under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert is recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the majority leader. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to emphasize the point being made by my friend, mr. franks from arizona, about the origination clause. been talking about this for three and a half years, when the that took a house bill provided a tax credit for first-time home buyers who were n the military or veterans and

took out every single word and took that little short bill and expanded that by thousands of ages, my copy was around 2,500 to do and it had nothing with military or veteran home buyers, had nothing to do with that. they inserted health care that we have found out since is costing more and if you like your doctor, you're going to lose your doctor, if you like your insurance policy, good chance you may lose it, fortunately, not everybody is losing their doctor, but the promises have been badly broken. it turns out those people, including the head of this administration, were just flat wrong when they said, you like your doctor, you can keep your

doctor, if you like your insurance, you can keep your doctor. for example, there's a story here from kaiser health news applebee gorman, julie date october 21. won't read the whole three pages. but it points out that health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation letters to people who buy their own coverage, frustrating some consumers who want to keep what and are forcing others to buy more costly policies. the main reason insurers offer is that the policies fall short of what the affordable care act requires starting january 1. further it says, but the

cancellation notices which began arriving in august, have shocked many consumers in light of president barack obama's promise that people could keep their plans if they liked them. quote, i don't feel i need to change, but i have to, unquote, television arned, a editor in los angeles, who must find a new plan, insurance plan, that is, for his teenage daughter who has a health condition that has required multiple surgery. he liked his policy, she had a pre-existing condition, but now because of obamacare, he's lost the insurance for him and his daughter and he's going to have to find another plan which will likely cost much more. article goes on to say, an estimated 14 million people purchased their own insurance coverage because they don't get it through their jobs. cost to insurers in several

state -- calls to insurers in several states showed that many sent notices, talking about cancellation notices. florida blue is terminated about 300,000 policies. that's about 80% of the individual policies in the state. kaiser permanente in california people, ces to 160,000 about half of its individual business in the state. in pennsylvania they're dropping about 20% of its individual market customers while independence blue cross, a midge insurer in philadelphia, is dropping about 45%. article further down talks about other notices and says blue shield of california sent roughly 119,000 cancellation notices out in mid september, about 60% of its individual business.

about 2/3 of those policyholders will see rate increases in their new policy, said spokesman steve chavinski. the president, jay carney, this administration, senators who quoted this, democrats -- democrat leaders here in the house, owe millions of people an apology. they owe an apology to those who they told, you like your doctor you can keep it, to people who have lost their doctor. people who were told if you like your policy, you can keep it. and i know that our president has traveled the world apologizing for things he did not do that were done in prior generations, prior times in this country. but i think in order to keep credibility in this country, it's important that instead of

apologizing for things you had nothing to do with, it's important to apologize when people trust you and you make promises and those promises turn out to be totally false. i understand that the president's spokesman may have indicated today that they may need to suspend the individual mandate. mr. speaker, let me tell you, after harry reid and the president refused to suspend the individual mandate, that was the third compromise we proposed before the shutdown, they said absolutely under no circumstances, they said, we're -- by their actions, their actions made very clear, we're willing to shut this government down, we've already worked out the purchase and rental and the

use of barricades to keep world war ii veterans in wheelchairs from getting to see things they want to see, we worked out barricades for the martin luther king jr. memorial that so many come to washington to see. we worked out barricades across the entire lincoln memorial plaza. and one park ranger, the second day of the shutdown, when i asked how many do you normally have out here she said four. and actually i've been there all hours of the the day and night and i rarely see more than one or two in the area. and yet i was shown a photograph that had mounted police, most of them on horseback in the picture, a few of them standing around, looked like 16 at least, mounted police there to try to enforce the barricades at the

world war ii memorial, which would violate the existing law that says in the event of a shutdown you're not supposed to spend more money than you were before. and yet this administration, in order to make the hurt be felt cross the country by veterans, by people who had their one-time vacation planned for a national park, administration and harry reid were willing to shut down just vernment rather than suspend the individual -- the mandate that individuals have to buy this insurance. now. they've got to buy it in the next few months. they've got to buy it. and they said, we're willing, by their actions they said, we're willing to shut the government down for over two weeks to keep to suspending that mandate

individuals. he said he was not going to enforce the mandate for big business under obamacare. so this side of the aisle repeatedly said if you're going to suspend the mandate for big business, businesses with over 50 employees, then why not just agree to suspend for a year the same amount of time you're giving to big business, do that for the individuals. and then as the shutdown continued, we saw what a disaster what a train wreck, the democrats that called it a train wreck, a nightmare, they were exactly right, it was playing out in front of us and still harry reid and this president

said, we don't care, we're not suspending the individual mandate, we're forcing individuals to do what we're making businesses do. even though it's in the law required for businesses to do it. that seemed like a pretty easy ask. that was where we were in the negotiations, right before the last bill we passed about an hour after midnight on october 1 which i saw as basically ka pitlation, all right, all right, harry reid, mr. president, we are not demanding that you suspend the individual mandate as you've done for big business but here are our conferees, negotiators. that's what the constitution anticipates, it's what the law and rules require. and harry reid again by his

actions said we would rather shut this down, we'd rather have mounted police out there in the face of our veterans and as we saw when veterans took barricades ultimately to the white house, we saw for the officerse in my memory of the federal government in uniform who were supposed to protect americans' rights, instead for the first time in my memory being used, first time in my lifetime that i can remember, federal officers were used to take away americans' and specifically veterans' rights that they fought for for all americans. it's almost unthinkable. it's like a bad dream. the federal government hiring

officers to take away american's rights. how far is this administration willing to go to make americans hurt? o get the money they want. how ironic that leaders in this administration going to the top would use the term extortion. extortion is when you do some action threatening someone with action if they don't give you -- if you don't give them all the money that they demand. so i always thought you know, when jay carney says putting a gun -- that congress is putting a gun to their heads, to be paid for doing their job, that didn't make sense because this is

exactly the other way around. we've heard repeatedly that this administration, some of our democratic friends are very good at taking action that is offense live most americans and then blaming their opponents for doing what actually they're doing when their opponents weren't even doing what was alleged and that's basically what we saw here. people saying republicans in the . use were using extortion hardly. the constitution of the united states gives the congress the purse strings. the control over the money. and what this administration said by their actions, we -- they made it very clear, we will harm world war ii veterans, korean veterans, vietnam veterans, we will harm americans

by preventing them from getting to the cemetery in normandy, by being able to just pull over and take a picture of mount rushmore, by trying to take advantage of the claude moore farm that operates off individual expenditures. they will put up barricades at a world war ii memorial that was built entirely with private funds, that has a trust fund of millions of dollars that is used for operating expense. they would go out of their way to spend more extra money just to make americans' lives more difficult and unpleasant. all the while saying we will never agree to suspend the individual mandate, the requirement that individuals buy a certain level of insurance or be fined the minimum, either $95 or 1% of their income tax,

whichever is lower, and one of these days some of the fact checking people will actually admit that i've been right, they've been wrong, that even with subsidies, people that make 133% of poverty level are projected to come out of pocket potentially thousands of dollars, one, two, three, one projection i read before i talked about this projedget -- projected around $3,000 even after the subsidies. so all the mainstream media that's doing everything they can to protect the president, some are coming around and realizing, wait a minute, there were a lot of things that weren't true. i appreciate nbc, you know, making some of these stories, the stories they should be. but

but it is appalling to what is happening to americans, what is happening to the health insurance they once had. it is time for real reform. and as i have said from this podium, going back three, three and a half years, a bill that starts out as a fraud is not likely to get better. and when you take a house bill because of the origination lause, article 1, section 7, that all bills that raise revenue, must originate in the house -- now, it could and had been considered that obamacare was not a revenue-raising bill, but when commeef justice john roberts did the unthinkable and rewrote legislation that clearly defined itself as a penalty and

rewrote that as a tax, even though at page 15, he made clear that it was a penalty, it wasn't a tax, penalizing people for not doing an act. so under the unjunchings statute, it was a penalty and not a tax, but to save it, he had to do the unthinkable and say further in the opinion, actually it's a tax and not a penalty. nd once he dined it -- defined it as a tax in order to rule it constitutional, and clearly it's a bill that raises revenue. article 1, section 7 kicks in and bill to raise revenue, must originate in the house. i have heard people say who have not done the legal research, well, the supreme court has decided many times that you

don't have to have precisely the same bill when the senate strikes language in the house bill and puts other language in it and sends it back and still originates in the house. mr. speaker, i would submit to you that when you strike every includingd of a bill, the title about it being attacks credit for first-time home buyers in the armed forces or veterans, you even strike the title and substitute therein about a 2,500 page bill that is all about the government running health care, about getting health care records controlled by washington, about creating navigators to get your personal

information, which actually, we have been told is just a dream for identity they haves because of how much information will be accessible to be stolen by hackers, you put all of that stuff in there, dictating about what has to be put in vending machines, notice that have to be put, requirements for restaurants, i think there is a requirement for restaurants, they may have to have a place specifically for nursing mothers, you put all of those in there, including issues -- and i love the fact that women nurse babies, it's one of the greatest gifts god gave, but that has nothing to do with a tax credit for first-time home buyers in the military or veterans. so clearly, that bill did not originate in the house.

it originated in the senate, when the only thing that is left of the bill that originated in 3590ouse is a number, like . that's not a bill that originates in the house. it originated in the house. and since we now know after the supreme court opinion that chief justice roberts rewrote the law, which the constitution simply does not allow, but the supreme ourt did it any way, there are checks and balances -- congress could check the supreme court when they act unconstitutionally, but he rewrote it to call a tax, after he called it a penalty. so that means it had to originate in the senate.

it did not originate in the house. and what limited case law there is indicates it absolutely must be germane to the underlying bill. and that is not germane. there is no way that's germane buyer but ime home about the government controlling people's health care and sets up a panel, do you get a pacemaker or not get a pacemaker. how old are you. are you going to get the surgery you need. people inening lapped -- again i have had a number of people from england and canada saying, where are we going to go now when we

immediate immediate treatment when you screw up your best health care system in the world. what people need to understand is, you can look at the entire history, recorded history of mankind, going back to the very beginning when we knew what mankind was doing and some medical historians say it was 1900, 1912, maybe during world war i, 1916, 1917, 1918, when the fluout break but somewhere around that time, about 100 years ago, has been said that for the first time in the entire human history, you had a better chance of getting well than of getting worse after seeing a doctor, and when you consider that, just in 100 years, this country has been at the forefront of saving lives,

enhancing lives, improving quality of life, making incredible break-throughs in medicine and health care, reforms were needed, but not the government taking it over and making it run like the post office. not the government taking it over and making it run like the department of education or energy or interior that slows everything down. because when somebody needs heart surgery, they don't need the government in the process of slowing things down. is incredible what has been and cted upon man by man the obamacare law is inflicting

massive cost increases for most americans, higher deductibles, run many doctors out of health care. it's time that this administration -- if jay carney is now willing to say after the reid shut nd harry down the government for over two weeks over little temper tantrum that they did not want to suspend the individual mandate and that's what we were down to and then ok, reduce conferees, we got ours. we will get an agreement so most americans won't even know that the government shut down. refuse to have conferees work it out before morning, because before that, they weren't going to suspend the individual mandate. they would rather shut down the government shut down rather than

give breaks to big business. i'm a big fan of big business if they treat people fairly and right, most do. but now to say, we may suspend the individual mandate, it means all the suffering this administration inflicted on our veterans, to people on vacation, people that needed federal services and didn't get need them, whose loved one was killed in afghanistan and this administration that we gave him the power to pay the death benefits don't do that. played games with the death benefits while they were grieving this administration was willing to do all that knowing we were wg going to do what the republicans were asking any way, but we know the mainstream immediate yeah will blame it on the republicans. they'll give us cover.

and so we can refuse something as reasonable as just suspending the individual mandate for a year. something as reasonable as just appointing conferees. we can refuse to do those things ecause the mainstream media, msnbc, cnn will give us cover and did he seve the american public about who is at fault and i'm wondering if this administration goes about suspending the individual mandate that would have prevented there ever being a shutdown in the first place which was the next to last thing that we did, if they are willing to do that now, i still have nmp n will n if c have to recognize that it was the president and harry reid

shut the government down and inflicted suffering upon the american people who needed federal services for something they were agreeable to do any way. we'll see. but then again, this is the same administration who weaponized the i.r.s. to go after conservatives. here's a story from today at ashdog.organize by ward. they pay $4.2 billion by stalling tea parties. filed photo, u.s. border patrol detains a large group of suspected immigrants at the u.s.-arizona-mexican border. while groups are seeking nonprofit status, internal revenue service, $child credit

checks to undocumented immigrants, critics say they continue to abuse the additional child crelled program by dispensing checks to families in this country illegally. the law needs clarification that undocumented immigrants are not eligible, senator charles grassley, republican of iowa told with watchdog.organize in an intent to make the statement clear that only legal u.s. residents are entitled to the additional child tax credits. grassley co-sponsored a clarifying amendment with senator mike inslee. he majority leader, caught off ebate so we weren't giving the chance to offer our amendment. so all the while -- and i spoke

to another tea party group this weekend. different races, all ages, even ids, very, very senior people, both agendaers, people from all walks of life were there and out of hundreds of people at that event, there was only one who got more benefits from the government than he paid in. that's the common thread i see the vast majority of tea party people. they pay income tax. they are the majority, those who identify the tea party of those who are paying income tax, 52%, 53%. they ought to be able to say something without being called criminalames, without being slandered and libeled. they want fairness and they aren't seeing it. mr. speaker, when it comes to th the shutdown and this

administration was willing to make american people, world war ii veterans, so many others suffer, the survivors of loved ones who died in afghanistan, make them suffer, and all they had to to do was suspend the individual mandate for a year and talking about doing it any way, the american people ought to be furious. and like i say, i still hold on to that hope that springs eternal in human breast that even the mainstream media will figure out who was actually at fault for the shutdown when republicans submitted compromise after compromise after compromise that included things the administration may do any way. .

if we are going to get this country turned around, america is going to have to wake up, who is causing the problems and who isn't. with that, mr. speaker, i yield ack. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman have a motion to adjourn. mr. gohmert: at this time, i move that we do now hereby adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is agreed time cordingly, pursuant to house resolutions 383 and 384, the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning for morning hour debate as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late honorable thomas s. foaly and the late

he passed away last friday as 84. he served as speaker of the house. the flags are still at half mast as ordered by acre john boehner.

they begin with a prayer and remembrance of bill young and tom foley. >> let us pray. almighty god, begins you thanks for giving us another day. as the people's house returns, we give you thanks for those most responsible for the resolutions reached this past weekend for the reopening of government, which has meant so much to the families of those who have chosen to serve their nation by their work in government. as all returned, the capital is in mourning for the loss of two man of the house, former speaker and representative bill young. both men, a democrat and a republican, were known to be giants in the people's house. has deprived our

nation of experience and wisdom in congress had a time when it is needed. bless all the members with that thed good measure legacy of these great legislators might be carried on for the benefit of all. here in the is done people's house be for your greater honor and glory, a man. amen. oftom foley died at the age 84. they will be honoring him by draping the speakers chair in black at delaying a gavel on a black pillow. also in news today about the owens who died at the age of 77. he died monday of

renal fairly or and heart failure serving from 1983-two thousand seven. major owens dead at 77 -- 2007.ng from 1983- a lot of members will be attending that funeral so the house won't be in session. to travel through military flight on the budget cuts had prohibited previous military flights that there is still plenty of debate ahead tomorrow on the water resources bill. it is set for 24 amendments. live coverage of the house tomorrow. we spoke earlier to a capitol hill reporter about that and the debate ahead. >> it's a shorter week in the house this week because of the

funeral for the late bill young in florida but they will pick up the water resources bill. what's in the legislation? to,epending on who you talk it's a retrenchment of spending for an army corps of engineers projects from across the country , dams, waterways, that sort of thing. abouticans say will be $10 billion worth of projects and reauthorization's but they emphasize the de-authorization of some $10 billion. from their map, this is actually down $2 billion in conservative groups have begun attacking it is filled with items that should not be in there and overspending in no authorization of spending and there is already 90 amendments before the rules committee so that should take another day or so. expected on the floor by

wednesday. >> it passed in the senate and the majority of the opposition coming from senate republicans. how will house republicans approach the vote when it comes up in the house? >> that's a good question and we are still waiting for groups like heritage action to see whether they are voting this as a know for conservatives and that has a lot of influence. right now, we know groups like taxpayers for common sense of come out opposed to the bill expressing some objections to not only how projects are select did but the amounts in some of the exact projects. they have raised questions about some of them. commerce this week begins hearings on the implementation of the health care law and the problems with the website. when will they hear from secretary sibelius?

how does this fit into republican strategy? their legislative strategy in terms of their efforts to defund or delay the implementation of the health care law? is not expected to be testifying until next week. appearings will be before the house energy committee. thes -- to explain some of snafus. this is a legitimate area of inquiry. most people believe they're looking into why these problems happen. they will continue through the next weeks and months so keep in line to behey are in opposed if people don't sign up. think a legitimate area of inquiry. how it fits into the repeal of obamacare, perhaps this is

something that should have waited to do instead of shut down the government. you could argue that, but it it is a legitimate area of inquiry. >> the budget conferees that were appointed last week will not be back to get together until next week. when are they said to me tom a if you know? issues couple of major they have to resolve between the two competing issues are competing versions of the budget? >> you are right. they don't meet until next week, probably wednesday but that has not in set in stone yet. they could certainly meet later in the week although most of the house members will be adjourned as many go to attend representative young's enroll in florida. has not been said that wednesday is most likely. members ofect all 29 the conference committee to read

opening statements highlighted by the two cochairs, patty .urray and the paul ryan i think they have to degree, -- they have to agree that whether bottom line spending levels now exist and they are using the same basis and that will probably be the first couple of things they have to tackle, what exactly they hope to achieve plan,erm, not a 10-year but will they pursue getting through the fiscal year or doing some shorter time? keep in mind they have until december 13 to issue a report on what they would like to see is when thery 15 current short-term spending plan runs out. those of the sort of deadlines they have to discuss. you can follow his reporting

at national journal's website. thanks for joining us. >> tomorrow, we will be joined by republican representative joe barton of texas, a member of the energy and commerce committee talking about thursday's hearing for the affordable care act and the implementation of the exchanges. also a look at the intelligence gathering agencies and the use of drones. adam schiff is our guest, a california democrat and a member of the house intelligence committee. washington journal live tomorrow and everyday at 7:00 a.m. eastern. we will show you live coverage of that beginning at 9:00 a.m. as they look into the implementation of the health care law to hear specifically from some of the contractors and launching the healthcare exchanges. on thursday. a couple of late notes on health

care, some article is here. democrats are set to meet with kathleen sebelius tomorrow morning. republicans want the same thing. house democrats are said to be briefed on obamacare implementation but republicans say they have not been offered the same opportunity and are asking for a similar meeting in the days to come. a democratic senator from new hampshire suggests extending the deadlines. she told the white house earlier that individual should not face penalties for failing to buy insurance of technical problems with the new federal healthcare website prevents them for signing up. she suggested that the white house extend the oak in enrollment beyond march 31, 2014 deadline proposing penalties be waived if they run into too many technical problems and cannot sign up for insurance.

from some hearing insurance executives according to health watch on the hill. with health meeting plans ceo's on the same day that they will huddle with the key health and human services officials. the chief lobbyist for that insurance group will be that white house meeting. earlier today at the white house, the chairman of the white house council of economic advisors spoke about the jobs numbers which came out late because of the shutdown showing but the economy only adding 140 8000 jobs, a bit less than expected. ofspoke at the very top today's white house briefing and this is just under 15 minutes.

>> good afternoon and thank you for being here today. regular go to our briefing, i have with me jason furman, the president's chair of the council of economic advisers. many of you know him. today, because of the shutdown, it is jobs day, and he will mention that but i think he is to give you a quantitative look at the economic effects of the shutdown that this country is experiencing and how those effects were negative for the economy and the american people. i will turn this over to jason. he will give you remarks and he's here to take your questions his analysis and other job and economic issues and then i will return to the podium to take questions on other subjects. thank you. you, jay.

we found out we added 148,000 jobs in the month of september and the unemployment rate moving bothto 7.2% and that is part of a steady three-year trend of job creation and a reduction in the unemployment rate. there's no question that the pace of job creation is below what we can be fully satisfied with and the conversation we would like to be having as one about how to add to jobs. instead, what we did in october was a self-inflicted wound that will subtract from jobs when we eventually learned the jobs number from october. normally economists love jobs day because it is a most recent, fresh look at what's going on but this one was delayed several weeks and as a result cover data from september, before the very significant changes in october. one thing we've been trying to get a handle on is but the economic consequences of the

shutdown and debt limit have done. the first slide gives you a number of ride it such arrest events of the consequences and they all show the gdp growth in the fourth quarter reduce eye zeroere between 0.2% and .6%. it's important to understand that these are based on predictions. they say if government services cease for this amount of time or money, we have some type of multiplier or model and here is the consequence for gdp. they are not based on actual data and it does not capture the full set of effects on confidence, uncertainty, things like oil drillers not getting permits, small businesses not getting loans. what we try to do it the council of economic advisers is look at actual data on the economy and the next slide shows some of the data we looked at.

these are all indicators that a daily orle on weekly basis. the most recent set is available through october 12 so it covers about three quarters of the shutdown or most of the first half of october. these indicators all tell a very consistent story. growth, as shown in the first heated indicators, slowed in the first half of the month and one survey said they cut back on spending because of uncertainty. the gallup job creation index slowed.index it fell to the lowest level in years. field production fell and mortgage application slowing as well. we think some of that is a direct effect of the shutdown. what we then tried to do is take numbershese disparate

and it tells you only part of the picture and tried to extract a consistent economic signal from all of these indicators using something that my colleague jim, a member of the council, and one of the leading macro economists calls principal analysis. chart. that in this next the blue line is an index that thesees all eight of variables into a consistent measure of the economy. if you look at the past, it generally tracks growth and distraction so it is a reasonably accurate measure of the economy and one thing you see is it they'll very sharply in the first 12 days of october. you see similar size though not as quiet a sharp fall the last time we did this. if you calibrate not fall thomas circle that the end, it translates into 0.25% off the

fourth quarter growth rate or 120,000 fewer jobs than we otherwise would have had in the month of october and i want to stress that is just based on the data we have through october 12 so as we look at more of october, the numbers could change and potentially get worse. underscores how unnecessary and harmful the shutdown and the brinksmanship was for the economy and why it's important to avoid repeating it and instead consider jobs adding to growth and not attracting. later today, we will have a report out that has the mathematical derivation for those who will turn straight to the appendix of that report. a clear story. private sector forecasters, you can see it in the actual data that it was a significant and unnecessary self-inflicted wounds that we should not be

repeating. >> will the trend continue? we still have the threat of another shutdown. >> i certainly hope it doesn't end there is no reason that it should. regularow going through order with a conference committee on the budget. they are trying to figure these things out. there are significant economic opportunities when it comes to upfront investment, replacing the sequester and a balanced way, medium and long-term deficit reduction in the president will be urging them to do exactly that. >> how concerned is the white house of the cumulative effects of a week of september jobs report and the impact we may have seen leading to slow economic growth through the end of the year? a private sector really leading the recovery through the past years we have had things like the eurozone sequester, the

shutdown, the brinksmanship, and throughout it we continued to see the private sector adding jobs. addingd like to see them more jobs and do what we can to help whether it is investment in infrastructure, business tax reform, rather than being an obstacle in the way of that by that type of shutdown. you did see job creation, 148,000 jobs and in a planar array coming done consistent with the roughly 2 million jobs per year pays we have had, consistent with the 0.75% reduction in the employment rate. i don't want to overstate the worries but again, we want to push this in the right direction and not like what we did in october which was the wrong direction. >> is there a chance so we go back into a recession and what does this do for the global economy? did we bring them down as well?

>> i don't want anyone to overstate what you see here. 0.25% off the growth rate and 120 thousand fewer jobs for october so no question the shutdown in the brinksmanship associated with the debt limit are moving us in the wrong direction but this is not the type of catastrophic economic event that we would have risked had we actually hit the debt limit and defaulted on our obligations. we did not go all the way to the end of what we might have, but even getting close moves you in the wrong direction and not the right one. i don't want you to lose the big richard trend. the unemployment rate has come down steadily. we just cannot be satisfied with where it is and we want to do more to move it in the right direction. we heard from the head of the

imf, christine lagarde, last weekend. said that this had global economic ramifications and i think we are still a leader in the world economy. we still have among the strongest growth rates of any of the comparable countries and we are still a key for us in driving equitable growth. again, we don't want to do anything to impair or lord change that and that's why the president is out there urging that we don't repeat anything like the shutdown or the brinksmanship. >> do you see any economic impact with the healthcare.gov website or a du think that will have no negative effect as long -- >> when it comes to the website, people are working around the clock to fix it and the enrollment process is a six-

month process and that is what you're focusing on in that regard economically. if you ask me, the things that matter most for the economy are the health premiums now growing at the slowest rate in 50 years and i think that helps businesses and job creation. it helps wages. you do not have people locked into a business because they need to keep their insurance. they are free to move from job to job which helps them match a job where they are the most event help entrepreneurship. we're also seeing more affordable and newer options for small businesses. as a whole, you will see the affordable care act being good for the job market, good for the economy and i don't think .govhing about healthcare changes that bigger story. >> thank you. you twice mentioned sequestration and putting it on

par with the eurozone crisis and recent government shutdowns. do you have hard evidence that the cuts from sequestration had a negative effect on the recent job situation that you described and are causing the diminished job creation in the private sector? a reasonable estimate comes from the congressional budget office and they said the sequester would cost us 750,000 jobs over the course of one year which works out to be about 60,000 fewer jobs per month and think of how different this report would have been if we had had an extra 60,000 jobs. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke has testified referring to similar numbers for the impact of the sequester and a number of private sector forecasters has seen that as well. if you look at the pattern of growth or job creation over one year, it is certainly consistent with those types of estimates from the cbo and others.

>> thank you very much. i am mildly confused by your statistics. you say a 0.25 drop in growth and a loss of 120 5000 jobs. if we had lost 0.25, are you saying we would have gained 125,000 jobs? >> i'm talking about october so the data we saw today was for september. second of all, this is a change from what would have otherwise would have happened. if we had not had a shutdown and we had not had the debt limit brinksmanship, i will predict we x x jobs and now minusl now have x jobs 125,000. costsi this the delta, tehhe of the brinksmanship.

.2%-.6% off.s are they are still forecasting positive growth, for example, but less than they were before. >> thank you. we appreciate it. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> you can watch all of it online on the video library. news from the white house late aday about the firing of national security council aide. here's the headline and politico --

jofi joseph fired from the nsc. tomorrow with insurance executives meeting with the chief of staff and president obama meeting with the prime minister of pakistan who spoke earlier today at the u.s. institute of peace criticizing u.s. drone strikes on pakistan saying they are detrimental to eliminating terrorism in pakistan. he spoke at the u.s. ip earlier

today for about 45 minutes. >> thank you all. go ahead and sit. some of you have been here for a couple of hours. i really appreciate your patience. we are delighted to be hosting prime minister sharif. i think everyone is well aware of the fact that pakistan's success is world success, and world success is american success. we congratulate pakistan on the peaceful transition of power, democratic elections. it was a remarkable showing of

strength by your party. not expected. quite a showing of strength. like to recognize a few people who are here today. ike, a member of the board. andrew wilder, our vice president for south and central a joke. -- asia. and our pakistan director, a good team of people who bought -- brought this team together -- event together. i think everyone in the room is pretty familiar with u.s. ip, but others are watching from television. the united states institute of peace has a mission, globally, of attempting to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. that is really our focus. closely with the

state department, the defense department, usaid, other government entities, ngo's, and parties all over the world to further that mission. our most active programs are now pakistan.fghanistan, our south and central asia program is quite large. where pakistan alone is concerned, we have convened withly 80 meetings here experts from all over the world to talk about pakistan and how in the pakistan forward, last three years alone. we have done a lot of analytical work in pakistan, looking at the things that prompt violence and what might be done to lessen the likelihood of violence, tilda capacity of civil society. -- toe tracked dialogs build the capacity of civil society, reading groups together

to talk about differences of opinion. we are very knows, actively involved in the election process in afghanistan. stability for afghanistan is critically important for stability in pakistan. the last thing you need is a collapse and ethnic tsunami afghanistan, because it will not be contained within those borders. it prime minister is in a difficult part of the world. he has a difficult job. we appreciate his being here. the event will involve remarks from the prime minister. we will ask steve hadley, a former national security advisor in the bush administration, to sit with the prime minister and ask questions in a casual setting after the prime minister has finished with his remarks. when we are done, i would ask that everyone remain seated while the official party leaves, and i thank you for your patience already, and hope you

enjoyed this event. mr. prime minister, will you come forward? [applause] >> thank you. congressman, jim marshall, president, u.s. ip, mr. stephen hadley, distinguished guests, , i am honoredman

to speak at this prestigious for room -- forum on peace and regional development. usip's noblee mission of promoting peace and understanding among nations. and -- andto him gentlemen, i have come here as the elected leader of pakistan, a land of ancient civilizations and rich cultural traditions, but still young and aspiring to be modern, moderate, and progressive. , hard-lion enterprising working people, dreaming of a better model in a rapidly changing world.

they yearn for peace, security, and well-being that have eluded them for the past many decades. it is their hopes and aspirations i have come here to voice before this learned gathering. this hasd gentlemen, been a momentous year in our .istory not only have we had a free, fair, and transparent general election, but a transfer of power from one elected government to another. an elected president succeeded another elected president in a graceful sermon he the entire nation witnessed with a deep sense of satisfaction. events would, of course, be of a routine nature to you.

us, they represent a remarkable transformation of our democratic venture, signifying critical maturity not only for the electorate, but for the mainstream parties as well. they will surely strengthen the democratic institutions in pakistan. ladies and gentlemen, we view the mandate given to our party as a trust of the nation, which we shall endeavor to protect and promote in a manner that strengthens the democratic institutions and enhances the welfare of the people. aware ofment is fully the enormous economic and security challenges that face us

today. we are also conscious that the people of pakistan have high expectations from us, given the that earlier terms in office introduced reforms to liberalize the economy, strengthen the private sector, facilitate foreign investment, and create a business climate in the country. these enabled us to complete major infrastructure projects, such as modern motorways, ports, airports, and dams. we intend to resume our journey where it was interrupted by the military coup in 1999, with

reforms at home and a new direction in foreign policy. we want well-being of all our people without any discrimination. ladies and gentlemen, we also recognize the realization of this agenda requires internal peace and security, as well as peace and stability in the why werhood, which is are determined to transform our relation with friends around the world, but more importantly, with our immediate neighbors. i am, however, aware that the to pakistanllenge comes from terrorism and extremism. ofistan is neither a source nor the epicenter of terrorism, as is sometimes alleged. in fact, pakistan itself has

been a major victim of the scourge for over a decade. pakistan sacrifices in the struggle against terrorism and extremism are well known. we have faced hundreds of suicide attacks in the past decade. we have lost over 7000 of our , securityiers personnel, and policeman. exceeded 40,000 lives. our sacrifices are immeasurable, both in terms of the loss of human lives and the damage caused to our infrastructure. excuse me. government has resolved to bring this cycle of bloodshed and violence to an end. be done overnight, nor can it be done by unleashing

senseless force and star citizens without first making every effort to bring the misguided and confused elements of society back to the mainstream. we also have to ensure that the political parties and civil society are on the same page. the political parties and civil society are on the same page so as to create the environment necessary to tackle this menace. end that anis extraordinary expression of national unity and cohesion -- party conference underlined the imperative need of giving peace a chance. gentlemen, my government is also determined to address the challenge posed by a weak economy.

while recognizing the urgency of focusing on the energy or, which has hampered our natural growth -- national growth and created huge social unrest. major reforms have already been introduced to ensure some macroeconomic policies, to reduce budgetary deficits that show balance of payment, curb inflationary pressure, and reduce the country's dependence on foreign loans and assistance. effortslso engaged in to bring half a million new taxpayers. these measures should enhance the tax to gdp ratio from the current law of nine percent -- 15% by 2018.

it has been decided to privatize the major state owned enterprises, including entities such as the national airlines, the steel mills, and the national oil and gas companies. relations, ireign wish to state that we firmly believe that a peaceful, stable, and united pakistan is in pakistan's vital interest. our efforts are therefore afghanistan,lping which is growing through a vitally important phase, with security and critical transition underway. pakistan wishes these transitions to be peaceful and smooth. we also wish the international community to remain engaged in supporting pakistan's reconstruction and economic relevance. thatpe for an afghanistan is firmly on the path of

stability and prosperity. an essential element of our policy -- we strongly support an led peace andhan- reconciliation process. during president karzai's recent we reaffirmistan, our solidarity with afghanistan and its people. i also showed president karzai that we wish neither to interfere in afghanistan's internal affairs, nor do we have any favorites in afghanistan. it is our earnest hope to see the afghans themselves united for peace, prosperity, and development of their country. simultaneously, we are making efforts to upgrade our bilateral relationships with afghanistan.

my own vision is it should be defined by a strong economic partnership. in addition to hosting billions of afghan refugees for decades, pakistan is extending more than $450 million for afghanistan's reconstruction and capacity building, with special focus on infrastructure and education sectors. to intendso decided the karachi-to show up -- kabul, toghway to bring afghanistan into the regional economic hub. we believe we can work for regional economic cooperation that would reinforce regional trade, energy, and communication corridors. corridors include participating

in may get energy projects. turkmenistan, afghanistan, pakistan, india, and central aia, south asia will create project that would undoubtedly help strengthen efforts for peace and stability, and advance our dominant objectives of progress and prosperity. neighbor isportant india. with which we share a common history, as well as common destiny. arepast and our future intertwined. see the is happy to people of india live in peace and security. the people of pakistan want to resolve all standing issues with india through dialogue and negotiations. we are confident there are areas where we can make progress.

we also wish to put ourselves on the path for normalizing trade relations with india. my meeting with the prime minister last night in new york reflected this desire. can resolvent we all issues, as long as we stay engaged. we do not want isolated incidents to interrupt our dialogue. our message is simple. economic development in south asia depends on peace and security in the region. therefore, all of us have a stake in working for these noble objectives, for our own state -- sake as well as the sake of future generations. sidesabout time the address their bilateral issues with utmost seriousness.

they should avail themselves of the opportunity of devoting their energies and resources to development and betterment of their teeming millions. may i add that had our two countries not wasted their precious resources in a never- ending arms race, we would not only have avoided the futile emerged asbut also stable and prosperous nations. i wish to ensure this august audience that pakistan desires to live in peace with its neighbor. be found wanting in walking the extra mile. thedream is to realize potential of mutually beneficial economic cooperation at the bilateral level, as well as the broader regional level. even more promising are the prospects of interregional

cooperation. we are a technologically advanced, fast-growing region. south asia has a chance to benefit from the energy rich central asia and west asia. fore is a huge potential interregional trade, transit, and connectivity. central asiaide with the shortest access to the warm waters of the arabian sea. gentlemen, contrary pakistan-perception, united states relations have stood the test of time. pickups,he occasional the solid foundation of this vital relationship has always why should the -- whether the occasional storms and turbulence. as democracy takes loose in pakistan, there is support for building a strong and stable

partnership between the two countries. it should be based on mutual interest and mutual respect, as so clearly articulated by president obama in his speech. our country share perceptions and interests on a wide range of issues. these include afghanistan's , in southstability asia in the middle east, as well as extremism and terrorism. moreover, despite the planned aawdown, there will be continuing need for close cooperation between the two countries, especially in afghanistan. key issues of mutual concern united terrorism, nations reform, international economic cooperation, and the environment. pakistan appreciates the constructive role the u.s. has historically played in defusing tensions between afghanistan and

-- between pakistan and india. with growing influence in india, the u.s. has the capacity to do more to help the sides resolve their court disputes, and in promoting a culture of cooperation. ladies and gentlemen, there is, however, the matter of drone strikes, which are deeply disturbed and agitated our people. in my first statement to the parliament, i made a strong commitment to ending the attacks. both parties in a national conference have declared that the use of drones is not only a continued violation of our territorial integrity, but also detrimental to our resolve and efforts at eliminating terrorism from our country. majorssue has become a irritant in our bilateral

relationship as well. i would therefore stress the need for an end to drone attacks. gentlemen, it is my endeavor to approach this important relationship with an open and fresh mind. leaving behind the baggage of trust deficit and mutual suspicions. in key, cooperation areas, including trade, investment, energy, technology, and agriculture, under the rubric of strategic dialogue, should be the main plan of our .artnership as large democracies, there should be greater interaction between our countries, not only at the parliamentary level, but through exchange of businessmen, students, opinion makers, and tourism, as these would help remove many of our misperceptions.

moreover, the traditionally strong ties at the military liberated.d be the vibrant community of pakistani americans is playing an important role in bringing our nations closer. them, as theyto constitute a permanent link between our countries that can and should play unimportant role in eliminating the negative perceptions. ladies and gentlemen, as a responsible nuclear power and a major development country, pakistan is destined to play a key role in regional stability and world peace and security. pakistan remains fully alive to protecting its sovereignty, integrity, and independents. without engaging in an arms race, pakistan will maintain credible minimum deterrence to ensure regional security and

stability. we will consistently pursue the rules of disarmament on a nondiscriminatory basis. it is our hope that the united states will follow an evenhanded and nondiscriminatory approach. nuclear like civil cooperation. aware, pakistan is a country blessed with him nor ms. human and material resources. it is strategically located at the crossroads of south and east asia on one side, and central asia and west asia on the other. pakistan is a natural land these two vastng regions, and thus has the potential of becoming a hub of transit and trade among these widening civil

society, a critical media and independent judiciary, a huge reservoir of educated young population, and the phenomenal expansion of ip networks. pakistan is emerging as a modern, knowledge-based society, with a developing physical infrastructure, attractive investment incentives. attract is poised to its due share from the process of globalization. transitiondemocratic after the may elections, hailed by the international community. it has also instilled confidence among the investor community within that country and abroad. i avail myself of this opportunity to invite the united states private sector to join us in efforts for sustained economic growth and development.

it is the key for progress across the entire spectrum of challenges that we are facing today, from terrorism and extremism to other sectors. it is also essential for strengthening democracy and the rule of law. this is what we have learned from our own experience. this is what i recall president franklin roosevelt emphasizing in one of his speeches. true freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. people who are hungry and out of jobs are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. ladies and gentlemen, i am aware of the fact that the driving motivation of the founding fathers of this great nation was an intense desire to live in a country where religious freedom

and economic opportunities would be available to all. to soughtng fathers to establish a homeland with similar goals. there is therefore a natural affinity between our peoples. the overwhelming majority have formed a belief in the same just and merciful god, which reminds me of jesus christ's sermon on ,he mount, when he declared blessed are the peacemakers. some six centuries later, when the holy crown was revealed to fully profit mohammed, peace be upon him, we were reminded of the eternal truths. we made you into nations and tribes so that you may know each other. the most honored of you in the sight of god is he who is most

righteous of you. let us therefore endeavor, ladies and gentlemen, to know each other better, so we can all make our own modest contribution to making the world a better place. thank you. [applause] rx again, prime minister, it is a real honor to have you with us

today. thank you for your thoughtful remarks. i just have two or three questions that i thought we might use as an opening for further conversation and elaboration on some of the points you made in your address. new are seen widely as someone who prioritizes the roof five asl of the pakistani economy a way to the country's success, and to peace. how challenging is this task? do you feel you have managed to put the economy on a path to sustained progress, even though you have only been in office for four months? little bitalk a about your hopes for the pakistani economy? >> we are facing a huge challenge in pakistan, which i just now mentioned in my address.

the economy is also one of those huge challenges we are confronted with. ,ur party, while in the 1990's while we were of course in with very boldt economic reforms that became very popular in the country. we very successfully implemented those reforms in the 1990's, which also included privatization, the nationalization -- denationalization of state owned enterprises. so with other state owned enterprises very successfully. we were running into losses, and losses were being picked up the government. they are now making huge worths, and paying tax

billions of rupees in pakistan today. the economy is very badly affected by the scourge of terrorism we have been facing in pakistan, as i just mentioned. we have to put the economy right. is one of our biggest problems. it has not been addressed by successive governments in pakistan, the previous governments. issues one of the major which is being dealt with by this government. i hope that the international community will certainly support our economy, with not in terms of any aid, but i believe that a lot of other especiallybe done,

in when the unit of states of america opens their doors to in america. we are struggling hard to deal with the law and order situation, which i just mentioned, including the terrorism. to effectivelye deal with it, i believe the economy will be booming. both are interdependent. to have a conducive investment climate in the country, you have to have a good law and order situation in the country. that, you must address the issue of poverty, unemployment. we are dealing with this issue. these are our top priorities.

>> you mentioned energy. nothing seems to have hurt the pakistani economy more in the past few years than the energy crisis. do you agree with that assessment? could you tell us about your plans for the energy sector, since it is so important for the economic growth you have talked about? issue which has been there for the last several years, not being addressed by the previous government. the government before that. we have had outages for several most of the day in areas of pakistan. we have been able to fix this problem to some extent. i would say to a small extent. 500 billion rupees

immediately after coming into office. i think that was a very big decision and very big step our government took to solve this to at least pay off the debts. course, the power system their are a lot of things in the system which we are trying to overcome. under capacity -- the plants are running under capacity. that is being addressed. in efficiency, of course, has crept into our system. we have come out with a very comprehensive power policy.

that provides means to the investor to come in. we have also announced an upfront tariff. theiro not have to waste time in negotiating with the government. it is a very transparent system we have introduced in pakistan. pakistan has tremendous potential in three different , in the overall energy and power sector. one is the power generation. pakistan has the ability to produce more than 100,000 megawatts in this sector alone. undertakingnt is three major projects. i just named them for you. [indiscernible] aboutthree will produce 15,000 megawatts -- 16,000

megawatts of electricity. we also have set up an energy willnear karachi which produce about 6000 megawatts. will not only help with the gap in supply and demand that we are facing today, but we will to energy.e to cater like to welcome the american investors from all over in and look atme this sector. we make sure that the principal as well as the prophets are fully repatriated. cracks in your address, you aboutpassionately

approving pakistan's relations with india. >> my favorite subject. you see? it is a difficult subject, and not without controversy. when you say a little bit about your vision? how could you improve the relationship? particularly kashmir. is there a formula for bringing peace to kashmir? >> my government paved the way and laid the foundation for building better relations with india. kind to undertake the first ever state visit to pakistan in 1998. this was soon after the nuclear detonations by india, and subsequently followed by pakistan. successfulvery

visit. we decided we would resolve all our outstanding issues through negotiations, through peaceful means, and through talks. it was a major breakthrough. kashmir was mentioned very categorically in that agreement. byas pleasantly surprised the statement in lahore. -- let usannounce declare 1999 as the year of resolution of all problems that exist between pakistan and india, and i was pleasantly surprised to hear that. we both started working for it. we established back channels.

mr. musharraf toppled our government unconstitutionally. and imposed martial law in the country. you know what he did to the country. he fired the judges, sent them home, house arrested them. for theo struggle reinstatement of all those judges who were unconstitutionally thrown out of office by mr. musharraf. anyway, the subject that i was tocussing -- we would like pick up the threads from where we left off in 1999. and then move forward. york a good meeting in new last month. we discussed all these issues. whenever we want to move

forward, something happens, and then the process again gets a serious setback. for example, when we were about to meet in new york, just weeks ,nd days before that meeting there were clashes on the line of control. people were getting killed from both sides -- our side, their side. we also have been in a very unfortunate arms race since the partition, for almost 66 years. i mentioned this in my speech also. need to getat we out of this situation. strongly thatvery both countries will have to sit down together. together, if we seriously address these issues,

i do not think we will face any problem in addressing and solving these issues. , is ar, of course difficult issue, difficult to resolve. i think by sitting and talking we will be able to find some way of resolving that, because that is a flashpoint, not only in the region but in the whole world. any solution which can come about will not be able to come unless the people of all three sides endorse this. the people of india, the people of pakistan, and the people of kashmir. course we want to enhance our trade with india. dore is so much we can together by enhancing our trade and economic ties with each other.

>> mr. prime minister, thank you very much. of time,t unfortunately. the prime minister has a schedule to keep. i want to thank you for being here, and invite jim marshall to the stage again for a presentation. >> thank you very much. >> a picture from your visit. >> very efficient. [laughter] >> we try to be. thank you all. if you will remain seated while the official party leaves. thank you all. >> all the best to you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

>> and a few moments, a discussion on the future of afghanistan. in an hour, secretary of state john kerry talks about syria after meeting in london with foreign ministers and representatives of the syrian opposition. after that, more about syria with house intelligence rogers,e member mike and ranking member eliot angle. events to tell you about, coming up tomorrow. on how wired communication networks affect consumers and businesses. at 2:00 p.m. eastern, a hearing on young people in foster care who become involved in sex trafficking. witnesses include several members of congress who have introduced anti-sex trafficking legislation.

and the american enterprise institute holds a forum on whether or not new health-care exchanges promote competition among insurers. that is at noon eastern. >> what is the most important issue congress should consider in 2014? make a five to seven minute documentary showing varying points of view, and be sure to include c-span video. a grand prize of $5,000. this year, we doubled the number of winners and total prizes. need more information? visit the website. >> now, a forum on afghanistan's future, as the u.s. winds down its 12 year military commitment at the end of next year. the foreign-policy initiative hosts this hour-long discussion. >> welcome, everybody. i think you have had a long

morning already. we are going to liven it up a little bit on the stage. if anyone still cares about afghanistan, i am assuming that is why you are here, and you are going to pay full attention to what these gentlemen have to say. when i was doing my research and preparation for they that the thing about panel you have in front of you is that afghanistan is well represented. each of these individuals have a good knowledge of the situation on the ground there, especially historically. everyone has a depth of reporting in the region. what you also have is are veryls who familiar and specialist in all the issues at stake. seth jones worked with special operations command. close view of the military strategy. counterterrorism is one of his fields of expertise.

you also have a specialist on asia, and particularly india. he can bring in the india perspective. role tos a significant play in afghanistan, and it has not been at the forefront of the u.s. strategy in that region over the last decade. kagan is best known for his work in iraq, although he and septra both been at rand corporation. today is ane here opportunity to remind ourselves what is at stake in afghanistan, and why the u.s. should care. the first question i was given was to ask what was at stake. but i want to put it in a much more pointed way. years, thest couple

term war has become unpopular in washington. in fact, from the cia to the white house, it has been made very clear that we have been war for war on terror, and it was probably a mistake. i am conscious of the fact that every other day, i get another casualty report from the battlefield in afghanistan, where u.s. soldiers are still dying. as far as they know, they are still fighting a war. you have an afghan election coming up. you have united states pulling out of afghanistan, to a large degree. you have a nation that has completely lost interest in what is going on over there, and is not given a reason to care by its leaders. behind the stage, we picked our first victim. he is going to begin this conversation. before.nterviewed him i can promise you he is not boring.

that is a very kind introduction. i will be brief. and then we will all discuss various aspects. i think we will have a useful q&a portion of this. let me highlight a few things. data, itok at polling is probably worth being upfront about this. a july poll from 2013, conducted by the washington post and abc news, 20% of americans believe the war in afghanistan was worth fighting. not just is, but was worth fighting. that differs significantly from october of 2001, the month after the september 11 attacks, when 90% of americans, 97% of 85% ofcans and democrats, supported u.s.

military action in afghanistan. over the following decade plus, we have seen a huge drop in support about whether we should have gone there in the first place. i am going to argue, somewhat controversially, that i still strongly will argue, as we peered on the future, that the u.s. has said it is going to stop combat operations by december 2014. it is still not clear what that means. it has not been an announcement of what force number is going to look like. i am going to argue that four major factors should give one pause in exiting afghanistan. would not knowou it by political statements. but al qaeda's global leadership today is still located in this region.

afghanistan, pakistan. it has been weakened by drone strikes. we have seen that this week with the human rights watch report. it has been weakened. view, a civil war or a successful taliban, -- taliban- led insurgency, would almost qaeda backllow al into afghanistan and pakistan. i was just there last month along the border. is still a presence of terrorists, including al qaeda fighters. virtually everyone i spoke to involved in targeting them, people i have worked with in the past, have said they will be there after 2014. there is concern in some areas of the east. they may be there in larger numbers. the global leadership is still

there. there are a number of sunni jihadist in the region that are not going away. , including the taliban in pakistan, put an suv in times square. another conducted a major terrorist attack in mumbai. there is still a terrorism issue. successfular or a taliban-led insurgency would deal a severe blow to human rights, including women's rights. the taliban would likely reverse that hasin a country experienced an extraordinary improvement in the number of female business owners, government officials, primary, secondary, and university students. you would see a major backlash. third, burgeoning war in this region would likely increase

india,lity with pakistan, iran, and russia, and i am going to add china to this. all have nuclear weapons or a nuclear program. a concern about regional instability, particularly between pakistan and india. i conclude by saying a u.s. exit from this country would likely about u.s.rception reliability. when you look at al qaeda statements recently, i am going to leave you with one final thought. an american exit from afghanistan -- we have already seen this in jihadist networks. happen, it would likely be viewed and trumpeted by extremist groups, including al qaeda, as their most important victory since the departure of soviet forces from afghanistan in 1989. that is a very, very dangerous

legacy we have to think very carefully about. we could talk about how to proceed later, but let me leave you with that thought. atyou were nodding your head a few points there. i know the nuclear issue is one you have spent a lot of time on. can you take the floor? would be happy to start by emphasizing a point seth just made. the american and international project in afghanistan over the last several years has been far more successful than people give us or the afghans credit for. remember, this is a country that went through several decades of violent war. every state and societal institution was essentially destroyed. when you look at afghanistan today, what you actually have is a constitutional regime of the kind that was simply impossible to succeed under the high tide of soviet occupation and the

painful years after. you are now looking at a country that has the potential to build on a structure that, if improved and invested in, can actually ,rovide more opportunities including for those currently opposing the state. just recognizing that this has , you can puts together a structure where all you had before was an anarchy. care abouts do not that, because their leaders keep telling them the afghans are unreliable,honest, that karzai is an unreliable partner. they are never given a reason to believe in anything the u.s. has achieved in afghanistan. >> i think the facts refute that on the face of it. development indicators in afghanistan today are better than they have been in a long time.

corruption is endemic to all third world societies. no meansan is by either particularly egregious or unique. not whether one needs to bail out afghanistan because it has the maladies of an underdeveloped state, but whether we can persist afghanistan, not necessarily for the sake of afghanistan alone, but because it fundamentally comports with our own interests. to thenterests come back same interests we went into afghanistan to begin with in 2001. there is still an unresolved security problem in afghanistan that directly affects the well- being of the american people, and those of our allies. >> is there anyone on this panel who would disagree with that? >> not me, for sure. i think that as we think about

afghanistan and why it matters, there is a tendency to treat it in isolation, to have this discussion as though the discussion we were having is whether we should put troops into afghanistan or not. when people say it is not worth it for us to be there, why should we go into afghanistan if we are not going into yemen, the problem is that you start from reality where you actually are. we have been in afghanistan. we have made an enormous effort in afghanistan. have made and in norma's amount of progress. getting afterce our enemies. this is taking it to al qaeda and allies. they are doing that increasingly. in they will not be ready 2014 to take over that

responsibility without american assistance, because they were not designed for that role, anymore than iraqi security forces were designed to be ready to take over responsibility. >> domestic political deadlines? was a negotiated deadline with the iraqis that originated with us. in the case of afghanistan, it also originated with us, but has become an international deadline the afghans hold us to. but they are arbitrary deadlines, and were tied to the situation on the ground. iraq, recognizing how painful it topic it is. just because something is painful does not mean we should talk about whether it is important. talking about the path to zero, the model is iraq. iraq worked out pretty well. there is no reason we should not

do that in afghanistan. iraq is a catastrophe, which has gone unreported. you have now a franchise that is of car bombingel that it is conducting at the height of the surge in 2007, before the violence came down. that has all happened since american forces withdrew. the administration line is, we do not need to worry about it. it is in a place called iraq, and we do not believe in that. >> they fly the flag of al qaeda. they read statements in the name of al qaeda. >> they set up these islamic emirates, and they fly al qaeda flags and have foreign fighters. >> it is everything they have to say about who they are. >> and everything we know about who they are. what the administration is trying to do -- this is important. the administration is trying to define the threat from al qaeda

thoseo be only individuals who were either involved in the 9/11 attacks or part of the organization at the time. if you want to picture, in the white house somewhere, a poster that has the faces of all those people on it, with x through phases of people we have taken down, i think that is pretty much administration strategy. the problem is, the world has 9/11, and al qaeda has, although in some cases it has not. people, like at frománamo, who went afghanistan to sudan, back to afghanistan. and he was handed back to the libyans, he was released by organizationded an in the east of libya, and we no

longer call him al qaeda. he is one of the original al qaeda members. we want to now say he is a link or associated group. even having a pedigree that goes back 30, 40 years is not enough to get you called al qaeda today in washington. >> right. and we spend too much of our time thinking about who is currently planning to attack the united states. time thinking about what capabilities the global al qaeda movement has to attack the united states over the long-term, and what are we doing to address those capabilities, and the spread of those ideologies. >> i want to put two things to you. i think you and i were both there from the beginning. peopleremember what today in america seem to have forgotten, which is the promises the united states made when they came into afghanistan. to me, this is a very important point, because it speaks to integrity, honor, loyalty, and

the nature of being a good ally. this was raised a little bit by you. the reason i find it so significant is that i think when we think of the united states it is very hard to look afghans in the eye today and say we are a people who keep our word. interest in keeping our word. just because you wear traditional robes and do not speak english does not mean you do not get it. you know when you have been betrayed or let down. that is how a large majority of which only makes them more resentful. how do we end up in this position where afghans feel betrayed and we feel we wasted our efforts ? >> a good point. the u.s. has promised much, and it has givuc