it is not just me. when you come that close to dying and you know, that doesn't even really describe it because i said i was in the process of dying. i was already half dead before it and i somehow was able to live. and so i look at my children now and my husband and i think how could i do that to them? so the journalism is the same. you believe in the same things. i believe in the work as much as i ever have. but i'm conscious about how selfish that decision is and conscious of the price that the people i love pay and that makes you i believe in the work as much as i ever have, but i'm conscious about how selfish that decision is and conscious of the price that the people i love pay. and that makes you afraid. and i don't know that being afraid enables you to do the things that i've done. i just went back to afghanistan, so it's not like i'm chained to the desk. >> i was still a little puzzled because a couple of days before you actually went back and face that had awful experience, i

believe a few days before you were on "the charlie rose program. and you said you felt you and your crew were targeted and you didn't feel we were not safe, you said. >> that's when i was arrested in egypt the week before. >> my point is feeling that you were targeted, having been arrested, but you still went back. >> yes. >> what is it about lara logan that can say something that is obvious and then say lara, let's slow down but you went back any way? >> journalists are anarchrists at heart. my producer, he looks like he works for the state department every day. it drives us crazy, because we could be in the deserts of darfur and looks like he rolled out of washington. but he said we were sitting in this room in this secret -- not

really secret, but intelligence facility, prison, in egypt and i was on a drip because i had been very, very sick. i began vomitting before the combrations began. and not starting out the interrogation with that kind of behavior. they put a drip and stuck a needle in my arm and threw a bag on a table and left me in a filthy room. my producer and camera man was with me and my camera man was ready to get out of there. his grandmother was jewish and made him sign a confession and my producer said screw these guys, who are they to tell me what to do. and it's that kind of feeling. you don't want to be stupid about it, but this was a major story. we're talk ink about one of the most fundamental shifts in the strategic map of the world that we have ever seen in our

lifetime. and so, there is part of you that as a journalist that thinks you need to be there to witness it. and my husband talked about it and we took that decision together. i didn't make that decision on my own and i had to stay and mean it, if you tell me no, if you ask me not to go, i won't. and he didn't. >> but you have spoken openly about that experience now and quite a few times and i don't want to belabor the point. i have a larger question in mind which is more than lara logan is that women reporters have -- have been told many times, suffered many forms of sexual violence and don't want to talk about it. why don't they want to talk about it? >> media is a big boys' club. that frames the environment in which you are working.

women are good for a bit of fluff as anchors and they fill a particular role but taken a long time for women to be taken seriously on the same playing field like, for example, in war. >> i have to tell you that many, many young women are now covering the wars. >> now. but not 10 years ago. not when i was coming up through the ranks. if you did, you were expected to be manly and not allowed to wear makeup or be feminine. you had to fulfill a certain image of what a war correspondent looked like. i didn't know that. that was never in my d.n.a., so i never tried. and i was told repeatedly that i would never make it and someone with my hair would -- thought about cutting my hair for three seconds after that interview and that's how long it lasted. it's not just hard for women to

speak about it, but harder for men to speak about it than men. it's not just women who are raped in horrible prisons around the world. it's men, too. and i had men write to me since egypt happened. women live with a degree sexual harassment. it's in your personal work, too. some think it comes with the territory of being a woman. if i came out of the afghan war and told you that i'm a push for kabul as the afghan soldiers were taking kabul. one of the guys took a photograph and one came out of the crowd and grabbed my breast and the general hunted this guy down and put a gun to his head, that would have overshadowed everything i ever did. so i didn't hide it, but first

time i talked about, there were big headlines in the newspapers of britain. i thought, wow -- that's not what i want to be remembered for. there are a lot of things that you take with the territory. i didn't whine about every risk or how hard it was, you shut up and take it and you do your job. in afghanistan, everyone was complaining about how a terrible war that was to cover. but compared to angola and mow saddam beek, that was fairly luxurious. >> you are not saying it's more difficult for a woman to cover a war, are you? >> no. there are certain risks that women face. when the "new york times" teams were arrested in libya, there were things that happened to the men in that team that were never talked about of a sexual nature. men are at risk.

>> i read a lot about you and lot of things what you have said and what people have said about you and i come away with the impression that a lot of people seem more fascinated by your personal life, what kind of person is lara logan than about your professional accomplishments, which are so obvious. so why do you think that's the case? >> i don't know, they think a photograph of me can sell a newspaper, apparently. i have been told that. i don't have a good answer to that question. one thing i will say, though, i had no idea until egypt happened that there were so many of my colleagues that were interested in the work that i do and respected it. and because you get so used to covering your back in this business and waiting for the next knife that you forget about that aspect of it. and people as my mother in law said, people don't say nice things about you until you're dead. she said you are kind of lucky.

and i said, really? >> you said something a minute ago. do you think that the industry now is loaded up with people who go for your back, who want to do you harm? do you live in that kind of environment? >> not more so than a lot of journalists. that is the nature of the industry. i think there are lots of people who are subjected to it. i'm not unique. >> let's talk about foreign reporting for a few minutes. i have the impression lately that in terms of foreign reporting on networks that aside from reporters who are living somewhere and covering that environment, big-shot journalist will fly in, do a couple of interviews, spend a week and leave, go back home. i'm wondering since your career is very much in the ascdency that you will find yours in a situation and want to stay somewhere and soak it up and they are going to say you have to be back on friday because on sunday you are going on the air.

and so what do you think about the inevitablity of lara logan moving into a time she will have to do what producers tell her to do because she's a big shot now and going to be on television and draw many more eyes to the network? how are you going to deal with that lara, logan? free spirit? >> other times i might give in and other times i might get people upset. i mean it wouldn't be the first time that i disappeared.

when i covered ramadi, no one would send me when i was living in baghdad and we would get the press releases and see how many solders were dying in ramadi. and you just physically couldn't go out because it was so dangerous and cbs didn't have any interest in sending me so i called up one of my producers at "60 minutes" and said don't ask any questions, get on a plane we are going to ramadi. and off we went. and we just disappeared for three weeks and i coming to a base at one point in ramadi where they said to me there is someone from new york who has been trying to reach you. every journalist knows. we are adept at disappearing when we need to. there is something very uncomfortable about that reality but that rarely bothers me.

so much of -- truly good reporting comes from your gut and if you haven't had time on the ground, haven't had time to really grow that inate sense of what that something is. i know afghan people because i have spent so much time with them. when someone tells me something in washington that doesn't fit, i know it doesn't fit. i don't need to read a report. i don't need to refer to anybody else. i know here it doesn't fit. and so i don't want to become one of those people that say parachutes in and parachutes outs. there are ways around it and it isn't perfect and nothing can substitute for the years i spent living in afghanistan or kabul, but i have to deal with it as it comes. and when i go to afghanistan, i don't go for three days. i spent 2 1/2 weeks there and that is nothing for the years i spent there and the months i spent on trips.

but it's not three days. and hopefully, i'm going to find a way around that. >> i keep wondering how that's going to happen, and i don't see it. >> i'm not driven by my hours and minutes on air, i'm really not. that's not the motivation. if you do a story, you want it to be out there and want people to be paying attention but if i do a few less pieces a year, i don't really care. >> and "60 minutes" doesn't bother you if they do a few minutes less. >> it's run by journalists and not corporate executives. run by journalists. you have to understand -- jeff understands and if i say i have to spend three weeks in afghanistan because it's important, he says fine, make it work. he doesn't say sure, we'll make

it work for you. he says make it work. if that's the decision you are going to make, make it work and god help you, you better make it work or you aren't go to go have a job. >> how do you prepare for a story for "60 minutes"? >> it depends. the reason i spent my entire academic career crashing for exams was preparation for my career at "60 minutes" because i will be on an airplane with a book like this. i have a good short-term memory because i made my academic career remembering everything that i ever studied and i used the same thing at "60 minutes. i will sit down a five-hour interview and never look at a piece of paper. we just won an emmy for a piece. and i never thought about it until my producer said not bad

after not a single written question. we do research and not rely on what's out there. of course you read everything that moves but you try to go beyond that to people who are experts in their field and you really have to master an extraordinary amount of detail. you have to know much more than ever comes out in the story. and it's tough. i did three "60 minutes" pieces in three days, i was a medical expert, and polo expert and economic and i.m.f. expert on another day. >> did you want to talk about not wanting to be an instant expert. you want to soak it up. >> i do. there is a difference, when you immerse yourself in the level of detail to do a strong "60 minutes" interview, that is different than popping up on a

channel all over the world and being an instant expert and reading a two-line wire. >> when you run out of words to cover, what are you going to be doing? >> i just filmed a profile in colombia and up in canada on michael buble. i have been shooting a story on polo. i know more about polo than i ever care to know. "60 minutes" is a magazine program and it's about the richness of life and not just about war. and i smile to myself because i have this thing about oh, boy, she can do something other than war. what do you think? i never read a book? never been to a museum and admired a beautiful painting? i never go to the movies.

if you can sit down and interview a president and minister of defense and street kids and sleep on the streets of angola with the street kids, you can do those things. you have to give of yourself as much -- that's what people -- they want to know what are you made of? because that's what "60 minutes. mike wall ace and ed bradley, why do people like to watch them? they were good people as well as some of the greats. i'm trying to walk in those shoes. >> i understand. and they are big shoes. but you are a foreign affairs correspondent for cbs, so you seem to be spending most of your time doing "60 minutes pieces. >> "60 minutes. >> when do you find yourself having time to do something for the evening news?

>> i will have a meeting with a gling contact or source and find something critical out and pass it onto the evening news and that leads to something. >> what i'm getting at it's not a day-to-day sense of responsibility. >> scott understands what it takes to do 12 to 15 "60 minutes pieces on the air and doesn't put pressure and my boss understands that. people don't understand. every one of these pieces is like giving birth to trip lets. it really is and sometimes that's pleasant in comparison. you rewrite everything a thousand million times, you fight with each other, love each other, go without sleep. when i was 8 1/2 months pregnant working on a two-part producer and a 22-year-old producer saying, i wouldn't complain how tired i am but she is eight mobts pregnant. and you are a real team and work through the hard nights together and it's tough, but it's rewarding.

>> you mentioned a moment ago about reading books and i don't want to put you on the spot, but what are the kind of books that you enjoy reading? are you a mystery reader or history? >> i do like mysteries, but most of my life is occupied by reading things that will help me do a better job. i'm reading a book called "every patient tells a story. i always said i hate medical stories, but this is one of the best. and undiagnose knowsed diseases and what it's like. one of the people i interviewed, she took my breath away and told me that the last 26 years of her life she had been tortured by her muscles and no one could give her anance. -- give her answer. peter thompson has written about

the wars of afghanistan. and steve coll, "the forever war. dexter sent me his book. usually books like that. i don't like trashy novels because i don't have the time to spend on them. i read another book by a journalist that i got in chicago when i was there and it was all about his mother who was a holocaust survivor and how he discovered after his father died he had to discover his mother's past. >> you don't do much fiction? >> no. i love fiction. >> you don't have the time for it. >> but there is nothing greater than being transported by a novel. nothing greater. that's one of the great pleasures of my life. and i was inspired by falkner, my dream as a young girl was to

write a book like that and read over and over again and not have the same understanding twice. the shortest chapter written in history was, "my mother is a fish. this boy's mother had just died and he was fishing at the time. and that was how he related, how he understood it. "my mother was a fish. and that book was written through the eyes of somebody else and had to read the first 40 pages, 16 times and i thought how great to write a novel like that. that's what i want to do. >> can you imagine being finished with working on television? >> yes, i can. >> and what sort of life do you see yourself leaving then? >> hopefully my husband and i

don't hate each other and we have our life to share. for me, i always had a restless soul and i don't pretend to know the meaning of life or have any grand ideas about the universe of the world of television and where it's going. but when my husband and i had children and had a family, the seas stopped shifting. first time i had that peace in me and i found the meaning in my life and that is much more important than television. as long as i can do work, written work, in television or anything else, that's all that i care about. you have to feel when you go to bed at the end of the day that you did something that meant something because otherwise, what's the point? >> that's something you feel every day, once a week, once a month? what would satisfy you, what ratio? >> i feel that every day. >> you really feel -- what is it that you learned something new

in the course of a day that you helped somebody in the course of a day that you have disappointed people in the course of a day, what is it that carries you forward? >> i think what carries me forward is i'm always trying to do better. thing about journalism, i could work and i frequently go to work from 7:00 to 2:00, 3:00, 4:00. christmas, easter, birthdays, whatever it was, and i didn't do it for the promotion or the company. i didn't do it for minimum but myself, because the greatest experience you could ever have of life is in that job where they ask you to experience everything about life and then to try and understand and meant to communicate what it means. and it's the same with my children, if i get to the end of the day and be the best mom i could be and did everything that was expected of me that day, i

don't care if i'm staggering into bed at 11:00 and my children were asleep hours ago, my son went to bed with the feeling of love and the moments we had before he closed his eyes. there's nothing to compare with that. >> that's marvelous. there are many young journalists in the audience and we've got just a couple of minutes left. and i'm wondering what kind of advice would you give them, because they face a journalism of enormous uncertainty? it seems to be finding a way forward rather difficult because of technological pressures, money pressures, what would you tell them? >> i would say that i have to believe that the one thing that will endure about journalism is that people demand to know the truth. whatever people think about the journalism profession, that at the end of the day, our society functions on the flow of

information. if you believe in that, if you believe in the first amendment and what you are doing, i wouldn't worry about too much where it's going. find your niche and give everything you have. don't expect someone to do it for you, don't say i'm not going to do or that. you have to be prepared to do everything. i did sound, camera work, i drove cars, satellite editing. i did everything. i know what i believe in, i know who i am. i didn't get that from the three letters of a corporation. no greater honor in my life than working for "60 minutes," but they don't define my work. i try to live up to a standard, but it doesn't make me who i am. i'm going to be who i am with whatever job that i have. that is very important. don't take yourself very seriously. and the moment i start thinking i'm as important as "60 minutes," the worst journalists think they matter more than the story. i have no illusions about my place in the world, no

illusions whatsoever. for me, achievement, if it's a woman in the middle of the bush in africa and told her story and no one watches it, what have i changed. but there is a record of history that now exists and that's what i'm doing it for. don't take no for an answer and people telling you you have to do it this way or that way. you can only do it on your own merits. and the harder you work and more you understand about what you're doing, people can't take that away from you. they can't make me insecure when they write stories about oh, she got the job because of her works. they can't make me insecure because i know it didn't come from there. i know nobody did me any favors.

no one said here, let me make this easy for you. i don't have any aversion of slugging my guts out. and so, you know, people told me that i didn't have the right colored skin to be hired by a newspaper in south africa so i went to television. i went to my boss, who was a camera man. he couldn't write a sentence. i worked for nothing. i worked for what they were prepared to pay me. i interviewed for two years. i ate humble pie and never did it for anybody than myself. the hardest thing, the biggest problem you will have in this job is staying true to yourself. and i smiled. i said my problem is going to be keeping my mouth shut.

this is who i am. that's the easy part. and that's because i know what i believe in. i'm prepared to stand up for that and i don't want people to think that is an easy thing. my mother said, for god's sake, do you have to choose the hard road everying will time? >> why. >> i would never say i'm not going to drive carefully or never speed. i said i'm going to -- of course i'm going to drive carefully. do you think i'm that kind of person? for me, it was an injustice for her to think i would do anything other than drive carefully because that's what was expected of me. i try to do what is expected of me and try to do the right thing and that's not always popular.

before there were a lot of people didn't like what i said about coverage of the iraq war or stanley mcchrystal. and this isn't about me. i don't want opinion to overshadow the work because the work is really what matters. and you know, i just think that people who want to be on television, if you want to be tv if that's your aim, don't be a journalist. don't be a journalist. that's not the right job for you, because you are never going to be the journalist that you want to be. >> i'm really sorry that our time is up. i want to thank our wonderful audience for sitting here and enjoying this. i want to thank you lara logan for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us and keeping alive the flame of the free and vigorous press as being the best guarantor of a free and vigorous society. our time is up. good night and good luck. [applause]

>> we do have two microphones, one there and one there. and you can get to the microphone and ask a question. i'm going to insist, by the way, that it is a question, and not a speech. and i'll probably cut you off if it is a speech. but why don't we start that way. identify yourselves. >> george jay could be son, george washington university. you offered some pointed criticisms of our role in iraq and afghanistan, i'm curious about how you feel about our involvement in libya. >> libya is interesting because let's face it the only reason we

went after gaddafi is because everybody hates him. doesn't mean what he was doing was wrong and the real question is what are we doing about syria because we have a different relationship with syria. the whole world is much more would haven and contemplated. and so of course there was a degree of hypocrisy in libya. not surprising. the world has been waiting for a chance to get rid of gaddafi. the real tragedy is that so many people are dying in syria and so little has been done about it. and you know, if i didn't have my situation, i guess that's what i would be trying to be, i would be on the border in lebanon. we are trying to find ways and inroads into that society that you can try and access from the outside, but i guess that i would say, i urge people not to

focus on libya but look at libya in the context of syria and maybe that would be the story i would be pushing every day if i was doing daily news. >> would you see the u.s. involving itself militarily in syria? >> because of its situation with iran, it would be different. i don't think they have any intention of doing that. so i think it is extremely unlikely. can you ever rule anything out? you can't rule it out. >> yes, please. >> i'm a producer and editor here in the city and neighbor and acquaintance. congratulations on "medal of honor. january, 2007 was heavy for you. a lot of people may not know the story, could you unpack and say what you learned from hyper street. >> what i learned from hyper street was really quite interesting because hyper street

was an area of central baghdad where al qaeda had been very, very entrenched. and all that was the iraqi government making a deal with the al qaeda and sunni leaders so the violence would appear to go dounch and would appear to have cleaned out-a street. and then what happened in january of 2007, there was a major push to go back. and then wap in january of 2007, there was a major push to go back and the iraqi army unit that was stationed on-a street systemly raped, tortured and murdered the people there to punish them for having al qaeda in their midst. and al qaeda and the sunnis slaughtered the iraqi army as they wanted to. we were living on the street and could hear the battles day in

and day out and i was contacted and i was contacted by an iraqi physician, who had met with george bush, a very lovely man and his family who were prisoners in their prisoners in the midst of the fighting, begging for help and i was trying to get the u.s. military to help them. and actually found out from friends that the u.s. ambassador was meeting with the iraqi president and i arranged a meeting with the iraqi president and when i bumped him in front of the ambassador and i asked him if he would help me with this family and i knew he would be screwed. so we did. we went down on the street with an iraqi unit and they were asking me what the apartment was and i had no idea because i never met them and never been there and i knew they were eating dog food, their pet's dog

food and living in the shower with their children and horrific situation to be in. i did what i could. i used the leverage i had and went down with the unit and they rescued them and i'm still in contact with them. you are probably referring to the report that i did which had graphic images showing both sides of the violence and so many people on the street talking to me about how the rapes and tortures and everything that was going on and i had managed to access video and "cbs news" didn't want to show it because it was graphic. i emailed the web people who were desperate and they said yes, they would put it on and i asked them to look at the report. and that was picked up and used

by the left-wing media first to show what a terrible place that "cbs news" for sensoring for a right-wing agenda. and they used this, i was used as a political football for however long the left was trying to skew the image of the war. all of that was nonsense and i resented being used as a political football by everybody but it goes to the territory. it was a personal decision who thought the images were too graphic. and i felt strongly they should be seen, but that's my job as a reporter. i'm not a report of the "cbs evening must." i'm a reporter on the ground fighting for my story and i wanted it out there but cbs had been extremely good to me and

they have let me go to the furtherest places of the world and say what i truly think about it time and time again and no evil man saying we are going to guide u.s. policy in this direction or another. it is a place of real journalism and that was one of those battles that didn't go my way. and i'm not going to send a mass email again, i don't think. >> yes, please. >> thank you for being here. i'm an embedded journalist and trying to soak up your environment. how difficult is this market invested? >> i get emotionally invested in everything. i was very invested in the iraqi people. i think it's important to be

invested. i had a veteran journalist tell me in the midst of a flight and we were doing a story and 20 or 40 children who had been separated from their parents and i remember coming out of that building and crying. i had tears rolling down my cheeks and he said if you think that's bad, you aren't going to make it in this business if you cry all the time. and i thought [beep] you because that's the person that i am and people say, how do you cope with everything you have been through? you confront it, not denying it and i care very much about what i do. i owe the people i talk to honesty and integrity and fair hearing. and i have explained this to american soldiers and not here to wave the flag on your behalf and i have responsibility to you and to the iraqi people, to the

iraqi government, u.s. government. i have responsibility to a whole lot of people when i do my work and it's important to be invested and i'm invested in it emotionally and i don't try to hold back on that. i give everything to this. and the only thing you have to give someone is of yourself. you give them respect and understanding and give them a chance to tell it to you in their words and their way. people think i'm a big talker and not a big listener. i'm a very, very good listener, much better listener. i pay attention. when i sit down with you you have everything that i have, all of me. and ed bradley use todd say that and he is right. you owe people that. you don't owe people half an ear . nonsense. how can you not be moved by someone who suffered something

incredible. you have to be moved by it to understand it, i think. [applause] >> i'm from the sunshine press. thank you for your presence and your example. you spoke about the experts and academics who have just talked to someone in the white house or pentagon and come on the air. can you tell us as listeners and viewers more about how to identify the phony experts. it used to be that the good-looking blonds were easy to spot and then you and leslie st arch hmp l came along. how do we spot these people who are credit den shaled? >> i think it's tough. one important thing to say not every expert is phony.

bruce reidel is one of the best voices on afghanistan. he has great experience and he is somebody i turned to. and so there are some very real -- there are some people who know a lot and have years and years, decades of experience and i think if you are a conscientious person who is always reading over time you have to pay attention to the name and institute. look, does this institution sit on the left or right, what is their motivation. you evaluate somebody's motivation for why would they be saying that or think that. if you don't have first-hand experience and knowledge, it's hard to know whether someone is slipping in history and it's easy to be intimidated because they know a lot more about something that you don't know about and you are impressed by that.

i don't have an easy answer. journalists half the time are lazy and listening foe the same people. but you see a guy on cnn that annoys the holy crap out of you, there is a good reason for it. if you see what somebody said about iraq and the truth amerges eventually, if you are paying attention, you remember that and take it with a grain of salt half the time. and actually a lot of these institutions are very clearly aligned with different administrations and things like that. you have to be aware, but it's tough. i don't think it's an easy thing. >> yoim a freshman here. and you described graphic images that you saw in iraq. in the case of gaddafi or bin

laden, do you think the public should see the individual pictures as graphic as they are of someone's dead body. do you think that's important? >> yes and no. i think it is faff -- laughable that people said it didn't happen. i know this administration made that decision because they were afraid it would inspire lone wolf attacks, someone who will go out and open up on times square, that is a decision made out of weakness and fear. so i'm not really sure and i'm not a counterterrorism expert and not a strong base to make a decision like that. does the world need to see bin laden's body? one of his wives was 14 years old when he he married her.

that's really the most important thing to have come out of this? if his daughter comes first, they wap to say this didn't happen. there is an argument to be said, do you need a marker on his grave, because that's what seeing the body means, right? you know, i'm not really sure -- do you have an inate right to see bin laden's body? what is the greatest purpose? am i making a name to myself by having the story that is going to be living on. that's a consideration that comes into your work that is important, so i don't have a good answer but i didn't need to see his body. just knowing he was there was enough. >> our last question, please.

jonathan hellman and presently with cnn. war reporting has been in this country since the earliest days. morrow was the first to bring it to our lives. last 0 years we have seen technology advance. with the 24-hour news sike calls, internet, twitter and all the different technologies, you can see how it may assist what you do. have you found it to be a hindrance in any way and do you think it becomes harder for people to really connect with your story when there is so much information brought to them at any given point? >> cnn doesn't play to my strengths, being an instant expert. it wasn't a place that i was comfortable. i followed northern ireland and knew what happened there, but northern ireland is a minefield. you call somebody with one name

and means something to one side on the border and has huge implications. i didn't feel comfortable reporting on something like that and hitting the wires. so there is a huge downside to the technology in the sense that -- even a day it disappears very fast. but at the same time there's something great about what the technology has brought. the instant news has changed the world, changed politics, the strategic relationships. it has changed everything about how we live. the power is undeniable. you can't go backwards. this is in response to the ethics and standards. where are they for twitter and facebook? they don't exist. and that's something i think is very agredgeous and spot a --

egregious and people think the mainstream media is controlled and regulated. that has not been my experience of it. and i know without a doubt that there are standards in ethics that we try and adhere to and live up to you. it needs to be there. this idea that special interests are served in the mainstream media. who is paying? special interests. come on. and they put themselves out there as the true guardians, not those evil-liing bastards in the media. i think there is undeniable upsides to this technology, what a fascinating place they have made the world, how they have connected the world in a way that is has never been seen

before. you can't put the genie back in the bottle. there is a downside to the 24-hour news cycle and there is a blurring in all these talk shows that spring up and don't worry about the facts and reporting and real journalism. that part of it is depressing to me. so, you know, i don't listen to it and don't read it and shut it out. and i don't have the time. i'm trying to keep my job. >> lara, you are a very special reporter. >> thank you. >> been a pleasure having you on "the kalb report" and will only let you go if you promise to return. >> i promise. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> in a few moments, british prime minister david cameron on last week's g-20 summit.

and then "arab spring" and how the marine corps might be affected by budget cuts. >> a couple of live events to tell you about tomorrow morning, attorney general eric holder testifies before the senate judiciary committee in a justice department oversight hearing. members are expected to focus on operation fast and furious that might have allowed weapons into mexico. also on c-span-3, senate education committee hears from a panel of teachers from around the country as it considers elementary and secondary education act. >> next, british prime minister david cameron on last week's g-20 summit. after a statement, members of parliament asked about britain's

finances and this is a little more than an hour. >> statement, the prime minister. >> thank you, mr. speaker. with permission, mr. speaker, i would like to make a statement on last week's g-20 summit. there were three key aspects. first agreement, on an action plan for growth and jobs with specific countries agreeing to do specific things to maximize overall growth in the world economy. the g-20 is identifying and remove some of the key obstacles to growth and stopping the slide to protectionism, improving global governance and improving the current economic problems. there was concern about the eurozone. many of the things that britain is doing from fiscal

consolidation and monetary activism to removing the barriers in business and job creation. g-20 recognized the importance of implementing clear, credible and concise measures and identified a group of measures who had the space to borrow additional discretionary measures. and if you would like to see the u.k. borrow more, and we are determined to deal with our debts not to leave them to our children and grandchildren and need to press on with our plan for consolidation has been recognized by the g-20 and the i.m.f. obstacles to growth, the imbalanceance did so much damage. this matters because if we are to maximize global growth and avoid speculative bubbles, countries with a surplus need to keep their markets open while

those with deficits have to take structural projects. russia is making changes and china agreed to increase its trade rates. both of these are reflected, but more needs to be done. the biggest mistake is a slide towards protectionism. the report sets out the measures that have been taken in g-20 measures and these are a cause for concern. so the gmp-20 reafffirmed its pledge not to take protectionist action to roll back any measures that may have arisen and determined to refrain from competitive revaluations of currency. russia is now set to become a member of the w.t.o. on doha, they are working with groups of countries in coalitions of the willing to

drive new trade deals. i wrote to president sarkozy to call for new and innovative approaches and that is what was agreed. on improving global governance i presented a report, a copy of which i'm placing in the library today. first, g-20 should continue as a flexible gathering rather than system. what is needed is not new political institutions the. the stability board shall be a separate legal body. and we should strengthen the w.t.o.'s role as the guardian of the world trade system. cracking down on tax havens, tax evasion to make up for the wo everyoneful system that existed in many countries including

ours. bill gates gave a summit on mobilizing resources to help the world's poorest and helping developing countries to help themselves to collect taxes at the same time, he gave stronger support to the u.k.'s own record on the development agenda. on the financial transactions tax, i have been clear all along we are not opposed to such a tax if one could be agreed at the global level but we will not introduce a transaction tax in the u.k. and not introduce it into the european union unless it is part of a global move. in levy. if other countries want to introduce new financial taxes at home, including to raise revenue for new development, that is for them to decide. what they should not do is hide behind proposals for an e.u. tax as an excuse for political

inaction on meeting targets whether that is spending for development or climate change. mr. speaker, let me make this point, the current proposals for a financial transactions tax in europe are deeply confused that different european countries and european institutions have talked about spending the revenues of such a tax in five different ways on development, on climate change, on social policy and reare solving the banking crisis and the best way to supplement the e.u. budget. that would be a bit of a stretch even for robin hood. [laughter] >> let me turn to the problems in the eurozone it is in our national interests for the eurozone to fix our national problems. this autumn would be a lasting resolution to the crisis. that is why britain is pressing the eurozone to act not just for the g-20. the deal in brussels was welcomed progress and reflected

the three essential elements that britain has been calling for. first, reinforcement of the fund by eurozone countries to create a firewall. recapitalization of weak uren banks and third a decisive resolution to the unsustainable resolution of greece's debt. we need to do everything possible to implement the agreement. the rest of the world can play a supporting role, but in the end this work has to be done by the eurozone countries themselves. britain will not contribute to the eurozone daylight fund whether it is a special purpose vehicle. and while the i.m.f. may administer a fund, it cannot contribute to it. but it does have a vital role to play to support countries across the world that are in economic

distress. there are 53 countries being supported by the i.m.f. which only greece, ireland and port gentlelady are in the -- port you gall are in the euro zone. britain, u.s., china and all the other countries made clear that we are willing in principle to see an increase inurs to boost confidence. no agreement with the timing, extent or exact method which this could be done, but britain stands ready to contribute. those who propose that we walk away from the i.m.f. or oppose the increase in i.m.f. resources are not acting responsibly or in the best interest of britain. it is in our national interests that countries across the world are supported in their efforts to recover. the collapse of our trading partners would have a serious impact on our economy. businesses would not invest.

british jobs would be lost, families across britain would be poorer. we can help countries that don't affect our public finances. but it is for the european central bank to support the euro and global action cannot be a substitute for concrete action by the eurozone. the g-20 withheld commitments because we wanted to see more concrete action from eurozone countries to stand behind their currency. the world sent a clear message, sort yourselves out and then we will help, not the other way around. mr. speaker, these are very difficult times for the global economy. the government is completely focused on one objective to help britain weather the storm and safeguard our economy. because of the decisions this government has already taken, britain has avoided the worst of this stage of the global debt

crisis. in 2008 under the last government, u.k. bond yields were about the same as those in greece. today, although we have the second highest deficit in the e.u. behind ireland, our bond yields are almost the same as in germany and around the lowest they have been since world war ii. this is because we have a credible plan to deal with our debt and see it through. the situation in italy further emphasizes of a credible plan to ensure confidence in the markets. the eurozone must do what is necessary and go through with the agreement in brussels. britain and our g-20 partners will continue this to happen. and i commend this statement to the house. >> mr. speaker, can i thank the prime minister for his statement, but i have to say to him, what a complete misstatement from an

out-of-touch prime minister. anybody listening to him would think that the g-20 summit has been a great success, but it wasn't, mr. speaker. let me ask him about the three areas where the summit should have made progress, eurozone, reform of our banking system and economic growth. the eurozone has six weeks to resolve this political crisis. the six weeks is up. mr. speaker, there is no clear solution on financing. how much, from whom and in what circumstances. none of those questions are being answered. now we see the crisis in greece spreading to italy and no plan for jobs and growth, just more authority. can the prime minister tell us why european and g-20 leaders failed to get a solution on the eurozone. he and the prime minister and i

quote, right at the heart of the discussions. people were struck by the prime minister's tone today, progress made at the summit was talked down to him and failure is nothing to do with him. mr. speaker, does he not now regret that he didn't try harder and earlier to engage in the discussion and push for an agreement rather than standing aside and claiming britain was a safe haven?mr. speaker, can he t responsibility he takes for the failure on ? -- what a failure on the ? -- on the euro zone. given the importance this has for britain, can he tell us specifically what he plans to do in the coming days to get an agreement? let me turn to the funding for the imf. the prime minister said on friday and again today, you

cannot ask the imf or other countries to substitute for action that needs to be taken within the eurozone itself. we agree with that. it should not be done to make up for inadequate eurozone actions. to make up for inadequate eurozone actions. the prime minister has said he would not support the direct use of imf resources to top off the europeans financial stability fund. but can he categorically ruled out imf resources being used in directly and parallel to make up for insufficient funding from the efsf? can he square his position with the commitment to the imf within agreed resources with the comments of the managing director of the imf that there's no cap, no ceiling on imf resources? let me turn to banking reform, specifically the global financial transaction act which we support and believed to be implemented if we can reach agreement and all the major financial centers. it was on the agenda in france,

but no real progress was made but i have to say, i cannot tell from his statement was the prime minister supporting it and not opposed in principle, hardly a ringing endorsement mr. speaker, i do not think we should be surprised if it a week before the summit negotiations even started, the chancellor was running the business leaders, casting doubt on whether any such mechanism and a sufficient way to raise revenue. can the prime minister tell us if he argued for a global financial transaction tax at the summit? can he tell us what steps he will be taking in the weeks and months ahead to advance his cause? let me turn to growth. the first paragraph of the communique says "since our last meeting, global recovery has weakened particularly in advanced countries living unemployment and unacceptable levels." that is certainly true in this country, mr. speaker, where growth has flat line and

unemployment is at a 17-year high. does the prime minister understand why people are so disappointed by the failure of this summit? the prime minister talks about trade and imbalances. mr. speaker, action on trade imbalances will take years to the employment. he also mentioned undertaking by various countries to take action. but it is an important point in the communique that these will only be implemented if "global economic conditions materially worsen." people around the country will be wondering, how much worse does it need to get? he says, by the way, nobody is arguing for britain to take a course but the imf last month said if the british community under shoots, the chancellor should continue.

the prime minister said after the april 20,009 g-20 summit, the glens and glamour of this week must keep remote to the small businessman who still trying to secure credit or a mother worrying if she can keep a roof over her children's heads. mr. speaker, the 2009 g-20 summit succeeded and this one failed. for the young person unemployed, for the business with goods disappearing, for people leaving the high street, this summit achieved precisely nothing. that is why the prime minister looks so out of touch when he climbs the some admitted difference on growth. but isn't the real problem is, the prime minister does not really believe we need a global plan? he used to cram the austerity is an home. people wanted action from the summit and they did not get it.

-- people. this is a to nothing summit from deeply complacent prime minister out of touch with the real needs of our economy. >> i do not know who writes his rubbish. i like 20 quoted my response from the 2009 summit. if the 2009 summit was such a success, why did the labor party vote against one of its key conclusions in the house of commons to increase imf resources? he talks about regulating banks with no recognition of the field regulatory system that he oversaw for a decade. he talks about the eurozone with no recognition that they had a national changeover plan to get the whole of britain to adopt

the euro. mr. speaker, above all, let us be clear if we listen to his advice, we would not have been in france talking about a greek bailout, but at the imf discussing a british bailout. let me remind him of those figures. in 2008, greek bond yields and british bond yields for both 4.5%. in the u.k. since then, they have halved. in greece, they are up six times. that is because they did not have a credible policy for deficit-reduction and we do. mr. speaker, let me come back to the issue of the imf. what we're seeing is breathtakingly irresponsible. about theirar position on the imf and remember this is an organization founded by britain where we are a leading shareholder, rescued us

from labor in the 1970's, and their position is first to vote against the increase in resources agreed by the g-20 under their own government. they called it a triumph at the time, yet trip to the division office and a complete display of opportunism. it gets worse. now they are saying they do not want imf resources for any eurozone country are they saying they want to take money off ireland, off portugal? they would have turned up at the summit where every country was talking about increasing imf resources, and would have said on no account would britain support that he meant how ridiculous. they are saying to eurozone countries who contribute to the imf, you're never allowed to seek its assistance. i thought if they meant this, i would take it seriously. this is all about politics. they are putting the politics

ahead of the economics. we know that is the case with the chancellor. he only thinks about the politics. the question for the liver of the labor party, are you a better politician than that? i am afraid the answer is no. >> did chancellor merkel to my hon. friend wants the european central bank is not fully discharging its duties -- its duty as the euro's lender of last resort not providing massive quantitative easing, not moving toward near zero interest rates, not urging president sarkozy to read nationalize the leading french banks before the credit crunch closes on france? because chancellor merkel knows

very well bid was ninth inflation, but high unemployment dollar-it was not inflation, but high unemployment. >> my friend speaks powerfully about this issue. he is right we must not allow or permitwhat the european centralk and the other institution of the european union need to do. that is vital. that was one of the reasons why in the end, all the countries of the world that were prepared to see an increase in imf resources wanted to see more done by the eurozone and the ecb. i have discussed this with the chancellor. the huge hole back there is in germany about what the central bank is and what it should do. i believe as it says in the communique, you've got to have the institutions of the eurozone

fully behind the currency in order to save it. >> understandably the prime minister is putting on a brave face of what happens last week. with regard to growth, with regard to the prison crisis which is as bad now as it was a few days ago. icn on reports the g-20 is planning to meet again perhaps as early as the remaining part of this year or the beginning of next year. is that right? with the prime minister be reminded no summit is better than a failure of the g-20 may be not perfect, but cannot afford another meeting where a singularly fails to come up with the answer. >> i think he is right could meetings that do not have a proper conclusion cannot add to the problem rather than solve the problem read what is required is the political will for eurozone countries to act. i was very clear after the g-20 meeting, it had not achieved a

breakthrough on the euro. some progress has been made in terms of establishing the three elements that need to be put in place. but much more has to be done. there may well may be a meeting of g-20 finance ministers. i agree, it is progress and his resolution of these issues that is required, rather than another meeting. >> given the intense interest in the same on the fact or to further statements to follow,-- >> implementation of the financial transaction tax would reduce gdp in the euro area of 1.8% of gdp. this would hit the u.k. disproportionately hard at a time when we need more growth, not less. does he not agree of all times now is not the proper moment to consider such a controversial measure? >> i think it is important for

people to see the european report on the transaction tax which shows the figures he talks about, that it would cost jobs. if you can achieve global agreement for a tax of this nature, there would be a case for it. it is very hard to see that happening. i think of focus on politicians in europe should meet the promises that are made about development rather than hide behind a financial transaction tax they know is very unlikely to come into being. >> can i say to the prime minister the frustration and impatience expressed on thursday and friday last it was extremely well merited and would be as well he came here and repeated the concern he had about the failure of leadership across europe at this final time a bank isn't a tragedy in that context when europe needs a voice for reform, for example, on budgetary policy, he has dealt himself on of the game with the focus on the repatriation of

powers which frankly is not the issue, to make or break the economy? >> i do not agree with the gentleman on that issue for this reason. i have managed to assemble a coalition for budgetary restraint in the european union. this year, britain, france, germany and others have all agreed to freeze the eu budget. i would like to go further proof a freeze in the budget in real terms is not something we have been able to achieve in recent years. i do not accept looking at rebalancing powers in europe and fighting for a deal on the budget you can do both. >> given the fact single markets including the city of london, a majority vote, how does the prime minister proposing to achieve a majority to protect our interests in the context of the fiscal union he is advocating? >> first of all, you need to disconnect the two issues for a first of all, the issue of the

single market and the threat to the city of london and to britain's financial-services is a real threat. we have to work extremely hard to build alliances in the single market, in the european council, the stock directives that are going to damage. it is one of the areas to want to make sure we can better safeguard in the future. i do not support a fiscal union in that i do not think britain should join in fiscal union. when you have a single currency that is frankly quite dysfunctional, one of the ways it could be made more functional is for a greater fiscal union. that is just a statement of fact rather than saying we wanted in new way to join in. we do not. we want to safeguard the interests of britain by making sure the single market works for us. >> is it really in the best long-term interest of this country for the government to

consistently present the united kingdom as the neighbor from hell in regard to the european union? the issues the european union wish to spend money on are the issues which his constituents and my citizens around the world wish to see spent on will he change his mind on this issue? >> the fact is, this government and the government she has supported has made and kept promises about things our my development, like climate change. in terms of being a good neighbor, i have to say, one of the most and they're really ask you can take is when the whole world is looking at -- the un neighborly is to walk away and vote against it. summer public ashamed of, not

only a good neighbor, but on a northern planet. >> -- but on another planet pretty >>, economist to tell me what -- offering subsidized loans to head off the crisis in the market? >> because i to the question the father of the house ask which is about the actions of the ecb. the ecb has been intervening and markets and of borrowing bonds of countries that are under pressure. that is what makes this a difficult to understand why some in europe are so opposed to the ecb and more of a monetary activist, if i could put it that way. everyone to be careful about speculating about another country. but italy has got to demonstrate it has a credible fiscal path. it is not about the confidence of the markets said it will be a

to pay its deficit, pay its debt. if it can do it, its interest rates will fall. >> exit from the arizona is clearly in view. -- an exit from the eurozone is clearly in the print until the states can retrieve their own national currencies find appropriate characters, they will not recover? >> >> it is an issue the greeks have to decide themselves. they have been offered a deal which can write down their debt and state and a single currency. their decision to take that road or take another road for the only thing i would say to members of the house who are deeply skeptical about a single currency of which i am one is that which should be very careful and recognizing that country's leading a single currency can cause all sorts of defects and problems for other economies including our on.

we should not see this as some sort of painless, easy option for a country to fall out of the euro. it would have very real consequences for other countries including our own. >> mr. simon hughes. >> given the role of big banks played triggering the present financial crisis, can the prime minister tell us what progress he made with the countries in the g-20 to follow example set by the proposal we recommended to break up the bank that is too big to fail so no economy or the big financial institutions can hold a gun to the state and the taxpayer? >> obviously, many people will comment on the ultimate failure of the g-20 to resolve the crisis but the g-20 has made good steps forward in areas like trying to roll back protectionism and on the issue about globally significant financial institutions and the impact they can have and the recommendhe vicar's

is totally in thune. >> does the prime minister realize that the british people listening to this that this british prime minister is suggesting a growth plan for italy, spain, and portugal well here at home, he sticks rigidly to high inflation and massive unemployment. ? >> that probably sounded better and from the mayor then when he got into the chamber. [laughter] >> would you agree that one of the single biggest filips would be breaking the deadlock over the doha agreement? would this make progress on this

issue under the mexican presidency? >> thank you for that question. the point about doha is it is not progressing in the way it was meant to. there is a gridlock among the developing countries and countries like america that don't see enough. it seems to be the only way forward if we want to see more global trade deals that are good for all those participating is to have coalitions of the willing, countries that want to push ahead, and that as what -- is what has been sanctioned at the g20. >> greece, spain, and portugal are already insolvent within the european monetary unit. none of these countries are likely to regain their competitiveness. do you think it would be better for the imf [unintelligible] >> you make an important point

but it is not necessarily fair to lump all of this country's together. some of them like italy have huge budget deficits in terms of debt to gdp ratio. they have managed to compete within single currencies. i'm not sure you aware you group the country together is entirely fair. report role of the imf is not to support a currency system. it is not to support the euro zone. the imf has to be there for countries that are in distress. that is why everyone in this house supported the imf program that went into ireland. a win in as a partner oof countries. -- it went in as a partner of countries. it would be extraordinary to say to euros on countries that you are shareholders but you cannot get money when you are in distress. that would be an extraordinary

position but one that seems to have the support of the labor front bench. >> it has been a policy for 300 years to avoid financial conflict on the continent. the imf will have enormous powers over us and not have influence over their. >> we are suffering at the moment from a single currency that we are not a member of the spot that has some serious structural issues and faults. in our interests, those faults are resolved. one way of helping to resolve those faults would be to for a greater cooling of fiscal among the people who are members. i never supported the single currency. i don't think we can stick with the status quo where we have a single currency but it is having

a chilling effect on our economy and not seeking a resolution. >> a few years ago, the president of yemen was invited to the g-20. since then, it has the third highest malnutrition rate in the world. what additional help kenyon and be given as a result of the g-20 meeting. >> -- what additional help can yemen be given as a result of the g-20 meeting? >> we have not given any imf money yet. there was no agreement as to how much. the world stood ready to support the imf. the imf has supported countries like yemen in the past. we put in development aid to yemen. the biggest challenge in yemen is lack of effective governance. what bill gates was talking about is that proper assistance for raising taxes and proper systems for transparency in government revenues and revenues in terms of extracting industries and in minerals.

those are the keys to helping countries like yemen. >> back in july, the hon. member told the members of this house that we have an agreement of 20 billion imf obligations. we hear is closer to $40 billion per accou. ministers have an obligation to be absolutely straight as to what they plan to do with other people's money. >> let me be absolutely clear about this -- there are two sorts of money that the u.k. provides to the imf. there is money through our quota, our shareholding, and money through loans and other arrangements for there have been three votes in the past three years all the elements of this imf money in this house. if it comes to extra support for the imf, we want to do that within realistic boundaries. >> aren't we really dealing

with a sophisticated form of russian roulette? on the one hand, we are told by the prime minister that he does not think it is right for countries with in the urals and to have funding cut off from the imf but on the other hand, he says at this stage there would be no additional money for the imf. when will this stage be right for the additional imf money? >> there are 53 i-map programs around the world. only three of them are enduros are in effect in it euro is done. the countries have to sort out the problems of the euro. they need that fire wall and europe has to provide it. they need that recapitalization. they need the demonstrable and clear right down and greet death. those are things they have responsibility for. we have responsibility as a shareholder to bulk up finances

at the right moment. it is just very sensible economic policy. >> what advice have you received on failing to pay our imf conscriptions? >> you make a very good point. i am not entirely sure what would have happened if we turned up at the g-20 having voted down the g20 deal from london about increasing the imf resources. therefore, we would not have implemented one of the key findings of the last g-20 and would have turned up and said we are not prepared to see an increase in our funding for anything else. britain would have been completely isolated and left out. the reason the opposition party talks about that is because it is all about the cost -- politics and not the economics. they know it. >> the prime minister said the u.k. would not fund the efsx.

there are two new powers proposed for it to ensure newly issued sovereign debt and to spin out investment trusts to buy that desperate i don't think the prime minister's government believes that power will be enough. >> i think there are still real difficulties with the esfs or send out of the year as a meeting 10 days ago. since then, we have not seen enough details about how exactly these funds would work, how they would be levered out because you need to have a bazooka to convince people you would not have to use it. that is what the euro zone needs to do and they have not yet completed that work. >> i now appeal to single short supplementary questions.

dr. julian lewis -- >> why does the prime minister seemed to think the greeks will be anymore successful at staying in the euro then we were at trying to remain in the ers? >> one of the few advantages of the ern was that we could get out of it and one issue with the euro is that there is not a mechanism legally for leaving the euro. if a country wanted to leave the europe, it could. this is an issue for the greeks. they have to decide if they accept the deal that is on the table and stay in the euro or do they take a different path. i have been making the point that they have to make up their minds for the rest of the world to move on. >> there is a discussion about the on countable power of the rating agencies to decide massive country's welfare.

and in control of the banking system rather than battling down to it? >> there were concerns expressed about the role of the rating agencies and the way they are regulated. sometimes it comes from politicians who have had a particularly rough time with the ratings agency and it is important use organizations like fsb to make sure we get these answers are right. >> we must have contingency plans. if the euros on principle. do you agree that parliament must be given an early opportunity to scrutinize the adequacy of these contingency plans? >> i think it is quite a difficult task.

there is important work going on on contingency plans but the more we discuss and speculate about the nature of another country's currency and economy, the more we could be damaging their own interests. i think it may be difficult to air some of these issues in public. >> the imf currently gets 32.4 billion sdr, pounds to the euro zone to prop it up. how can you justify giving more british taxpayers' money to the imf when there are people starving in africa and people cannot pay their heating bills in england. >> no country has ever lost money and lending it to the imf. the imf is a vital institution in a globalized world to support countries that get into deep economic distress. if we were to walk away and see trading partners weather in the

euro zone or not collapse, that would mean british jobs lost. it might give you a five-second sound bite on the news to give you a political advantage but it would be completely useless. >> the matter of greece remaining in the tourism -- remaining in the euro zone is a great decision. will you take time to read the paper that point said that europe as a whole and the united kingdom, our economy will be growing faster in two years' time if the breaks up that if we try to keep it going? >> i have seen reports and perhaps i will have time this evening to read it at greater leisure. you can look at the economic experts and what they say but there is quite a strong consensus that in a single currency zone, when you have very interrelated banks and

businesses, that the consequences of the country falling out of that is very serious for all members concerned. if that happens, we will have contingency plans in place and manage them as best we can. i don't think anyone however sceptical they are about the euro should think there is an easy way for a country to lose. >> now that critz will have a new government that will ratify -- now that the greeks will have a new government to ratify the agreement and a group of 20 is informal, would it not be appropriate whether this agreement will allow them to get together and put together a fire wall under the nicolas sarkozy presidency? >> it may be necessary for the g-20 finance ministers to meet again. that should only be the case if actually a new set of arrangements are being put in place. part of the problem we have in

europe is often meetings are scheduled but without a proper amount of thought about what is going to be the outcome and what will be the achievement. that has been one thing that has caused a huge amount of market turbulence over recent months. >> the e.u productivity is falling at a faster rate since 2009. the only big economy to record an expansion per worker -- per worker is the u.k.. why do think the united kingdom can sustain a 5% interest rates? >> in terms of actually getting a greater competitiveness across europe, this is the most important thing that europe could be doing right now, completing a single market, complete -- competing in the market in energy and services. the point you make about the bond market is vital. if you don't have credibility,

you cannot borrow money at this rate edit you don't have credibility, interest rates go up and that would be the worst thing to hit your economy. >> the prime minister has argued to support the european union which is not a prefer this country. in order to bring stability to europe and the world. how many more failures will it take and how many more summits before he argues for what is really right for europe, for those countries to return to their original currencies? >> i have sympathy with your points. they could go in that direction but if you talk to other european prime ministers or finance ministers or people in the countries, they don't want to leave the euro. they want to make the euro work. i think it is right that we are affected by what is happening in the europe zone. it is in our interest that they

get back together and make that currency work. you could argue for the opposite but the fact is, that is what most european countries want and i think they will try to achieve. >> maybe the prime minister will remember september 16, 1992 when the united kingdom started our economic recovery why is the political elite of europe did not increase in other europe countries the same method to improve their economy while withdrawing from the euro and re-establishing their national currency? >> i learned an important lesson which is never fixed your interest rates in a way like that that when you need a change in your economy without applying elsewhere. that is why i am so completely opposed to britain ever joining the european i could not be clearer about that.

we've got to allow other countries to make their own choices. the choice of people in greece seems to be that they want to stay in the euro. i would not necessarily make that choice but that is the choice they seem to make and have to support them in the choice they make. >> mr. speaker, a new report came out that shows that 32,000 jobs in the public sector were lost in the northeast last year while the number of private- sector jobs went down as well. why should they? in in the euro destroy the regions of this country? >> of course, there has to be a rebalancing in our economy in terms of public sector jobs and private sector jobs. there are difficult

circumstances faced by different parts of the country. in the northeast, we have seen the expansion and we have the new train going into the northeast. we need to become more competitive to start manufacturing and making things again which would benefit all regions of our country. >> wouldn't countries like france do more to help developing countries if france met its own u.n. target for international relations rather than absorbing the un targets to sign up for a financial transaction tactics? >> some other countries in europe are using the cover of a financial transaction tax to get away from the fact they have not met their target for overseas development assistance. all the figures about the financial transactions, 80% of it would be raised from

businesses in the united kingdom. i'm sometimes tempted to ask the french if they want a cheese tax. [laughter] >> the european central bank is been told to sit on its hands by the germans. it was the marshall plan [unintelligible] >> the european central bank is independent. no one is able to tell it what to do. obviously, i think there is a very strong case for euros and institutions that need to do more to stand behind the currency. we have to understand why it is the germans feel as strongly as they do. it is partly based upon the history and what they feel went wrong in the 1920's and 1930's. the argument that the ecb and

institutions need to make is right. >> do you agree that if we were to listen to the party opposite ease up but our deficit reduction strategy, our interest rates would soar toward levels of its elite? italy? what is that likely to cost and increase to payments? >> it is not just the extra interest payments that the government would have to pay although that would be pretty kraepelin, it you would see those higher interest rates affect business investments and affect the mortgages that people pay. you could see a bad effect on households and businesses as well as on the government finance, tiberi of >too. >> when will we produce a jobs for plan and growth? >> it is worth while and why the

g20 process is worthwhile is different countries are committed to do different things at the same time to maximize global growth. it is clear that britain needs to get on top of its debt and deficit and export more. it is also clear that china needs to grow its consumption and grow its middle-class and import more. it would do these things at the same time, we can maximize global growth and increase employment levels, too. >> i agree that the u.k. should not be contributing to any further euros own bailout fund. how can you pay taxpayers be certain that our contributions to the imf will not be used for such a purpose when the u.k. has only 4.29% of the votes in the governing body? >> the imf has the extremely tough and clear rules about when it can and cannot lend money. that is why it cannot nor would

we support putting money into a bureau bailout fund. that is not the role of the imf. that must be the role of esfs/ . the imf can lend money and all countries in distress but no country has ever lost money on the landing to the imf. >> the prime minister keeps talking about rebalancing the economy. we have seen a 25% reduction in the value of the pound which should have made it competitive yet the private sector is simply not taking up the slack and not doing so because there is no confidence out there. don't we need something else to build confidence? >> the worst thing we can do for competency is abandon the plan to deal with our debt and deficit. you can see what is happening in countries like italy that don't have a proper plan.

that have higher interest rates at all the problems that brings. you are right to say we have had a depreciation in our currency that should lead us to be more competitive. if you'll look at our export figures, we are seeing a good increase in exports. tomy constituents don't want pay taxes to bail out the euro. can the prime minister remind us who got this country into the permanent europe sss ander got us out of it? >> none of our constituents want to pay taxes to bail out the euro is on. that is not what our taxes should go toward. there was the european financial stability mechanism which we were part of and i got us out of that. we are still at risk of that because of a bad decision agreed to buy the last government. >> if continues to fail to deal

with the crisis, what will the prime minister do to be set the uk? >> we have to put in contingency plans for any of these countries leaving the bureau's own. for obvious reasons, if you start describing exactly what you can do, you would set off chain reactions. if you want to discuss with a treasury minister probably the elements of any plan, i'd say you are at liberty to do so. >> the understanding that greece or italy or anyone else leading the bureau's own would require a treaty change. >> i believe you are right. there is nothing in the treaty that allows a member to leave the bureau's own. my sense is or that to happen, some sort allowance would be made. it would involve, at some stage, a treaty change to make sure it was legal.

>> the prime minister suggested he is in favor of a global financial transaction tax. that will only happen on a global basis of people take that seriously what action steps the prime minister to look at cannes summit to promote this? >> i spoke on this at the sessions. i said we supported it at a global level. sitting around that table are other european countries and european institutions including the european commission who have spent this money several times over. women talk about the european budget, is a great way to raise -- when we talk about the european budget, it is great to talk about that. climate change talk seems to cover all the climate change changes and that is not really

the case. >> it is likely that the chinese conditions for buying into euros then -- into yours and debt which would be directly against national interests in defense. given that requires the unanimous decision by all eu member states, could the prime minister confirm that should that be required that the u.k. government would veto that request? >> we don't support the lifting of the arms embargo. in the discussions at the g-20, there was no sort of shopping list from the chinese. clearly, it is in the interest of china as it is in ours, that the bureau's own crisis it dealt with. china has a huge export market in europe and china on huge amounts of european debt. this is the reason why china, like britain, subscribes to the imf and will support an increase

in its resources. >> the prime minister said the actions on jobs include many things that broadness it is already doing. -- that britain is already doing. how many minutes were spent talking about these? >> a great deal of the first day was spent talking about the condition of the world economy and particularly the fact that economies in the developed world are seeing very low rates of growth. i also had a meeting with his leader of thetuc and other trade unionist to discuss specifically the issue of growth and jobs and how we can. -- prevent youth unemployment rising. i don't know of my predecessors found time for these meetings but i was delighted to have one. >> the prime minister, did you see any evidence that the g-20 that it is a fanciful notion to

expect china to bail out europe? >> i would not underestimate the huge pressure that the bureau's own leaders are under to come up with a solution to the crisis in the euro is shown very clearly, there are huge ideological differences. completely outs of the question the other countries like china or saudi arabia might want to contribute to the euro zone fund. the rest would be taken by the bureau's own money and not by the chinese or other money. in the end, there is no substitute for the year rose an acting first to sort out its difficulties. >> who were the country's persuaded by the prime minister that they had to borrow for further discretionary measures?

>> there is a list and the action plan for growth and jobs and that says which countries could borrow more. there are countries such as canada and china and others. >> will the prime minister reassure the house that he will not take the advice of the hon. gentleman opposite to increase the deficit to artificially boost growth because the consequent rise in interest rates and inflation would cause enormous damage to small businesses and families right across this country? >> you are absolutely right. we went to the g20 summit arguing for a $20 billion a pound increase this year, at the same time, we would say that we would get out of the imf, they would conclude that we are completely barky.

>> wouldn't it be better for us to help the greeks to default now rather than later? >> we have argued very consistently that part of any solution has to be a very decisive writing down agreed to death. they cannot afford the debt they currently have. that is the plan they offered some have said that is not even enough. unless you write down the debt significantly, you may not have a proper solution. >> you have rightly argued that fixing the euro zone is good for euros own countries. you have announced that we are making contingency plans because of that failure? >> it is difficult to say more about it in the house. i will discuss this with the

treasury minister whether we can say more. these plans would have to be very wide ranging and cover all sorts of different eventualities. >> does the prime minister have an asset -- an estimate the great britain would occur from the fund that was supported by the last labor government? >> we have managed to keep out of the european elements of the great bellsouth. that has said two iterations and we were not involved in the first we were not involved in the second. -- idea ofc of i'd using a efsm was announced by britain. >> one of the key issues is bureaus and knees to recapitalize a number of banks that are quite weak.

can you talk about the relative strength of u.k. banks? >> on the current plan for the recapitalization, british banks would not require any additional capital. they are already quite capitalized. there is a concern that as the europeans moved to recapitalize their bags, it is important that they don't do that purely by shrinking bank balance sheets but to make sure that landing does not decrease in the european union. >> we know the danger of ignoring the political reality of the current situation. setting the euro at any cost is in the long term interest of journey but not necessarily that of the taxpayers of the united kingdom. surely, the ecb must be the lender of last resort. >> i think the point about the

future of the bureau, we should take a very hard view of this. all the evidence is that a discipline to break up of the year would have very bad effects on all the economies within europe and would have bad effects on britain. you could make longer-term arguments about what it might mean but in the short run, there is no doubt that when we try to secure growth and jobs in this country, a disorderly breakup of the european zone would not be good for britain. >> i would like to thank the prime minister for the thoughtful and constructive leadership he offered at the g- 20. the debate has been quite narrow around greece over in recent weeks. what is the prime minister's interpretation of the situation in italy? >> we should be careful not to speculate on other countries. we see the requirements that

those that are lending money to italy want to see a clear and consistent plan with getting on top of their deficits and when they see that, interest rates will come back down again. it is a lesson to any country that if you don't have credibility in the market, york interest rates could go up. >> do you agree that the u.k. already has a financial package? >pact? >> one point that bill gates made to me is that if other european countries introduced their own shares, they might find that they can get to the 9.7% of gdp. having it -- without >> david cameron will answer more questions about the economy tomorrow when he testifies

before the liaison committee. you can watch it on line at 11:00 a.m. eastern. in a few moments, at a forum on the future of the arab spring. in a little more than an hour, a look at how the marine corps might be affected by budget cuts. after that, some of our coverage of a conference including remarks by the commander of the u.s. central command. and the former joint chiefs of chairman staffs chairman. on "washington journal" tomorrow morning, bill gertz taking your questions about iran's nuclear program. then a look across the country with hans von spakovsky and jon greenbaum. our series on the military continues with major general james holmes looking at plans by

the air force to cut jobs. we will also discuss the air force drone program and its role in afghanistan. w.j." lied every morning on c- span at 7:00 a.m. eastern. -- "washington journal" live every morning on c-span at 7:00 a.m. eastern. extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. >> he lost the 1954 presidential election to lyndon johnson, but -- the 1964 presidential election to lyndon johnson and. from the goldwater institute in phoenix, live at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> states, of forum on these so- called arab spring led by

madeleine albright. this form from the national democratic institute is led by the institute's president and ceo, walter isaacson. >> good evening, and welcome to the ronald reagan building international trade center. my name is john drew. i am president and ceo of this facility, on behalf of the general services administration. i would like to take this opportunity to welcome today's esteemed speakers, secretary all right, mr. isaacson, and members of the diplomatic, business, government and development committees. a lot of our special events and hospitality services -- we pride ourselves on being an active hub for u.s. trade and international policy, national export initiatives, and a form

of -- and a forum for diverse programming. in addition, our office of trade promotion works to fulfill the mandates of the trade center by collaborating with an extended network of public and private sector organizations. our partners include government agencies, chambers of commerce, and think tanks that can be in a it rich mixture, such as this evening's program. the goal is to foster international dialogue, generate business opportunities, and educate the public. we have had the great pleasure of working with the national democratic institute, a host of tonight's program. the ndi works with local partners to strengthen political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation, openness, and accountability in government.

we would like to thank them for assembling this prestigious panel this evening. we look forward to hearing from the speakers as the offer insight and analysis on the fast-moving changes taking place in the arab world. i have the great pleasure to introduce our first speaker, mr. walter isaacson, the president and ceo of the aspen institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy-focused organization. in addition, mr. isaacson has been chairman and ceo of cnn, managing editor of "time magazine," and the author of many books and biographies, including the newly released biography of the great steve jobs. it is my pleasure to introduce mr. walter isaacson. >> thank you very much, and thank you for having us in your great facility.

we appreciate it. i will introduce the people on stage. you have their biographies. i will just do it by name. atia lawgali from libya is on my left. sheikh mohammed abu luhoum is from yemen. a pleasure to have you here. dr. amal habib al yusuf is from bahrain. mohammad al abdallah, from syria, welcome. rafat al akhalim, from yemen, thank you for being with us. dr. muneera fakhro from bahrain. and dr. azza kamel, from egypt. before we start, a person who needs no introduction in this building. i will just say madeleine

albright embodies the notion of values and democracy in interwoven with ideals and interested in creating great foreign policy. i would like to offer the former secretary a chance to say a few words. >> thank you all for being here and having us at this wonderful location. i am delighted that we are able to have this particular panel. .

"washington journal" continues. >> today on "washington journal

," we kick off military week. tomorrow we will focus on the united states air force. wednesday, arlington national cemetery. thursday, the u.s. coast guard. friday, we look at the demographics in the armed forces of the united states. that is the rest of the week. today we are focusing on of the marines. here is the picture from the u.s. marine corps museum, south of washington, d.c., down at the quantico marine base. joining us is lieutenant-general richard mills, deputy commandant. thank you for joining us. guest: good morning, paul. thanks for having me. i cannot think of a better place to broadcast from then here at the national museum. thanks for the letting and slid

off the week. host: number birthday is it? guest: to order 35th birthday of the marine corps. we started with the marine corps marathon last week. for the next week or so, they will be celebrating it everywhere, from large ceremonies as we will have in washington, d.c., to very small ceremonies at operating bases like afghanistan and iraq, where ever marines are. they will gather together and remember the past and look forward to the future. great time for the marines. host: we have lots to talk about this hour, and we will get yours' -- viewer's comments. what we put the phone numbers on the bottom of the screen. we do have a special line in

this morning for active or retired marines. we certainly look forward to hearing from you. our guest is lieutenant-general richard mills of the marine corps. your title --, development and integration deputy commandant. what does that mean? what is your job? guest: my job is wide ranging. i am headquartered at the base at quantico. i also worked extensively in washington and places north. my job ranges across the entire capability spectrum across the marine corps, and it is to work under the direction of a, not to ensure that marines of the future have the capabilities, training, and education to accomplish the mission state bank are assigned. i work in everything from amphibious dock into what our new light tactical vehicles will

look like, amphibious vehicles, while all the way to our efforts in the cyberworld, which are growing every day and becoming more and more important to us. host: remind us of the scope of u.s. marine corps. what kind of work does it do? guest: absolutely. our current strength is 200,000. we are going to draw down somewhat as the operations in afghanistan began to drive down. the marine corps is the nation's 911 force. our job is to do crisis intervention, to be most ready when the nation is least ready. if you look at our history, that is what we have done. the marine corps is organized into three major areas. one is the ground combat units. we have three divisions, all divisions of infantry -- for all divisions of infantry. we have a very strong air wing -- fixed wing aviation an orderly wind aviation, the

ability to move our troops and support them with fire once on the ground. and a strong logistics' element that operates everything from simple maintenance on the ground to support the troops. our efforts are to be ready or ever crisis strikes, and we are committed to places like iraq and afghanistan, where we are ready to fight a war on the ground, we are ready to do that. we respond with navy ships around the will to humanitarian efforts in disaster relief. we have done all of that and more. we have been in places like haiti, we of course responded to the tsunami in japan when that struck and were able to provide disaster relief to very important allies in that part of the world. we responded to flood in pakistan, where you had people who were devastated by the rising waters caused by the monsoons. we were able to deploy heavy

lift helicopters to provide much-needed disaster relief. when people say that the marines have landed and the situation is well in hand, that does not just mean the kinetic piece. it means the entire spectrum of military operations -- disaster relief, at embassy reinforcement, all of those things. in very short terms, the marine corps is an air-ground- ballistics team, task with a job it gets a sign, worldwide deployable. host: lieutenant general richard mills will be with us for the full hour. he has at a place called triangle, a virginia, not far from quantico marine base. as you talk about afghanistan and iraq, speaker further, it take us deeper into the role of marines there. how many active marines and afghanistan? 19,000? guest: just under 20,000. they are operating throughout

afghanistan. essentially down in the southwest corner, it was my privilege in 2010 to be the commanding general down there and lead the marines and our allied forces. our entire coalition is fighting in that part of the country. the marines down there are doing everything from a close combat y, to the westemy i near the border, but more importantly, the they are doing an awful lot of counterinsurgency operations, involving things like ensuring schools are up and running, and area or the country is important to the pashtuns who live there. we are helping the local government develop and expand influence. most important is our effort to train the afghan security forces, both of the police and army. we have mobile training teams that are out, looking at the very lowest levels. we also have training teams at

the camps that involve training recruits -- the afghanistan army and the local police. we are operating across the entire spectrum. there has been significant success in the southwest. it is an area or the afghan army has taken more responsibility on a daily basis. that is the result of an awful lot of hard work by good marines and our coalition partners down there. in the southwest, we're working closely with u.k. forces. the british have almost 12,000 forces on the ground there. we also have our georgian allies with us, and other allies as well. it is a coalition effort and i think it has been very successful. host: i want to bring up the subject of money and budgets and the great potential for cuts at the pentagon. there is another story in the paper today about what the defense secretary, leon panetta, is trying to weigh. it says he is weighing pentagon

cuts that were once off-limits. "orders to cut the budget by $450 billion over the next decade -- the secretary is considering a reduction in spending categories that were once thought to be sacrosanct, especially in medical and retirement benefits." what do you worry about most, if anything, general, when it comes to potential cuts? guest: the underlying principle that the secretary has said on many occasions -- probably our number one concern as well -- is breaking faith with our marines and their families. the marines and their families have sacrificed a tremendous amount, as have members of all the services. i believe they have certain expectations, and i think that it is to train them, equip them, and to give them enumeration that is appropriate to the sacrifice that we are asking of them. i think it is important that would not break faith with the marines and their families, and the cuts that the secretary is talking about will not do that.

we're taking a hard look, top to bottom, in the marine corps and all parties systems, our training requirements, and our manning levels to meet the budget cuts, and we will do that. we will still provide the country with a crisis-ready force, a force capable of operating across the full spectrum of military operations, and perhaps most importantly, a course where the marines are comfortable that we've not broken faith with them and are providing pay and benefits that they richly deserve. host: quick thumbnail sketch of the marine corps fy2012 budget request. our first call this morning for lieutenant general richard mills of the u.s. marine corps is san diego. steve, republican. good morning. caller: i would just like to

know what part will civilian production in forces take place, and when will it take place? host: thank you. guest: steve, that is a great question. as part of our review of the entire force structure, we look at the military side of the house and the civilian marines as well, the ones who contribute so much to our success. there is a study and a weight at my headquarters that is looking at the civilians to -- c- sthere is a study underway right now at cmy orders that is looking at the civilian structure. that study will be transparent, fully published, and we will discuss it with everybody concerned before actions are taken. at this point, i cannot really comment on any reductions that are possible. there is the review that is being done. care will be taken to make sure we end up with the best size

civilian force we can afford, one that will effectively support the smaller marine corps. host: on our line for marines, but active-duty and retired, james is calling from the western part of florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i just got to comment, preferred ,tock, s -- but first off semper fi. i don't understand why, when the marine corps has the lowest budget of all the branches, we do more with less money than any other branch -- how can they cut our budget? hoo-rah. guest: that is a great question. we the marines are notorious for being penny pinchers.

we have done a lot with the defense budget, and we don't want to change that. it gives us a certain mindset of being careful with our resources. ensuring that we have the right equipment that we need. we're not overly demanding of the resources of this country, which is important that it be respected. we the marines are ready to sacrifice with the entire department of defense, because there are budget cuts that are coming, budget cuts that are important to national security and aour nation. we will do our shared. we will still be the fourth that you recognize, jams -- we will still be the force that you recognize, james privott we will not shortcut our brains, we will not sure what the equipment -- we will not shortcut our marines, we will not shortcut

the equipment that they need. host: general mills, how would you describe morales these days at the core? guest: i would describe mor ale as sky-high. it is reflected by many things. it is reflected by the response of our marines as you toward the battlefield and garrison situations in the states. marines are pumped, motivated the biggest question i get is, "hey, when do i get to go to the field, when do i get to go to the war, when do i get to go to the fleet?" our morale is tremendous and that is reflected in their reenlistment rates, which are the best they have ever been. we can be selective with the marines and they tried to keep on. we have more and more marines list --nt to rein

reenlist. right now it is tough to join the corporate our recruiters are doing a great job. down -- right now it is tough to join the core. our workers are doing a great job. host: what are the biggest problems the corps is facing these days? guest: the biggest issue is, as we draw down from afghanistan, we need to reset the force. we have been in that part of the world for at least 10 years, with much of the same equipment in both iraq and afghanistan. that equipment is getting aged. as we reset the force and prepare for the next major commitment, wherever that happens to be, we will look at our weapons systems, transportation equipment, and renew that.

with the declining budget, the amounts of money available to us, we have to make hard choices. the second issue that we really have to come to grips with, working closely with the department of defense, is what the size of the marine corps will be. we can now and we support that we will not be over to douse an -- we know and we support that we will not be over 200,000. we know that we need to be a crowd of 186,000-187,000 to be properly structured and man and ready at all times to operate. over the next year or so, working closely with the department of defense, talking to people on the hill, we will get resolutions. host: lowry, a democrat from indiana. you are on with lieutenant- general richard mills. larry, you there? i think we lost larry.

quincy, illinois. troy, retired marine. caller: good morning, sir. i'm a retired gunnery sgt. ipad retired -- i have been retired for about eight years now. i saw something on the news this morning that the secretary of defense was going to cut military and retirement benefits, and i wanted to get your take on that and see what that is about. guest: semper fi, marine. again, that is a great question. i know potential cuts to anything is of vital interest especially to our retirees. again, i have not seen specific cuts that have been recommended by either the secretary or by the super committee as it meets under washington. i want to reemphasize to you that when the secretary and, not say that we will not break faith with our marines, -- and

commandant say we will not break faith with our marines, that also means our retired means. the commandant is interested in anything that might affect our entire population. we know that you have worked hard and have earned what you have and have come to depend on what is that you get any benefits. the commandant is trying very hard to maintain those. i believe the secretary also intends to maintain those as much as possible. i can tell you it as specific ideas and suggestions come forward, we on the active service will be battling for you, those of you who have gone before and built a reputation and the standards by which we so proudly must today. -- rest today. we will keep an eye on that and keep everybody informed. we here in washington still wear

the uniform and we will fight hard for you. host: beyond retirement pay, a lot has been written about jobs for folks in the military wants they the service and come back to the country. we know there is some legislation in congress on this veterans day weekend to help. what can you say about that issue? guest: it is a major concern for us. as our marines come home and decide to leave the service, it is right and proper that they do so. one of the bedrocks of our philosophy is that the marine corps is here to build better citizens. we know that everyone is not going to stay in the court for 20 or 30 years, but some will come in, serve the country proudly, and returned home to their civilian lives, as better citizens and better people. but we are concerned about their employment opportunities. unemployment is a major issue in

the united states, everywhere. our employers have been extraordinarily good about taking a hard look at veterans as they come home and giving them opportunities. we need to prepare them better. we need to ensure that all of our exit programs are designed to fully prepare our young marines for entering the civilian world. we would not send a marine into combat without having proper training and understanding where is he was going and understanding thoroughly when he needed to do once he got there. it has yet to be the same as we prepare our young marines to leave the service -- it has got to be the same as we prepare our young marines to leave the service and enter the civilian world. meaningful programs that explain to them how to get a job, how to convert their military service into civilian ease, so that civilian employers understand

the responsibilities at they have brought a young squad leader in the marine corps today, leading them in combat, making tough decisions, often isolated by himself, is much more mature and probably has a higher level of responsibility than most 21-, 22-year-old young people in the civilian population. when a civilian employer fires a young man like that, -- we need a civilian employer who hires a young man like that to understand what he is getting. we need to make sure that as they leave the service, he has a good chance of getting a good job and contributing to i billion the civilian community. host: randy, republican. caller: my question probably doesn't pertain to a lot of what we're talking about.

and -- listening., we're caller: i was just saying that i don't think it pertains to a lot of the military moneys and so forth, but i was wondering what the general things about the facts of we have afghan over there, we don't know who did trust in that part of the country, then we have iran, who is determined to build a nuclear bomb, or warhead. this concerns me. i am just wondering what the general's thoughts were on that. i will let you will speak on that. host: perhaps a hearing for its policy on that, but do you want to tackle that all? .uest: sure i would be happy to answer that.

the caller was concerned about trust between the afghans and the coalition forces on the ground. the trust levels between the coalition of forces and the afghan partners at the tactical ever wear -- the tactical level where i worked was tremendous. we often work together, in cases where we both lived together very closely. our trust in each other was absolutely 110% to. we never had an incident which roused out suspicion about why we should mistrust our partners over there. the afghans are a loyal people with a great memory, many of whom remember america finally from the 1950's and 1960's where we at large u.s. aid projects. they remember very clearly and when asked about america and how people were who lead in their years and years and years ago. -- who had been there years and

years and years ago. my marines and soldiers worked closely with the afghan police and the afghan army, under tough, conditions, and i saw them take care of each other. i lost a marine while we were there on joint patrol. the site of a canal, and u.s. marines and afghand -- and you had marines and afghans working together. an afghan fell into the water and our marinae dove into the water. unfortunately, we lost both the afghan and marine. i was called at the next day and talked to by the afghan governor, who expressed his deep sorrow and deeper friendship with the americans, because american -- an american had

sacrificed himself to save an afghan. more importantly, it was two warriors who thought about each other first and consequences second. the trust in the afghan coalition runs deep. i know there are things and the paper and things and the news that people say, and much of that is political, i think. i think that when you go down to the war years and you talk to the soldiers on the police, trust runs deep and very firm. regarding iran, i can only say that our eyes and not simply focus on afghanistan. we have people look at areas throughout the world. i have strong confidence in our ability as military people to look at iran and keep an eye on what they are doing. host: harrison, republican from connecticut. caller: good morning. good morning, general.

my question is this -- i have a father who served in world war ii, and he never ever talked about the war. i know he serve any great battles -- served in great battles such as solomon islands, iwo jima. is there an information network or i can find out about the battles my father fought in? guest: absolutely, harrison, and thanks for asking that question dad is still -- if your dad is still alive, give him the semper fi for me. those were tough fights, among the hardest in our history. guadalcanal is eight touch-tone battle in marine corps history. when you look at the conditions

they faced, those were brave men and one and all. your dad deserved remembered as a hero. what i encourage you to do is to contact the museum here at quantico. there is a large section on the second world war. there are exhibits. there are great books -- i am not talking about a bookstore here, but great source of information. it is a crucial part of our history, one to remember. if you think about what the symbol of the marine corps is throughout the world, you go to the flag-raising on mount suribachi during the battle of iwo jima, something that has lived on in marine corps religion, lived in our motivation for years and years and. i would encourage you to

contact the museum, i would encourage you to contact the headquarters of the marine corps historical branch and ask for information. we would be very happy to provide that. if your dad was a marine, they could provide information specifically on where he was, what decorations you would have earned -- he would have earned. congratulations, your father is indeed a hero. host: lieutenant-general at richard mills is contact development and integration of deputy commandant. it is bprobably a great time to tell us more about the facility, how it came into being, and perhaps you can begin with the helicopter behind you. guest: ok, i would be happy to do it. i am a huge fan of the museum. it is 35 miles south, right off 95. there is a sign on route 95 that tells you the exit to get off.

it is funded by private donations brought it houses the official record collection of artifacts. the building itself, extraordinarily impressive, was raised through private donations, part of the foundation of mostly retired marines and civilians. it is, as you can see -- i am sitting in the rotunda, but off the edges of the rotunda are wings dedicated to various periods of history. world war i and world war ii dominate, because those are eras where we have a rich heritage to display. any marine and any civilian -- great place to spend a day, to look around, to enjoy, and if you are a marine, to relish the history of our corps. the helicopter behind me is one of the first helicopters were used in combat, in the current war -- the korean war, where we

were the first service to utilize a vertical lift and particles fall as part of our techniques and procedures. -- vertical lift and a vertical us all as part of our techniques and procedures. it shows the ability of the marines to move quickly, the strike deeply, and use asymmetric methods. much of the museum is dedicated to aviation. above my head, a dive bomber flown by the marines in world war ii to great effect. and there is one of our airplanes that can take off up and down like a helicopter and provide close air support for us wherever we are. it is kind of -- maybe the grandfather a ourf-35, -- of our f-35.

host: new york city, irv, retired marine. -- ir: i'm not retired served in the army. but i certainly honor the marines come i don't know how anybody could not. the helicopter that was part plane, part helicopter, and the blood and treasure the marines lost with that thing -- was that an example of a congress telling you what you needed? what is the status of the project right now? guest: thanks. again, another great question. let me congratulate you for your service in the army. i have operated many times with our u.s. army brothers, and they are tremendous soldiers and do what they do and doing extraordinarily well. i have a son who is a staff sergeant in the united states army and i am proud of him and what he does.

he is getting ready for his second deployment to afghanistan shortly. i look forward to working with the army in the future. the question that you have four guards our -- the question you have regards our v-22, which can take off and land like a helicopter, vertically, but takes its engines forward and flies like an aircraft and very high speeds. there was a long time developing that airplane. it was something the marine corps needed, one of the first envisioned as the next step forward in our vertical lift an order -- in order to move more quickly against sophisticated defenses we anticipated seeing. it took awhile to develop, and we didn't lose marines and developing that airplane. -- and we did lose marines in developing that airplane. the early stages of any aviation asset often marked by accidents. it is tragic. we hate to lose anyone. but it is a sacrifice made for the eventual betterment of the

force. i am a huge v-22 osprey fan. the bank operated across the entire spectrum of aviation to give me great support, give my marines great support. i had some 76,000 square miles of operational ground to cover, and people tell me that is about the size of indiana. when i got on that v-22 and move, it was like the size of rhode island. i have seen it take enemy fire and survive, i have seen a to deliver troops it right where you need them in conditions where other helicopters simply could not have done it. it goes to sea with our marine embarked forces, operates easily of those ships. it provides us with tremendous ability, replaces the ch-46, the

helicopter that everyone is familiar with from the vietnam war movies, which is reaching some 50 years of age. v-22 gives us much better capability. it gives us speed and the ability to land in places where dust and dark would prohibit other helicopters from landing. it allows us to more further inland at targets to strike when they might appear. it was an idea conceived by the marine corps, and despite some of the hardships we went through, it was one that the marine corps is stuck with and has had tremendous success on the battlefield. as i said, i am a big fan because i have seen and operate and i have seen the effect it has brought is a great airplane. host: diane on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. good morning, general. my name is diane and i live in

san diego county paid as a young woman, my mother -- i live in san diego county. as a young woman, my mother remarried and we came where my stepfather -- this is 1956 -- i have a son of a 41 and a granddaughter of a five. thank you. we were there for two years, 1956 to 1958, for his training. he was in the first italian marines, and then we were transferred -- first italian marines, and then we were transferred to camp pendleton, , staff housing. i have been inundated with military since i was a young woman, brought in oceanside. my first husband was in two t

erms in vietnam, silver star, a forward observer. and then i have numerous people military in my family -- my boy friend in high school and college, his father was military retired. and a colonel retired. i wanted to wish you a happy marine corps birthday, sir. your service for this country and its military. and my fiance, who four years ago was a navy captain in vietnam and was under president kennedy -- he went to the naval academy in 1946, came out of the naval academy, to submarine warfare in new london, and when he got out of the military after 33 years, he was in counter- terrorism and worked under the american legion -- host: diane, let me jump in.

you have a question for the general? caller: i just want to ask you, what is the nation for women and men in the military? i know the president has any program that you want military women and men coming out of -- the service -- the president has a new program for military men and women coming out of the service. i think it is very important, sir. men and women coming out of the service definitely should be probably first in line for our employment -- host: thanks. we touched on that briefly, but is there anything else you want to add? guest: sure. first, you sound an awful lot younger. you sound great. you probably should be sitting in the chair anrather than

me, with your experience. semper fi and happy birthday to you as well. the marine corps background definitely qualifies you to celebrate the birthday as a marine brat and marine spouse. congratulations to you on this birthday. you understand the sacrifice demanded of our young people, both in the navy and marine corps. i applaud you and thank you for your support for the young people as they leaves the co rps or the service and rejoin the civilian community. he spoke briefly about females in the marine corps, and -- let -- you spoke briefly about the mills in the marine corps, and let me touch on that subject. i was asked, how many? other than several hundred, i could not tell you exactly,

because they were everywhere. i had females who flew aircraft, females were all quite electronics, who handled admin, who did everything except conduct the actual inventory operations. we also had female engagement teams, young marines -- 20- 22- year-old women come out with our infantry units, engaging with the female population of afghanistan, a population that we as males could not get here. they provided information regarding what people in villages need it, what they were thinking, and provided a great conduit of information to us. surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, once we had the female engagement team, we would get tips on the phone lines, ieds in place, enemies in be

area. and mothers and wives would call us because it and felt fast and is because of what the female -- felt trust in us because of her what the -- because of what the female engagement teams it did for them. 40- and 50-hour convoys, half of which were under fire by the enemy. those marines did a tremendous job, and they were absolutely no different, male or female, in those types of activities. females are contributing in the marine corps across the board, doing a great job, and i am a proud of what they have done. as i said earlier, i am hopeful, as our young men and women leave the corps, they will find a job opportunities out there that recognize the service they provided, but more importantly, recognize the talented and not

think anybody out there simply wants a job because he or she was a marine. what they wanted his showed a talent they have -- what they want is to show the talent they have and the service they can bring to the community. host: we have several more calls as we continue with the general. i want to get back to hardware, equipment. there is one story out there about the f-35. costs are rising 64% in 10 years, it is still pending development, five years behind schedule -- still in to all men, five years behind schedule. we are reading that the obama administration may cut some of the orders. host: i cannot go into a lot of detail, but the aircraft is

critically important to us as marines. we operate off of ambev is shipping -- amphibious shipping. we need fixed-winged support that can divide artillery until we get up short. i have had it in afghanistan and iraq, and they authave always done a tremendous job could we need a replacement, at and this would give us the capability. we recently did trials on an the amphibious ship at see, and f- 35 did great. as i said, is it the capability

the marine corps needs. we are working hard with other services to protect and develop, and we look forward to having it in the inventory as soon as possible. host: california, republican. caller: good morning. i wanted to know why defense, panetta, is going to cut their retirement of active marines and retired marines and not think of taking the contractors out of the countries where we have them, because they are costing so much money to the department of defense. host: we spoke about earlier, but to you want to add anything to pending changes? guest: i think all programs in the department of defense are

going to be looked at. and they penaanetta commandant of the marine corps at said on numerous occasions that we will not break faith with our retirees. everybody will be asked to sacrifice something, but i don't think there will be significant changes for those in the system right now. i know that the secretary is going to look at things like tricare and medical benefits, but any details would be premature. i can tell you that everyone here is extraordinarily concerned. they and is and what our retirees are and what they the -- deserve and -- state bank understand what our retirees to earn and what they -- bank -- they understand what our retiree earn and what they deserve. the caller also raised the topic

of a contractor's permit contractors are being reviewed at every level to see what is important to maintain and what we need. although contractors from time to time get a bad name and everybody has heard about the muffins, the contractors provide us a tremendous service. they give us the ability to develop weapons systems that are vital to national interest. there are people in uniform or simply not available. we have many contractors in afghanistan and iraq providing critical services to us that we no longer have the capability to do for ourselves. i would a non -- would not paint every contractor with the the pressure of being overpaid or -- with the brush of being

overpaid or simply cheating the government out of money paid the contribution that contractors make is vital to our national defense. host: john, retired, columbus, ohio. caller: good morning 3 i have a question for the general -- good morning, general. marine week 2012 will be held in ohio. i am the commandant of a local marine corps marine detachment active in the state marine corp. be. i would like to understand what the purpose and the outcome of the marine corps week -- i know it is help around the country -- what is the goal in cleveland? i'm 70 now. what role can the old marine supply to make marine corps week come off well? -- then the old marines play to

make marin . . it is great to respond to a former marine. i am sure you are ready to jump out of those airplanes still heard i will keep an eye on you during the marine corps week. marine corps week is a program that visits cities throughout the united states. its intent is to help educate and expose local civilians to what it is the marine corps does throughout the country. we always have a bat out there to represent the marine corps. -- band out there to represent the marine corps. it is to let those who support us understand what we do for the country to civilian support is critical to us. we need civilians who understand the marine corps, who appreciate what is we do, and it is right and proper that we do those

kinds of things. i am sure the week in cleveland will be full of the events, parades, exhibits, all of which will help understand what it is the marine corps gives them. it is a chance for our marines to get out and meet people in parts of the country we normally don't get too. we have a lot of marines in the cleveland area. it is the chance for our marines to see the country they defense, to see what is it they are sacrificing themselves for. i was struck by how much of support comes to us from local communities. i can tell you that, unlike our caller, who was probably a vietnam-era veteran one of

support was not as evident, the outpouring of support from communities, churches, leagues, all those types of organizations is absolutely outstanding. to see young marines in operating basis living under the conditions, opening a box of perhaps can dy, cards from local children and civilians saying "thank you for what you do," it is tremendously meaningful to our youngsters. understanding the appreciation from the american people is critical. wishing you all, telling us to keep a safe, thank you for what you've done. host: email here --

guest: well, i think it is a partnership. we will refer back to my afghan experience. as a military operator in the southwest corner of afghanistan, i have a teammate who worked about 100 yards from me. his team and my team worked together. places where the department of the state belong, governance, local economy, while we can all security issues -- while we handled security issues that were rampant in the area. it is proper and right that we do so. i have found the department of state to be at extraordinarily good partners in ensuring and

national objectives were reached, and very easy to deal with. i support cooperation and every level -- at every level and the department of state and department of defense. host: shirley on the line. caller: thank you for taking my call. my favorite general is general bundler, who traveled the country after he retired to one as that -- warn us that war is a racket, and the marine corps went into many small countries to capture resources for this country, big business. i wonder what you think of him, and whether you would comply with what he said art would try try to make a mishmash of what he said. guest: thank you for the culprit of course, every marino's -- thank you for the call.

of course, every marine at knows butler. he is one of our heroes. back here at home, during tough times, he was very laudable. he was a flamboyant guy, and very valuable providing exposure to the marines during the 1930's to keep us in everybody's got straight as a matter fact, he had a job that i have -- keep us in everybody's thoughts. as a matter of fact, he added that job that i have. this is a rumor that in the basement, if you smell cigar smoke, it is butler checking up on current occupants. i have not smelled it yet. he was talking about a different time, and his views and opinions were of a different time in america. if you look at what the marines -- where the marines have been a

lately, it has not been at time of us going into other countries to take resources away from them. if you look at places like haiti, marines in conjunction with other services went into haiti because the people needed help. if you look at pakistan, because of the floods earlier, we went to help people who desperately needed our help -- food, water, medical supplies. if you look at our recent efforts in iraq, you don't see the americans looking that country. rather, you see us returning some of the objects they have lost over the years. certainly, we have helped them set up their own independent resource allocation systems so they can sell their oil to whoever they want to sell it to. i don't think it to the that correct history that general -- i don't think that if you look at current history that general

butler was correct. he was speaking of a different kind. we are doing very positive things with different countries, working closely with them to develop a democratic system, most importantly to develop their own system brought i would disagree with the general based on current events. host: putting more about the marine corps tuition assistance program, how it works, the benefits in the future of eight. -- of it. guest: i understand some news has recently come out about tuition assistance. it provides an opportunity to partially paid for the education. it is one that a lot of marines take advantage of, to get higher education while they are on active duty. it is being looked at from several ways. how much money is being used,

how much goes towards it. right now the system stands as it has always stood. prince is still getting benefits, -- marines are still getting benefits, and it will be transparent to judge the future of the program. host: new york, retired marine. caller: semper fi, general. happy birthday. guest: happy birthday, marine. caller: my concern as i entered active duty in august 1971 right after high school board am concerned about feet -- right after high school. i am concerned about the corps being depleted during ronald reagan's term in office. our going back to being depleted of those resources, especially

in base housing. guest: first of all, thanks for your service, semper fi to you, happy birthday. you served at a tough time. i came in in 1975. you and i stomped the same ground. our commandant and department of defense are adamant that that will not happen. we will provide it ready equipment and ready training. we learned a lesson from your time and my early time in the corps and we are not going to repeat those mistakes as we come out of afghanistan and re position ourselves for the future. i know there are not many marine bases in new york, but i encourage you, if you ever get a chance to travel up around, take a look at the bases today. they are revamped bases.

you mentioned base housing. quarters have never been better bu. there has been a privatization program responsible for that, but our marines live on a wonderful quarters. our barracks have never been better. we have had a good military construction budget over the past few years. marines live comparatively to what college students live at, perhaps a little bit better. i think -- you were in a tough time, and we appreciate the sacrifices you made. anybody can understand just how tough they were. but those times have passed, and we are very concerned about living conditions for our marines and their families. the schools on base, the housing

on base, the ability for them to get health care has never been better. i would encourage you to take a look around if you get a chance. he would be stunned by the difference. host: our guest has been at the 10 general richard mills -- has been a lieutenant general richard mills, joining us for from the u.s. marine corps museum. thanks for starting military week with us.

how plans to cut jobs will affect operations. he will discuss its role in afghanistan. tikal washington journal -- " washington journal." >> i am doing the right thing. >> i believe 1984 finds the united states strong to establish a constructive working relationship with the soviet union. >> this c-span video library is the definitive source for, and

public affairs. now there is a new way to access our programming. down on audio for every available c-span program. take c-span with you on your iphone parenti portable device. listen to what you want, when you want, where you want. >> now the commander of the central command on leadership and the contributions of the veterans. he spoke with the annual conference. this is half an hour. >> when you get to my ranks, there are a lot of things that are pleasant. thank you for inviting me to share a few minutes. it is also a privilege to

introduce by fellow northwesterners in one who is aiming toward serving in the army infantry. those are the last to go in close and mix it up with the enemy. is basically cover about three basic subjects here. i want to talk a little bit about connection between your young folks in the audience on and the veterans. him so many of our hopes rest i want to talk a little bit about central command, which called the middle east, because it is going to play a role in cadets. europe could -- your future as cadets and i want to talk about the military in general. i want to talk to you in a way not to give you a lot of advice. a lot of people want to give you advice. what i want to do is alert you to what i have seen in my life since i was 80 years old, 40- some-odd years ago and joined the marines, -- since i was 18 years old. along the way. and the lessons i have learned it is appropriate to turn around and run the elevator back down and try to take young folks up and bring you up based on sometimes very grim lesson said we have learned. and one point out what to make too young folks in the audience, and i think the

veterans will reinforce this, that surprise is going to be your constant companion. you'll make all your plans. some of them will come true. many of them will not. and surprise is going to be a dominant factor to each one of you. it is simply the nature of life. nobody can tell what is going to happen to your future, my fine young folks, and the veteran will tell you that probably december 6 of 1941 or in 1949 or in 1959, none of them realize that world war ii, future. korea, vietnam was in their we do nothing like that. think like that. yet it came in they dealt with it. there is a lesson in there as well. and when the situations come knocking, maybe an opportunity, may be a challenge, the one ready. thing you want to do is be worst thing, and i never thought, my fine young folks, that would be standing here today. if you ask me four -- 40 years ago i would be a four-star

cards. general, it was not in the i had been in trouble as a lad. the marine corps straighten me out in a lot of ways, but i never thought i would be here. so what you fall back on when the surprise hits you? what do you fall back on when you go to school one day thinking it would be one way, thinking you will do fine on a test but you did not do so well? would you do when you get a phone call from someone with four stars, and you still have to say search of them, and you can imagine there is only a few people like that at the point, and they say they want you to do a certain job? you have to be ready. what you're going to fall back on when the surprises strike you, what you're going to fall back on this year ingenuity, your result, your faith, your character, your education, and your self-confidence. that is what you're going to fall back on. as you develop every day, recognize that these are the

days that one day you'll come back, and you'll say thank goodness i read that book, thank goodness i thought about this, a good thing that i sat up in class and paid attention when i heard that. because i think if you're ready when that tab on your shoulder comes, then your horizons are unlimited. we have all seen people who made bad choices in life, and much of what you're going to do in life choices. has to do with making the right it is why wanted to talk about this. to connect veterans to the young people that will carry on this experiment that you and i call america, it is very, very important. believe me, there's nothing going to continue. preordained in this country is this comes down to blood, sweat, in tears by those of you willing to commit yourself to danger and discomfort to protect this country, just like our veterans did. in fact, the last millennium, when i was going to college, there was a rock-and-roll group of colorado across the, -- crosby, stills, nash, and young.

in my day, there were wild young radicals. they had a line in a song that i did not pay much a tinge to -- much attention to then, them, but i learned over many years and challenges over the years after that. they said, you, when you're on the road, you must have a code that you can live by. i will tell you right now, my five young midshipman in cadets, you're coming of age at a time of remarkable challenges and remarkable opportunities. but you're going to have to have a code that you can live by. applied cypress hills cemetery up in new york city, there is one of a baseball player is grave, and it says that a light that is an important except in lives.

the impact that it has on other why would a man who had been at the top of his game in baseball, an absolute success, look back on his life and say it only counts where you're serving other people? could it be that he had discovered something through his experiences that he wanted to pass on, and he had it is engraved on his tombstone? that was his coach, and it is a pretty darn good code. i think that our country, right now, more than any other time, because of the information technology and what we learn about leaders, these leaders to live by a code. i do not care if you're leading in industry, academia, a military, of politics. we need people who live by a code, you can look in the mirror and not have to duck away from what they see. you're going to have to write your own code. it is not all that pretentious, my young folks. not like you have to go to some coursers something like that. you have to sit down and figure it. out who you are and be proud of first thing is to be proud of the.

be proud of every single thing that makes you different. be proud of everything inside of you, the potential you have, and do not let anybody tell you cannot get somewhere. it is not all that difficult to write the code. it is much more difficult to live your code. one point about the military, those of you who go into it, you'll be given the opportunity to live your code, and you'll be rewarded for living your code. because it is an organization that gives the behavior it rewards. the u.s. military is a national treasure. it is the envy -- i deal with people now, and the first words i have to stay with them are, mr. prime minister or mr. president or king or sultan - ever- one of those leaders would love to have the u.s. military, every single one of them. it is a treasure worth more than all the gold in fort knox. and it is a treasure, not because of the technology, which is very good, it is a treasure because of the selflessness that the commitment of the young folks who joined up. the cadet and introduce me, how

did the inventory get its name, and fence older. many of those who fight for this country a very, very young. alien think you're an from those people who did this in 1776 and were fighting for upcountry collect or in 1918 or 1943 and some of the veterans here today. there were just like you, sitting there wondering what life was going to bring them, and they turn their lives and do something that became, in many cases, what we call today the greatest generation. and a point about jumping in and playing the game. you know, i know people who, when they get to have aged, they look back and say, did i really make a difference? you'll never have to worry about that if you do in the military. he will never be concerned about that. some people want to play it safe. they want to sit on the sidelines. you usually find them because they are the loudest complainers about what is going on. they're not getting into the

game. they're not taking these cribs in the falls, not going out into the ethical dilemmas, knowing it is the right thing to do. that it is better than taking the easy way out. in the u.s. military, you get repaid for taking that kind of a in stride. life and that kind of challenge i think it is often times that you're permitted to learn about yourself in the military. you're privileged in a way that many other people never had the opportunity to learn. they simply will not be know you will learn things about yourself. at times you'll be disheartened and you have to reach down and pull yourself back up. but i do not have to tell you about this in detail, because you have veterans here today who have lived this and you have actually passed beyond a

standard that all of us are to live up to today. let me just show you what this means, instead of putting it in big words like this. i was ordered, when i commanded the first marine division, about 25,000 sailors and marines, was ordered to attack a town called fallujah. it took two battles. going into the first battle, only had a couple of battalions to throw into the fight. so the night before the kick off the attack, i went down. the general goes down the checks are all set. out his troops, makes sure they about midnight, it is time for general to get out of the way and let the lads glad when the sun starts to come out. as i was falling back about a mile, my radio operators on my vehicles so i could get back, i was right behind and assaults, an attack before the rest of the battalion, about an hour ahead before dawn to take out a railroad station on the outskirts of town that would allow the rest of the battalion to move up. as i walked behind the assault company, all very, very young men, living there, very cold, no

blankets, laying on the ground, gear. stripped down to their combat gear. peopthe enemy caused some mischief corporate. nearby, so i checked in with the care of this. he said, no sweat, we will take things died down. we waited a few minutes to make sure it really died down. i heard one that is marines -- no the corporal could not have been more than probably about 20 years old himself, but one of his young green said, corporal, do you think fallujah is going to be bad in the morning? i will clean this up slightly because we have ladies present, the corporal said basically hush and get some rest. he said we take you a sheneman, -- we took iwo jima, fallujah will be nothing. and we have an iwo jima veteran here today, by the way. i bring this up because there is nothing we're going to ask of you that is tougher than what our soldiers did at shiloh. there is nothing that is tougher than iwo jima. i'm confident that we train you well, and you'll be along the

best people in the world. and we will need you. we will need you for this, because it is simply a legacy that has been passed down because it has been necessary, because it is still hard to believe how lucky we are to live in this country. but we live here only thanks to the veterans. it the veterans had not been willing to put themselves on the line, it would not be preordained that you and i sit here today and this free country, going to church where we want, studying what we want, girls going to school, all these things that we take for granted, they would not be happening absent the veterans and -- audio] -- [inaudible] it is nudges a physical fight. it is and ethical fight, a moral fight. it is keeping yourself in honorable situation.

some of your very, very young. it is hard to pass on the challenges to go forward. but i assure you the challenge will be there. i also want you to know that a sense of humor is one of your best defenses. it is as good as your helmet on your head for protecting your spirit and your heart. i remember on one occasion, i walked up behind a marine squad in a place called rahm body. down the street. there were shooting at the enemy the enemy was shooting back at them in. i walked up and i asked the single dumbest question that has ever been asked of a squad leader in combat. i walked up and the marines and sailors, and i said, hey, guys, " is going on? [laughter] the corporal said the letter -- somone had released the villiage

idiot. well, general, we're just taking the fun out of fundamentalism over here. [laughter] i walked away knowing that this was a squad that believed in itself, was sticking together, and would ethically carry out the mission, even though they people. were fighting among unison with a squadron that could keep a sense of calm sense of humor under those conditions are worth more than 100 generals. this is the contentious area with places like egypt and lebanon, iraq, afghanistan, on. pakistan, syria -- i could go every time i wake up, i read the newspaper in the morning to see how my dad will go. -- day will go. a very good day. it is generally not going to be but they said the fact that as a alongside some of the most selfless and some of the most confident people in the world, i never lose any sleep whatsoever over something like that. and there was a frenchman who

walked around our country back about 140 years ago, and he said about america, he said, america is a great country because america is a good country. and if america ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. 140 years ago, a man walking around from europe trying to figure out, why is this country become so different from the other countries in the world? what is going on here? it is an interesting read, reading a thick book to find that sentence. it is not because we have forests in the pacific northwest or wheat fields in kansas. beautiful oceans at yellowstone it is not because of a park. it is because we have people that are willing to commit to something as much as we may be frustrated by our country at times, i have the greatest respect for all of you in this room who look beyond the political rhetoric that often of this city and country. stepped up to serve your and just remember that even the generals become a very remote

from those of you who matter, we have a love for you that i cannot put i also want to remind the young cadets something that the veterans will tell you. the military is not there for your own personal aggrandizing, to make you feel good. your drill instructors will that is your idea. usually dissolve that image of [laughter] they will make it very clear is about 18, about the mission, and at times -- about a team, about the mission, and protecting this country, and that there is a better piece for each succeeding generation. or things go wrong and we restore the peace. it is interesting to remember that the last veterans of the revolutionary war passed on just before the civil war. the the veterans of the civil

still with us in the 1930's, and the veterans of today. world war ii are still with us there is not that long a history to this country as veterans pass on to the next generation what it is we're trying to keep alive, this great big experiment called america. and that is all it is, an experiment in sometimes a hostile led this world. you have to look at it as a continuum. it did not start with you. if you do your job right, it will not end with the. i read it is true and it -- interesting work for thomas jefferson. he said we hold this country in the use of prayer. i did not know what the word meant. is that a farmer can have the ground, could do whatever he wants with that crown, planted trees, harvest crops, but his obligation is to turn that crowd -- ground over in as good condition or better that he got

it. that is his obligation to the next generation. our obligation is to turn america over in as good a shape or better than we got it. when it comes down to the young folks are carrying on as long standing tradition, if you keep your passion alive, if you continue to believe in yourself, i guarantee it will be a great ride at to go forward. what i wanted to do was take questions from the audience. my five young folks, i am not going to leave until you ask me some questions. let's get the pain over with. [laughter] there are two qualities we look for in our petty officers and nco's in the marines to get promoted to that is an initiative and aggressiveness. there has got the initiative and aggressiveness to ask the first question here? it will come, just watch. >>[inaudible]

you were talking about codes. what was your code? >> it took me awhile to realize grab a seat. i needed it, but go ahead and a great question. what i found was that i did not like a lot of the jobs i got in the marine corps. i will give an example. i hate minefields. i cannot stand the. m . call me crazy, i do not like going into minefields. yet, for some reason at age 21 in that age 41 and a lot of years in between, i kept finding myself in minefields. desert storm, i commanded a battalion, and its jobless to go into the mine fields and open them up is, each one of them hundreds of meters of why, so the marine division could break through to kuwait city. i hate minefields but i did not know how i kept getting these jobs. but what i realized was that would rather be run people who are willing to go into minefields than anything else. it was more important to me than making money, more important to me than having a

good job in a nice corner office. i just like hanging around with people who are willing to go into minefields, even though you eat your lower led every step of the way. i think what i found was that my code was to serve those guys and to serve them to the best of my ability. i would come up with fire plans to keep as many of my sailors and marines alive as i possibly could. i would come up with medivac place to get him out of there that got hit. it became a code of service because the people who, really like these veterans, the blank check payable to the united states people that they would put a live on the line. so that became my coat, and it has guided me ever since. i have never regretted one day, even though there have been some rough nights lying on rocky hillsides or shivering in the ring, that sort of thing. would you got it, what becomes easier. you know who you are, everything does that answer your question?

>> yes, sir. >> i was wondering if he had any other jobs you wanted to do in the military. >> i have been trying to retire for about 10 years now. [laughter] and the problem is that when you're asked to do something and the military, there's only one response in the naval service. it is yes, sir. i want to ride a motorcycle more. yes, allowed to ride a and i want to teach. the above to teach young folks in certain things, especially about civics. because i think we have forgotten just how different this country is. and if you look at your school, what i learned was, as i traveled around -- i was in cambodia when it first struck me and what was done to all

picked it up loud and clear teachers there, and then i again in afghanistan where anybody teaching girls, for example, would be murdered, anybody teaching anything other than a certain buook, these crackpot guys over there, they hate teachers. tyrants cannot stand teachers. they detest them. because when teachers open mind again. minds, you cannot close that so they feared teachers. so i just like the idea of messing around with tyrants but you know what i mean? [laughter] i have never lost the desire to go after people like that. i would like to pass on some of these lessons learned in silicon -- and see what i can do about passing on things so young folks can always look beyond what you are being told and come up with your own review what you hear in this world, especially when it comes down to people wanting to tell you how to think.

but thank you for the question, young man. >> i am a combat marine from vietnam. i am worried about how well trained are young marines are. would you comment ton when you seeing of the training? >> yes, and thank you to your service in vietnam. to your generation that hot on the training, ladies and gentlemen, we're trading at a level today in the army, navy, air force, a coast guard, a marine corps, that we were never able to sustain in years past. part of it was we have not embraced some of the teaching methodologies and some of the coaching methodologies of sports, of medicine, and it has been brought in now in simulators. i do not mean just for pilots. aviation is lie ahead on this, but even for infantrymen in special forces. the training is tremendous. why do i say this?

mit is giving a general officers you? -- officer's view? i go out to bethesda and walter reed, hospitals, naval and army hospitals, and i talked to the young lads for the was grievously wounded. i ask everyone of them about their training. instead of saying, instead of this to the could have had more of that. add that -- everyone of them will tell me i have great training and a lot to go back with my spotting it back in the fight. -- squad and back in the fight. you do not get as a response if someone does not have confidence in their training. i think we will never be complacent. we have more advances. coaches from ucla and the nfl for how to coached teams. at the types of food. we have nutritionists' looking

we did everything we can, body, mind, and spirit, and will emphasize, and spirit, to make sure that our training is at the top of the game. does that answer your question? >> [inaudible] >> i do not know. i picked them up down the street. [laughter] no, in our tribe, the u.s. military, at a glance we look at each other, and very quickly, we look beyond the speed are tried expects us to wear them. we do. but at the same time, we're more i am no more important -- let's put it in marine corps

terms, than the young person graduating today in new u.s. marine. south carolina and has a brand this is not false modesty. the emotional commitment to the marine corps and to this country is the same, whether you are a 17-year-old marine graduating from a big camp or you are a 61- year-old four-star general. that is the leveling process that goes on. that is why there is a sense of comradeship in the military and a sense of respect that cuts across even -- we do not know each other, yet i do know you or you would not be here to the qualities that bring you here today are exactly what keeps me around. i would not stick around if i cannot serve alongside people like you to even are interested in serving your country the way you are, as selflessly as you are. the ribbons are relatively

unimportant. i am just telling you up front. i know we need to have them because we need to recognize the people have done it when they're putting their lives on the line. but frankly, between us are not different. >> will you share with us how you [inaudible] on a day-to-day basis? -- moral foundation on a day to day basis? >> make sure you read old books. if you want new ideas, read old books where you get your spiritual guidance, your family, your religion, make sure you don't lose connection with that. it will guide you in those times -- i have a young officer in the newspaper today. he just got fired because he

said something. right now, he is feeling pretty lonely. the fact is, you keep faith with your god, keep faith with your family, and read some books. what kind of books do you read to have that sort of a shock absorber when things go wrong and you are in the public spotlight? i would read mandela. i would read about martin luther king jr.. i would read about george washington and abraham lincoln. none of those people that he i know what times you feel like things are going wrong for you. none of them had easy lives. they had terrible things go wrong in their lives. that questions and doubts about themselves. you will find you have more in common with them, but also as you read those things, you create a moral model for yourself and say if life is about good choices, there's an example of how they dealt with

it. i am not going to be dumb and ignore what ben franklin learned along the way. i'm not going to ignore what john f. kennedy learned when he commanded a pt boat early in world war two. those of the kinds of challenges that made them care about you when they haven't even met you. i do a lot of reading and i talk to old people. i talked old people in korea. i talked to them in america. wherever i go, people i talk to old i have a heck of a lot of fun doing it. they tell me the darndest things. i've got to get going to the airport. i've got to be somewhere else in a couple of hours. the middle east next week and i'm going to sleep very well when i'm over there now when we have young folks like you coming

up or going to keep america alive. veterans did. you pass it on just like these passed on to the next generation in tact and a little bit better. fair enough? thank you. [applause] >> more of our coverage of the recent american combatants conference that includes remarks by retired general richard myers. in 45 venice, hillary clinton, speaking last nine antidemocratic since -- awards. washington journal is live with segments on iran's nuclear program and possible job cuts in the air force.

a couple of a fence to tell you about this morning, eric colder testifies before the senate committee in a justice oversight hearing. members are expected to focus on operations fast and furious that would have allowed hundreds of weapons into mexico. that is at 10:00 eastern. the senate education committee will hear from a panel of teachers around the country as it considers the future of the education act. the annual conference of the american veterans center heard from the chairman richard myers. this is 45 minutes.

>> i prefer to walk around but we will go where the microphone is. somebody is controlling the volume of the other one. hello? ok. >> we're going to talk today about leadership and some thoughts. first, i thought it might be useful for the young folks in the audience to hear my way into the military. i do not know steve's story or a lot of those who serve there before. i went to kansas state university where, when you got there in enrollment, rotc was mandatory. they had a green line and a blue line. green line for the army, blueline for the air force. i was very unsophisticated in

how i made my choice. i had to pick a line and sign up for one of them. i said what to war or fly to war. flying sounded better. so i picked the air force line and went into rotc. i was pretty enthusiastic and had a great capt., just back from england. he used to play these songs were there were singing fighter pilot songs, you could play in front of young students, decent songs. they talked about flying the f 100 in england and what a thrill that was and what comradery there was. i said this really sounds interesting. i did not know anything about it. it was all new to me. this really sounds interesting. my senior year, they said you are pilot-qualified.

we're going to let you go through the flight into a preprogram, which was 36 hours in a cessna 150, just enough to get a private lessons if you did not screw up to bat. the first time i broke ground on that little cessna, any private pilots in this small group of young folks? the first time i broke ground in an airplane with the instructor in manhattan, kan., the winds and beating us around like a kite. i said this is cool. yet this great perspective looking down. i liked the smell. i liked the sound. i liked everything about it. i like to the motion. for the first time in life, i had direction. that took me through senior rotc and my commission into the air force. i loved pilot training.

a lot of people were struggling with the academics, struggling to to make it through their check rides and so forth. i thought was a blast. i did not think was particularly hard, though i worked really hard at it. i'll love it so much that i used to run up and down the flight line, had a trolly that ran up and down the flight line. just the smell of the jet fuel being burned. at the air force base, i parked close to the runway to watch crop dusters do their work. i had a few extra minutes, so i stopped to watch the crop dusters. i had a white chevrolet bel air, one of the cheapest car should buy in those days. it had little yellow spots after that and it never washed off. i was thrilled to see the crop duster running by it, doing his thing or her thing so close to the ground. i loved everything about flying.

i go into the air force, through a pilot training and our commitment that was for years. you could then exit stage left if you were so inclined. but i stayed. what i would like to talk to you about is why i stayed. i stayed for 40 years. the plan was five years and in getty's something else. but i stayed because of the military culture i found. steve has talked about some of that and i'm going to pick out a couple of things. what is the notion of integrity? it counts in everything we do in life. it really counts in the military. if you are thought to be a personal blow integrity, your chances of a successful military career are over then. you get one chance and you better not blow it what it comes to integrity. i will talk more about that in

just a minute. it was also an organization that did not tolerate discrimination. it did not matter what religion, what race, where you at school -- i went to kansas state university, the same place roger locker went to school. it did not matter where you got your commissions. you were welcomed. third, it was a meritocracy. the matter where you went to school or whatever, you would succeed it based on the effort you put in to your career. the same way steve rose to be an ace, the effort you put into it, the preparedness, all those other things steve talked about. i liked the fact there was always this sense in those early years that i was serving something a lot bigger than myself. that made me feel good. maybe it does not make everybody feel good, but it's

really good when you think this is not all about you. this is about our country, our air force and that our wing and our squadron and my flight mates. that's what this is about. you are part of this thing that is serving them, which is so much better than thinking about serving yourself some how. finally, i liked the notion of teamwork. steve talked about that. there's nothing good that happens in this world without teamwork, particularly in the military. you count on everyone in that team to be pulling the harness or you won't get the job done. steve talked about the challenges we face in leadership. you ought to talk about leadership for tomorrow, so if i had a topic, that would be it. but the secret is, the leadership for tomorrow is the same characteristics leadership

has always had. you think about the challenges, whether they are environmental or physical challenges, born of economic challenges or security challenges, which have not gone away, although a lot of people would like to dismiss them. we have got serious challenges in our world today. not just in the united states, but around the world. there are several traits basic to the character of those who will be good leaders we can talk about just a little bit. first, i will go back to integrity. that is why i stayed in their air force. goingwhat you say you're to do, being trustworthy. i can imagine the flight briefings. i've been in some and i know steve has been in some.

you have four ships or 90 airplane did you expect everyone to do what they're supposed to do. if you set the rate hours of flight making sure your sweeping the skies ahead of you, you cannot have a lone ranger in their deciding all the activity is down here, they told me to search high, i'm going to searched low. we have had people split out of flights to get chased down aircraft, just to be heroes. that is not integrity. and jeopardize, of course, the flight integrity, perhaps even the mission. certainly, people can get hurt for that sort of thing. an example of integrity at the presidential level, a story that does not get a lot of talked -- the day after 9/11, 2001, we're at the white house and the situation room, having the first security council meeting after 9/11. we are in the part of the white house, the cold war part of it -- we went through some big

faults. -- vaults. i guess you guys lowering case of a nuclear attack. it's not going to protect you from a nuclear attack. we have all of this filtered air and stuff. we're having our first national security council meeting. we knew who perpetrated the act. we did not know what we're going to do about it. we're just talking about some general themes. we were having a wide ranging discussion. at the end, he said something that that was really profound. this is the part about integrity. he says my guess is to deal with this threat we witnessed on 9/11, we're going to have to do some things that are unpopular with the american public and others. he says but we are going to have to do what we think is right. if that means this is a one-term administration, then so be it.

i wrote it down because i thought here is the president saying i'm going to do the right thing. it's a one-term administration because what i do is unpopular, so be it. we will have given a shot to keep america safer. you may agree or disagree with president bush's policies. that's not the point here. the point is he was doing things he thought were the right things to do. that is all we can ask of any of us, to say and do what you think is the right thing to do. that is, if you will, one piece of integrity. my guess is your integrity -- i brought a report card home from kansas state. we know you are not cheating. otherwise you are a bad shooter. -- cheater. [laughter]

but you have all been tempted. your integrity has been tested many, many times. i will give you another story where mine was tested. fortunately i picked the right path. we had a process to choose folks to go to the weapons school at the air force base, a process down in san antonio, texas. i went down to weapons school and i bought this is going to be a great time. i'm going to get there early, and going to get my instructions, and ago and have some beer and mexican food. this is going to be really nice. if the person running the personnel system at times as i have a letter for you that you might want to read. it was from a three-star general, one of the numbered air force commanders who owned half the fighter aircraft in the united states.

my goal after coming out of weapons school was to be in the good graces of one of these three-star commanders so i be a wing commander. i wasn't thinking too hard about it but the thought crossed my mind as i opened this letter. in the letter, it said might number one choice to go to weapons school is so and so. please ensure he comes out on a list of the selectees. there were a couple of things wrong with this. one is the letter was not allowed. there is no external influence allowed in the board process for school selection. it used to be that way, it had changed. he was old school, but it had changed as he worked his way up the ranks. the second thing wrong with it was this was not the wing commander -- i called the wing commander and said three-star, your boss says this is the number one guy your base. he says no, he is about number four.

great guy, he's just not ready yet. what to do? i call my wing commander back. i said that i have got this conflict. there's somebody trying to influence this board process inappropriately. happens to be a three-star general that we all know. he says, well, you have got to do it. you know, he is the big guy. i do not think that was very helpful. i said, well, thank you very much, sir, like i was going to do it, and i hung up the phone. my decision was to lead the board process run. maybe by the grace of god this fellow would be are at the list, because we all scored the records of those people. and i would just be one but he did not make it. because he did not have the experience. he was not quite mature enough. the commonly commander, and i said, well, he did not make it. marine commanders says, my

goodness. he says, well, i'd better call the three-star. i said, no, i did it. i will call the three-star. this is somebody i did not know very well. i knew him a little bit. i ranged a discussion with the three-star air force commander. i am a colonel. this is a big guy. at that time, i did not know many generals. this is a three-star general. i called him up and explained to them -- and about three seconds to explain what happened. then i listened for about 15 minutes. the last part of his comment was, well, i guess being a three-star in the u.s. air force does not mean very much anymore. i thought, wow. i called my wife and said hope of today. you're teaching certificate ais up to date. because of will be out of work here shortly. it actually worked out ok. doing the right thing -- it always works out. you have to be true to yourself.

so be it. that was my last official act, it turned out it was not, even been. my wings commander told my boss who jumped into the fray and said he is wrong. then they had to fight. the whole point is, integrity counts. your intuition is pretty close to being right. intuition is an important thing. you have all had inputs from your moms and dads, your churches, your schools. you have a pretty good intuition. the second thing about the kind of leaders we need for tomorrow, would be this of the

sense of selfless service. you hear that a lot today. it is in the business world. throughout the military this idea of a servant leader. let me give you a story of a young man that was heading in the wrong direction in that regard. i'm going to the meeting with the chiefs. i did not allow much time in the room because it was not far. a young man was there from one of the academy's. it was not the arafat -- airforce. they had been in the building for a while. he has been trying to see you and he is outside your office. he is going to attack you on the way down to the meeting. i said i hope i can help him. as a, of my office, there he is.

he says general myers i have one question for you. he says, what does it take to become chairman of the joint chiefs of staff? selfless service. i said this is a two or three our conversation. you are off true north. we have to give you center. i was late to the meeting. that was something i hated to do but i felt he deserved to 15 minutes of discussion about the question he asked. my question to him was, how can anybody tell you what it takes? being an average student from kansas state. what is the story for me?

i said are you the number one midshipmen in the military training? he wasn't. academically you're probably number one? no, sir. athletically? are you on one of the teens? no sir. my point is, which you are to be focusing on are those things. number one is not important. it is important to commit to what you're doing right now and try to be the best at that. somebody will recognize you and you will start to be given increased responsibility. you don't start out by thinking what is the formula to be chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. that is not the kind of leader you want to be. that is selfish leadership. you have to do the best that

what you're doing. i'm sure steve probably -- although you are a hero or leave. -- hero early. i surmise self into a tasks. i was just getting out of command. we had great camaraderie. it was the best. the other commanders would argue that point but i knew we were the best. when he got promoted to colonel and given an f-15 operations job, i was sent to personnel plans and programs at headquarters. personnel plans and programs. nobody in this room knows what that is. it is an important function.

i had one of the best bosses' i have had in my life. i've learned how to take care of people. things turned out ok. but i did not know who i made mad. but it goes back to the idea of doing the best that what you can do. we talked about integrity, we talked about selfless service. serving something bigger than yourself. we have a lot of folks in blue uniforms. hopefully you know this story. if not, i will remind you. this is old army history. it is great army history. everybody knows billy mitchell? he was a heretic. he had a notion that airpower could be dominant on the battlefield. this was in the 1920's and

1930's. there were a lot in the army who did not appreciate him espousing airpower. he was going to be court- martialed. he was court-martialed. they went to a guy named arnold and said, major arnold, if you support the mitchell as a character reference, we will take away your a school slot in kansas. the only way to get ahead in those years was to go to fort leavenworth. so they were saying your career is over. we're going to send you to fort riley, kansas. nobody will hear from you again. what did he do? he testified on behalf of his friend billy mitchell. the army did what they said they're going to do. they sent him to fort riley. some folks from new york show up.

they said we are starting a new airline. we would like you to be part of it. as the president. we're going to college pan- american airways. if i had been arnold, it would have been an easy choice. i would have moved to new york and in the president. that is easy. arnold, when you think about something bigger than yourself, says there is more i can contribute to my country. he is a major. he has been put out to pasture. fort riley was the center of the army calvary's ". he probably became a very good rider. he commanded all army air forces in world war ii and is one of the handful of officers this

country has promoted to the five-star rank. he did not go to new york. he had something else to do for his country. that is an example i keep in the back of my mind when people talk about selfless service and serving something bigger than yourself. he has to be on your radar screen pretty fast. i think what i will do, those are the characteristics i am going to talk about. we need strong leadership. strong in character. i gave you three characteristics though there are others. integrity and selfless service, something bigger than yourself. if you wear the cloth of our nation, like a lot of you are wearing in junior rotc, you are what we count on. i know you get a good dose of

it. i know they do at west point. i assume the rotc programs as well. you get tested every day on all sorts of things. that is the way life is. the with whatever time i have remaining, i would like to open it up for questions on this subject or anything else you want to talk about. i am going to stand over here and try to use my command voice. i have been marching around a battlefield. >> when you were chairman, what was the most difficult decision you have to make the t? >> i think it is a series of things. when your recommendation is to commit armed forces to war, that

has to be the most difficult decision. i was there for the first four years. the difficult part is -- it is signing the orders after the secretary approves them. sending people off to war. people i would see in bethesda or walter reed. severely injured. not to mention the moms and dads of those who have been killed. i think that is the reality of the magnitude of the job when you're committing these wonderful men and women. you cannot say young because there were guardsmen in iraq and afghanistan older than i was at the time. they were doing all of the physical stuff and everything

at 60. pretty impressive stuff. that is the hardest thing to do. not to just to sign the order but then live with the results of having put your signature on a piece of paper. it is not easy. >> the a question for you, as joint chief of staff you were in charge of the military branches. how does enter operations proved in past years and the interaction with other government agency mixtecs >> that is a media question. first of all, where in kansas are you from? >> fort riley, sir. [laughter] >> you understand i did not bad mouth it. i have their relationship involving fort riley