>> if you want to hand them to them, please do that, and we will get ready here, in just a moment. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> good afternoon, and welcome to the national press club. i am mark hamrick with the associated press and the 100 president of the national press club. i would like to welcome those watching on c-span. i would like to remind our audience that members of the public are in attendance. if you hear applause, it is not evidence that our journalist

members have checked their impartiality at the door before we ge. before we get started, i want to think a member of our speakers committee who did an excellent job getting today's event together. america has faced the worst job crisis since the great depression with the unemployment rate at 9.1%, and the so-called real unemployment rate is over 16%. of the unemployed, 30% have been unemployed for more than a year. the work force has dropped to 58%, the lowest rate since 1933. our guest sits down as the unemployment the landscape changes. lack of useful skills for new jobs is creating a larger pool of unemployed workers. unions are fighting to maintain their position while their

public image is said to be at an all-time low. according to the pew research poll, they believe it unions -- americans do not believe unions contribute to productivity, or the ability of u.s. companies to compete around the world. the political season is heating up. republicans are trying for their party's nomination. representative. -- rick perry said one in six work-eligible americans cannot find a job, and that is economic demonstration. the administration has talked about presiding over the creation of 2.4 million jobs. we know the president is working on the announcement after labor day. secretary solis is not a newcomer to washington. she served in the house for

eight years where her a initiatives included affordable health care, protecting the environment, and improving the lives of working families. she authored the green jobs active in congress, which provided funding for job training for the veterans, displaced workers, and families in poverty. she served in the california state assembly, making history by becoming the first hispanic woman a elected to the california state senate. a first generation american, her father worked at a battery recycling plant. her mother, from nicaragua, was an assembly line worker and also a union member. she helped implement major facets of the american recovery and reinvestment act, which included an increase in unemployment benefits, providing workers' training for new skills.

we do not want to overlook the fact that in the year 2000 she was awarded the john f. kennedy profile in courage award, given annually to public servants live made courageous decisions without regards to personal consequences. i like to ask our audience to give a warm round of applause to our speakers today, labor secretary hilda solis. [applause] >> secretary, thank you for sitting down with us. it is an important week. we have the holiday coming up on monday. we have the business and financial fields number day, the monthly on unemployment statistics, and as we know the president both yesterday and today has referenced ways to help cure what seems to be a much more substantial unemployment problem than many of us had expected to be

persistent this long after the financial crisis. we know the president will make a speech of some kind. i presume you have and working very closely with him and the white house on that plan. there have been some drips and drabs coming out. what can you tell us about what to expect? >> i do not want to go ahead of the president. i think the public is aware of the president is very concerned about job creation, as well as i am. that's been our priorities since day one. we have learned what will work, and what can work. one of the things he as talk about is extending the payroll tax, which will help millions of people and cut some discretionary funding of care that will help spur job creation. that is one part of it.

the other would be to extend the unemployment insurance benefit program that provides a safe enough for people that are still looking for jobs the safety net for people that are still looking for jobs -- a safety net for people looking for jobs. i feel sympathy for them. we owe them as much help as we can. it is important that it is used as a tool. unemployment helps people reinvent themselves, and get trained, and find the means to getting to that job. the other thing and is very important to the many people that have been laid off in the construction and trades industry is the infrastructure. that is not a new idea. that has been talked about for a long time. i remember bipartisan support on that issue. it should not be about democrats

and republicans. it should be about americans getting back to work and helping that recovery. the infrastructure bank will be critical in helping us maintain our roads, and we are seeing it right now with what happened with hurricane irene. we know we have aging infrastructure. we can quickly go back to work, drawdown planning to help restore our infrastructure. it from the take top, is that not the continuation of the status quo, extending a program that exists? >> we know it is a program that has worked. shortly after the agreement was made between the present, the house, and the congress, we saw the result where jobs were coming back in the first part of the year. a series of other things were attributed there.

those were positive signs. >> the infrastructure bank -- i think senator john kerry was a sponsor of that. that idea makes the rounds, but it might not be a coffee table conversation in many households. can you explain how that works? >> i would say what is really important is to understand that there is a large number of individuals that represent a very key sectors of our economy, and that is the building and construction and trade. that is in addition to engineers, architects, and accountants, they are tied into that infrastructure. we're talking about restoration and high-speed rail -- major investments in our corridors where we find we could ship goods and services in a better way. that would help impact our economy, and hopefully increase the marketability of our products, getting one place to

another, and getting people home faster. in many cases, the incentive will be to retrofit them with new technology -- renewable energy, new types of resources. i am a big believer. as you said, i was the author of the green jobs act. it was passed in the former administration, but not funded. this time around, i am proud to say this president help us make those investments so we could retrain people in renewable energy. look at states like california, the southwest, and even in the state of maine, where you see the growth of new industries coming to bear. if we continue to make those investments, training people appropriately, i think hopefully we will see stabilization in our economic situation. it will make us more

competitive. i think about what is happening in brazil, china, india, and others that are making advances. it has taken us this long, and it should not be that way. i think we are ready to take on the next major step. some cities and states are already doing that. there are lessons to be learned. the path the president has laid out is very positive. >> more specifically on the idea of an infrastructure bank -- is the idea to draw in private investment? put out, would be and investors and individuals that want to make those investments, we know all those are affordable ways to get structures, and built, and also engage in the private sector. this is not just led by the

federal government. we need all partners, local, state, city government, the private sector -- i think it is a great opportunity. there would be a potential of who knows how many million jobs created. >> the president is on the road, and about -- talking about priorities for when congress comes back, pushing ahead a tax credit to help employ veterans, an astonishing number of whom are unemployed after giving service to their country. how does that work? >> it is an incentive to hire our returning veterans, those coming back from service. a small business owner or large business owner could give them a job, and receive a tax credit, and the amount for those that have been unemployed for less than six months would be $2,400.

obviously, that is an incentive to get these young folks they're coming back, returning, and not finding success, but to have a job. that is the least we can do. we need to do much more. the president talked about that today at his speech before the american legion about making sure we honor our commitment to the returning men and women who serve us, many that did not quite understand they would be serving our country for three and four tours. it has had a devastating impact on their families, and the white house and the veterans division has done work to open up opportunities of the private sector will hire our returning veterans, and give them opportunities, especially those that are disabled. that is going to be something that we should all take seriously and now it -- and no

it is something that is constantly on our mind. >> you were a member of congress. you were in the california legislature. that means that perhaps on like other members of the cabinet who, from the private sector, -- who come from the private sector, you have been educated on how the political world works, for better or for worse. if we have seen an almost unprecedented, bifurcated debate surrounding the debt ceiling, which was not comforting to many people. when you are looking at the priorities the administration is putting out there, what is a reasonable expectation that any of these things can get through before an election? >> well, i will tell you, it has been an interesting experience sitting in the executive branch

and watching what is happening in the congress, and it is something that is highly unusual in terms of the polarization that i see, that i have seen. there were many occasions where we would be able to travel and spend time with members on the other side of the aisle. in fact, i served my first year in the house on the education and work force committee, under chairman john boehner. we have a good relationship. we got along with people across the aisle. he did not always have to agree, but where you did agree, you worked. our ranking member at the time was chairman miller. highland quite a bit. we got a lot done. -- i learned quite a bit. we got a lot done. when we saw there were challenges, we could work them out and think rationally through that process. i do not know what has happened

since then except there is a big gap. i know the public is very frustrated. i am very frustrated because there are members in the house from both sides that want to see things accomplished. the urgency is to make sure we create jobs now, and also make whole many communities really need this help urgently. i think about the northeast, the automobile industry that was impacted, and what has happened there, the home builders, the folks that are in foreclosure, the education and training, and the challenges we are facing. i remember serving on the energy and commerce committee, talking about not just health care reform, but also this initiative to bring out more change in terms of access to different forms of media through broadband, of making sure we did not leave any neighborhood or

rural community behind. we had arguments about how that should happen, but i believe a role in congress, all rolled that i had, and continue to think is important, is that we make sure we try to balance our approaches. i do not know that many people in congress are thinking that way at this time. it might be because people have never served before, or do not have an exact understanding about how government functions. that could be a part of it. even not understand in the budgetary process can be complicated. if you have staff that is not there to help prepare and make the right decisions, sometimes that could have consequences. i hope people will be able to come together and do the right thing because there is an urgency to get our economy working for everybody. >> i have to think that some levels of the government there

is an assessment been made of what could reasonably be passed, right? you're trying to figure out what the political landscape is. what do you see the areas that republicans and democrats could agree on? >> i hope the concept of helping to restore aging facilities might be something that would immediately draw the attention of members on both sides of the aisle. the chairman of the transportation committee i think has in the past supported those efforts, and i believe we are talking about communities, in this one instance, this hurricane, judge showing you what kind of devastation could -- just showing you what kind of devastation could happen in the country across areas that are somewhat conservative, and may need federal assistance at this time.

so, let's think about it in terms of trying to help areas in need immediate attention, -- of immediate attention, so we do not run into situations where we have aging bridges that collapse, or rail services that cannot transport goods and services. i think about those things all of the time, having come from a state like california where we have all kinds of commerce where one bad decision on a railroad can devastate communities if things are not appropriately. for and handled and we do not have appropriate -- cared for and handled, and we do not have appropriate means. >> there does not seem to be much disagreement on the notion that the job market needs help.

the question is how to go about that. there are people that say the government needs to be far out of the equation, and others say they need to be more aggressive. an upcoming a luncheon will be ron paul. i know where he stands. it will be interesting to hear his views. we had michele bachmann, who was a presidential nomination candidate, taking a similar viewpoint. -- it is a presidential nomination canada, taking a similar viewpoint. where the -- presidential nomination candidate, taking a similar viewpoint. where do you put yourself? >> i work for the government, and my role is to help facilitate access to employment opportunities. we run 3001-stop job centers across the country, so this has been going on across the

country. i look at my job as one to help enhance, not to be a barrier, but providing access, choices, and opportunities. many people are befuddled by what the department of labour does, because we are not exclusively enforcement agency, however we are the second largest compared to the department of justice. we are number two. our role is to also facilitate investment. if i have someone that is interested in training in place, or attracting plays in, say, technological areas, like pharmaceuticals, our one-stop center could help post those openings, or collaborate with community colleges or technical centers to provide the training to meet the needs of that employer. that is will we need to do a

better job at, and we are doing that now. hyoscine a more precise way of figuring that out -- i have seen a more precise way of figuring that out, because it does taken a while for the government to make sure we are connected with the businesses, not training people for jobs that do not exist, but for jobs that will make employees or potential employees competitive. you hear that the work force is not trained well and you have all of these jobs open. i will tell you one thing, there are so many people in terms of those set have not been able to find jobs, and many are very highly-skilled. the job instead they are seeking, they may not be available right now. so, what that tells me is we had better start investing in a new source of jobs, and hopefully,

as i said earlier, making investments in renewable energy, i.t., health-care -- these are growing leaps and bonds. -- bonds. one example is the creation of lithium batteries, and putting new, and smarter cars out there with gm and chrysler now competing with foreign markets, and seeing the reality of formally laid off, dislocated workers, now being put back to work, creating new systems. it is the same methodology, but now applying new systems, and being part of that management and labor partnership. i saw that on the ground in ohio, detroit, different places in tennessee and other parts of the country, where i think these are stories that have to be told to the public and our elected officials.

there are some good things that come out of the negative aspects of the fiscal crisis. it creates a challenge for us, and it is one that is stubborn. it is hard, but i am committed, and the president is committed to see that we put people into the best fit for them. >> there is a perception that the president's priority was more about deficit reduction than getting jobs created, and he is only recently turned around on that. is that accurate? >> i do not think so at all. for the last two and a half years we have been making major investments in training a new work force in renewable energy, health care, and broadband, and also training up to individuals. this struck me as something that was interesting in the field. there were many small

manufacturers, toolmakers, who told me it would be great if they could have just an average joe that could help me develop and continue with the development of our industry -- toolmaking. toolmaking. , the jobs people are not prioritizing right now. i've seen that with inappropriate investments, we could bring back that in this -- with appropriate investments, we could bring that back. i saw this happening at the viking, one of the largest manufacturers of tool bids. i found that through assistance they receive to the federal government, some investments and private investments, they were able to retool factories, taking old machinery that was not used, maybe 50 years old, take it to

the bottom, rebuild it, and create a new dynamic, and are now creating new bits. they have reduced their energy consumption. they are saving money. they are recycling. they are conserving. they are retraining. they are sending some other folks to school. people cannot tell me that it cannot be done. that we can not retool our workers in traditional jobs and creating those that are looking into the future. >> someone asked can the u.s. job market grow in a robust way without having manufacturing lead the way in your opinion? >> i think manufacturing is definitely a major cornerstone for our economy, and it has helped so many people in the past stay in the middle class.

i know there have been some changes in the past, but i do believe there is this is chris now, and i'm just talking hypothetically hear from what i have seen, but people are feeling that we have to invest in our country, our best resources, which is our human capital. that is training people here, and making products here, and selling them abroad. that is why the president has talked about these trade agreements. to be able to sell our products, automobiles, our pharmaceuticals, our technology abroad to help lift off those -- lift up those economies. i think that is something that is very real, and the president and i are working together. i think the other side of the aisle has talked about that as well. they have an opportunity to help. >> that is a good example.

there has been a push for trade agreements to be passed recently, and in this political environment, we can not even seem to find agreement on those points. is that discouraging to you when you see that? >> to a certain extent, it is, but you have to know what you are dealing with. i think that we remain very determined to see these agreements move forward, and the president knows that part of our success would be the kinds of products we could sell abroad, and obviously that will have a tremendous impact -- driving the markets and new areas, hopefully helping farmers and all kinds of industries. meanwhile, we are also making sure we are mindful of labor protections and keeping standards where they should be. those are two goals that i think come out of the trade

discussion. >> i think it would be interesting to note to the degree that you can describe it, how does the dynamic work between you, your department, and the white house, in terms of driving the employment agenda? are you well-aligned on that, or in your position, being labor secretary, do you have to step up the voice a little bit to say do not forget about us? we know there are wars the defense department is concerned with and home as security is concerned with keeping the nation safe, but there are a lot of people out there hurting. how does that dynamic work in the conversations you'll have with the administration? >> to be quite honest, i am very pleased with the communication and dialogue we have with the white house. hi, for the first time in a long time, am so happy to work for

this president. i have met many presidents, and have worked many years ago in the white house said a different level, -- white house at a different level. thinking about the ability to sit with the president and talk about policies, and what i see in the field, and sharing that with him and his staff, i think that is legitimate, in very welcomed. i have to say -- and very welcomed. i have to say that much of what i bring to the table is exactly what the president wants -- honesty, what, in our analysis, is better served for the public, if he wants to know how quickly we can get things done -- and he wants to know how quickly we can get things done. i am pleased with the relationship that he personally has with members of the

cabinet, and with myself. this is the first time that i see myself in a very unique situation. atina lso the first les cabinet member in the history of the country. i think about that, not as something that puts you in a different category, but it is allowing for more people to see there is a vision in this white house that allows for different ideas and different individuals to serve. while i did not attend, perhaps, all of the prop schools, and all of those different formalities that other individuals are supposed to, i'd bring a different experience, but one that has different people in public service. the president, been the first african-american president, it is quite an accomplishment, don't you think? >> i would say you both have

something to brag about, and i'm glad you're able to make that point for us. would you expect if the president is reelected that you will continue to serve as labor secretary? >> that is up to our president. i serve at his will. >> he does not control your expectation. [laughter] >> well, i enjoy working for him, and representing this administration. it has really been an exciting time for us to serve because the needs are so profound, and so great. people have often asked me why did you take this job at this time, knowing that unemployment is so high? that was not the first driver of why i decided to do this. hyde did it because this is a historic -- i did it because this is a historic moment. i think my country needs

individuals who are going to sink a little differently, but with the same type of the enthusiasm and patriotism to want to help our entire country, and hopefully be able to set a good example. i think that is probably one of the greatest things that i could say that i have experience in this short time. we're not even through our first term. >> you talked earlier about what you have in common with the president. it seems as if through the experience of the last several months, with whole numbers going up and down or down and up, some americans do not feel they know who the president is. they have a sense that they thought they knew him during the election to be one thing -- i am speaking in generalities, but they sit on what the polls and anecdotes have told us -- but

basing this on what the polls and anecdotes have told us -- and in some parts, there is a desire to see a president that is more passionate. when he was talking about the bp oil spill, he used some colorful language to make sure people were brought to bear. since you have had the opportunity to see the president in public and private settings, who is president barack obama? what is he really made of? [laughter] >> i asked the question and a very serious matter. >> i think he is a compassionate, and very intelligent human being. he is one that will listen and take the time to better understand issues and problems, and want to hear everybody out, regardless of what authority he might bring to bear. i respect that. i also see an individual who

cares very deeply about this country, and has inspired many, many people. here, in washington, it is easy to get lost, and to think just because of the networks or television folks are saying this or that, that that is the rule of the day, but when i go out in the communities, i am hearing more about it be nice to know that you are focused on creating jobs, to get the job training, or to get the assistance so that i can continue to look for a job. recently, i visited a reservation in arizona and a group of individuals that have been serving a community with high unemployment for decades,

maybe 45%. their means of assistance was helping to provide job training in the area of health care and renewable energy, and giving some semblance of hope for these individuals. while our funding was not the major source, they were very grateful and thankful. they were very kind, and, how could i say, very proud. they did not want hand outs. they wanted a hand up, and assistance. i see that is very important. i believe the american public, because they are very resilient, we have that can-do spirit about us, regardless of what situation they are in. i have seen that from those at the very bottom, and some that

were in the middle, and those that were in the middle, but have fallen down for the first time. let me tell you how horrifying that can be. i know what i see, the president sees as well, so i can tell you he is a very, very sensitive individual. everybody has their different style, right? i do respect him greatly, andfos brought together to serve in descanted administration, and you do not hear a lot about that. sometimes it is about making sure that people get the services they need. the president made the point once that if he did not call us in is a cabinet member, that is good, because i do not have a problem with you, you are doing your job, getting your services are, and doing what you're supposed to be doing. that makes so much sense. >> speaking of people he brings to serve, he yesterday announced

a former chief economist for the labor department is now his choice to be the head of his council of economic advisers, and some people were making the point that he is a labor economist, and therefore that means this, that, or the other thing. is there any particular importance to the background of alan krueger that means this is where the president's priorities are for it least the remainder of his first term? >> i know alan. we work together on different issues when he was in treasury. i respect him greatly, and i think he will provide good leadership and counsel to the president, his economic team, to laws, and to others. i look forward to working with him to read i think he will bring a depth, and a greater -- working with him. i think he will bring a debt, and a greater understanding of

our situation and how to remedy that. i think it will be great. we urgently need these positions filled, so i hope the congress and senate will make their voices heard, that they truly understand our role he will play, and has played in previous administrations. he did serve as the chief economist at the department of labour. i know he is a very highly- respected individual. >> would you be dismissive of those suggesting that the appointment of someone who has labor department experience means anything about where the agenda of the president is going, or is this a continuation of what the president has intended all along? >> i am not one to predict, but as i said, i can just face my

based my opinion on what i know, and he is a highly intelligent, talented individuals who serve us well, and hopefully will continue in this capacity and be able to help us immediately attacked this problem of high unemployment, and provided better balance in our economic endeavors. i think he will do a good job. >> we mentioned at the outside that friday is numbers date. we have jobless numbers and payroll numbers released. today, we had consumer confidence numbers that were not just bad, they were horrible, and they may have been reflecting the situation with the debt debate. we might not know how that plays into it, but as one who has interviewed you from the beginning of the administration on a monthly basis, i would say you have been very consistent

with never wanting to raise expectations that the recovery was going to be particularly easy. i remember one month there was an out-sized gains in payroll numbers, and you said do not look for this for the next three months, kind of. at this point, to you feel like you have seen all along that this be a slow and steady polis -- process, where you have said that that many americans are frustrated and not showing dawkins some of the poll numbers? >> hi -- not showing up in some of the poll numbers? >> i know this is a tough recovery, and it is not showing up in the numbers. we have added 2.4 million private-sector jobs, and that number might seem small, but where we have come out of --

people have to understand, when the president started his job, we have lost 4 million -- we have lost 4 million jobs, and then another 4 million. we were losing over 700,000 jobs at the beginning of his administration. now, we are adding. while it might be smaller, we are seeing a contraction in our economy, and in different sectors. some sectors are doing really well -- silicon valley, pharmaceuticals, these are the areas that are helping to continue to move our economy. i see that continuing at that level, therefore we need to make the changes we need to bring people along so we have better skills, better trained, more competitive individuals, and we are actually competing with friends from other countries like china, india, brazil, and

other places. we need to make those hard choices. some people are of the mindset that they do not want to go in that direction, and that is kind of the forces that we have to contend with, but i am cautious. i am not an economist. i know that i can only base my judgment on what reports i am given for the bureau of labor statistics. i make my assessment based on what has happened, and the pattern in the last 17 months has shown me that we have been able to create 2.4 million private-sector jobs. they have been in manufacturing, health care, business and professions, and there are different sectors have actually been able to improve. one that i worry about is the public sector -- local government and teaching. if we want to remain competitive, we need to be

mindful that we do not just release and allow for a lot of our teachers, especially the young teachers that we are trying to bring in, too slowly be dissuaded, and now want to stay in the teaching profession. we need the teachers. we need young, vibrant teachers, and to take care of those that have been serving us well, and to make sure we do the right thing to increase the ability for our young people who desire to go to college, and to have access to go to college. right now, education and suffering, and we know that. we work a lot with community colleges. many of them, and i look back at my own state of california with their budgets have been shrinking, but we cannot afford to make those investments. we have to be mindful of where we are going, what our path is, and that path will take us down the line where we are better prepared, better educated, and

ready to meet those challenges. >> when you talk about making those investments, the federal government is not in a position to fund state and local governments anymore, is it? at a greater degree than it is already? >> i do not think we are going to see stimulus two, if you are asking that. i think the things we talked about earlier like the infrastructure bank are important and immediate remedies to alleviate the distress experienced by many families. extending unemployment, the payroll tax -- all of those things will be important, and i hope we can get to the business of the people that we want to help. >> another person taking political fire is federal reserve chairman ben bernanke, who was criticized as much from the republican side as much as he is from the democrats any more. at the fed meeting earlier this month, the fed came out and said

we would have persistent unemployment for the next two years. did that seem surprising, where were you disappointed that the fed would essentially give up hope that the unemployment rate would go down before the election? >> i do not think he said give up hope. if i do not give up hope, and i know you do not. i feel very strongly, going back to what i see out in the field around the country, that people can't tell resiliency, and wanting to get -- people's resiliency, and wanting to get up -- and imagine if it was you. you were laid off, and you have to figure out what to do. you get up every morning to find that jobs, and you find resistance, and you find the employer is not calling you back, where no one is going to except tier, and it is tough -- or no one is going to except

you, and it is tough, yet you get up every morning because you know you have to. millions of people are feeling like that, and i am not going to give up hope. spiritualn no one's adviser, but i think what he was saying is that this is the reality, and when you have someone that can both markets in a minute saying that we do not as a central bank expected job market to be improved, i mean, did that come as a surprise when the fed came out and said that to you? >> what did not surprise me is that he said it is the job of the congress and our leaders to make some decisions and break the gridlock. that is what is important, and i think that is what the public and everyone is watching from around the world to see what is going to happen. i believe the president is

ready, and he has said he is ready to meet those demands and work until this is resolved, in taking care of our debt, and making sure we do not hurt the economic recovery. i would like to remind people that in the previous administration, we were adding, on average, i think it is about to 11,000 jobs per month. i can tell you that in the short time i have been with this president, we have added on an average far above and beyond that, and 2.4 million jobs is not where it should be, but let me tell you we have worked really hard to make sure we increase the opportunity. we have a long ways to go, mark, but people have to understand where we started, and where we are going, and that path tells me, and i hear from other economists, that they do see the

path the president has taken as one that has been well-thought out, given the constraints we are faced with. >> let me ask you about the holiday, labor day. as i mentioned in my introduction, there is a wide divergence of opinion among members of the american public about unions, and we have seen that borne out in debates in state capitals in places like wisconsin and ohio. very recently, there were recall election is involved in that process as well. as labor secretary, do you feel like you are an advocate for all workers, all potential workers, including members of labor unions, and how do you balance that when you have essentially all of the workers in the american public's seeming to have an angry debate about the

role trichet public seeming to have an angry debate about the role -- seem to have an angry debate about the role the unions should play. >> we represent everyone. obviously, i support individuals that used to be part of the union, and those that do not. that is my role. i have to be fair and objective in how we run our programs, and making sure across the board there is a balance. i think that is what we have been able to do, and all we have to do is make sure you look at where we have made our investments in terms of federal funding. we want to continue to raise standards so that we do a better job.

>> my sense is that some people do not mind the idea that unions have helped them, or the accomplishments that have helped americans to attain, but before the hour workweek, the right to minimum wage, -- like a 40-hour workweek, the right to a minimum wage, or overtime, but when they see them with rights that they do not have, they become resentful. when you see a state that has a debate over trying to take away collective bargaining rights for some workers, yet potential workers, or people that are already employed, not represented by unions are pushing the agenda forward, how would you weigh in on that debate? >> well, first and foremost, i think we are concerned when there are issues that rise like

in wisconsin and ohio. i think -- i know that has been a big debate. a lot of states are faced with financial crisis is right now they are operated -- crises right now. i know they are operating in the red. there are challenges. he would be good if both sides could meet at the table -- it would be good if both sides could meet at the table and decide the best interest of the public, and work those interests out, face-to-face. that is what the president and i believe in, that you should be able to negotiate, and i know that unions, especially public sector unions and others have given up a lot in the past few years, and some members will give up salary increases and bonuses just to keep health-care benefits. i have seen that time and time

again, but you do not hear a lot about that. so, i think sacrifices can be made, and have been made, but you can not hold when a group responsible for the demise of a whole state. that is not what this is about, and that is not how that happened. if so, you should not be blaming a group of people in that manner. we understand their needs to be compromises, but let's do it rationally. >> let me knocked out a few questions from the audience. maybe you can answer them as concisely as you can. should u.s. workplace laws cover both legal and illegal workers? are you concerned about encouraging illegal to work here, in the united states? >> our current federal laws protect all workers in this country. previous of ministrations, both republicans and democrats, have

held to that, so i am not doing anything different, and my priority right now is to make sure we enforce our laws appropriately, and that we help businesses and and please understand what their rights are, and what -- and employees understand what their rights are, and assist businesses to understand that they have a responsibility when they take on a roll of the employing individuals. i think that is what my role is terret >> another person ask from twitter, what impact will the plan to provide work permits to potentially 300,000 more foreign workers have on the limited number of jobs available in the workforce? >> there are obviously some great challenges right now in the job market, and our priority is to make sure that citizens here in our country have the opportunity to apply for those

jobs. we have a lot of jobs that go on sale now. let me give you an example. -- unfilled now, and let me give you an example -- agriculture. some of these jobs, quite frankly, take anywhere from a $11, or $12, $13, $14 an hour, and i wonder why we are not allowing for more folks that are unemployed, that are actually driving in less with their a unemployment check, that if they were told these jobs are available. i think we should try to do that first before we have to go outside of our own country. we have programs in place, like the h2a program, which we have revamped to minimize abuses in

the workforce, so you are not somehow disadvantaging an employer that is plain by their rules, instead of rewarding an individual who might not be doing any of those things, and actually hurting our economy and american workers. >> he might have heard the story from hershey, pa., about some foreign students been employed by a third party, and essentially went on strike. do you think for instance should be employed in american industries, -- foreign students should be employed in american industries? >> that is one thing that is of great concern to us now. we are currently investigating that issue. >> that is it working investigation. do you think the government should subsidize summer jobs

such as in ocean city for american use seeking summer employment rather than being given almost exclusively to for youth, willing to work for less wages? >> those are real issues. in the past, there has been some abuse of these visa programs, and we are trying to find a balance there because we know there are industries that thrive on these individuals that are brought in. with this administration, we are really looking at providing better accountability and transparency, and making sure that people are meeting the intent of the law, and not abusing it. that is number one. we have so many talented individuals here, that i am sure

would be interested in serving in some of those positions that pay well. i want to strongly encourage folks to seek those positions. if we could fill them with folks here, that is a priority. >> what is your vision of apprenticeships, and manufacturing in the future? >> i have seen good apprenticeship programs run across the country, and one good example that icy was in -- that i see was in the helmets-to- heart-hats program. you will see some young veterans coming home, that are still serving, get training through this apprenticeship program, and they can get into different types of trades, and much of it is subsidized through the

dues.e sector and union it has worked well, and i hope it can expand. i've seen that work well. i also look at industries with the electrical workers and some of their contractors. public/private collaboration's, or unions, or private industries that come together that know how to come together, get things done. i've seen them work at their best, and i have also heard where they have not, where there have been abuses. we want to rid the system as much as we can of those abuses. >> we are almost out of time before i get to be a symbol the last question. i have some housekeeping members -- housekeeping announcements. september 6, we have former mayor of new york in june --

rudy guiliani to talk about the 10th anniversary of september 11. we will have elon musk who will talk about whether the international space station can be inhabited by human. is a pressing question. it will be a newsworthy event. ken burns will be here to talk about prohibition, the subject of his next documentary on public broadcasting. before i get to the last question, secretary, i would like to present you with a token of our appreciation, clearly a token, which is our national press club coffee mug. thank you for being here. [applause] >> someone told me that you could write a book that could be

titled something along the lines of "everything i ever needed to know about government i learned in the state of california." you saw so many different things taking shape their. i'm wondering, briefly, why is it so important that you had that experience in the golden state? >> i think california is very well representative of what happens in our country. you have different types of geographical landscapes, and you definitely see different economic growth in different sectors of our economy, whether it is silicon valley, agribusiness, manufacturing, some of the finest institutions of higher learning, and also some of the challenges we see faced by the unemployed. recall as a member of the house, before i even to this position, i saw in my own district at least three years before the recession was called a

recession the high rates of unemployment, the manufacturing jobs already leaving, and the fact that we could already see a slower-moving economy. i knew then that there were is going to be challenges. if i saw it happening in california, my own district, i knew we were going to be faced with major challenges. serving in the house, at the assembly, i was chair of the industrial relations committee. the issues i was confronted with their bank, whether it was dealing with sweat shops, safety measures, construction, minimum wage issues, health care issues, many things i was privy to to work on, i was exposed early on and there. it is continues to where i am now to see that many of the projects are crafted or funded

or what have you i had some exposure to when serving and the house -- and in the house. more importantly, back in sacramento, i was a board member, a trustee for community college. right now they are the major sources of the engine of growth for the training programs. i know those programs very well and i'm very proud of them and proud to be able to mount such a rich experience coming from california. >> how about a round of applause for our speaker today? [applause] thank you, secretary. i would like to thank our national press club staff, including to the library and broadcast center for organizing today's event. i would like to thank our guests from china, who have been so kind to visit us from georgetown

university. you can find out more information about the national press club on our website, www.press.org. thank you. we are adjourned. happy labor day, everybody. >> just a reminder, ahead of labor day, we will cover a number of other discussions about jobs and such. the chamber of commerce will hold their annual labor date briefing and c-span cameras will be there. meanwhile, the afl-cio will have their annual labor day event,

and we will cover that as well. in politics, republican presidential candidate jon huntsman is said to make the jobs announcement tomorrow. he is campaigning in new hampshire. we will cover that event with jon huntsman and have that later in our program schedule. congress returns a week from today, but work is already underway. republican members of the deficit reduction committee are meeting today. they have appointed a staff director. that was the committee that was created as part of the recent compromise to raise the debt ceiling. by law, that panel is required to approve a plan by november 23 to cut to $2 trillion in federal deficits over 10 years through spending cuts and tax measures. republicans on the committee include representatives in japan's ruling, who is leading the republican meeting today, -- representatives jeb hensarling, who is leading the meeting today, and dave camp, senator

pat toomey. on the democratic side, xxavier becerra, john kerry, max baucus. want to let you know about the live coverage at 3:00 eastern. the atlantic council hold a discussion on challenges facing the u.s. military training afghan forces as a u.s. and nato wind down operations there. that coverage coming up at 3:00 p.m. eastern. news from the associated press related to that. they said that august has become the deadliest month for u.s. troops in afghanistan the international forces have started to go home, letting the afghan forces take charge of securing our country, a record number of troops have died this eclipsing the number killed in

july 2010. speaking at the marines memorial the situation in san francisco, general james mattis address to the security situation and talk about u.s. troop withdrawal from iraq by the end of the year. his remarks and run just under an hour. >> i am very grateful to be here, ladies and gents, ind. -- ladies and gentlemen. the ceo of the memorial cup was my division commander, and had certain reservations about me as we went into kuwait. we worked out ok. [laughter] i learned to say "sir,"and it worked out after that . also to our knowledge other former bosses. -- also to acknowledge other former bosses here. serving as executive officer taught me to ask the right

questions. you know what i mean. it was an absolute honor to serve on your command. i have grown to admire you tremendously. r centcom commander -- several years after he was my marine expeditionary unit commander. i can go on and on here tonight, ladies and gentlemen brought them clearly violating a cardinal rule this evening, and that is to never talked to a group or knows more about a subject than i do. i think i will be in trouble when we get to the questions and answers. it is adding years to my life to be on the west coast rather than when i usually give talks, which are in washington, d.c. it is refreshing to be out here. i love the pacific ocean, i love the vibrancy of this city. when you think of the technological rushing ideas, technological and political that come out of california, there is an energy that you all are probably used to.

it is a godsend when you come out here and feel it in the air. i am also happy not to be giving the stock in washington because i understand that 48 hours ago, washington actually buckled under the weight of its own bureaucracy. [laughter] [applause] in that regard, it will come as no surprise to a former secretary of defense that the pentagon actually got more work done after the evacuation than before it was evacuated. [laughter] but we should have anticipated that when we had energy stored up in memos suddenly released, this sort of cracking a part of the earth can happen. what i thought i would do is speak for a few minutes. i tthink you will find some nuggets of a value and during the question and answer period, which is always the best part. i spent a lot of years outside the united states in the last

10, since i left the united states and is the number of 2001, for obvious reasons. -- in september of 2001, for obvious reasons. i also believe is good for me to be out here and do some listening tonight. i hope you will throw questions to me that are in your heart and not worry about me being offended. i have a thick skin. i went through that boot camp, i develop the kind of the skin we all have to. the area for which i answer to the secretary panetta, a great sign of the great state of california, is the central region. i have served in the region off and not since colonel ken jordan, was also here this evening, my battalion commander, took me out in 1979. the region stretches from cassocks than out in central asia -- from kazakhstan in

central asia, egypt and lebanon in the mediterranean over to pakistan on the indian ocean. it includes the persian gulf and in the northern part, iraq and kuwait, afghanistan, saudi arabia, jordan, the gulf states and of course, there is iran. in over 30 years of service in this region, i have never seen it so tumultuous, full promise and yet also full of danger. as the military commander, i am the sentinel. i'm supposed to watch out for the dangers while watchinrecogng and seizing opportunities for keeping the peace wherever possible, keeping the peace for one more year, one more month, one more day. sometimes you're just looking to keep peace for one more hour. there is not peace everywhere. you know we are heavily committed in parts of the theater, but there are other parts that we try to keep a lid on. i would like to speak first about the arab awakening.

i would call it the arab awakening, not the arab spring, and how we craft a policy, how do we adapt to these changes right now, adapt to changing times, keep hold of our values, american values, consistent policy that matches those values, but balanced with pragmatism, because the military service the foreign policy and foreign policy must deal with reality in a world that is not always comport to what we would like it to be. i am also charged with the readiness of our forces and crafting military options for the president, and you all understand that part of the job, i'm sure. when i meet with foreign leaders in the mideast today, i cite four diplomatic pillars for our transition. it is a region that will never go back to what it was a year ago. it will never go back to what we grew up seeing over their sense that it to nietzsche -- since

the tunisia and egyptian revolutions broke out in january, and what you saw on television screens going on in syria. it is never going back to what once was, as a result of these changes and the pressures that a ban oat least -- the pressures that have been unleashed. the four colors that we frame our approach with them, first, we support the countries political reform networks to adapt at their own pace. the middle east is not one that thing. every country is very different, it is a very diverse area, and every country has to adapt to these changing times with its own special formula. it cannot be imported from the outside. there is not one size fits all in the middle east. the first thing is, our country supports those reform efforts so that the people have more of a say in the government. second, we support economic reforms that brought in the fruits of economic -- the

economic boon many of the countries are having. there is a fair amount of good things going on with that. there is also a lot of the states in flux right now where they are not even close to doing this. third, we support a renewed pursuit middle east peace. the status quo right now is not sustainable. it is a flame to keep the pot boiling to some degree in the middle east, and i will tell you that we of got to take advantage of this time now and try to move middle east peace forward. that is one of the four pillars of the american foreign policy as we adapt to the changing times. fourth, we support regional security. we stand by our friends, old friends, new friends. we stand by their territorial integrity and we stand against terrorism. they work with us, quietly at

times, publicly in other cases. the bottom line is we do this and we lead with the international community, and this includes trying to rein in iran's bellicose impulses. we are working very much along the diplomatic lines, economic sanctions, to do the latter. much of what we do to support these pillars is done very quietly. my orchestration of military activities is done to support those four pillars and the state department's efforts, and our military-to-military efforts can and do play a very positive role in a fully integrated as a supporting role to our foreign policy. at reassuring our friends and tempering our adversaries' designs. no matter how comfortable we get about the changes going on, we have no option of disengaging from the world and, from my area, no option of disengaging from the middle east. it will of our best diplomatic

instincts, and we are going to up to build a common cause with old friends and new using america's pragmatic idealism as a guide. in egypt, we have seen the people getting a voice in how they are covered. the military shepherded its people through a revolutionary time along severely taxing circumstances. i think it was somewhat a reflection of our quiet, strong military-to-military relations over decades that we are so proud today of their overwhelming the ethical performance. they were not perfect. nobody is perfect in this world. but certainly when you compare the egyptian military to what is going on in libya, or was he could of the military, what is going on in syria right now, you can see a military that kept its ethical balance under very difficult conditions. i thought i would do slightly go around the region and touch on if you of the countries that would give a deeper understanding. i want to start with egypt,

because it is the most critical country for setting the average this spring on a positive at. why do i say that? it has got a traditional leadership role in cairo that goes back hundreds of thousands of years, and also over 25, perhaps 30% of the arab population lives in egypt. we have a very close military- to-military ties that i spoke to really are, between the u.s. leadership and their military leadership. they well, i assure you, conduct elections coming up soon. the military is eager to turn over control of the country to civilians, and it is going to be a very long road as they build political parties and the political framework and designed to build a democracy. i think there are going to be disappointments coming up, because it is not an election -- an election is not going to suddenly give them the jobs they 1, the reformed education system that has languished, the kinds of things that will satisfy their deepest desires.

i do anticipate that cairo will return to its historic leadership role in politics, education and commerce, religious thought, the arts. but it is not going to come back there soon. it is going to be internally focused for quite some time, a year, two years, three years, i think as optimistic as they get their internal act together and find their own path forward. there are three points i would make. the question is, will he give sustain its traditional moderate -- will egypt sustain its traditional moderate sufi position as they look to the future? i believe it they well, but the role of the muslim brotherhood bears watching. furthermore, iran has tried its own mischief again in cairo, trying to meddle in other people's affairs. we have to keep an eye on that and see if that gets any traction. i do not anticipate that it will bid moving up the mediterranean

coast and talking about lebanon for just a moment, they are putting together, as you are aware, a new government. the country is home to one of the most well-i'm not-state organization in the world. you know it as lebanese hezbollah. it is the only multi confessional organization that is trusted in the country. we do so for a very straightforward reason, to offset lebanese hezbollah's influence. the iranian-backed lebanese hezbollah fomented a fall of the former prime minister. lebanese hezbollah as the officers implicated by the un special tribunal in the assassination of hariri's father, the former prime minister's father. that unease hezbollah times and trains -- lebanese hezbollah is armed and trained by iran's quds force.

that is why we stay engaged in lebanon. it is not perfect. there are very tough tensions between israel and lebanon. we do not want walked out and leave a vacuum there. that teams are often not filled by very pleasant things in the middle east -- vacuums are often not filled by a very pleasant things in the middle east. in iraq, it has been instructive for me, ladies and gentlemen, over the last two or three months, to all of sudden realized as i read my intelligence reports and watched tv that i did not see it in the midst of the arab spring mobs in baghdad demonstrating and demanding a voice in their own affairs. i don't have all the answers for you, but i found it very fascinating that in that country, they do not feel like they have to demonstrate that the bank actually must feel that they do have a voice. they may not be happy the way things are going, but some of us in this room may find it days when we are not happy with the

way things are going in america, too, but we still have a voice. that is the important part. violence has been reduced to very low rates. al qaeda in iraq still exists, but it has been pummeled. it is still capable of spectacular attacks. during the holy month of ramadan, the 15th day last week, we saw al qaeda concentrating on killing the shia parts of iraq. they killed and wounded over 300 people in one day. they are still dangerous. they still go after the innocent, go after women, children. they have no regard for any of the rules of warfare. the bottom line is they art it wounded, weakened but still dangerous animal. iran quds force is providing direct support to militias in iraq. iran is providing support to militias, shia militias but iranian proxies, and because it

is not in iran's interest to see a strong, independent, economically viable, democratic iraq next door, and you can understand why did the single largest threat to iraq today is not al qaeda. it is these iranian proxy militias that are backed by them, their money, their training, the weapons. iran is, as you know, trying to influence the decision about u.s. troops remaining in iraq as a training mission. we are still right now, ladies and gentlemen, on plan to come down to zero by december. if the iraq government asks and president obama agrees, we could see training capability remain in iraq. there has been no decision on that yet. afghanistan. this what i want to spend just a little bit of time on. on the security side in afghanistan, our strategy is working. we are winning.

i am delighted to defend the strategy, and during the question and answer, if you want to get into detail on that, i am eager to do so. what we have is a civilian- military plan, an international plan, under the isaf command, nato command, but there are other nations that are not part of nato that have chosen to join. there are 49 nations it funny together in the largest wartime coalition in recent -- fighting together in the largest wartime coalition in recent history sometimes you can wander, reading the u.s. news in this country, if we are in this all by ourselves. the afghan boys are dying at a higher rate than ours are. in canada, they have lost more troops per-capita that the united states, as have estonia and the netherlands, by the way did i bring this up not in any way to lessen the pain for our country is paying in terms of the price of fwar, both

fiscal and in the lives of our young people, but i want to assure you that we are not in this alone and it is a strong coalition and it has grown by six monitions the past year. patients don't usually joined coalitions that are losing -- nations don't usually join coalitions that are losing. it is not in their nature. first of all, the insurgents are this and territory, they are losing leadership, weapons and supplies. without these, the enemy is a significantly weaker today than they were a year ago. most importantly, they are losing public support. what that is doing is causing this enemy to do spectacular attacks, often times hitting innocent people, and that it owes the public confidence in the taliban -- that erodes public confidence in the taliban. their own troops' willingness to

fight drops off. we have more troops over there than ever, but they are in more areas. why isn't the any getting to initiate more attacks? the reason is, they have lost initiative. they cost 25% -- our troops are starting to fight much more often. that is an indicator that the enemy is in trouble. there is a caution here. your military, ladies and gentlemen, is hard wired to see things i can-do positive terms. -- in can-do positive terms. i do not think it is unpatriotic to question the strategy and see if i can stand and deliver this evening. i am not a marine. i am a u.s. marine, i belong to you, and accountable to you, and i believe in this strategy, i assure you, or i would not be standing here tonight saying this. one of the most difficult challenges, as you look at this fight and try to understand it -- you would not be here tonight

if you are not interested in world affairs -- one of the most difficult things to grasp is the progress and violence can coexist. the violence is so heartbreaking. the number of innocence killed, this sort of thing -- some tough on us, that it becomes that line, and it is understandable. the news people are not being evil, they are not trying to cook the books. it is just the violence grab attention, and we forget that the violence and progress can coexist. that is what is going on there right now. the enemy's only hope is that they can erode the political will. they cannot stand against our troops. their ethical performance and ferocity as they closed in on the enemy is far beyond what the enemy is ready to accept it. as president obama has said, it is of war we americans did not seek. we did not ask for this war. but in security times, we are winning, and our mission there

is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al qaeda. that remains our goal. to prevent al qaeda from returning, remember that part -- some people forget that last part of the mission statement, "prevent them from returning" to pakistan and afghanistan. in the military, our job is to defeat the taliban in al qaeda, but taliban being the ones who took in al qaeda and embraced them, and defeat their hope for victory. by the way, iran is not helpful on this, providing new weapons systems, long-range rockets and all. our job in the military to set conditions for reconciliation and reintegration. all wars eventually come to an end. our job is to try to end it as soon as possible. reconciliation is top-down. that is where we work with the leadership of the taliban, which find which ones perhaps are not so committed.

that is afghan-lead. we are working reconciliation bid from bottom-up, you have reintegration. this is where you convince young fighters that they are on the wrong side, and we have any number of efforts going on, not just legal operations, but propaganda operations, we have infiltration of our ideas into their midst as we get them to change their minds. for example, by now over 1700 of the enemy have come to our side. again, people don't joined the losing side is not in their nature. some of the headlines you are not reading is "afghan army platoon deserts to the taliban." you have never seen that. you have never seen "afghan battalion went over to the enemy's side. it has never happened. again, we're putting this enemy on the horns of the dilemma. if you fight as, we are going to fight you hard.

if you decided to come over, our arms are open. and secretary clinton has made a point about how much they have to do to come over. they have to renounce violence. they have to live by their constitution. 3, they half to break with al qaeda. that is all they have to do. they can come back in. they can argue about the political views and do whatever they want to do in that system. a perfect, we are trying to put it together on the fly and a great pressure. we started at 8. the plan, because after the soviet invasion, that society -- we started at a very low point, because after the soviet invasion, that society was turned upside down. we treat the irreconcilable roughly and we protect the afghan people. we are going to defeat the enemy's insert and networks, we

build up the afghan security forces. what we will see is the enemy capability going down as the afghan security forces stability goes up. -- security forces to the egos of the. -- security forces capability goes up. we are also going to support their governance and economic development. again, this is part of making afghanistan inhospitable to the enemy's return to their. we are not in there alone, as i mentioned. as far as the governance and economics peace, the united nations, world bank, international monetary fund, nato, they are all working together on this. it is very much an integrated, international plan. the level of violence is not a good indicator of success or defeat. let me show you an example.

if people say the level of violence has gone up so something must be going wrong, then if i go back to, say, march of 1945, i would show you the level of violence was so high at that point in world war ii we were clearly losing, and we were only months away from winning. i am not saying we are months away from winning right now. i just discounting what you often see touted as a way to measure the success, the level of violence and the country. that is not a good measure, especially when at the enemy has seen more and more times that of violence has begun by our forces against them as we catch them and move against them. there is a nation that is intimately tied to this whole thing, and that is pakistan. it is a difficult relationship between the united states and pakistan. it is one of paramount importance. it has had a very checkered past. there is questions from both

sides. if i'm asked tonight, why do we continue to work with pakistan, i will only tell you that my counterpart in islamabad tonight is probably being asked the same question when he talked to some of his people, why did you continue to work with the americans, look what they have done to us. we have no choice, ladies and gentleman, but to maintain the relationship. a reminder on some issues that don't seem to get much play in the press. number one, pakistan has lost more troops fighting these terrorists and then all of made a combined. it is something that does not meet our new spirit -- pakistan has lost more troops fighting these terrorists than all of nato combined. it is something that does not make our news. we will continue to work with pakistan to reduce the safe havens. i will tell you that in 40 years of wearing this uniform, i have never been in more difficult terrain in my life than the border region between afghanistan and pakistan.

you know the problems the americans have maintaining border security along a relatively flat and not-very- difficult train border to the south of here. you have to recognize that pakistan, ladies and gentlemen, the fear of india it drives much of their behavior. and yet they moved a quarter of the army 140,000 of their troops, one-quarter of their army, of the indian border and move against where al qaeda and the taliban terrorists are. that is a heck of a statement from a country that has lost several wars with india and is very fearful of the indian power along the eastern border. to move those troops all the way across the country up into the high country on the western border is quite a statement. countries have interests. that is why we work with them. not all interests aligned perfectly.

rough patches to develop between countries. i am reminded of winston churchill's statement that the only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without allies. it is a difficult relationship between us. i will also tell you in my own personal background, when i left california in september 2001, in october i went in and i talked with the pakistan leadership in islamabad. i had been ordered to take marines, about 350 nautical miles and helicopters at night, refuel them in the air, land them in the back yard behind kandahar and move against the taliban's home. the pakistani general staff knew my day and objective weeks in advance. they never reveal that to the enemy. for all the disarray in our relationship at times, believe me, behind closed doors, there

is more we are doing together than we are not. for example, over half of the al qaeda a senior leadership is now not in a position to collect their 401k's, ok? [laughter] that is largely due to working together quietly against an organization that both the pakistanis and we have an intense dislike for. it is not perfect, but we manage the problems. we are not going to solve all the problems, but we manage those problems, and we work against our enemies. let me close -- i want to get to the questions and answers soon, but i want to talk about syria. it gets very, very important, what is going on at there. when you look at syria and the western border, the mediterranean, and of course lebanon going in little further south, israel. they are connected, they share a

border with jordan, saudi arabia. excuse me, not saudi arabia -- close to saudi arabia there. of course, iraq and turkey. when you look to the geopolitical center of the middle east that they occupied, you see a very bloody transition already going on. it is clearly time for assad to go, but if he goes, it will be the worst strategic blow that iran has taken. iran right now, ladies and gentlemen, is supporting the bloody repression of the syrian people by assad's regime. it was noted in yesterday -- i saw the condemnation by the force to keep assad in power. the syrian people should be allowed to determine their own future. assad is standing in the way,

and with the iranian help is the only reason he is able to stand in the way right now. iran itself is very problematic. you have heard me mention a time after time as i talk about the various countries in the region. you may have picked up the theme that from cairo to baghdad, lebanon to yemen, afghanistan and beyond, how far beyond -- libya, sudan, bahrain, africa, latin america -- iran's malign, destabilizing influence can be seen. the centrifuges, ladies and gentlemen, continue to spend a great tavon's policies have isolated the country. -- tehran's policies have isolated the country. it was interesting to look at the u.n. security council resolution. how often do you see china, russia, france, the united kingdom, japan, austria, the united states and more all vote

together on an issue? how often do you see something like that? how could we have passed economic sanctions with that group of countries all voting the same way? it says something about just how destabilizing iran's behavior has become. these are countries in the persian gulf. kuwait, kingdom of saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, united arab emirates, these countries have shown unity in recent months. i would attribute it to iran's bellicosity stimulating this unity. their support of assad's murderous regime is costing them today what little patience surrounding countries have had for iranian mischief. in closing, i will tell you that the middle east is a wildly turbulent place right now. not all of that -- some of the

countries are quiet and everything is going well. but a lot of them are going through severe transitions. america has a positive role to play, as it must, but the dangers are real and must be considered as you look at our foreign policy, one that has got to be guided by pragmatic idealism. let me close with a couple of words about your military. it is a national treasure, as you now. i and wearing the uniform for over 47 years, ladies and gentlemen. i've never seen it so strong in its spirit and experience. it is filled with volunteers, high-quality young volunteers, all of them are volunteers, young patriots who have looked beyond the hot political rhetoric swirling around very little understood wars, and they have answered their countries call. we have taken some heavy hits recently, but those losses of our shipmates have only made us more determined to carry out the mission. it is not in any way dissuading

as. in this regard, and as a reminder, as i talk about strategic decisions this evening, we are joined this evening by goldstar mother whose son, and lance corporal, marine infantryman, was killed under my command in 2004. diane, are you here? i did not get to see you ahead of time. diane, could you stand, and we will show our respect. [applause] diane's son travis sell for one reason, to keep this experiment that we called -- fell for one reason, to keep this experiment that we call america light trade these young men have been my strongest inspiration, so thank you for being here tonight, diane. we will pass this experience to the next generation because of people like .

ladies and gentlemen, thank you. i will be happy to take your questions. [applause] >> jim, we have a whole stack of questions. let's begin with the horn of africa. a couple of questions about piracy, what is going on in djibouti, the indian ocean, that part. >> piracy -- i am responsible for the waters off africa. somalia, where most of the paris he comes from, a destitute area per -- imost of the piracy comes from, destitute area. young men come on board, take them into port sometimes in excess of a year, until the very hefty ransom, 1 million, 2 million, 3 million common brought in by parachute, and

then at the bank let the ship ago. it is very lucrative for these fellows. i would just tell you, ladies and,, there are military solutions -- ladies and gentlemen, there are military solution, but this is a political problem. there is no piracy court, so each nation has prhave to decide if they got somebody for doing this, as our nation has. we just put several people in jail who killed american sailors -- just the family selling out their. without an international criminal court that deals with this and some sort of effort to have a cohesive naval presence out there, we have just got too many people doing their own thing. we don't have a good policy for how to deal with the once a week afte -- the ones we capture. until we get our political act together and say that is enough, we will continue to have this problem. i will tell you that it is

offensive to me professionally that we have seamen, innocent seamen, held prisoner and abused anas hostages for up to a year at a time and will not doing it lot about it. it is one of those things you look at and don't feel real good about, but right now and this has got to be an international effort and i don't see it yankel less. > -- see it being coaelesced. >> could you give your assessment of allocate at now? >> al qaeda is a franchise outfit. as i mentioned in iraq, they are on the ropes, have a very little support, turning to bankruptcies to finance themselves, this sort of thing. still dangerous, up in the borderline between afghanistan and iraq, still the epicenter of

the al qaeda a senior leadership. it is not a safe haven anymore. is under enormous pressure -- it is under enormous pressure. they are not doing well there, but they still maintain a certain degree of command and control. dropping down into al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, they are for the first time in 90 days holding to rein in yemen, where the political stalemate between president saleh, who is not giving up power, and the opposition there has distracted the military. al qaeda is gaining strength in yemen. for those of you who are history buffs, if you look at the queen gosheba's old area, if you along the coast, what they are clearly doing is they are trying to set up the al qaeda folks on the peninsula, trying to set up old smuggler routes that aim

straight into the heart of saudi arabia, from the coast on in. you can understand the freedom of maneuver that gives a damn. i think they are gaining strength there, but they will start running into trouble with the tribes that don't like this sort of islam that al qaeda promotes. at the same time, they are gaining strength. al-shabab in somalia has made some degree of connection with al qaeda. that is not looking well for somalia, but at the same time, there is a lot of competing interests down there and whether or not al-shabab will be able to maintain their privacy is, i think, subject to question. moving further over, there is the al qaeda in the -- just basically go to west out of sudan and get south of the sahara. they are strong out there. there is a number of forces, both locals and some of our

european allies, that are working against them out there. they also have their sleeper cells, obviously, in europe. they are trying to do it here. our forces and fbi have been successful. they are losing in a number of areas, gaining in some, at the epicenter is pressured more than ever before. >> there are questions about countries outside aor, but specifically the relationship with israel and the arab countries and how the unrest in the last year has affected our relationship. >> clearly, israel is watching what is going on very, very closely. when you have what is happening with lebanese hezbollah in southern lebanon, and you know what happened with the board there a few years ago, you have that syria -- have syria,

unrest upsetting everybody in the region, all over the borders. israel has to keep an eye on that. jordan is doing fine. that continues to be a very quiet, stable asian chip there. -- stable relationship there. egypt has maintained its military leadership, maintained the peace treaty provisions, and also maintained a close working relationship with the israeli military as they tried to reduce the threat out of the sinai. it is going ok, but there is a long ways to go. we are going to have to watch how that develops. the biggest concern, clearly, that israel has is not needed, it is not jordan, it is not even in syria. is iran, for obvious reasons. when you think about statements from the iranian leadership and what the u.n. structure is to stop the enrichment, and it has not been stopped, obviously,

israel has got a very focused interest in that issue. they are keeping an eye on it all. there is it going to be some rough times going forward, but this is one of area where i am somewhat of an optimist. . >> the emergence of turkey as a regional power, how has that affected centcom? >> i think that turkey -- i have seen positive impacts, because in many ways, turkey is seen as a way for a nation timothy short toward a more democratic approach -- for a nation to mature towards a more democratic approach. i have talked to several leaders in turkey about they have created the kind of the state if they have created. they have also been a very, very helpful in trying to restrain assad -- not that they have been

successful, but they have made clear that what he is doing is not going to receive any sort of solace or support out of ankara. i think is a positive influence the turks have had they are the one it made a nation that fight against an active insurgency -- the one nato nation that fights against an active insurgency in their own borders. we work on a common cause. >> the next question relates to commander relationships. could you talk a little bit about special operations command and its relationship with centcom, and how that is coordinated for individual strikes? >> well, any special operations command troops come under my command when they are inside central command special operations command provides me navy seals, army green berets, army rangers, air force special tactics, marines, and they come

in under a special forces. under my command, i have in the commander, army commander, air force, marine, special forces commander, and basically, they work in an integrated way and we take the force that has the right skills that whatever the mission is. it is a very close, warm, respected relationship, because we have been -- obviously, the combat commander has used most of the special forces over the last 10 years. also, after this many years of working together, ladies and gentlemen, we have grown up together, we know each other, there is a bond between us. it is a very smooth, integrated effort. sometimes we put u.s. conventional forces under special forces command. sometimes i will put special forces under conventional forces command. it is whatever works right for the unique situation on the ground. in no small part, due to some of adroitness initiatives that you initiated when you were

secretary of defense, those have now occurred to a point where the young officers -- now matured to apply where the young officers think this is completely natural. the experiences we did in the 1990's have paid off in this war significantly. >> thank you. could you talk a little bit about the threats you see in a military sense from iran to its neighbors, specifically in the persian gulf and gcc? >> i think most of iran's threat will be unconventional were able the ballistic missile. they know that if they take on their neighbors, our friends, and the conventional sense, they will be exposed immediately. that is not to say they will not do it. wars are oftentimes started by irrational impulses. but i think there growing ballistic missile capability is the one thing that has received

a lot of attention from our military friends out in the region as they realize how vulnerable their civilian population are if the iranians start throwing a ballistic missiles and long-range rockets around. they have a special forces, unconventional -- quds force folks, sleeper cells, they paid terrorists, and a lot of it seems to be mr. they are up to a lot of the time. -- to be mischief they are up to a lot of the time. you have this ballistic missile threat that is far more mature, advanced, accurate today, and much more numerous in terms of the missiles than it ever has been before. the nuclear peace -- nobody out there wants iran to have a nuke, but at the same time a they are unconvinced by and watch that the international community will be able to stop -- they are unconvinced by and large that the international

community will be able to stop it. >> would you comment on the relative value of the all-a volunteer force versus the possibility of the draft and how that affected the country? >> you now, it is really an interesting question. and all-a volunteer force is obviously more expensive. we have to compete for the best men and women with colleges and businesses. i will tell you that i have seen the military when it still had draftees in it, i have seen it today, and when you have everyone there who wants to be there, it does change the to ne. because we do bring in very high quality young men and women, we also have a highly, highly capable force. it is truly a national treasure and the envy of any country in the world. it is not just for the technology. it is what these young officers

are able to do. that said, one of the reasons, general, that i am out here tonight is i believe we are growing as a military somewhat remote from the body politic, from the mainstream of american life. that, i think, is something we have to look at. is that good for the republic in the long ride to have an all- volunteer military with a sense of commitment mind you turn 18 is not there, it is now just a choice? i am not saying i want to see it reversed, but i think it is something we need to consider even if it is to come up with some other way of serving your country because we don't need a lot of people in the military. we are drawing right now -- we are meeting all of our recruiting quotas, retention quotas, they are realistic, and we were doing this before the economic downturn, so don't think it is an economic decision. these young folks believe in what they are doing. is that a great military we have

to decide, is that the kind of society we want that has a military that is a little bit out there and outside the mainstream? i think that is a potential cost. >> jim, one of the things that this part of california is noted for its our technological advancement. can you talk a little bit about what has been done in recent years to make our job easier, and what remains to be done that would continue to improve our ability technologically to defeat our foes? >> we have to have good technology, we have to be at the top of our game. it is just that sort of a world. it is not a perfect world. probably the most radical thing i have seen in the last 15 years or so is the role of the remote- piloted vehicle, the unmanned aerial system, whether it be a drone that has a camera on it

that allows you to look over the next hill, or is an arm to dr -- armed drone that you can loiter up there hour after hour until you spot the enemy you want. they have given us the capability to do much of this. the remote-piloted vehicle has been a wonderful asset you -- to have and it has unleashed a bowl despite our commanders, because it allows them to move with a higher degree of certainty against the enemy. if there is one area i would tell you we need some help, it is premature detonation of ied's. this is a militarily in, it's an enemy. it is not hard to defeat this enemy. -- militarily incompetent enemy, is not hard to defeat

this enemy. but we are losing a lot of lads to ied's. our body armor is greater than ever, that sort of thing, but you can only do so many things ied's.nse thao eventually, they will make a bigger bomb or figure out something to sneak around at the jamming frequency. if we could find a way to prematurely detonate the ied, even if it is only 15 feet in front of the vehicle, we will save a lot of lives. >> can you give us your thoughts on the relationship of the military both in afghanistan and iraq with the press? what has changed? is the embedded nature of the men and women serving on the front lines with our forces, has that made a difference? do we get a better story today than years back? >> got to be a little call fo

-- >> a little careful here. [laughter] it is a privilege to be invited here, because after a few of my public simmons, is a privilege to be invited to any polite company anymore. [laughter] the press does a fantastic job. they have had cutbacks in their own budgets, which means we have fewer folks with us out there right now. 95% of them are great guys and gals who are out there to tell the story and are committed to it and they really wanted to eight good job. they are not all good, there is always a few jerks out there. you not going to have everybody be perfect all the time. at the same time, i think the

press tells the story very well. the challenge comes when a very complex war is looked at 3 through a soda straw, and that can be a problem, because you can extrapolate from this one village -- if you did that during world war ii, i could prove to you that normandy was the biggest defeat in world war ii. our paratroopers were shot down. you just have to make sure that you have people who are giving as good an overall picture as possible. it was probably, i would say, six months after the tribes in iraq turned in my area of western iraq against al qaeda. it was probably six months before grudgingly, in some cases, some of media folks -- some media folks grudgingly

acknowledged they had come over to it in 2001 -- no, 2002, gender, we were in kandahar, and these grizzled old guys were fighting a long as i -- along us in afghanistan. they wanted to open a school . "well, we want to open a girls' school." absolutely, at at it. here, on the they opened at the school, these kids, girls with little shawls over their heads, white blouses, long plaid skirts, black shoes, little white socks, is like somebody took dehydrated students and poured water and they popped out. [laughter]

as they walked down the street, and we heard that the taliban people were upset with this -- they a very much fear real education, and they know what it does to people thinking -- we had navy seals on the street with automatic weapons and grenades and ammo. these and these little kids walk along with the soldiers. they knew we were the good guys. we knew we -- they knew we were unethical force and they trusted us. you know that i do not mince words, general. there are some news people who are not yet at the intelligence level of those 8-year-old girls in kandahar. [laughter] [applause] but i will also tell you that i remember pulling into one of my battalion positions in baghdad

after a very difficult day and had over 80 of our boys killed and wounded. as i pulled in, there were news man sitting there holding plasma bottles over wounded marines. believe me, there are some great news people out there and they're trying to do the best job they can. i should not focus on the couple that led us down in the him -- and the human organizations got some of that. we are proud to let the men. i will tell you the words to give them when they command. just go down there and you can admire my troops. that is how confident i am that the bare naked truth will sell us ethically around the world. >> we will wrap up with that one. thank you very much. [applause] >> we will take you live to the atlantic council. they are hosting a discussion with brigadier-general guide

john cosentino. he will be talking about the challenges of training the afghan security forces. it is just getting underway, live here on c-span. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> i had the great pleasure of meeting the general when he was a colonel. since the time, he has gone on to more distinguished things, worked for michelle sore -- michele sornoy. we're delighted he had time to come and talk to us. as we all know, the mission in afghanistan has been very difficult, very complicated. it is the bloodiest year certainly for u.s. forces.

last month had the highest number of u.s. casualties since the war began 10 years ago. there is a lot that is expected of the national army and the afghan police. frankly, there is skepticism whether they will really be up to the task, particularly if the united states continues to withdraw forces steadily starting this summer and continuing through 2014. i will ask a preliminary question or two and then we will open it up to questions from four. i think one of the major concerns in terms of the officer corps is just not right. there's a very small percentage of posh june -- of pashtun. what are you doing to address that and can this really be a successful national army as long

as southern pashtun seem to want to stay away from it in large numbers? >> first of all, thank you for coming today, especially on a beautiful ossian, d.c. day in august. this ethnic balance issue is critical, but it is tied to a few factors. there are some real practical issues, especially in the leadership ranks. most specifically, the literacy rate for illiteracy rate is one of the biggest problems. finding enough literate pashtun

to put into officers training has been a challenge. first, we have active recruiting for southern pashtun. there is more successes made for the police rather than the army. it is a local assignment for the police. they can work and live in the same area while the army is fielded nationally. we opened up training centers which did not exist 18 months ago. we've built a regional training center down in hell and -- in

helmund province. and we have police training centers that we have built in canada are -- in kundahar and elsewhere. we have had a huge uplift in the last six months. the numbers are starting to change. initially, as i said, success has been more in the police then in the army. the third pieces trying to get after the illiteracy issue. even though we have been in afghanistan as a mission for 10 years, the native training mission is only 22 months old.

one of the things we realize right away was that literacy in afghanistan is really bunched at the two ends of the age spectrum. children are going to schools that have opened since 2001. than a generation that went to school prayer to the soviet invasion in 1979 -- went to the sovietr oto invasion in 1979. >> is that countrywide or in the south? >> it is countrywide and worse in the south. the taliban and the areas that they took over, they shut schools down pretty thoroughly. what you have now is, when you take the few officers that you

can glean have had high school educations, you had 11% literacy rate for basic patrolmen and soldiers. any kind of functioning basic military and functioning or police auctioning is almost impossible. they cannot take a police report. if you continue with a crime and i cannot write it down, you think you'll like do anything about it. the state was not involved. we now have every single soldier and policeman going through 100% -- going through literacy training. that is starting to get some traction we have an accelerated program to take those southern pashtun at any

level of literacy and train them. >> what percentage of the officers are they? >> i cannot tell you off the top of my head. i do not think i have the number. with the generals -- but the general balance is still about a third of the force, when you think about the total afghan forced, our southern pashtun. >> this seems like the iraq model when you have the sons of iraq. you can i get the ethnic group to join a national army, but you have a local force. how subservient are the local forces to the interior of afghanistan? one of the goals is to create a strong afghan government, a strong coherent afghan

government. but on the other hand, you are building a local police or local militia forces. do they were together or is there a danger that these will really be separate and will go their own way and not answer to the national government? >> there are two different types of police in the local level. some one are the uniformed employees to go through for training. and the others are the local afghan police who are the ones that are similar to the sons of iraq who are trained by our special operations forces. to date, we are nationally fielding the uniformed police. even the ones that are more regionally focused like the

recruiting efforts of the southern pashtun, and i think we have seen good results in a tie back to the provincial government and then to the central grant. i would argue that they really do not feel the effect of the central government. they identify more with their provincial government. the connection is really the pack. on the local police level, to date, most of our after local police are not from the southern pashtun areas. we have had great success was to bring the local leaders into the process of security, then the afghan local police are defending their own homes. it has been effective.

there are elements out there that call them after local police that are not sanctioned. we are very clear that we do not pay them. we do not supply them. and we actively work to try to get them into the process. when we're talking after local police, the only ones that virtually certified by the ones that have been trained by isaf special operations forces. >> misses the summer that we have seen some colossal incidences. we saw an attack at the intercontinental hotel and the british consul. we have seen were afghan forces cannot manage on their own. why should we feel any sense of confidence that these folks will ever be able to really deal with the insurgency? >> i respectfully disagree with you. the intercontinental hotel was a huge success. it was handled solely by the

afghan security forces. they responded in a very rapid manner. they dealt with it with a minimum of civilian casualties. they were professional in their approach. is the enemy able to execute spectacular attacks? yes. if we had that enemy here in the united states, they would be able to execute spectacle -- spectacular attacks. it is a war zone. are they able to fight and hold ground in cobble and kandahar? i would tell you that there are not. as a team, the enemy has been

set on retreat. the ability to conduct this spectacular attack, anyone who is willing to blow themselves up can kill a lot of people. we have seen that in mumbai with the world trade center, with 9/11 coming up, with spain, in london. you will not be able to direct that fully with the security forces. a lot of that will really have to be addressed long term through the reconciliation process through education process. but as far as the ability to totally disrupt a society, the insurgent threat, the taliban, it is increasingly limited in

the places that they can do that in afghanistan. i think it is actually great. at the intercontinental hotel, the response in kandahar, that is a success story for the afghan forces. we did not have to go in and deal with it. they dealt with it. afghanistan will be needing in support for a long time. there will not have an air force that is fully functional for a number of years. but troops on the ground were largely afghan commanded and dealt with the situation. >> thank you. we will open to death. -- we will open it up. >> i think this is a pretty informed audience. i think we would rather get your questions that have a dialogue.

>> please identify yourself. and wait for the microphone. there you go. >> the question that after zero skiing is what about -- there is still violence there. thank you to the u.s. because they are now free from the taliban. but they do not have enough confidence in the government they have now because of corruption and security issues as well. >> that is a really broad question. when you say what is the future of afghanistan. i will come back to what i know.

if you want to do a follow-up, we can go from there. what i know is that, from 2009 until now, everybody knows that the united states surged 30,000 forces to help the situation in afghanistan. what less people know is that nato surged 10,000 additional forces. we have 34 nations in nato training missions in afghanistan. what is often not known is that the afghan people surged 101,000 forces. it went from approximately a little 200,000 to about 300,000. i have been gone for several weeks, so i can i give you the exact numbers. they surged by 101,000 and going

to an additional 156,000 for a total of three and 52,000. a country -- a total of 352,000. a country not committed to its own security would not have been able to do that in the last three months. it would have been impossible. i think we are fielding an effective army and police that will provide the base line of security. they have challenges. we're not done with that. it will take all the way through the end of 2014 to build those sustainment pieces, logistics', complex capabilities like fire support, to get them to where they can provide the baseline of security. from security -- obviously, i am a guy in uniform so you will

hear my perspective -- but when we say that there will provide security, i do not mean that the war will end. i do not think the war will be over on december 31, 2014. it would just be that the afghan army and police will be securing their own people. and there will be occasional dramatic attacks that they will have to deal with. by and large, my age and i have driven all over afghanistan. in the last eight months, i have never seen so much economic activity. helmund province is a boom town. there is somebody putting of the business or putting up a building. people do not invest their own money. this is not usaid. it is not ngo's.

it is not the world bank. its afghan and some other neighbors. i am talking private entities, not the government. if you want to see where there is secret, follow the money. people do not make investments where their investments are at risk. and there is a great deal of economic activity flowing into it, especially into southern afghanistan. i am very optimistic. if the finish the mission that afghanistan will be able to continue to progress and right after this security situation. >> thank you. for success in afghanistan, it depends on neighboring pakistan.

>> a lot of that is a political- diplomatic, as well as a security situation. i will tell you that the new command team -- the focus of general petraeus was to get an afghan army and police fielded in the country and to turn back the insurgency, which i think he successfully did over the last year. ambassador crocker and general allan have almost like a laser light focus on the international community to get the government of afghanistan and the government of pakistan

discussing there'd security challenges. i would be disingenuous if i said that there was not a serious security charge, especially in eastern afghanistan, that is to directly related to the problem across the border. as much success as we have had in the south, we're still really challenged in the east of the country. a think you'll see a great deal of both diplomatic and military effort go into that situation over the next six months or so. >> thank you. >> i have seen a lot of training is because i used to interpret for isaf. one of the concerns that have always been there is the mutual

trust between the security forces and isaf. there have been cases where someone in an afghan uniform turning against the isaf forces. i do not know if they have used a news step for mutual trust lessons and ideas. >> the is a really good question. the afghan army and police are amongst the people and so is the enemy. even in those places were the enemy can troll back, this is a counterinsurgency.

so the enemy is still out there most people. we recruit from the people. these are not mercenaries. as much as you try to fully vet 0 1/4, some bad actors come into the force. that is one thing -- vet tghe force, some bad actors coming to the force. that is one thing. another thing is a process that includes technological vances like biometrics and other techniques. we have no problem meeting our recruiting requirements or even now our ethnic balance requirements.

the police were actually over our numbers in basic patrol. now it is a leadership training issue, not a recruiting issue. in the army, we met our 6500 goal every month, including last month. but we turn re -- but return with 1400 people who tried to recruit and become or join the military. that was for a variety of reasons. some of them were medical and stuff. but there was a variety of bad actors. either they had bad associations that were worries some more they had criminal pasts. or issues of corruption. that was 1400 that were turned away through this vetting process. i think the progress is there and is providing a great deal

of insurance and trust to the force, knowing that you have this active vetting process that is going on. but there are many thousands of members of the afghan army and police. scooter -- scattered throughout their, their may be a few bad actors. that is the second thing. the third thing is you have a lot of people who claim to be jihadis and insurgents at the moment they're getting captured or they start trying to fight their way out because that is a much more honorable way in their view to go than being an out and out criminal. what we found in some of these cases is that these guys are not really insurgents. they are just out and out criminals.

as they got caught in their criminal activity, they turned on either their ally -- their isaf ally or they turn on their fellow afghan members because the news was closing in on them. -- because the noose was closing in on them. i can tell you the stories of people who were insurgents or infiltrators. they are overplayed. but it is still a threat throughout their, months of people. there will be some folks to get through. >> can i ask you about the attention. do you have some figures about that? that used to be a big problem. >> it is still a challenge. i would not say that it is a huge problem right now because we are meeting -- we get as many as we need to get to maintain the force.

patricia has dropped. last month, some significant drops occurred, the last several months. we are at about two 0.2% per month. on a national -- figure it over a year, that is a lot. 24%, 26%, that is a big turnover. on the other hand, there are a couple of factors in that. the biggest factor is that there is no law that requires you to say. so it is not like, a few list in the united states army, you sign a contract and you cannot just leave whenever you want to leave. in afghanistan, you can just pick up and go home. often, what happens, to be quite honest with you, is to have mostly would -- mostly young men

who it is the first time they are away from home and they do not like it. i remember the first time i was an enlisted soldier, i might have gone home, too, if i had not been contacted. but the real factors that drove attrition was really bad leadership, or pay, that living conditions and less about the fight. the afghans are fighters. they're not afraid to get into a scratch. -- to get into a scrap. so we turned to leader training. we are very focused on helping the afghan army and police develop confident, honest, good leaders.

that has helped. we looked the army and police and the disparities in pay and we brought them up to the same pace as the army, which has helped on the police side. and then we work in incentive pay so that every soldier, once they leave the training base, is considered at war. so they get combat pay. it is a 360 combat in burma and. and the facilities are much better than they were. there has been a huge investment in the facilities to make the living standards of the afghans better. all of those factors have started to drive down the attrition rate. it is not where we would want to it yet. it is not a desperate situation because we are not losing -- we are able to meet our requirements. but like any big organization, there is an investment they have to make you cannot retain your

people. >> how about all the way down at the end. >> i served in the marines and i worked for the former afghan ambassador. could you provide us with an update on the status of the afghan public protection force? as a understand it, they have three levels of training in the works. two week-program for petitioner is accorded -- for practitioner security. i just want to see where you stand or where do we stand with regards to the legal steps in creating the acgf as a state- owned enterprise? >> i will digress for just a second.

i am not budging your question. re, we haver thei about 6000 mtma trainers and a advisers in the country. i have 3000 deployed advisers. and in six commands around the country. my actual interaction with the appf is small. i will tell you that the efforts of to this point have been largely in clarifying the laws that will govern how the appf is brought on board and paid for. much may have changed in the last three weeks to four weeks since i have been on leave and

back here in washington, d.c.. when we left, the first real plus for appf were ongoing. my understanding was that they were very well attended and seemed to be successful. the assessment of afghan justice department represents a truce came to observe it -- presented to us who came to observe it and the secretary of the interior -- i cannot give you much more than that. i think it is a unique program. there is nothing like it, really, anywhere else. we had the facilities protection force in iraq. but even in those cases, they were truly paid by the government. there were not a corporate

entity. so this is very unique. time will tell how it goes. initial reports from the training was that it was going very successfully. >> my name is frederick erickson and i am with the danish a messy. i have two questions. with the after local police, that was the brainchild of general petraeus. there has been some criticism of it and there were some press reports a couple of weeks ago that some units had been closed in central and northern afghanistan. do you see the role of the afghan police changing?

the second question -- as isaf is beginning to scale down, what do you see the role of nato training missions as being? and how do you coordinate with national contributions? >> there is a lot there. it is actually all really good stuff. first off, let me commend the danes. the danes down in southwest have done fantastic. we encourage the danes to join the training missions in a more robust manner as they change their national objectives inside afghanistan.

we love them and they are great. as a matter of fact, mortar countries have been fantastic, great partners. the alp, i think it will endure because it is having great success. i think i said it before. there is alp that is certified and then there is alp that may be a bunch of guys with guns with somebody who may have connection in the government and they try to get themselves designated alp. we do not actually tolerate that. we'll support troop pay -- through pay and other supplies and resources and weaponsa those -- resources and

weapons to those alp that are certified. those programs are highly effective and there will continue to grow. nobody is more effective than a motivated person defending their own home. while the rest of isaf is now drawing down,mtma is still growing. at some point, we will have some sort of decrease. but i think what the very dynamic piece in mtma is the vibrant participation. we keep adding countries to it. we have 34 participating countries.

we have moved into a phase of the mission where, as we transition over the basic training task over to the afghans -- we have trimmed about 4000 army from my instructors in the last year -- we're getting into more specific and higher level skills which mtma is uniquely postured to train. for instance, we are bringing some hundreds of personnel american over the next four months focused on stewardship. when i mean by that is that the afghan people have a very good sense of stewardship, taking care of their stuff at a personal and family type of degree. what we do not have runout is a

good sense of doing that at the institutional or national level. if you think about the governments that they had come especially since 1979 into the early 2000's, the government did not give you any pay, except for a problem. now teaching these forces to actually care for facilities, to take care of their equipment, to do networking, maintenance, logistics, medical, all of those kinds of stewardship of both people facilities and equipment -- all of that requires a different set of skills. we are starting to move out of the counterinsurgency police training while we still calling it the foundation of this.

we're getting into civil police training. before we had a six-week block of instruction for basic coin police training. have to be a policeman in a counterinsurgency fight. we have focused on civil policing. will grow overrat many more weeks. it takes several months to train a policeman on how to understand and be part of the rule of law and justice. our nato partners and our bilateral partners are critical. the germans and the dutch are taking the lead of north in northern afghanistan on this initiative for civil policing. we look at a lot of our mtma members either as a part ofmtma

4 in bilateral relationships with the government of afghanistan to pick up the load on that. we see a point not that far into the future where we will not have isaf-run facilities in the north of afghanistan. and then you have facilities supported by the germans with the support of other nations in participation with them in the police train. for while, you will see an enduring mtma native training mission going on. and then you see these other bilateral relationships, especially in the area of policing and the rule of law. sir? >> good afternoon, sir.

i am michael would occur. i wonder if the afghan national security fits into the overall national equation. thoughts andn your how to best utilize the afghan security and making sure they're not unchecked on doing their own missions, operating outside the rule of law, if you will. >> i think there's always concern to make sure that anybody we are partnered with in any place is working inside the rule of law. and respecting human rights and justice. as far as the mfd and -- the nds and their operations, we

want them to operate independently and be successful at it. some of this, i can i get too deeply into, but they have been very successful in ferreting out against the security forces of afghanistan, i guess the coalition, and against the people and government of afghanistan. i think of the nds has been not only a fourth mobile park, but a multiplier for good. anything that increases the aggregates to treat it for the people of afghanistan is a good thing. that said, it does not mean that we are not very cognizant. there are actors out there in

all military services who sometimes do not bind -- do not abide by the rule of law. in the cases we know about, we bring them to the attention of the government of afghanistan and we address them. >> can i ask a little bit of a big picture question? you mentioned some of the things you're expecting to happen in the next few months, in terms of transitioning. we have a conference coming up in november or december. can you give us a sense of how the overall strategy is? it seems that the reconciliation is not going very well. there is no greater love for president karzai then there was the last time we checked. we do have ryan crocker who is a miracle worker, i know. but if you could give us a sense of whether the other pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place while you work on the

afghan forces. >> i do think that the diplomatic efforts of reconciliation -- a couple of things. first, there is no way that they cannot be directly tied to the security situation and the sense of the enemy on whether the tide has turned. seeing a change regarding the internal afghanistan. i think that is largely because the enemy is back on the wheel in southern afghanistan.

at a much higher level, -- that is at the local level. at a much higher level, it goes back to the of a gentleman's question of pakistan and there has to be no long term agreement and reconciliation cannot concerts -- can occur without taking into consideration pakistan. i will throw that back on ambassador crocker. i think that he and general allen are focused on that. on broader issues of the effectiveness of the plan, how the government of afghanistan is doing, it is challenged. it is challenged largely for the same reasons that we have challenges in the development of the afghan national security

forces. there is a human capital challenge. you cannot have a whole generation of people at war and then expect that, somehow, you will recruit enough people that will then effectively be able to provide government. that is just something that will take time. in my opinion a lot of this will come bottom-up, not top-down. a gentleman before talked about his role as an interpreter. they have started out as interpreters a few years before. that is how long term the bigger picture will improve. it will be individuals kicking

in and investing in the country. i think this human capital challenges not something you can fix overnight. and clap your hands and all of a sudden government will be perfect in afghanistan. to say anything else would really not be true. but i do think that we're seeing progress in areas. it will just take a while and the international community will have to make a long-term commitment. one last thing i will say on this issue of human capital, i believe that the president's initiative to drawdown, to start recovering the surge -- i am sure nader is it i'm sure and there will also start recovering forces -- will have positive effect on providing more human capital in afghanistan.

to some degree, just the numbers of people that we have their, historically to how things would normally sort themselves out -- i will give you an example. i use this example for the human capital issue. i am the guy who signs off on visa applications for interpreters. this is so they can either steady in the u.s. or come for a visit, whatever the case may be. we did about 38 rav4 went only to come home. -- 38 right before i went on leave to come home. i had nine doctors working as interpreters just that the nato training mission in afghanistan.

that upset me. i am having a distorting effect on what would normally be the economy or how things would sort out in afghanistan. on the other hand, what i will tell you, just like those two gentlemen who opened up a newspaper, at some point, as we leave, those nine doctors will get a micro loan and they will go into practice or work in a hospital. we will see, i think, a surge -- as long as city is maintained and we stick with the people of afghanistan and follow through with them -- i think we will see a surge of talent into afghan society that will change afghan society. right now, we pay the more than anybody else around. once they have to give back into society to earn a living, they will have an impact. i think they will have an effect in government. i think it will have an effect in education. they will have an impact in business. they will have an impact in the

professions. i think it will be a very dynamic time as long as we finish the mission in building at this afghan national security force and we continue and the international community continues. >> not to be cynical, they may also pick up and leave as we leave. >> they could. they could flee. -- they could leave. but what i have found is that the people of afghanistan love their country. they're dedicated to their country. they believe, if we let the security situation dissolved into chaos, if we continue the mission -- and that does not mean 100,000 troops. that means building of the capability for afghanistan to secure its people. then people will stick with the country and they will make that

commitment to their own country and their own people. sir? >> national du graphic retired. -- national geographic retired. it brings up -- with a contrarian congress that we have right now, how can we say to the afghans that we will be here for you? if it is not your protocol. how did you convince them that we will be there? we did withdraw once before? >> it does mean what you mean by "to be there >" i do not think we will be their past 24 team in tens of thousands of troops -- i do not think we will be there past 2014

in tens of thousands of troops. but there will be leaders to come out to afghanistan. i will not name names. from the department of defense, the department of state, and the administration, i think people understand that these are smart people. they know the history of the region. they know what happened when a much less capable force had their funding cut out from underneath it in the 1990's. september 11 is coming up. i was at the pentagon. the flight flew over my head when it hit the building.

willnot believe t pull pitch and not pay and run. i think we have a mandate to find ways to become much more efficient and kind of bring the cost down to maintain this force overtime. that is one of the things -- that is one of our missions right now. can i go into something for a second? >> yes. >> this goes to the point of the cost. we spent billions of dollars on infrastructure in afghanistan. frankly, we're very concerned about the ability of afghanistan to maintain it for structure. not even so much from a money stem part, but from a technical standpoint. their technical class has not been fully developed yet to get to that point. that is one of the reasons why --bring in all of thises

these stewardship people to train them. we were not very wise on how we did construction in afghanistan. we built to osha standards. we built to western standards. we put in western-style sinks and things that were not -- that did not match the culture and were not sustainable and the untenable -- and maintainable for the long haul. doing for theted last year oso is -- year or so is building in the afghan style. 125 degrees in helmund about a month ago. we went from building these western-style buildings to

building the adobe style that the afghans are used to with the bricks of the make and the mud walls and the more narrow windows. it is their style of building with some technological improvements. for instance, we put report could they shop would into the bricks because that is what they had. we provided better cement and so on. much cheaper to make. very easy to maintain. the first thing a afghan does is put up the wall. then i have to build and maintain walls. outside, it is 125 degrees, no power, and no electricity, and is 80 degrees inside this adobe building with no fans and nothing. we should have been doing that for 10 years. we did not open up our eyes and see it.

we started doing that and we think that building in a style that is adapting to the local capabilities and also to the local culture will be better. we stopped putting in big air- conditioning units and started putting in fans. in the more remote police stations, we have put in solar panels in a country where you have 340 days of sunshine. solar panels will actually provide the energy they need in a police station and you do not have to truck in oil. you don't have to have generators to maintain. you just have solar panels and some electrical wires. it is a much different way of doing business. we think that that will crush these costs down and we will get them down to a basic bare minimum. it is still a significant amount of money for a country that has

their own economic challenges. but when we think about the investment we have already made in afghanistan and what the costs and the results will be of letting the security situation deteriorates if you did not stick with them, we think it will be worth the long-term investment for america. >> i wanted to follow-up with your comments about human capital. as you know, women are an integral part of the human capital in the future of afghanistan. as i look over your shoulder, i see if you know police officer on the part -- on the power point. i wanted to get your perspective more information about not only the participation of women in the security forces and the

integration, but also police sensitivity training. a lot of the narrative or rational in fighting the taliban involves the rights of women. >> there are about three or four areas that i would bring in. the first one is that you have a very aggressive learning program. we are successful so far with the police then the army. that is mainly because it is a cultural thing. you can be local and be a one policeman. -- and be a woman policeman. from a cultural standpoint, the idea of searching, that you have to search people and have your population or more are women, the afghans get it. they do not want men searching

women care it is easier to get support from the afghan government and the local leaders to support women and police. it is tougher in the army,if ana trip we should go to san antonio, the first four afghan women pilots who will train to be pilots and fly mi-17's and afghanistan are finishing up the english training because they need to learn english before they can get the rest of the instruction down in san antonio. we have women pilots. we also recently graduated a class at officer candidate school for women. then we have been extremely successful, especially in the north, recruiting women for the border police. what we found is that we get a

variety of women, both young women, but also a lot of war widows who come in. and women are interesting. in the north -- and i want get into the specific names of what the leaders were, but we had a group of women who were policemen, police women, and, so, a local police leader was coming to speak to them. and i think he thought he was going to go in there as the lord of the manner and say, aren't i great. and he got in there and they jumped him with, we need child care, we need better facilities. and it was like, they almost had a women's union. and he walked out of there and he goes, we've got to get them -- i can have them yell at me anymore. we have to give them what they need. they got child care, better

facilities. women are -- there is no shrinking islands -- shrinking violets in afghanistan. afghan women are extremely strong especially having gone through what they went through three generations. our numbers are not where we would like them to be, but they're getting better. but every soldier and a policeman -- policeman, the sides of the fact they are getting literacy training, besides that they learned the constitution and they learn part of their role is to respect the rights of all afghans, including behalf of the population who are women. so, i think that that has been a positive factor. when you recruit a woman, you get a whole family committed to the process because it is a brave act for them to send a doctor or a wife or somebody to military police training. we actively tried to make sure they are supported.

the last thing -- and this is really kind of empowering women but not directly in uniform. afghanistan, before the soviet invasion, had an extremely vibrant cottage industry, textile industry. afghan women mostly run and owned by afghan women. there was no cultural -- and most islamic countries, there is no problem. women can be businessmen with a no problem. and it is supported. and these textile industries were very successful and they actually exported out of the region their products. one of the things that we did at nato training mission, using techniques like we have here in this country set aside, we set aside contracts to help women get textile companies up and

running -- uniform textile companies. every piece of afghanistan uniform is produced by afghan- owned companies. they do not come from outside anymore. a couple of years ago they would have come from china or other places. they are all produce locally now. most of those companies are women-owned companies. that is having a dynamic effect on the local economy, especially in kabul. >> is it true of the women in the south as well? i can see -- are you getting ashtun women? >> we are getting some. more in the border police. and it comes to this issue of searching. that is really -- it is a

protection thing. they don't want their women searched by other men. that is really -- that is the hook to get them in. from there, all we report from there. obviously, just like we lag behind -- behind, because two years ago, frankly, the enemy owns helmont and canada are -- helmand and kandahar and now the people of afghanistan on it again been now we are recruiting more southern pashtun men and i think we will get more women involved. >> mark cramer. >> yes, sir. >> just hold it. >> a couple of questions and i have a comment under my sergeant major act.

you mentioned the economic and small-business piece. one thing i would add to it, when i was there in 2005 and in 2006 that i watched in addition to that is the litter. the letter was being picked up and the streets were kept clean, and security people were feeling relatively safe. once that went down, construction went down, well, i did not like going through that area. it was consistent. that is one of the other things. on the construction, my question would be -- and i am glad to see what was being done -- is being done because that is what i was saying in 2005. but the same -- certain buildings are going to need to adhere to u.s. standards. is that being done? like com centers, intel, these

type, information centers. that was a problem in 2005 and in 2006 because there was a refusal to do with and the afghans and noticed. >> we are. those are primarily being built by the corps of engineers, u.s. army corps of engineers and the u.s. air force engineers. where those requirements are needed. what i am talking more about is the tactical infrastructure or the basic training infrastructure at the regional military training centers or tactical and if the structure at a local police based in -- station. for some of these higher level facilities -- hospitals, intel centers, and so on, those are still u.s. corps of engineers projects. now, five years ago, i would tell you that most of those facilities under the corps of

engineers direction was billed by pakistanis or by iranians or somebody from outside of afghanistan. i would argue that most of them today are being built by afghans. we enforce an entire industry of construction. we have problems getting afghans now to do our stuff because they are like, we are too busy. these are guys that we started up -- they build a wall and lay a foundation and was a rip down, it is going to fall down. they work with our engineers until they learned the techniques and they got it going. now, we need to build something. they say, we are too busy, can we do it in two months. who are you busy with? we are building a factory over here, in business over there. it is amazing. so, i think mostly we are building to those standards, sir, but most of them are being

built by afghans now, which i think is a great and proven. >> that afghans are building them. they are doing it so that when it comes to information sharing, the standards are there so we can share information. >> yes. i would say that those are fully invested and built that way. -- vetted and bolts that way. >> on the human capital side, one of the things -- in the group i worked with, they were all literate. the illiterate ones where the u.s., and by that i mean none of the u.s. had -- refusal by the u.s. to teach us. my slavic actually helped me better working with the afghans. so, in working with afghans, an emphasis on getting the u.s.

literacy rates in dahrir, pashtu, up. >> that is a challenge, to be honest with you, and that is why we have doctors, mr. rahim, as interpreters. i would say that the afghan hands program has been wildly successful. these are the folks who go into intensive language training. they do that and then they usually go into a school environment, and then they go forward to afghanistan. they do a tour in afghanistan and then they returned to afghanistan and go back into a more intensive training and work on the policy side of the house or the planning side, and then they returned to afghanistan. that was an initiative largely generated by general mcchrystal before he went to afghanistan, which is now having great

effects. so, for instance, one of these afghan hands it is one of my at lieutenant-colonel out in the west herat region. what he does is he goes out on a regular basis and works, because he speaks both languages. i don't know how well, because i don't. but he does. he gets out there and he talks to local police chiefs and it gauges with the police to try to get them to send those who are on the payroll prior to this whole training effort back for training and convince them that you will actually get your people back. they will be told by somebody else and sent somewhere all spare it is highly effective. he also engages with the afghans to say, what is working and what is not working. so, it is a feedback loop that comes back in. we learned on that.

so, no, i would be totally disingenuous if i told you that 150,000 nato forces are going to learn dahri and pashtu, and to be quite honest, i hope we are not in afghanistan long enough for that many americans to learn those languages. i think there has been a very intensive effort to get some americans and some members of isaf trained on it so they can actually work with and truly partner at a level that is probably appropriate for a long- term relationship. >> just one last dig >> ok. then i will call a joint training between the police and the ana. certain areas, here in the u.s., you have what is called the wall that usually exists between what law enforcement and intel doing

basic training. what is being done to ensure that that is not being set up by us within afghanistan? >> well, what i would say is a couple of things. number one, there is a force in afghanistan that bridges the gap. that is the afghan national civil order police. they are trained by our italian, french, spanish, -- frankly because we do not know how to do it, because we don't have that in america. we don't have a paramilitary- type force. at an operational and technical level, you have a force that bridges between police and army. and they are very effective. and the europeans did the training and they are outstanding. i wish we had another 1000.

we would do it much faster. functional skills we share a lot. we have, for instance, police and medics get trained in the army centers. a driver training is done in army centers. we are taking a hard look at logistics' because the afghans do logistics' probably in a way that will end up evolving into something fundamentally different than a western-style. so, training afghan army and police to gather on logistics. there are certain skills that we don't want actually policemen doing -- artillery and mortars. so, we will not give it to them. at least we are not going to pay for them. that training will be segmented and staying with

>> it has been reported that to maintain the national security forces after 2014, it is going to cost $8 billion. we spoke to the ministers and they seemed confused about where the $8 billion figure comes from and believe it is a high number. >> i don't know where it comes from either. >> could you elaborate on the details? >> i cannot elaborate on a because i don't know where the $8 billion figures come from. they are probably -- here's the problem with stuff moving back and forth between afghanistan and washington d.c. before policy decisions are made. part of it is there are numbers being thrown around that are based on courses of action that

never became policy. so you have a course of action that might have had $8 billion sustainment tag on that before anyone did any real number crunching. before a policy or a size of the force and what they're going to have from an equipment and infrastructure standpoint. that number probably got out there and it may be on somebody's slide from some point. i have also seen numbers that are much lower that -- i will tell you right now that we don't know the exact number because the policy decisions other than the president's decision to go to 352,000, that the united states would commit to the growth of the afghan forces, we don't know of lot of the factors involved.

until we get a handle on the whole infrastructure piece, we don't know what the out your cost will be. let me finish. the final piece of this is we are not sure what the committed from a broader international community will be. i agree with the minister, i think it's a high number, i guess going to be some number much less than that. how much less, i don't know. i'm not keeping something in my back pocket. i honestly don't know and i would argue that there are still policy decisions and guidance we are yet to get that will help drive that number. position of the forces and where we are from the standpoint of reconciliation in 2014.

if anybody tells you this is the number, i think they're talking out of their hat because nobody really knows. what i would say is that it's not going to be cheap. but i don't big it's going to be anywhere near $8 billion. >> the figure for this year is $11.6 billion. >> that's different. what he's talking about is what it's going to cost to pay for salaries and the statement for the security force overtime. we are in building stage and it's actually $12.8 billion for 2012. but we are in the construction stage. we're building facilities, field equipment, generating forces, we are still in a growth stage until sometime late next year pre >> do you know how much that

is salaries? >> that's a good question. i know it's a s -- i know it's a very small portion. the large majority of the money, of the $12.8 billion, as physical construction and fielding of equipment. the next amount is statement costs and salaries. the 12.8 is going to drop like a rock after this year because we are basically finished in 2012 generating the force. then -- with the exception of the airforce, which will grow out for some number of years, but largely, the afghan infantry and police force will largely be fielded by fall of next year.

>> we have all little more time, about 10 more minutes. do we have anymore questions? >> he needs to pick up the pace a little bit. >> i have a question about some of the reports of the police training and some of the contractors that have had issues this year. i wanted to get your update on that and what the prospects were. >> i'm not following your question. >> there were reports earlier this year that some of the contractors involved in some of the police training were not performing well and there were issues around some of the civilian support in terms of contractor support. i wanted to get your update on that. >> what i would say is that first off, there are a lot of dedicated contractors in afghanistan. they are good people. they are also fairly expensive.

one of the initiatives of the training mission in afghanistan and why we have worked so hard to expand ourselves out to 34 nations was to drive the costs down. we've saved hundreds of millions of dollars by cutting back on the contracts. when mtma stood up, all the police training was being done by contractors. very, very little of the training is now done by contractors. to the point that by this fall, what you will have is almost all the actual training will be done by afghans or done by ntma uniformed personnel. where contractors are employed,

they will be employed in areas ane logistics' adviser or adviser to the commander on management of the facility. they are there to fill out around the edges. for instance, in some of our facilities, when i got there, it was 100% contract police training. there is now no contractors there. the numbers of contractors have dramatically dropped. you can reach out to us later and we can get the specifics on that, but now, all of that contract training was good, but it is better when they're getting trained -- or it is better when they are being trained by upol.

it's just the way this. it is better training and more professional and a higher quality. also, as we move away from polling -- from claimed policing to civil policing -- from coin policing to civil pleasing, we will lean much more on our nato partners -- a claim policing into civil policing, we will lean more on our nato partners. >> i had a quick question -- you mentioned the indians involvement and the economic growth in afghanistan. could you talk more about their involvement in some of the security forces, if any? >> they are not involved in security force training at all. >> but there was consideration at one point? >> i cannot talk to them because

i do not know. if there was, it was not while i was there. i do think there is a very active indian economic support to afghanistan. i can tell you how you can tell. drive through kabul and look all the cellphone or computer advertisements and look at all the women whose ads are not covered. they looked south asian. they are not pakistanis. they are indian companies. india is investing a lot in the economic development of afghanistan. i cannot really speak to the government of india. i'm talking up the people of india and that's a different thing. >> you have raised the issue of the neighbors, so i have to ask the iran question.

if you could talk a little bit about their economic involvement and the security involvement. we hear reports from time to time there playing various sides of the fence and there has been a troublesome uptick in violence in some places. what is your sense of what the iranians are up to? >> first of all, let me separate iranian people and iranian businesses from the iranian government. the iranian people and iranian businesses have a long term economic relationship with the people of afghanistan, especially western afghanistan. by all measures, that is a good thing. it's a good thing for the people of afghanistan, it's a good thing for the people of iran, and it's a good thing for the prospects of peace and democracy. if that is going on back and forth, especially if we have a democratic country in

afghanistan. that's the first thing. the second thing, i am limited to a degree in what i can say, but it is troubling, some of the weapons we have found in afghanistan and some of the munitions we found in afghanistan that clearly have their source -- and this is nothing the generals have not said -- it is troubling and that's all i'm going to say on that. >> and do we have a final question? go for it. >> my question is, when we come back and ask for security from the international community, like indians are working and other nations are there, what

they're asking many people now is what guarantee can you give them a for their safety? >> what i would say is the fact that they are asking that question is a sign of success. because two years ago or three years ago even, in large parts of the country, they would not even be there. because the enemy had the countryside. the fact he they are there and saying what kind of guarantees can get for security means that largely they are secure and they're wondering how does that security get sustained. those questions are actually very good indication of progress, because there would

not have been anyone they're asking those questions couple of years ago. the second thing i would say is that the war does not and when isaf transitions to the leadership of the government of afghanistan. i wish it did, but i don't believe it will and no one is promising there will not be war in afghanistan. what they are saying is you will have an afghan national security force, army and police, supported by the international community, which will be able to hold its own and make sure parts of the country do not fall back into the control of these terrorists and insurgent groups. i think the best security for afghanistan and participants is an effective army and police and

an active population that seeks to participate in the security process because they know, often they know, the best intelligence you get comes from the people, not collection. they know who the bad guys are. that said, there will be, any time you have an enemy that is willing to blow themselves up and take other people with them, it's going to happen. but the afghan people are pretty tough people. they had of the horrendous attack at the internet -- at the intercontinental hotel, the commandos responded to it, business and life went on in kabul. he had a tax, assassinations, explosions, they happen, life

goes on. commerce continues and people continue, it doesn't make it any less horrendous, but i don't see people packing up in waves and leaving afghanistan. the same thing, the spectacular -- spectacular assassinations, like that of the police leader. you did not see an exodus from northern afghanistan. people are tough. when you have the opportunity to make a lot of money, like the people from india and other countries, in afghanistan, because there is great economic potential, they will factor that in and pay the cost -- the premium for security. they will keep pushing.

that is kind of the way of the world. you are not going to get perfect security. i think he will continue to see progress, especially from the bottom -- you will continue to see progress, especially from the bottom up. >> very quickly. >> my suspicion is that the chinese will want to invest when things are settled. they're pretty conservative in their approach. i have not seen a bunch of chinese roaming around. have you seen the chinese in afghanistan? i have not. they may be around, but i do not know where they are at. i am not seeing a lot of chinese interference in afghanistan. >> that has been vaccinating -- thank you so much. this has been fascinating.

we appreciate everybody coming out today. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> the associated press is reporting that august has become the deadliest months yet for u.s. forces in the nearly 10- year war in afghanistan. 66 service members have been killed this month, eclipsing the previous record of 65 killed in july of 2010. the associated press writes that nearly half of the deaths occurred when insurgents of shot down a chin up helicopter on august 6, killing 30 american troops -- chinook helicopter on august 6, killing 30 american troops, mostly navy seals. president obama ordered 10,000 withdrawn this year and another 20,000 -- 23,000 withdrawn by the summer of 2012, leaving

about 6000 u.s. troops on the ground. you can see this event later on today in our video library. some other coverage coming up. we have been showing you, on "booktv primetime," theiis series. tonight, a look at "in the garden of beasts." also a discussion of "reckless endangerment." "booktv prime-time" -- all this week. >> watch more coverage of the candidates, see what candidates are saying, track campaign contributions -- all at c- span.org/campaign2012.

link to c-span media partners. all at c-span.org/campaign2012. >> the associated press reports that a spokesman for the libyan rebels say that they have a good idea -- says they have a good idea where muammar gaddafi is located. they are confident they will catch him. it was reported that his wife and three children fled the country into neighboring algeria. earlier today, and nato spokesperson told reporters that work -- a nato spokesperson told reporters that work still remains before middle withdrawn their forces from the country. this news brief is about 40 minutes. >> good afternoon. welcome to everybody in brussels and those of you watching on the internet, especially those of you in libya, who i know are also watching and the internet. i am joined by colonel roland lavoie, the military

spokesperson of operation unified protector, who will give us an operational update. the nato mission is important. it is effective. it is still necessary in order to protect civilians. as long as threats remain , there is still a job to get done. we will get that job done. the mission will continue in full compliance with the united nations' mandate, for as long as it is needed, but not a day longer. it looks as if we are nearly there, but not there yet. in the last week, we have seen vivid reminders of where the threats are coming from. picturesseen the grim from tripoli, the allegations of mass graves, executed prisoners, and a hospital full of dead patients. we have seen reports of how the regime is using mosques,

schools, and marketplaces as shields. we must make sure these threats are gone for good. until civilians are safe. the libyan people will build a new future based on democracy and the rule of law. once nato's job is done, it is for others to take over the lead in supporting libya. we expect the united nations to take a leading role. we have already seen that it is doign so -- doing so. nato could support on request. any future support must satisfy three criteria -- demonstrable need, some legal basis, and wide regional support. no decision has been taken. the focus for now remains very

much on getting the job done under the current mandate of the united nations security council. the secretary-general will travel to paris on thursday, september 1, to take part in a meeting on libya. he has arctic taken part in meetings in doha, rome, london -- already taken part in meetings in doha, rome, and london. the people of libya will finally be able to hold their future in their own hands. one last point i want to mention, which has no connection whatsoever with our libya operations, as you may have seen, there was a mid-air collision this morning between an l-39, a lithuanian plane, and a french aircraft.

both lithuanians pilots ejected and walked away without serious injury. their plane crash in a rural area. there has been no damage to private property e. the french military jet was slightly damaged and managed to land. the incident is under investigation. we are not just talking about lithuania, but also latvia and estonia. now over to the operational briefing with colonel roland lavoie. >> welcome to those joining us from naples and, of course, brussels. the gaddafi regime is collapsing and rapidly losing control on multiple fronts. a few days ago, we witnessed the people of tripoli freeing their city.

now, the port is accessible to commercial and humanitarian shipping. the two metropolitan airports are now secured. they are able to provide for the overall security of the city. the national transitional council has ruled -- demonstrated its leadership and ability to start coordinating the provision of services to the population. these are very encouraging signs in deed. -- indeed. beenfi's forces have pushed of the greater tripoli area, despite the presence of remnants of the regime. the tripoli region is essentially freed with the retreat of pro-gaddafi forces to the southeast of the capital, where they do not represent a direct threat to the population

of tripoli anymore. there was the opening of the northwest coastal route linking tripoli to the tunisian border. as overall security improves, this vital link will allow for more road movement, which means more food, more water, fuel, medicine, and other supplies. our main area of attention is now the corridor between bin- waleed and the eastern edge of sirte -- bani walid and the sirte. edge of that is where gaddafi forces a re maintaining a presence. several wonder if there is still a need for nato presence to

protect libya. nato is still very much involved in monitoring the situation and intervening with extreme care and precision when and where we identify risks -- threats against the population, including surface-to-surface systems, multiple rocket launchers, air tracking radars, and anti-aircraft guns. just a few days ago, nato aircraft had to strike at the command-and-control facilities in tripoli, where attacks against the population were directed. as recently as yesterday, our aircraft struck several surface to air threats and multiple military vehicles near sirte, and citadel last bastion of the gaddafi regime. -- considered the last bastion

of the gaddafi regime. these interventions remain critically important until the libyan population is no longer under threat from the former regime. it is equally important to note that the alliance's air component is tracking numerous air and ground movements, which include humanitarian aid movements that are critically important during this recovery phase of the conflict. so far, since the beginning of the nato mission, we have tracked and coordinated thousands of air and ground movements to enable approximately 870 deliveries of humanitarian aid by national and international organizations, including non-governmental organizations. these numbers may sound abstract, but they do reflect a very concrete reality for those who are in real need of basic

necessities. from the maritime component perspective, nato is still enforcing the arms embargo, while ensuring this is done with minimum inconvenience to humanitarian aid cargo vessels. we further provide naval cooperation and guidance for shipping. with the return of security, the tripoli port is returning to normal state. commercial traffic is transiting in and out, and shipping levels are increasing, in creep -- including humanitarian aid. nato boss ships continue to provide an overall security presence -- nato's ships continue to provide an overall security presence. last weekend, medical assistance was provided to a ship leaving tripoli with 32 of the ex- prisoners from the prison aboard. nato shares concerns expressed

by many regarding the overall humanitarian situation in libya. it is reassuring, though, that we learn of more and more initiatives sponsored by governments and non-governmental organizations to help the libyan population. while individual nations and specialized non-governmental organizations are better-suited and equipped to conduct such operations, nato will continue to act as an enabler, essentially through its present at sea and its monitoring of the aerospace -- presence at sea and its monitoring of the airspace. nato's mission is not finished yet. we remain fully committed to our mission and to keeping the pressure on the remnants of the gaddafi regime until we can

confidently say that the civilian population of libya is no longer threatened. i cannot take your questions -- can now take your questions. >> we will start in brussels. >> i am from the chairman press agency -- german press agency. could you explain what is the process for amending the mission? -- ending the mission? how long will that take? do you need authorization from the un or anything like that? thank you. >> the decision will be taken by the north atlantic council on the military a price of our commanders -- advice of our commanders of operation unified protector and of the military

authorities. united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon also made that clear not so long ago. he makes clear that this is the assessment of nato. -- of military authorities and nato. last week, when the north atlantic council met, there was consensus around the table, together with the contributing partners in operation unified protector, that the anti-gaddafi momentum is irreversible. there was full commitment to continue the mission until the mandate is fulfilled. but no longer than is absolutely necessary. over there. >> i am from sky news. we are reporting that gaddafi was seen leaving tripoli in a

convoy to sabha. can you comment? as opposition forces advance on sirte, are you concerned that could endanger civilians? >> i have no information about the first question. >> since the beginning of the conflict, we have heard many rumors and allegations regarding the movements of gaddafi or his key supporters. i have no evidence either confirming or denying these allegations. keeping in mind that there is a limit on what we could see from 20,000 feet or 30,000 feet above the ground. with respect to this situation in sirte, actually, we are -- we have seen recent reports, no

later than a few hours ago, that there are discussions ongoing between the anti-gaddafi and pro-gaddafi supporters. we see these discussions as, certainly, an encouraging sign. we will see how they evolve over the coming days. i would like to stress, however, that we have seen many villages and cities being freed since the beginning of this conflict. very recently, it was tripoli, a very dense, urban center with a lot of troops within and around the city. what we have seen, actually, is great care in the way that the anti-gaddafi forces were

engaging the pro-gaddafi forces. we certainly expect that they will continue to act with the same level of care as this conflict evolves. >> just to add, the national transitional council has made public statements urging restraint and calling on all of their forces to respect international law, to protect civilians, and that is the way that we would like this conflict to be resolved, with the full protection of civilians on the ground. we have already seen that the ntc has reached out to communities in zlitan. that dialogue was the way

forward. reuters. >> two questions. following up on the question regarding possible end of nato's mission, can you rule out or is it still possible that, if gaddafi is captured or located, nato forces will stay beyond that point? subject, there are reports that one of his sons has been killed in recent days and reports that he was in a convoy hit by a military air strike that possibly caused his death. can you confirm that? any details that you have on nato attacking a convoy in which he might have been present, or a brigade of his, or what details you might have? >> if i may.

the end of our mission is not aligned on the capture or non- capture of gaddafi. it is aligned on nato's assessment of the level of threat to the civilian population in libya. and this will be the criteria that will be used by our chiefs to call an end to this mission. with respect to khamis, similar to what i have said for gaddafi, there are a lot of allegations and rumors about what could have happened to him. to be frank, we don't know. what i can tell you is that i am not aware of any operation that would have targeted specifically that area yesterday evening when

it was reported. at this time, i would qualify this as a rumor. i will keep it at that for this stage. >> roland, we can go to naples for questions there. >> no questions from naples. >> ok. >> question for roland. yesterday, your operational update shows that nato struck quite a few things around the sirte area. military vehicles, and aircraft, missile system military facilities. there are reports showing that the fighting is between the rebels and the remaining gaddafi forces. i am wondering why nato was striking all of these assets,

including 22 armed vehicles. were these vehicles moving? were they together? were they static? >> essentially, since the beginning of our campaign, very often a significant percentage of our strikes were in areas where you have lines of confrontations. it is not very surprising that these are in the areas where there is more activity, more vehicle movement, more movement of pieces of weaponry. this explains, certainly in part, why we have been active in sirte. keep in mind that we have been active in that area since the beginning of the campaign. from that perspective, we have focused specifically on striking at what we believe presents a

threat to the civilian population. this is not based specifically on a given city or target, but more on a given threat. these vehicles, these different pieces of weaponry that we have targeted were assessed as threatening the population. >> were the 22 armored vehicles moving, or were they grouped together on a parking lot? thank you. >> i don't have the specific of every specific target that we hit. what i can tell you in general terms is that -- vehicles and pieces of armament rarely stand still at a given location. most of what we call dynamic strikes are done when we see the movement of military material

going towards a population center. >> npr. >> thank you. i am with national public radio and global post. yesterday in doha, the opposition said that gaddafi could still pose a danger to civilians, even though he is in hiding and his assets have been so degraded. can you envision your operations being wrapped up if he has not been found? on the same topic, last week the british defense minister said that nato was helping, providing intelligence and reconnaissance. i know you have said before that you are not, but these reports keep coming up. if you would like to have the opportunity to deny it again, please have one. or not. >> the trigger for the end of the mission, as i mentioned earlier, is based essentially on the assessment that the civilian

population in the deal would be safe. -- in libya would be safe. it has little to do with one individual in particular. it has more to do with the overall security situation. again, this is not an absolute. this would be an assessment made when there is the sense that, essentially, the libyan authorities will be able to assume the overall control of their security. a key trigger also been the decision of -- we're on a personal mission, at the disposal of other authorities in nato headquarters. or second question was about coordination -- your second question was about coordination. >> the british defense minister came out several days ago and said that, despite denials, nato

is helping the rebels with reconnaissance and intelligence to want for gaddafi. -- hunt for gaddafi. >> basically, nato is pursuing its mission. what we do is dictated by the threats we identify. basically, we engage those threats. we're not engaged in direct coordination or tactical coronation of our actions with troops on the ground -- coordination of our actions with troops on the ground. >> i am from german television. i have a follow-up to the question we had before. can you give us an idea of what is going on there? the british defense minister, mr. fox, said last thursday that there are special forces of the british operating, that the rebels were trained, that there were weapons given to the rebels. as nato know about that? how do you coordinate those

efforts? >> our nato mission has no troops on the ground. as a spokesperson for nato, this is what i can talk about. i tell you, really, we have no ground troops on the ground. the presence of allied nations on the ground. as part of the operation, operation unified protector, we have no such presence. >> let me make that doubly clear. nato has no special troops and no ground troops or any sort of ground forces under nato's command in libya. we are conducting an air operation, a