corrected man. we cannot change that much. we had the young generation just like in iran. we have 20% of the graduates that are female. they have no jobs. most of the jobs are reserved for men. men are suffering from unemployment. the rich people are greedy. they always try to hire the cheapest people. that is why we have unemployment. this is one issue, but the new issue is we have no rights. we cannot express our opinions. we have nothing for our young men and women anywhere to go. we do not have cinemas. we do not have spaces where

people can gather. the only thing we have everywhere you go are mosques. that is not enough for people. it is not going to change anything unless you approve human rights in saudi arabia. >> everybody here knows gameela ismail for more organization. it is held nearly 300,000 when throughout the world emerged from port situations. not so many people know your personal story. it is unbelievably compelling. your father became saddam hussein's personal pilot in a rock. you grew up in a very bizarre situation. you were forced to leave by your mother who thought she would be helping by putting you into an

arranged marriage. tell us how that turned out. >> in a way, a lot of the american stories helped iraqi women. my woman -- my mother graduated from college in 1968. they were wearing skirts. they were working, earning their living. she was a very strong woman to make sure to tell me you had to be strong and independent. there is this woman who is very strong. she showed me i could be a strong woman. all of a sudden, they ask me to accept an arranged marriage. it was a secular, educated family. there were also going with this tradition.

they both are parallel to each other. in my mother's case, she asked me to accept the arranged marriage -- it was the only medium for her to get me al of being very close to sit on the same. people utilize tradition that could be part of our own [unintelligible] that is very much the story of my mother. >> do you have hope for the women of iraq today? >> the women in iraq -- you have a whole reverse situation. my mother's generation is still working. their doctors are the ones who are much more traditional -- their daughters are the ones you're much more traditional. they are getting marriage at a young age -- married at a young age because of the economy.

right after the invasion of iraq, when they were very excited. we thought we would have equality and justice. they were not fully included in iraq. the first act of the government council, there were only three women. there are women in the parliament. that is an accomplishment. we are one of the few countries where women have equal citizenship rights. in most of the arab countries, when they do not have equal citizenship. if i married a non era or a non iraqi, my children cannot have that citizenship. economically and socially, we went backwards. we did not go forward. that is the story of what is happening today. the movements where women are in the streets and going into the streets next to men is not a

unique moment. out -- women in algeria did it in the '60s. the moment where they also are -- the moment in which we have to stand still and say, "we actually want political representation this is happening easier. economic security. out of 128 countries surveyed, only 23 women equally. women won citizenship and family law. that is the story of iraq. they got something and they did not get a lot of it. >> units in egypt and the constitutional commission. it does not have any women on it. that seems very controversial.

>> we saw women stand side by side with men. even when men who did not get out of their houses, they are the same -- even when women who did not get out of their houses, they are the same. [unintelligible] the future for women's rights in egypt is not really going to change. >> when i was there, i ask people if they left the square -- they said that what they have proven is that they will never leave the square. if we see something we do not like, we will go back out again. why are women not going back out into the streets to protest? >> this brings reprisals from

among the protestors. they were told to go back to their room. we had constitutional amendments already. no one cares to amend articles that are not fair to women like article no. 11. this article says that a woman cannot ignore her household activities for an outside job. she should leave the outside job. there are similar articles. it is horrible, actually. no one called for a change in these articles for the constitution. when we offer pressure to my organization or some other group, they told us it is not

time. democracy will not happen without women's rights. [applause] thank you. >> something extraordinary that i had not even thought of. you said that online activism was a real gift to women. in real life, you are looked at as a beautiful body or someone who works in the house. but online, you were gender neutral. >> exactly. i have written an article about discus. it won a very prestigious award. the article was describing the internet as a place for dealing with the minds of young muslim women. in our communities, we are

struggling between the rising religious tied and the rising patriotic gal mentality. the internet has started to be very common and widespread. this gives women the opportunity to express themselves freely. they write blogs. no one cares if you're still a man or a woman, it's either good or look bad. in the streets, they only care for what you look like. it has empowered women economically. men and women in saudi arabia are not allowed to go to work and participate in public life. i have seen so many women go on

to websites, making their own projects, and watching them on the social networks, and getting money and being independent. >> how wired our young people in saudi arabia? are women taking part? >> they are active. we are not well-connected. we do not have ways to go out and drive cars. we wait for a man to take us around. the internet has solved many problems for women. it has opened a new window. they can reach anybody anywhere in this world. there is also a dark side of this. there are extremist invested in that. we have statistics that say that

40% of network connections are done by women from saudi arabia. there are good things and bad things. now we have two campaigns. one of them is for driving. at that time, i did not use facebook. now, a new generation of women are fighting for driving again. i tell them to go out and they like what they did. i posted a video clip. go and do that. it will have more of an effect. >> you make a direct appeal to the interior ministry. do you have any inkling that they may be ready to move on this driving issue? >> there are no signs, but sometimes they will open the subject and let people talk. you hear about this and read about it. i do not know what is their

plan. we have no idea if they are going to do it. but they have opened the subject again. it starts to open cases like this. >> so many people in this audience and around the world want to know what can be done to help women wherever it might be. what do you think, sussan, the united states should do? we had the state department who is keen on women's rights. people are looking at the situation in these countries. can the outside world do anything that is actually helpful to the went inside iran -- to the women inside iran. >> 50 of our members had been arrested even though it is a peaceful campaign. grandmothers, mothers, young

women, and even men. we have a lot of solidarity from organizations, especially based in the waist -- in the west. human rights organizations, women's organizations, but also some organizations based in our region. it is really important. it is part of why and how people know about us. they know about the campaign. plus, also, the internet. i think we also need to stay in our region to get together. this is what i want to advocate for because women's issues are also -- are always brushed aside as a western concept. it is not islamic. you see in all these countries with very different demographics, close countries -- women are advocating for their rights. they are just like women in other countries, the u.s., and the west.

they are not different. they want equal rights. we need a space to get together and to strategize and figure out how to work together and make this issue of women's rights and indigenous issue. when we are attacked and arrested in iran, it is great when we get petitions from other countries. would it not be great if we got petitions from saudi arabia? we support our sisters in tunisia. we are supporting our sisters in egypt. it would be great if we shared strategies without to deal with -- when we come under attack and how to deal with solidarity. >> does your organization have any thoughts on how to help? >> there is a bigger and there is a smaller. the dali lama said you could not help someone if you did not respect them. on the middle eastern perspective, particularly the

issues of women, the basic act is respect and not to generalize whether we cover our share or whatever it is that we do. it is really complex. many women are choosing that. how can we actually go about it in a respectable way? it is a very defensive part of the world. how can we go about it from a respected standpoint and not patronizing? the second one is from a political perspective. it is very important for america and europe and the world to prioritize women's rights as a policy. in my opinion, women are implicated for the direction of society. we cannot look at the muslim

issue. secretary clinton really makes the point over and over again. we have to be consistent in how we can do much more. it is not only -- it is incorporating women in all sectors of the economy. >> there is nothing more powerful than the personal connection. we ask every single woman from around the world to sponsor one woman at a time by giving $27 a month and exchanging pictures with her. in iraq, we met with one woman. she said, "pike place rosewater -- i place rosewater." she is an american. she exchanged letters with me. she tells me about her life.

she is my sister. there is nothing at the end of the day in the act of helping each other -- it is a very personal connection that we are both sharing. when i work on different issues in the country, we use the story of a american woman who was domestically violated. iraqi women always say, "really? it happens in america?" how do we have -- we help each other by building bridges of communication. it is a global issue. in our part of the world, we have a long way to go. we are working on it. how do we support each other? >> for international organizations, we have one policy.

women are not allowed to leave home. if a woman was to go somewhere, she has to get permission. the permission comes from the mail guardian. a saudi arabian -- an organization came to saudi arabia a few years ago to help change the laws. we have businesswomen coming to the country. they allow them to go out without permission. that is because [unintelligible] the second thing that is going to happen -- education is not allow for women in saudi arabia. only in private schools on a very small scale.

the olympics have this policy that if you do not have females on your team, you cannot participate. now we've started to discuss this. they will open a club for females to practice physical education. even international situations can affect our country's policies. >> that is amazing. collapsed economic arguments always win. in iraq, always meeting with a shiek. i had very short hair. it was not a good scenario. it was really bad. [laughter] what we are trying to do is help win and get jobs.

you -- women get jobs. you have a million widows in iraq. this very conservative man was saying that women were like a broken wing to a bird and a bird cannot fly with a broken wing. what i am trying to say is that the economic argument is always a when. it is a reality back home. when there is a huge level of unemployment and frustration with low wages, there is a much more potential for of -- for openness. >> we spoke a little bit about some of the disappointments in the square for women. many people are looking at these uprisings and saying, "we hope this does not become like iran."

they want to bring in some kind of democracy and the -- and then be condemned. do you have that fear in egypt? do you think that what is happening there could slide back into something as bad or worse than the tactics of what you overthrew? >> one possible scenario is very possible from my own opinion. we started to get training for young people in the provinces. we made rules about the use of force. the muslim state or the islamic states like iran or saudi arabia were the use of force for

several rebel states. [unintelligible] all the time people are very religious. egyptians are religious by nature. whenever you make anything to as long -- islam, they will accept it. >> explain the power of the muslim brotherhood in context of what you say? >> the muslim brotherhood are very popular in egypt. they are usually organized to practice these issues.

that is what they are popular among the people. actually, this is not reflected in political life. people are fully aware of the difference between what we would like to see and this religious privacy that is rising. i completely disagree with people they say that maybe because of the muslim brotherhood, they may lead in the near future. >> last quick questions to the remaining three -- sussan, what are women in iran telling you now about what they are sitting around their region and how they feel they may be able to turn this into something for themselves? >> i want to comment on the economic issue. when we go and talk to people, even very religious people, we talk about women's rights.

they see us doing so well. people in power are rarely moved when you talk about their mothers or their sisters. when you talk about their daughters, they want to have rights for their daughters. they want to ensure that their daughters do well. they see this dichotomy. with what is happening in egypt, it could very well slide back. you have a government where women do not have their rights. i think legal guarantees are absolutely critical. this is the moment that egyptian women and egyptians need to seize. to ensure that women benefit from equal rights -- women's writes for him -- are human rights. you cannot bargain them away. if you have any influence, this is not where you should bargain

away. we are going to be watching all over the world to see how the international community deals with this. >> we will give you the final word. 30 seconds -- what do you hope to see from these uprisings? how'd you think they will affect women in saudi arabia? >> i think they will affect them all lot. it is to protect the men in the back. that was the plan. >> we will see the next space tomorrow. thank you so much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> charlie rose talked about the work of the gate foundation that focuses on women dying in childbirth, once held, a

childhood vaccines and the humanitarian causes. this is over 15 minutes. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. it is an honor to be here. i have had conversations over the years. they are always doing and interesting things, traveling around the world to get a sense of where and how the foundation can make a difference. this has always been about global health and education. recently you have seen a major donation to the question of childbirth and mortality.

on wednesday, you had a meeting with secretary clinton. he talked about a new initiative. tell me what the problem is and what the difficulties are. >> there are so many women who died a maternal death in childbirth. the deaths are inexcusable. ? we know how to solve. we use 8 million children under the age of five every year. 3 million of those are in the first 20 days. for a long time that piece of the puzzle we cannot solve. these issues are interlinked. if you think about a child's health, it is related to the woman's health. it is related to the child's

health. you have to lift up both of those things. the foundation started in reproductive health. we let that work for a while. we came in very strongly. we started in childhood vaccines. we are learning how to bring down the deaths of children under 5 years old. what we decided to step on this to tackle these. >> what do they need? what can you do? >> we had an amazing research findings, they place in india. we believe that immediate breast-feeding was important for a woman thing to do. it is fundamental. is she press sees her baby right

away continues, it keeps the baby from getting infections. some of the biggest things they died from right away are being called are getting an infection. we were able to reduce that success rate by over 50%. we need to do a different kind of a technological innovation. it is a different kind of innovation. it is a cultural innovation, teaching women how to do the culturally appropriate thing. the teach them in a way that is respected, they will do that. these are huge things. >> in many cases, the technology is there. you have to find a way to deliver its. >> absolutely.

in our country, we never keeping that accord clean is very important. in india, a lot of european health-care workers explain this to them. they did not seem to do it. we said they could use it. they said explain it to them like this. he had two pieces of bread. but them out. the keep the foil on one, it declined to say moist. the other one will try out. that is exactly what you want that umbilical cord to do. when they explain it that way, is spread like wildfire. think about that social change, i'm really interested in that piece of the work. it has allowed us to go down

this. 20 million children used to die every day. we are going to get a lot of this their the vaccines. we need to figure out this first 28 days. >> it is not that the world as the know-how to face this. in our culture, you take your child to get those routine innovations. that biotechnology, that is merkel technology. we do not think about polio much in this country.

we were stunned to see it was a lag and then it would go out to the developing world. we were able to partner with many people. with the right strain. that makes a huge difference. because of the 2 million children a year. kenya, i was just there in january. they are rolling out a vaccine. it is a year-and-a-half after a came out. >> you are just in kenya. they welcomed me. they know that you come in to make a difference for this.

when we go to these countries, we are welcome by the government. all lives have equal value. when i go and talk to the developing world, which i do a lot, they talk very eloquently about the life of their child. it is their daughter.

people talk about mounting something better for their children. the want to put them in school. and allows them to keep that child alive. it makes an enormous difference for what they can do for their children. >> what is the most difficult thing about the job? >> probably the heartbreak. when you go to the developing world i'm so touched by the women. a law often sit down with them. to them by year end to their home like they would do here. i could have been born in the

circumstances. there is no way i was born in these 19 states. the thing about the length you would go to to keep your child alive, it is heartbreaking what people go through. one thing i learned really early, it traveled to rahm with a researcher. she said to me, if you for in this circumstance, what would you do. what opportunity with the have and not have? i had to think about it. i did not know. she said i would be a

prostitute. this is a ph.d. researcher. we think are you kidding. the more you think about her question and answer, you realize that a mother will go through any length to put food in her child's belly. that is why we see this huge hiv problem around the world. the has them was not bringing any thing home. one-third of them are abusive. it taught me such a good thing. i tried put myself in that woman's shoes and say what is it i would want. what would i want to know? but does nothing like the

circumstances these women are in. one of the slums had two beautiful little girls. i said, the children to have. she said she had four children. she says she lost both of them. i have four girls. her husband is left here because i did not have any boys. a thought or that would but you to your home but i just got thrown out of it by the slumlords. as a way to do for work. she said i sit on the street and i do people wonder if they come by. those are the circumstances we are dealing with. >> it sounds like having a hands-on opportunity to meet and talk to people makes a difference in how you see their responsibility. >> absolutely.

when i go back to the foundation, he always carry that with the. are getting the price down debt still have the latest technology? they are very intellectual debates. why are you doing that work? i would give it to two children and some of one parent and child remind them. it is important to remember why we do the work. they can lift themselves up. >> how big an issue is gender inequality? >> it is huge and enormous. we sometimes forget that. on farms, most of the farmers are women.

who gets it? most of the people and the children getting that out. we have to think about how you get women at the center of these programs. it is really important. you were in washington testifying. we are looking at debt and deficit in those kind of issues. what can be the impact on foreign aid and humanitarian issues? >> we are quite concerned. most americans want to be generous. i think we think of ourselves as generous.

it is less than one some of our u.s. budget is spent on foreign aid. >> how is that compared to other countries? >> other countries a more generous norway is incredibly generous. a lot of the countries are moving to 0.8% of gdp. we are not even close to that. how much should we spent? about 10%. these dollars make a huge difference. measles vaccines will save a life. even though i had these very sad moments, meaningful technologies are what gives me optimism.

this been a lot of time advocating. foundations can only to small amounts as a pair to the government. absolutely. even though the foundation looks large, it is tiny compared to these problems. all they can be is this catalytic went. it is hard for them to come up with new vaccines secreting a public-private partnership. it makes sure there

developed for farming. that can be done by the foundation. >> we are out of time. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> next, the u.s. ambassador to libya talks about the situation in that country. then the white house press secretary on libya. after that, and nicholas sarkozy talks but nato military operations in libya. tomorrow, paul sullivan examines relationships between the united states and libya on the diplomatic one.

shawmut arnold discusses the effect of radiation and what they considered standard levels of it. it is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. the u.s. has increased contact with libyan opposition forces. he said the opposition is "off to a good start. u.s. knowledge of him except the opposition is limited. his remarks are about 25 minutes. it is friday in the house. good afternoon. welcome to the state department. it is our good fortune to have with this our ambassador to libya.

we will introduce you to some of the current events coming in libya. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. and the u.s. ambassador to libya. have resided there until 2010. you know the circumstances to which i left. i'm not here to discuss the circumstances. and here to discuss what the partners are doing. to stop the blood chilled -- the bloodshed. my team was evacuated on february 23 and has been reconstituted in washington.

it is more difficult to get the in the nation we would like. let's discuss how we got here. a great group assistance decided that they no longer wanted to live under a repressive regime. in response, the regime unleashed a bloody wave of violence and oppression slaughtering their own citizens. the consequences of the actions would be the exodus. we rushed to provide assistance.

we have provided humanitarian assistance to help those workers get back to their countries. we continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of libya. they spoke with one voice to condemn them into responding. they called for urgent action. we also implemented unilateral response. they have no intention of seeing the violence and bloodshed. he faced the prospect of a

humanitarian catastrophe. by his words and actions, we had to take him at his word when he threatened to go house-to-house. the coalition was compelled to act. it garnered the support and participation of nations to recognize the significance of coming together in the community to address the situation in libya. the people must be allowed to have a voice. ultimately, they will urge the path forward. our goal is to assume the provide american assistance in order to achieve the aspirations. thank you. >> tell us if you are at all

closer to making a decision on whether to follow the lead the start about a couple of weeks ago. >> since the beginning of the crisis when they constituted themselves a some sort of governing body, i remember my staff recognize the some of the people were people we dealt with during our tenures and libya. i have been reaching out to the leaders of the council. since that time, we had extensive dealings in context there are various programs that the people of the east.

i very public affairs section in libya. they are always communicating with the doctors and people who are now part of the council. since the secretaries, we have been gradually stepping up our contacts with them on a daily basis. the secretary met with a very prominent former official in libya. he was the head of the economic developing course. they were on the forefront of trying to recommend this. he has since been one of the two core coordinators to the international community. we have been in contact with him

constantly. i would say in terms of my own contest with them, if you looked at what they have done, of i think it is very positive. they were freed from the regime. it is a grass-roots movement. they organize to will to take care of the garbage, electricity, water. they then elided bruises to the main council. he appealed for humanitarian aid. they knew they had to deal with the international community.

they have been very careful about trying to get the right messaging across. i am sure you have seen some of the documents across. one of them was welcoming the coalition efforts on their behalf to protect them from the ravages of the onslaught parted. they are talking about the disparaging claims that the coalition efforts were there. they called upon other members to help them. there also published several documents, one which i believe is 3 days ago talking about

their vision about what a feature would be like. it has all the right elements in terms of human rights and women's rights and equal participation. from what we know, i think they are off to a good start. that is not to say we know everything about them. we do not. we have to be very careful about who might be included in the future and how they go about forming the government. we do not know everything about who we are dealing with. based on the experiences we've had so far, they are off to a good start. they did not seem to be any way incompatible with the deals we would be advocating in that

situation. >> are you any closer to making a decision on that? >> there is elements with legality involved. there elements of international law. these are some very important steps. when i staff left, we expanded our operation. recently we took the same step of looking at the special envoy when the security situation allows it. the secretary stepped up the level of representation. without getting into the issue of the recognition, if taken

some steps to support the opposition. >> what if any tangible assistance is the u.s. government giving the opposition? are you reaching out to try to help them thinking about how they might form ministries or seek to govern some parts of libya? the air re of options with respect is being discussed in washington. it is off the table right now. we have made informal to the council. as a miss for, it to move

forward in terms of shaping the constitution and any kind of constitution and this kind of democracy. we are willing because we will make the offer and wait to see what they would like us to do. >> can i take that a bit further? the opposition says they are looking for that kind of political support after the no- fly zone is set up, you have a situation where these people are going to try to do develop themselves. do you have a plan for this? is this something that they will be working on?

to finish that, he said although the military operation does that get rid of them, they said geopolitical goal would be if he set down for power. had the achieve that? there is talk about an indictment. knowing what you do about the regime, d.c. in the situation where he would step down from power? have you had any further contacts? with respect to what are the potential means of the council, we have done a lot of discussions. we tend to do some plans here.

certainly, the idea that we might be able to do help these offers is part of that. we limit ourselves available. there are different departments we have this. the question of the icc < i think they have begun investigations. i will let them determine the case. i'm not one to speculate on what his intentions are with respect to stepping down with any of these actions. it taught us not to speculate on the potential actions of any member of the regime.

i have had some limited contacts in the members. i contacted some of them. they injured they have seen the president's comments last friday and to make sure they understood what is at stake for themselves. we should look to the commons that the president made. it is a look not for whom the bell tolls kind of warning. >> the other day the secretary spoke about members who are reaching out. american tell us about any

things that occurred to break ranks with him and how you are helping them. >> there have been several contacts between members last week. it is clear they are reaching out for several possible mediators to try to get the message across. i am not exactly sure what the message is. it leads to some sort of desperation at this time. we have not been moved to this kind of discussions. >> they need training.

the need ammunition. the opposition members are students. they made this very forcefully. they need some good work. where do we stand on this? i will let given to the internal discussions. the full gamut of potential assistance that we might author is a subject of the u.s.

government. i have no final decisions made. >> de you agree that the no-fly zone is a stalemate? ? scenarios thatal are playing out. it is difficult to know which one will play out. it is possible that they could result in a stalemate. that is one possibility. it did not think anybody has this with respect to how it will turn now. >> it is under here.

we are concerned about the recognition. it runs into several legal questions. there are other things that countries can do short of recognition of this particular point. it has not prevented us from doing the things we need to do to show our strong support. >> some have suggested that they have put loyalists into the same jail that he was using for the opposition people. are you troubled by anything we have seen a part of their own behavior in the towns and cities

they have gone to? a lot of analysts will continue to say we do not know anything about the rebels. t think that is the wrong statement? >> i do not have any information about that. we have been very strong. need to be careful with their messaging. in the things she spoke about are not taking place.

>> is it wrong when people say we do not know anything about who they are? >> i think for the american people, the information about libya has not been widely discerned. i was in libya at the end of december. they were calling me and asking me if we still had them. at that kind of level, i do not think it is surprising that the average individual's would have questions about this. we know some of them. we are trying to get to know more of them. some i do not think we are at a

point or we can make this 100% kosher. the statements they have made have all left up -- led us to conclude said they are positive force. this is the most recent iteration. what influence have they had? what concerns to have about their infiltrations'? >> it is a danger to the region. it helps stop any potential

operations that they might carry out. from the start when i first met with the representatives of the council, i said they told me that they were rare that there could be a problem with them trying to take a vantage of the situation. you could have some experiences taking advantage. there had been an effort it is maybe three or four. they are very aware of the problem. he has used the card to say that there has been an unrelenting analogy on this. this is not an overgrown protest

movement. it is a way to disparage the opposition. it is clearly a card he may think he could get some benefit about. do have concerns? certainly we do. the council is aware of that, too. >> she said you offer them all the help that they might wish. however you taking part in the meeting on tuesday in london? >> since the beginning of the crisis, they have said they would like recognition from the united states. they have made requests for arms. we have said we would consider that.

the other issues are still being discussed. they have been invited. >> do you know? >> i do not know. >> can you give us five attendance -- five or 10 minutes? >> the white house press secretary announced that president obama will deliver a speech in the very near future on the u.s. role in libya. this happen minutes before the president held a conference in libya. >> ladies and gentlemen, may i

suggest that we have a conference? i will not to any introduction. if that upsets the apple cart, i will think differently. otherwise, i will think differently. >> today we are talking about syria. i would like to know how this

applies equally. i with like to know if the same principle applies to syria. this is why it is out by this.

>> what is your analysis? >> i would like to say that the council has banked the prime minister for his for his coverage. he had suggested taking it to the portuguese. it is being affected. it had the political struggle with its own rules.

there will be elections held within the next two months. our confidence in portugal is total. they are not aware of the need . they have announced they wish to poland, lithuania. it is what exactly it needed to do. it is a very satisfying situation. we have economic governance. it is part of a long-lasting

institution. can you say that europe right now hester economic governance? is there still progress to be achieved? i remember the situation as he stood a year ago. we have made phenomenal progress. -- governance' is still in place. they have solidarity. they want to subscribe to this or bring to this. it does not mean that we do not

have other alternatives. many think of what france was asking, a think we really have met this. we talked about this in depth today. what happened in japan is that the interest of the whole world. there was an earthquake that raided nine on the scale.

it is the highest known by japan. the safety mechanisms resisted. the problems were thdrowned by way this. the put it in the cooling system. the problem with japan is how to deal with some nominees. there never had experience. we have to like what has happened in japan.

it is something that comes into the sovereignty. things will be with the commission. it will proceed to conduct this. it'll make it public. they are in charge of nuclear issues. they will say whether or not it has been met. it is not meet the standards. it was conducted on all of the nuclear power plants. we will take all necessary

measures. that means may be shutting it down. >> we talked about command structures. i'm sorry. i could not see. whether the next stages? the next is on tuesday. these are members of the coalition.

is there going to be a proposal? they know the solution cannot simply be a military one. they aren't -- the ability to listen to reason was there. on the libyan matter what we see and hope is that all of our partners want to rush to this.

do not feel that it has long lost context? they have led to the hype that we have lost -- launched. we know full well that it rests

on europe's two most powerful armies. want us to build it as a majority partner. that choice today is that the united with europe. germany has a history. it is typically not even to spontaneously show it outside of their own. i am delighted that they have found a way to the united. we reintegrated 19 nato committees.

there obviously has to be a framework to organize it. the one to provide the framework. it is very wise considering someone has to do that. this is no problem. it is working. it is in the action.

it is about the political steering. i am only too happy to discuss this matter. idc the united states or the framework -- either you see the united states or the framework. they are running behind the united states. what would this mean?

it may now have to come up with a system that would compete. we are also in naples, italy. why not use what is available? i do not see what kind of political problem that could give rise to. it is not nato forces that will be protecting the coalition. yesterday, there were 60 planes flying in libyan skies. yesterday, there has to be some way to coordinate it. each of us are going to go

there. it is the command center in naples. it was expressed tuesday in london. there are those political problems. what are we going to do our american in cady friends? do we reintegrate them? that is an interesting concept. what would be the point of setting up a system that would compete with what already exists? i have no problem in tinker questions on the matter. this is a political one. a political one have been far more significant -- a political

one would have been far more significant. the importance of implementing the resolution. that would be a political problem. to use nato machinery, not a political problem, frankly. >> mr. president, do not feel that the crisis -- we are talking about thousands of refugees. what are we doing to help the situation? >> france has tabled a resolution on this subject on this tragedy, which is worsening day by day. it would be wrong for us to turn a blind eye to this absolute tragedy. that is the fate of international affairs.

one cannot handle crisis one at the time. it is indeed scandalous i confirmed this today, at the very least, the u.n. security council has to forbid the use of heavy weaponry. the mention is being made of shells and helicopters. that must be declared completely illegal. that is the responsibility of the united nations. >> mr. president, just a question on nuclear issues and on portugal. the power plant is considered to be one of the most dangerous because it is on a fault line. a lot of people are looking for it to be shut down without waiting for the stress test. is that even thinkable?

secondly, i do believe that portugal can survive without help up until the next elections back -- elections? >> i am not in charge of portugal. it is up to portuguese authorities to decide what they will do or not. i did not have a view of the subjects. it is complicated enough as it is already trade is up to the portuguese. it is not up to me to do separate things are difficult already without adding -- putting our role in. i think he has done all the work that he needed to do. a lot of people tend to lose a cool head in times of crisis.

i do not. i think we have to have the stress test and see what they come up with. if you say to me that we need to shut it down before, what is the point of having the test? we said we're going to have the monitoring, the stress test, and then we will publish the results. then we will see what to do break you were asking me to give the exact reverse. if we had reason to believe that it is dangerous, then we should shut it down straight away. are you trying to make me say? i have no reason to believe that. yes, it would be shocking not to have some kind of stress test on the basis of the results. it is astonishing to decide to the monitoring and then decide

that he will shut the thing down before you of the monitoring trade that would indicate that you've already got the results beforehand. >> on libya, this morning, nato , theon sunday night international coalition will be swallowed up by nato. i would like to have your confirmation on this. you talked about the political conference -- coordination that will be undertaken in london. give directives to nato? or to come up with ideas on the future of libya? the spanish planes butterflying with

us, it is important. yesterday, the french planes picked up from where the spanish ones left off. decisions will be taken by political coordinating mechanisms. the decisions are taken by national authorities and nato determines, manages, and organizes the missions. there should be no difficulty efforts. i did not want to be repetitious by reminding you exactly of what i said previously. we have political coordination at the highest level of the members of the coliseum. -- of the coalition. the other question, i believe? the absorption of the coalition by nato. the fact that nato has going to swallow up -- nato cannot

swallow up the emirates. that is impossible. it would be counterproductive. it would be playing into the hands of colonel gaddafi to say that nato is taking over when there is no coalition. we will keep, of course, the political steering mechanism and we will coordinate our operational actions by nato. >> on political steering, a deerfield that -- do you feel that the rep has played a role in a libyan crisis? as she passed the stress test? -- has she passed the stress test?

>> i believe she has played a major role. we have worked hand in glove with him. it is not the high representative bill has leveraged on the armed -- who has leverages on the armed forces. there is no such thing as a european armed force. it is not the high representative that can coordinate with the coalition forces does. she'll be present at the paris summit, a london summit. he is in charge of political matters in order to maintain unity in other countries. they have shown their leadership in putting the armed forces to this international objective. it is not always simple, but ultimately, it has worked quite

smoothly. things start happening as a saturday night. things did not go too badly, did they? the very last question? >> mr. president, what is your opinion on the measures taken by the government with respect -- >> i would like to have a view on the subject. i must say that u.s. court -- you have pulled up to me on that one. i do not have a position. i do not want to say something stupid. if you could come back another time and i would be happy to answer that question. i was expecting about just anything except that.

it is not that i am not interested, please do not hold it against me. do you want to call me about it? why not? call my wife, she speaks italian. it is time i put an end to this press conference. have a pleasant weekend. thank you. >> white house press secretary announced that obama will deliver a speech in the very near future in the u.s. role in libya and the region. this happened just minutes before the president held a conference call on libya with members of congress. this portion is about 25 minutes. >> the call, is that in direct response from criticism that he is getting?

>> i will not go through it again today. the list i read you yesterday that the president has had with both leadership and members and committee members. it is part of the process. he looks forward to having these meetings in person. but while they are on recess, he looks forward to updating them on our progress, all that has been accomplished, the lies that have been saved, the incredible speed to transfer command and control to nato. update them on the progress or how we see this going forward. but this is one in a series of consultations. >> the criticism -- was their

concern and the white house about the ongoing pressure for the president to speak with lawmakers to explain what he is doing? >> i will go back to what i said yesterday. we have consulted with congress. i read a lengthy list of engagements. we understand that it is our responsibility to take the need to consult a very seriously and the president will continue to do that. i will also say that there was an urgency to act and have the president waited, giving the preponderant of evidence that was available to everyone, but colonel gaddafi is forces were about to move on benghazi and reap a horrible damage and

killed many libyans, had he waited, had taken more time to debate and consult, i think there is very little doubt that benghazi would have fallen and many people would die. he believes very strongly that he made the right decision. >> the no-fly zone, but pressure did nothing to run at some missing from power. is the administration is -- administration prepared for a long process? >> the military mission that is described in the resolution goes beyond the no-fly zone. it includes the civilian production -- protection piece that enables the coalition to do

more to protect civilians and i believe the no-fly zone allowed in northern iraq. secondly, on a separate track, it is the united states position that muammar gaddafi is not fit to lead and we believe he should leave power. we are engaged in a host of actions that are designed to put pressure on gaddafi, to put pressure on those around him, would be a not that he will make the decision that he has to go. we do not have a crystal ball here and i cannot predict what the future will bring, but we will stay focused on those measures even as the military mission reaches benchmarks of success and that the transfer occurs, we will continue with the tools that we have to put pressure on gaddafi and his

regime. >> [inaudible] >> that the libyan people need to decide who their leaders are. we think that gaddafi has lost legitimacy in the eyes of its people. he has murdered as people in large numbers. the purpose of many of the measures that we have taken, including financial sanctions and other measures, are aimed at putting pressure on him and isolating him so that he makes a decision or those around him come to the conclusion that the future is not bright for this regime. its capacity to function is severely limited. >> [inaudible]

>> how can i help you, mike? >> use the word consult. for example, the meeting last friday. some members were here and some call them. if your consulting them, to what end are you consulting them? are you asking them for congressional action? why not inform them? >> we want to year what they think. it they have suggestions about the things that we should be doing, the president wants to hear that. it is well within the president's constitutional authority to take this military action. he believes the constitution of the congress is important. he wants to your the fought about the mission and about the situation in libya and about our overall policy. >> i have a question of leading

the coalition. have we ever led the collision? >> we were a principal actor in the first phase of the military mission. because of our unique capacity and capability. we were brought there to create the environment if necessary to enforce a no-fly zone. creating an environment where gaddafi forces -- >> the principal actor mean someone else is leading. >> there was no question that we were leading in the first phase. it is a partnership. in the first several days, we were flying the majority and during the majority of the missions. others were as well. that ratio has been shifting day-by-day. today, as i speak, the

authority for the enforcement of the no-fly zone is being shifted to nato. it will no longer be a u.s. fleet. the authority for -- there is an agreement for the command and control over the rest of the mission, the civilian protection mission, there is an agreement at a political level and the military plans that are associated that are being worked out now and will be worked out in the next several days. >> i want to follow-up on that. you said that the united states has a leader -- has been leading in the first phase. that means the president has been the leader of this operation. believe be giving up that leadership role as the transition -- will he be giving up that leadership role as the transition occurs? >> are role would be a matter of days, and not weeks. as the brought to bear our unique assets and capabilities

to create an environment in libya that allowed our allies to enforce the no-fly zone. our allies can take the lead in civilian protection. that process is underway right now. he said what he would do. he is giving way said. i do not see the confusion. >> a lot of people, mostly republicans, are uncomfortable with the whole concept of the united states and the president sending back from a leadership role. >> there are a lot of voices about how we should approach this. the wrong course of action would have been unilateral military action to remove the leader of an arab country. i am confident that most americans think that would of been a bad approach. instead, he pursued a policy where we worked very quickly to build an international coalition that includes arab

support, bodily important, to launch this military action against gaddafi. it is the right thing to do. it is the smart thing to do. it is the best thing to do in terms of u.s. national interest. it is vitally important that the unrest that we have seen and the transformation that we have seen in these countries on building every day now be recognized for what it is, it is organic. is about the people demanding to be heard, demanding greater rights and greater freedom and less repression. it is not about the united states of america. making the decision is about leadership. it is about keeping your eye on the ball about what is in the interest of the american people and on national security. >> the purpose was to prevent an egalitarian catastrophe. it becomes clear -- a humanitarian catastrophe.

if that is no longer a threat, will the president pullout forces? >> the mission is to protect civilians. the united states will continue to participate in the coalition to enforce the mandate given by the united states of the united nations security council. for as long as is necessary to make sure the civilians are protected. we answered -- we are pursuing a whole host of other measures with their partners to continue to put pressure on the libyan regime. >> the pentagon says that u.s. pilots will continue to participate in strike missions, not just surveillance. even after the transition. timbal those pilots be reporting? >> -- to help will those pilots be reporting? but in terms of -- the details

lie across the river at the defense department. it is the case that while control transition is still pending on civilian protection aspects, the united states will continue to fly as part of that mission. that is a matter of days, not weeks. in terms of our -- overall, it is about a lead role. what we will not be is in the lead in either the no-fly zone or civilian production. >> does it make you comfortable having u.s. pilots comparable -- reporting to -- >> that sunday to works. we feel very comfortable -- that is how nato works. we feel very comfortable with the most powerful alliance and moral.

we think it is quite a good one. >> the broad coalition is the right, smart, and best thing to do. it would appear to more slowly -- to move more slowly. is that just an acceptable trade-off? >> i would certainly say that it was worth the time to assemble a coalition. the time is pretty compressed. if you look at any historical precedent with this kind of action to be taken, this collective action by our international partners, there is no comparison at all. in the past, i had given you a blow by blow in terms of sanctions taken in bosnia or the use of military force in bosnia and how long it took for the world to act. that is true and a host of previous examples. the speedier was -- the speed

here was notable. the need to do it with the coalition of international partners was essential. >> it is u.s. policy that gaddafi has lost his legitimacy and should go, but that is not the goal of the security council resolution. john boehner asks if military action can end with gaddafi still in power. >> that is a question that depends on his decision regarding the use of force and violence against his people. against the people of libya. i dare say they are not his people. the mission of the united states -- of the military coalition authorized by the united nations is to protect libyan civilians. that mission continues as long

as libyan civilians are threatened by his forces. >> if he stops threatening them? >> i do not want to predict the future. i have also collaborated on what the other actions we taken and what their goal and purpose is. those continue now and in the future. regardless of -- in concert with the military mission. >> secretary clinton said she feared libya could become another somalia. with groups like al qaeda is the lack of troops on the grounds leaving an opening for them? do you need a more robust -- nine >> of the are not sending american troops -- we are not

sending american troops to libya on the ground. we are working in a variety of ways to reach out to the opposition in libya. to advise them on the what a post gaddafi libya would best look-alike in a sense that we believe that as with every government, the government that is most responsive to the aspirations and grievances of its people will be the most successful. those consultations are part of our policy. >> the format of the president's call, will they be allowed -- will it be him talking or will they be allowed to ask questions?

will is update include cost analysis of the war -- of the conflict? >> they -- that might come up. i did not know. this is happening now. >> do you have any idea of when we will year from -- we will hear from him considering the confusion? >> the president will speak about this and the relatively near future. as he has numerous times and the last several days, he believes that it is vitally important, part of its role as president to speak to the american people about an operation like this. he will do that in the near future. i am not going to give you a time or day. not to date. you guys can cover me with questions, but i do not have any

more for you. the weekly address is embargo. i am not going to announce the subject now. >> might be mentioned libya? >> if it were to mention libya, it will not be the only time that he addresses the american people on libya. >> you might save yourself a lot of questions if you put the conference call -- >> the content of the conversation will be known to you all very soon. >> a formal -- they are ready to talk to opposition rebels. are you aware of this? what is your reaction? >> without addressing specifically, we are aware of contacts that various members

of the regime have made. but we don't know is what they know in terms of -- what we don't know is what they know in terms of the outcome. we were aware of contacts that had been made. i am not going to get into details about that. >> why do think a poll conducted this week shows the mission and libya is the largest -- is the lowest in the military action of the past three decades? 47% compared to 51% of the americans. >> i think that the american people have a lot on their mind and a lot on their plate right now. we're still coming out of the worst recession since the great depression. we have been focused on the tragic events in japan.

it is a lot for anybody to process. we are confident that the president's decision is the right one and he will speak to the american people about how he made his decision, what the objectives are, and why he thinks it is the right thing for the united states and the american people. >> next, a discussion on it u.s. policy toward iran. after that, a conversation with middle eastern women you are taking part in protests in their country. the u.s. ambassador to libya talks about the situation in that country. >> i am a numbers guy. >> he expresses his opinion using charts and graphs. >> to me, the data comes first. i do not decided i'm going to talk about a subject and then go out and look for data.

i really do search for data first. if it agrees with an opinion that i have. >> sunday night, at 8:00 on c- span. >> a a task force has released a new report to the middle east countries. and what it would mean for the country's spirit includes afghanistan. this is a button allen 20 minutes.

>> welcome to the council. welcome. they are looking to the task force. this is where we will launch our issues of support. it exploits of attendees for regional influence. this books that iran view to the neighbors, afghanistan, iraq, lebanon and the nation's across the gulf. it considers the impact and the implications on u.s./iran engagement.

they have posted four working sessions of with key experts and received an issue with the stalemate. when the undertook the this, we have no idea of the events across the region. it is similar to an uprising. whether the implications of unrest and arab states? is there a regional role? these are all critical questions the need to be addressed a global policy makers as they determine what the next steps are in the region. take a moment to think

this. i want to turn over to our chairman who has served as co- chair of this task force and of the atlantic council. he oversaw this. >> we are pleased you are here. we understand the supreme sacrifice you had made. we will have an opportunity for some exchanges based on a great deal that they have learned over the last few months. that has already been noted.

we have been fortunate to have the white and experience council and many individuals with the issues has the entire region. when we started this effort, that is the great uncertainty about the world. that really plays into much of the theme in this relationship. when you put this go on this. you look at the significant part beginning in north of a cut.

you take this across the middle east. it covers a tremendous amount of interest to the world. when you look at the geopolitical dynamics of this, and you can extrapolate from that region. he quickly come to the realization and not the conclusion that this is a vital part of the world.

they are a very sick of the compart. we are seeing a new order being built. a new world order is under way. this is a great manifestation of what is happening around the world. i do not think there is any opinions of how we deal with this. it is how we are going to seek the world again. what is under way is going to transform how we do business. this how we encourage the

relationships. we will get into some details on this. it is much the centerpiece of what this task force has tried to grapple with. it has been my companion -- opinion to interrelationships. every nation will respond. a few do this comment the parallel interests there is very little likelihood that any positive will come from that. you will never be able to close in on trying to resolve

differences. it becomes a central core fact of what we are about. thank you. i now turn to my extreme colleague. cannot think of anyone more qualified. >> we embarked on this through the atlantic council. we felt the relationship between the united states and i ran is going to beef formative. we are focused on various aspects with specific papers that have reflected experts.

the idea is to stabilize the region in a sustainable way. the second way is to prepare for 48 withdrawal the third is to encourage a way to be less to the unitedl states.

how can we keep maximum pressure and kidney for this? >> how to keep pressure on the programs so it does not develop further? on the one hand, you can try to find areas with respect to afghanistan which there is a collective interest. one we have struggled with this that they try to apply in this area is. there is always the risk that you are somehow letting up the pressure. that is certainly not our intention.

it set a precedent for that. we had a very strong confrontational relationship. at the same time, we tried to find areas of this. this is the effort we are trying to reach. we think this comes as a very opportune time because of the of people in the middle east. initially, i think they thought it was lightning because some they are asserting themselves in tunisia and egypt and elsewhere.

the autocratic models may have been a victim. it may be an opportunity at this time. iat isn't a reduction parian think we will let barbara do the first. they've been the one that found the experts. he has been the crew.

this is a spectacular effort you have cut in. let me turn this to you. or should also note that we just arrived from mongolia. we really do appreciate you coming from the street. >> thank you. let me join this. the refocusing on the region. it is oobvious things that there are a number of uncertainties that will influence how things turn out. we are at the protests. there also developments in

afghanistan. these will all influenced directions when it comes to america's relationships. i have just come back from korea. there is a strong perspective their parent run is gaining influence. a definite pick up the sense that the regimes are emerging and took a less accommodating to the night did states. it to be nationalistic. the red this situation. this considers what type of regional role the leadership is seeking.

barbara has been there seven times. there abysm enemies. she is also the author of irani regional influence. the profits will fall today over the next 20 minutes are so. without further ado. >> thank you. this was an excellent map. it will give you a better sense

of how iran sits in the middle of this region between the middle east, central asia and the indian ocean. it is pivotal. there are clairvoyant here. we decided to do this long before they felt it. it is much more timely. all of these are a snapshot of where they are. the narrative that one hears are from others that i ran is far too simplistic. we are seeing a continuation of the pattern that goes to the public.

this presents a by external events. it is strategically yummy. let me explain what i mean by strategically lonely. it has terrific relationships with western power. they have the most successful relationship with hezbollah. this is a strategically not very important country.

there are no major companies war on their behalf. this is relatively recent. they tried to become a member. it was rejected. in the country that has been sanctioned is becoming a member. it has been sanctioned repeatedly because of the nuclear program. there is a de tell about the time is. it has improved over the last decade because of the actions of others.

since i am now a semi punting, we have a modest recommendation. i will not go into all the topics in depth. they have clearly benefited from the regime change. has gone up twentyfold. the city is now the most peaceful and profitable in afghanistan, primarily because of the actions of an iranian businessmen have set up shop. they are benefiting from new transit corridors.

sanctions are still an impediment to an energy trade going through. at the same time, there are errors in this relationship. they see themselves as the origin of high pershing culture. they are being treated as second-class citizens. it is a pattern that when it goes into a country, it but to me that on different forces. there are cash payments. they are even reports that some

had the ball for training. they were bound for afghanistan. they remain somewhat mysterious. it was an excuse to jack up the price. the results were a 70% increase. when we look at iraq, we see a similar pattern. iraq was the biggest threat to the islamic republic. the threat will not be there for the foreseeable future. iran is the most powerful.

it will become even more powerful as it leaves the country. it had an initial proxy. it was formed in a run. when they became entrenched, they became their. it attacked semele other shiite.

he returned them to iraq in january. he appeared be a long a secular shiite and to remain -- to remove the shiites. i think this is an important question. we also have questions about this relationship. why haven't they paid recommendation? there were flown to the 91 gulf

war. why airdate dropping it on iraq? the want to ask if you have a single chicken or a shiite chicken? shiite chickens come from iran. nevertheless, we have seen a panic go through the arab world. it is live and vince -- it is with events in bahrain. if you look at iran relationship with these arab shiite in the country, it is incorrect.

we know there are laws. -- lulls. \ they make up part of the population. it is interesting given the hysteria of some of the propaganda. until last week, it was barely devoting any attention. it is only this the same attention. this change after the saudis sent troops into bharain. -- bahrain. and then the iranian state media

finally picked up the cause. the head of the guardian council is there for the friday prayer leader right there. they are perfectly happy to fight. this is the propaganda victory. only look at relations, we see nations across the persian gulf. i apologize. amid the that these relationships, we see the variation.

it has quite good ties. i have a large and iranian picture appeared in 2009, it is about $1 million worth. obviously, i ran is benefiting from an increase in oil prices. this is a tremendous boom.

it is far too soon to say that iran is somehow the big picture in this. it is for the country. we do not see much of this in the media. there have been demonstrations every week now since february the 14th. the new slogan is "bet on me, mubarak, " the movement never die. it was dormant.

there at a record rate. it is an undisclosed location. there is a cannibalization of the iranians. they have removed the former president from a very important post assembly. scholars know one faction appears to consolidated. appears to consolidated.