they try to make this administration look bad so they can get in. the airport getting his shoeshine, and they said why is he wasting our money on getting whose decision is to keep americans out of their -- we have too many problems. we need to solve them. you have unemployment lines running around the corner. we are talking about sending troops to get their unemployment down. sost: you support using syrian then? you support using syrian rebels? guest: we should just get out of there and leave those people alone. host: al from chevy chase, maryland. republican line. caller: good morning. one thing that i want to mention

-- when are we going to -- [indiscernible] arms to theseand people? edahave a history of al qa -- this ideology, we are trying to fight with them, which that is not - this one goes, the next one comes. two people fighting against -- who is there to prove? war is not a war, actually. it is an ideology. people want to go for it. they believe what they believe. they say, no, your belief is wrong. this is not the way. do not get involved, just leave

them alone. that is the end of it. host: one of the things you can see it in our website is janet yellen meeting yesterday and talking with reporters. particularly talking about the strategy for the next few months as far as best practices. she says that the fed is still maintaining the size of its current balance sheet, which is $4.4 trillion. there are four times as many assets as before the 2008 financial crisis. they said on wednesday that they are committed to shrinking the balance sheet to a more normal size. the plan reversal of laid out three years ago. they will eventually stop reinvesting a maturing securities and let them run off. this process will not start until after they have successfully raised to the benchmark. joan, good morning from the form

--from fort lauderdale, florida. caller: thank you for taking my call. everyone should stop now and say, all right, the president of the united states, not obama -- the president. he has done the wisest thing he could do now. he is sending arms and advisers. will be trained. they have to do the fighting. just like if there was a war here. someone else cannot fight it, we have to fight it. our arms and our advice, if they cannot fight their war, then we stop sending arms and they have a problem. the moment we put boots on the ground -- i would like to tell every republican who is voting fo for this -- the minute he puts a boots on the ground, we are in it until the end. this way, we are not in it until

the end. if they lose, then we have a big problem. there is nothing i have seen -- i am 85. this is hitler-like. no. do not put an american boy's life on the line if they will not fight their own fight. obama is smart. if everyone would get off of his back and go with him, we would be fine. this is a beautiful country. and this man is wise. get off his back, please. host: veterans affairs committee had a hearing in which they heard from the inspector general facility thatx caused a lot of concern and focus on veterans affairs. the new york times writes about it. officials acknowledge a link between delays and patient deaths. said thattor general 20 a veterans in phoenix,

including 62 died -- toestigators were not able conclude that any deaths have been caused by the waiting. officials have reviewed an official draft. some republicans objected to the late stage inclusion of language, arguing that it appear to exonerate the department. they also asked whether officials had pushed to include billing which. fin stood firmly by the wording of the report. daigh --ly and john conceded that medical care delays have contributed to deaths. with that, the doctor replied, the issue is cause. larry? favor: i am generally in

of president obama, but i think this is a mistake. he is putting himself into the clutches of the usual washington consciousness to get involved in other parts of the world and to bring military power to it. my question is, how much would we be involved in that part of the world if it were not for this? i sincerely doubt that we would. we have seen disasters and other parts of the world -- in africa. and we have not done anything. host: why do you think it is specifically about oil? caller: my question is, why would anyone be there if it were not for oil? because who would care? you know? i think there is a lot of things going on in all parts of the world that are injust. we cannot be out there just to solve those problems. today is the day that

scottish citizens will decide whether to separate from the united kingdom. dian" highlight day of destiny --voters have 15 hours to decide their country's fate. look for that result and coverage of that later on this evening on c-span.org. find more information there. we will be covering it and the nt,est with the vote cou which is currently taking place. robert? springfield, virginia, republican line. caller: hi. it pains me to realize that some of the americans calling in about the free syrian army seem to forget that the united states is supposed to be a world leader. we cannot shrink from the usurpation of democracy and freedom in other countries and hide behind our tv sets and

comfortable lives. last night, there was a hearing in the senate. the former ambassador to iraq admitted that supporting the free syrian army requires much more than equipping them with guns and ammunition. we must provide cover, otherwise they will not have the strength to rise up against the army at all. the second point that is related to that is that the number in the free syrian army may range from 40,000 to 60,000 troops. not 5000, as was mentioned. it is important for americans to understand and come to grips with the fact that if we do not stand tall and stand up to evil, we deserve what we get to shrinking from it. host: a tweet from senator john innyn --a vote took place

the house, expected in the senate today. experts say "boots on the ground" are necessary if strategy versus isil is to su cceed. a story looking at debbie wasserman schultz -- the headline, democrats turn on her tenure, saying that the perception is that she spends more energy tending to her own political ambitions than helping the democrats win. withincludes meetings donors to solicit contributions for her own pac and traveling to uncompetitive districts and having staff focus on her personal political agenda. the stakes are high, the story continues -- saying that she is a high-profile national figure who helped to bring millions of dollars and serves as a mentor to female donors. mr. obama needs to exploit the gender gap to win. one example --

dncrepeatedly tried to get to cover costs of her wardrobe. that story is on the pages of politico or their website. latoya from stone mountain, georgia. democrats line. caller: y'all always highlight negativity. about the obama administration. like fox news -- don't show the positive of what the president is doing. that is neither here or there. we see what c-span is doing too. let me tell you something. you have got to know this. when obama says we will not put our boots on the ground, there are too many of them. it is them that needs to be fighting for their rights. so, when he says he will not put boots on the ground, we do not want him to put boots on the

ground. so, sometimes, pedro -- you have to ask these colors -- callers -- right wayem, what the -- what bush did -- of those people on the airplane were saudi arabia and. >> where you stand on the president's decision specifically? caller: this is what i say. he says he will not put those on the ground. he is not saying there will not be boots on the ground. he says our boots will not be on the ground. that should be a difference. john kerry is trying to get all of these people to come into this war. you do not ever hear that. host: do you support that decision? caller: do i support the decision? host: to arm and train rebels?

you support that decision? caller: let me tell you something. this was not his decision. you said he did not know who was the good guys and who was the bad guys. john mccain hit the ground talking about giving them guns. give who guns? host: ok. carmen is up next, hamilton, indiana. independent line. caller: some guy called in and said something about -- you said, you think it is about oil? it is always about the oil, pedro. it was about oil when i was in vietnam, it was about oil in kuwait. corporations do not pay taxes. hank george bush and dick cheney for this mess. this dark rabbit hole we are going down. oh yea. condoleezza rice, to.

re would be a mushroom cloud. they have everyone scared to this day. they do not have a navy, of course we can go get them. re-arm and cross into syria. we can have the war in syria that we wanted. host: after the house vote yesterday, they had a congressional picnic. they made a few comments about the vote. [video clip] >> i want to start out by saying thank you to the house members, republican and democrat, who came together today to pass an important component on our st rategy for dealing with this terrible terrorist organization known as isil. i want to, in particular, thanks speaker boehner and nancy pelosi

for showing us, that when it comes to america's national security, america is united. i very much appreciate all of you. [applause] and the efforts they made their. host: pierce, democrat from new mexico -- say i supported the amendment to support the problem that isis represents. a couple more calls -- jim, democrats line. caller: hello? yes. i have two points. country and we need to work with the assad government to deal with this. they should stay a sovereign country. two, blood is the grid and water - -- you arm these rebels and --

fightre not going to against their brothers. this is a tricky thing. they will fight with each other if it is on their terms. in and direct this war. this is a tall order. the wall street journal, there is a story taking a look at the upcoming united nations general assembly meeting in the diplomatic suite. it highlight john kerry, as well czechcozy and the president. 200 high maintenance political leaders will be descending on manhattan while they attend aa united nations general assembly meeting.

the cost can start at $1 million. their entourage is often booked several floors. they have posted leaders like gordon brown and the mexican president, vincente fox. find that in the wall street journal. this is jeremiah from new bedford, massachusetts. caller: good morning. a couple of quick things. you guys have to realize -- republicans run on the basis of fear. democrats run on the basis of tricking their constituents with lies. but, you have to look back in history. saddam to fight iran -- we sold weapons to iran to fight a war in south america. we armed isis to fight the serious. every enemy we have fought in

the last 30 years is a product of our own device. user armies that we created and we funded to fight our wars for us. it always comes back to us. it comes back to the simple fact that we do not think through our foreign policy in any way. we just jump at the first opportunity and go with it. what are the ideals of this group of people we are giving weapons to? host: we will continue in our conversation about the house decision yesterday with two members of commerce joining us. kaptur, amarcy democrat from ohio. then, dana rohrabacher -- the homeland security secretary jeh johnson talks about the need for u.s. to counter isis. he did this at a hearing yesterday. he called them a group of murderers and kidnappers, as well as depraved kidnappers.

here is a little bit from yesterday. [video clip] >> i think it is important that, in our efforts, we not enable nemy to recruit faster than we can capture or kill the enemy. and so, particularly when it comes to homeland. so -- along with the efforts of our military, and along with the efforts of our partners overseas to take the fight directly to isil, there has to be an effort at countering their propaganda, their social media. there has to be an effort at in gauging potential violent extremist threat here at home. as has been pointed out by many members of this community -- these groups, in the current age, are very good at propaganda recruitments, without having to

recruit somebody and in doctrine them in a terrorist camp. i am focused on countering violent extremism at home. together, we are focused on counteracting the literature and the propaganda, the notion that isil is an islamist state, which is false. it is a group of murderers and kidnappers. they commit genocide. they are a group of depraved individuals who have captured the world's attention now. i think i am addressing the premise of your question. there has to be a comprehensive effort that involves multiple agencies. journal"ngton continues. host: our first guest is marcy kaptur, a member of the defense subcommittee. she represents ohio. good morning. how did you vote on yesterday's

vote on training syrian rebels? with 272 of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, i voted for the bill. host: why did you do so? guest: i did so because i believe that this is a moment when the united states has to be very strategic, politically as well as from a defense standpoint. thisthe language of resolution compared to others that we have had in the past years is very tight and measured. and, i do not think there is anything -- they are not necessarily taking off tomorrow. we have access to the region now. happened, itat has was very important for the united states to be clear on where we stood in terms of isil, their gruesome and barbaric tactics. also, i hope the administration would listen to me as it puts its strategy together and be

careful to avoid the united states becoming involved in a civil war. if what happens -- if we avoid talking with the legitimate sunni tribal leaders, who have been excluded in the politics of iraq over the last decade because of a fatal error paul bremmer made at the beginning by disenfranchising them -- i was hoping my remarks on the ther invited administration to focus more on those who have been excluded and recognizing that this threat is actually a reactionary manifest sunnisf the exclusion of from the politics of iraq itself. and, i view that as critical to both providing counterforce in the region and to being politically preventative inside that society.

if we end up taking sides in this global war, supporting iran inside iraq -- because we have chosen sides -- host: is there anything in the presentation of the strategy that a lazier concerns? guest: i am concerned. that is why i was very vocal during the to be -- debate. i have gone to every briefing that was open to us to try to get the strategy right. the president and the generals in charge -- the intelligence officers who have dealt with the state department and all these different officials have been sending the same message. host: the response is? guest: listening, reading memos -- nothing publicly stated yet. i think that they are at least hearing me. i hope they continue to think

about the exposed -- because of the corruption of the regime over the last decade. , that aree this isil bringing in foreign fighters from all over the world for a purpose that is quite distractive. why our government has not been linking to the legitimate leaders -- tribal leaders, who are capable of serving as a counterforce, remains my concern. host: is there anything in the amendment yesterday that tells us which syrian rebels we will train and how to pick the best ones to train? guest: that is why there is room for us to enlighten the administration. a lot of this happened because of the situation in iraq. many of our own advisers there are well-intentioned americans.

highly educated people. they're confused with the embassy. they are making policy. they have not necessarily gotten out into the provinces, where the instability of the situation is actually manifested. and so, i think information is being blocked to some of our own top advisers there. they are prisoners of the situation inside iraq. so, i think we have to -- we can provide enlightenment and urge strong terms. but, you don't have a lopsided effort. the united states should not be put in the middle of the civil war. we should be speaking for inclusion in whatever force is assembled. you cannot ignore the legitimate tribal leaders of iraq. host: number is on our screen if you want to talk with our guest.

you have heard them speaking about what their thoughts are. you heard general dempsey saying -- some say it was a contradictory message. what do you get, personally? guest: i think they are being they say.n what they're looking for that counterforce in the region. it is particularly difficult because of our opposition and the syrian regime. and, this other force that is also against the syrian regime. it has come into the region and sees an opportunity for itself because of the sunnis'feeling of exclusion. this particular force that is there now -- it is not our

present of of the legitimate sunni tribal interest in the region. inhave to try to reach there order to put together a force that would actually be in the interest of peace and development across the region. right now, that has not been put into print if you read the resolution from yesterday, it allows times for the administration to develop a more workable strategy. i know that general dempsey and general allen, secretary kerry -- vice president biden. these are the best people that we have, the very highest levels. that, because of the insularity of the baghdad embassy, some of the legitimate voices that should be heard, but have been excluded, have not been able. host: the first call for our guest is rocky from texas. republican line.

caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. marcy, i am retired military and i just have a quick question. lly confusing to me that the united states of america wants to get involved in another civil war. we got involved with was called vietnam. it took us 10 years to get out of there. what is really ironic is we have one of the biggest road testers from vietnam sitting in the secretary of state position, who is trying to put us right back into a civil war. have we become the army of the family in saudi arabia, to prevent their country from being taken over? guest: well, we have had a long-standing relationship with backing them. believe me. we share a belief in liberty. we feel the tension of that particular relationship.

that t agree with society do not have a rule of law. probably the best news on the horizon is that, under president obama, the import of oil into our country has been diminishing significantly. and, if you look at what we have been doing with drilling and set her own country as well as natural gas -- i just pray for the day that we can be independent here at home and we are not reliant on relationships that are paradoxical at their core. that created allies who do not value -- their values do not parallel our own. our future depends not just an economic relationship, but on the philosophies to which our political systems are dedicated. where we have major

fissures with any of these countries. having said that, let's recognize within a country -- they have helped to fund the madrasas, the schools and academies that have trained some of the most radical extremists. across that region of the world -- part of the problem with isil and isis is that a number of these young men have come through that experience. so, in a way, saudi arabia is a very complex place. what it does outside its borders is different from what it does inside it's borders. the united states should not be injected into a civil war in that part of the world. we run the risk of that. that is the reason i wanted to be on this program this morning, so i could urge president obama to take a look at who is giving advice to our military leaders and to the administration

remained inside the embassy in baghdad. and to make sure that the legitimate sunni tribal leaders are not part of isil and isis, and are not excluded further. we have a mess in iraq because paul bremmer maters fatal error early on and excluded sunni tribal and excluding tribal leaders and and imate leaders in iraq create add shield of government which now is in quite a bit of disarray there. from lakeview, new york. independent line. shawn, hello. i've got mixed feelings of whether to support the whole or not.th syrian rebels i'm wondering with their training, how long will we be at a ng the one group time.

how long will they train. training their consistent consist of to fight. being in afghanistan, you can't build an army overnight. takes time and resources and money. i'm just curious, these guys are fight for us in that. host: thank you, shawn. thank thank you, shawn, you for your service, thank you o the prior gentleman who called in service of his country who called in sometimes and cloudy circles. what we heard from general nagatha, the individual in charge of training and vetting a small set of individuals, it's going to take months. this is not going to talk about days. create a course in years. the reasons that the iraq ilitary broke down and fled at isil is that ts by r. al maliki has literally

weakened his own military, taking out commanders who had been in place who could actually lead their troops in battle and eplaced him with his political cronies who didn't even provide for example.plies, so they were not led properly. t's very difficult to take individuals from that part of the world who don't function as a team, necessarily, and to try to train them. i'm hoping a structure will merge that some of the iraqis will be regrouped. they will work with the national guard. be carefully ll vetted. legitimate tribal of sunni

leaders in iraq, that a force be put together. from every hearing, we have a force, a capability that we are hasten the formation of military units in that region can fight for their own country. host: what about the selection far as al john allen as the administration's man -- oint man in isis -- the effort against isis? >> yes, well i have an affinity the marine corps. think he will listen and consult and the price understands the price of unrepresented governments and them do.sk i hope he shows measured judgment. believe me, those of us who have with himtunity to work will try to give him the best

advice that we can. i don't think that president obama. speak for president obama, but i don't think that -- i think he's handled this in a very measured way today. circumstance.ult way rying to lead us in a that allows others to step orward in that region who need to take control. from florida, here's ann. you?r: how are guest: good morning, thank you for calling in. caller: so glad. little nervous. please bear with me. i would like to ask you a concern iegarding the have with the ukraine situation leaping over and supporting assad in some way or making it difficult for us to over the border in syria with this plan.

i would like for you to talk a ittle bit about the strategies that kerry has implemented with the diplomacy with the assad government so that we can border in that area. you think we'll try to interfere with anything that we have in of -- for your ank you question. and russia has been providing weapons, regime with with advice. there's been engagement there for decades. i want to step back for a second and say i'm one of the few syria with ravel to individuals from my own region that spoke the language. syria and i hrough looked at the country, i said to myself, how in heaven's name did the united states of america ever allow syria to default to russia. go to syria, the art

work is beautiful. it's not like the heavy soviet art you see when you travel soviet union.rmer the marketplace in damascus was thriving. the syrian people are traders, they're a business people. they're talented. thought, wow, this feels more entrepreneurial to me than fifth avenue in new york. to be there.ng under regimes, religious minorities have been tolerated. russia has a problem. a country with a toleration of minorities. ust talked to a ukrainian orthodox church to find out how churches are burned to the to nd in russia if they try form a congregation inside russia's borders. in america, i said to myself, did we get it so wrong for syria. in

host: the ukrainian president will address congress. bring a know he'll essage of great hope and resolve as we face the months in ukraine.ead believe that a country deserves its moment. believe it's its moment in modern history. we pray for him and those around him that they will be given the that countryo heal without the interference of as a and we will be able nation.ith the of the can be one nations in the europe, even the world if given a chance.

if the years of terror, american people could open up ukraine and read its history, i awed by whatuld be the people have been through. called "blood lands." you're interested in that region, it's a blood curdling. give more aid?e guest: in terms of aid to ukraine. years, we have given aid to ukraine. quite frankly at the moment, necessary. i doubt the president will mention it today, but the women feeding the ry are people. people with tomatoes

and beets and things that they eat. to the know, you talk high-level decision makers in our country, important ambassadors. and seeds, well, you know, in farm implements, the little shovels. said, that's how they survive. if you look at any story about you see?what do with a head ndma scarf on and she's standing in the fields. recognize how the people live. let's go there. n eastern and western ukraine, a lot of the villages are overwhelmed with people who have come there to survive this period. every humanitarian group in the united states could be sending trying to help.

think our i fought with the europeans in the last decade or wo for not doing more to place her in a status. to leave her completely vulnerable, what a terrible position. joint session will take place at 10:00. c-span. watch it live on mohammed, sandusky, ohio, independent line. caller: good morning, marcy.

i saw you about 12 years ago. guest: thank you for calling in. caller: i just came from west two weeks ago. guest: okay? i went -- i got -- and i wanted to talk to you. i didn't have ve the chance. number, i take my leave my number for you. i have a lot of important things to tell you about overseas. you are so great. like you really lived there. most of the people do not go and find out what the people see and say. guest: yes. caller: for six month, i was so frustrated. from there ll you but i couldn't.

i want to give you my number and i talk to you when income here see you. host: mohammed, why don't we can ive a number that you contact her instead of giving out your personal number. uest: call our number in 419-259-7500.is want to hear from the people in the middle east who live in our region. to various denominations and sex. a y have help me become better member of congress. i have travelled with them. others i have insights don't.

don't. your voice is important. your experience is important. we can suppress no voice here to successful. host: the producer took the number. he'll forward it to you. jeff, pennsylvania, independent line. caller: marcy, nice to be talking to you. guest: thank you. caller: i'm fed up. this is old crusade stuff from the middle east. end. going to they're never going to have our democracy over there. i don't think they want it. and president obama is dealing with the air strikes. of i do not want to see one our guys on the ground unless saudi arabia are willing to go in and deal with it themselves. it's in the back yard.

if mexico was to invade us, they helping be over here us. saudi arabia, they have f-16s, on the news een show, deutsche phillip, they of the ght a bunch latest german main battle tanks. they've got the gear, they've troops. let them deal with this. it's in their back yard. guest: thank you, jeff, for calling in. you put your finger right on the bull's eye. that is that whatever coalition that region er in has to be one to create a force itself, to defend that arena from foreign invasion. and these foreign fighters that coming in should be moved out. he united states can't get in the middle of the fight between the shiah and the sunni. precipice of e doing that because of the nrepresentative nature of the iraqi government since the

invasion of iraq and the administration of mr. malaki. we have to be very careful. i believe the president and the and the secretary of state recognize this recipice and inthink they're trying to negotiate it very carefully. texas.from little elm, tom is next, republican line. guest: good morning. a split screen setup to see the internet as well. and i've seen the two people beheaded, the americans that were beheaded by the ually sold rebels. the syrian rebels to isis or isil. that, a woman called up, kidnapped, and she -- supposedly a -- in the

area of the rebels. the isil.dnapped by and she had to buy them back. so i can't see where it would be possible to arm s with anything s knowing they committed these atrocities themselves. can imagine what would appen if the -- this is the -- this is the way they're going to conduct themselves. ost: we'll let our guest respond. guest: thank you for calling in and raising that issue. confirmation from a -- on the neral who trades you're talking about the money expended through trade between the syrian isil.s and

and this particular general said, i'd never heard that before. o i can say to you, i have information of whether or not these situations occurred and what amount of money was involved. but i think your point that who can you trust? that's an important point. what type of oversight will there be? guest: tight oversight. how does the s united states function in a way not to put our troops on the but to create this force that is necessary to remove fighters from lands in which they don't belong. do that, we need to mobilize as several callers have stated, region.in the exclusivee ex-clues in that. there are on the ground tribal

leaders who have been excluded that wanted to protect their homelands. we have to find a way to reach them. host: robert from the independent line, hi. caller: good morning, how are y'all? fine, thanks, go ahead. caller: i would like to thank marcy for her service to the country. and i agree with her about the rebels. and we can help but we certainly cann cannot enforce our democracy on not want it.do secondly, on the oil, if we was independent, then we could in turn put more pressure on thing.to do the right and not be invading countries all of europe is russia's oil and natural gas. if we were to increase our could in turn

export our oil and our gas, then hat would diminish russia's hold on europe. it would be a way to help europe role that h the russia has. host: thanks, caller. guest: thank you for calling in. your voice is important for energy independence. of my lifelarge part to trying to move our country towards energy independence. our imports have diminishing from other places in the world and becoming at home, places like ohio have gigantic natural discovers with some oil burning off with it. we're burning off so much of the gas, we should capture that and prepare it for export we speak europe and to

ukraine in order that russia not have this dominance because of assets.gy hurdle that we have to overcome. priority.op this dependence. we're doing better under president obama, continue our resolve. if i were in charge, it would be much faster even. it's too important. host: one more call, baton rouge, louisiana, republican line. jim, go ahead. caller: good morning. guest: good morning, jim. to know howuld like much military experience you have had? and don't you think it would be to listen to the military people about this? instead of muslim person has never had any had any

military experience? host: i'm a member of the defense subcommittee. we listen very carefully to the military. we're very proud of them. and they asked us for advice on political and diplomatic front. that sk for intelligence we're able to gather from people we represent. wonderful country. we try to integrate knowledge and experience. families, my roots, they ave paid their price for liberty. liberty. of e understand the price war and sacrifice. host: talking about arming syrian rebels, thank you for the time. guest: thank you very much.

host: continuing on on this but first, update of news from c-span radio. issuedralian police have an arrest warrant for a man elieved to be australia's most senior member of the islamic state group. 800 federal and state police on about a dozen locations in sydney. there say they stopped the plot to behead random people sydney and videotape it. leaders are m pleading for the release of a

hostage in syria. allan henning is a humanitarian aid worker who went the ria to help victims of civil war. taken captive in december. finally, the white house said 50,000 . will train veterans to become solar panel installers in the next six years. job training program among a most of initiatives that the white house says will cut carbon tons e emissions by 330 through 2030 and save on bills homeowners and businesses. some of the latest headlines on c-span radio.

host: next guest, dana subcommittee he chair representative of california. good morning, sir. guest: good morning. arming syrian rebels, how did you vote? guest: no. host: why? voted no because the president's plan is flawed in a number of ways.

but arming these folks who many many have suggested, people i know in that region ed are filled d with -- the ranks are filled islamists that i felt that was too great of a chance that the weapons be used or against people who are friendly to the west. uh have any portions other than arming thatn rebels, air strikes, kind of thing? i was prepared to support president obama as commander in chief. successful in that type of resolution. but when they approved the resident's or the part of the president's strategy of arming army, and yrian knowing what knowledgeable iold me about that

said it's too big of a risk. it's a flawed strategy and relying on a it's free syrian army. host: what about the idea of american boots on the ground. many of my republican colleagues are just off base when they talk about inserting american boots on the ground because the plan can't succeed without boots on the ground. yes. the radical forces there in isil, there in the the iraqi deserts. withe can defeat them without ground, boots on the using american air power, by using the right locals. but the president -- we did that in afghanistan. the mujahideen to help to defeat the soviet union and when the taliban sprang up, we defeated taliban with a northern alliance. 200 americans on the ground and northern alliance beat the taliban. we can do that, again, it's a

strategy that works. but you have to pick the right people to pack. locals?he right guest: yeah. a lot of right locals. group, ofst important ourse, is to arm the kurds and the lines drawn by colonial powers. why are we prisoner to what the wanted to do in terms of boundaries? we should recognize an independent kurdistan. country. their own they're our best friends there. we should arm them to the teeth. defeat the lp us radicals. and perhaps we should also nlist some support from assad .ather than let him sit it out

he's a bad guy. allied with -- we stalin to defeat adolf hitler, that made sense. host: what would we benefit from going to assad directly? uest: we would benefit from aving a force of evil and in crucifying christians that we as wellve another force as the kurds that would attack destroying both sides. syrian army, a weapon of the moderate muslims. host: 202-585-3880 for democrats. 202-585-3818 for republicans.

202-585-3882. let's start with joe in oklahoma city. democrats line, hello. caller: i want to get one thing bat. off of the george bush started this whole disaster. the lid off of pandora's box. day, he only the went to give people oil. think the iraqi people knew that. to me hear what you have say. thank you. uest: the truth, you were george bush deserves lion's share of the blame. the fact that they opened up the

region to this type of chaos. saddam hussein did not mean any harm. in fact a ein was force that kept the mullah islam in radical terms of the iranians in check. and there was no reason, i misinformed.re i backed him up then. it was probably the worst ever made, backing charge in iraq the job asn't finished in afghanistan. however, i can't tell you what the motives were. him to inly wasn't for get the oil. i mean that's -- that, i'm cliche.s a and i think there are a lot of play here rather than for some personal benefit. his nk george bush and father, herbert walker bush,

were just consumed with the idea get rid of d to saddam hussein. that's left us with this dilemma. springs, m grinkov florida, john, republican line, hi. caller: hi, good morning. like to make a comment about arming the syrian rebels. we did the thing in iraq. a failure. afghanistan is a failure, syria will be a failure. syria?l be next after where will we go then? and all of this deficit we have, funds coming from? arm these people. unemployment. people on food stamps at all-time highs.

the infrastructure is crumbling out from under our feet. i guess he said his piece there. i certainly would agree that we be the fford to policemen of the world. e cannot afford to be spending large sums of money to be fair. is ink the president's plan dependent upon a large without the entire of the cost being picked up by the il rich friends like saudis and others in that region. we should not have to be our people. i oppose the introduction of ground forces in this. any 't see why there's reason why you have an evil

force that may and is in the becoming a threat to the whole region which is the isil group, when they crucify young christians or murder not converting or take westerners and just behead them in order to, quote, not their own population, but terrorize the rest of the world, well, that's a force that deserves our attention. i think we alone had to bare the costs. helping out the air support as long as the right ground troops see vailable, i don't anything wrong with that strategy, especially if the locals are going to pick up the price. host: about the potential of u.s. ground troops being part of this. do you see differences of what the president said and what you heard from general dempsey this saying about it? guest: it will be highly likely -- this will

just air o more than power. would say having the special forces teams having specific observations is again something to have he president that type of leverage in dealing with very evil forces in the world. the in complaint with putting here is he is it together on the ground. all of it has been set through baghdad. the baghdads have proven they're unreliable. a new person on the top, a new face on the top. so what? entire structure of the shiite nt there, the gaggbaghdad, they're

not friendly with the kurds. friends, the one we rely on make them dependent on like them.don't i don't think the president's basic choices of who to back in work.ill not it's flawed. it won't work. host: guest, anthony from new york, democrats' side, go ahead. caller: good morning, thank you for the opportunity and thank ee eer esentative roar backer -- rohrabacher for spending time with us and field some questions. i would like to echo the first caller we've had. to expand on it. we done as a society or government to institute changes or laws to prevent contractors or services of the military/government to as dick cheney. dick cheney resigned the brown & rootellogg ceo six months prior, i believe,

to the vice presidency of the united states. then in a position to allow the 9/11 to occur then go to war. in business as eisenhower biggest fear-- the he had was the military the trial complex and inability to sell war. guest: i agree with eisenhower and with you on the idea that here is a military industrial complex. but i don't think that the negative outcome is that we are to war because we are being pushed into it by the people who want to make a profit. bs.t's just marxist and i know more and more people are being taught that. a big lieve there's problem there. because we are buying weapons

systems that we don't need. weapons systems that are too expensive. we have this interaction. but that -- i do not believe hat the american citizens who end up being in position of happen to be anging out with the defense establishment are sending our people into war, having our and people murdered they want toecause make a profit for the people i used to work for. that.'t believe i believe americans including dick cheney, i disagree with the ecisions, some of the major decisions that he made when it comes to war, i think he's a well -- he's a patriot. people.al to our however, with that said, we've a real problem in which people who work for our with ment who have ties the private sector or the

efense section of our economy end up lobbying for weapons systems that are great -- they're wasteful. ended up with e is tributed the f-2 2 to that. and the weapons systems, spenter one of them -- we $100 billion with the two incredible airplanes. now they're dramatically cheaper and cost effective for us. there with that because was too much input by the military industrial complex. in the military, wanted to retire, go to work for the private sector companies and viles versa. the private sector companies that are influencing government. with the a problem military industrial complex. so i do not agree with you that

people - we have then who served in our military who whonow part of this complex are pushing us into a situation where americans are losing their -- lives. i don't believe they're that immoral. host: jim from new hampshire, independent line. caller: good morning, gentlemen. and the likes of senator sessions in the senate common sense ost making people that i see. could you please be good enough o explain to me how the congress could justify leaving on the recessaign to happen, all of n before with these things happening, who's

going to be watching the stores, that can doonly one things. thank god we have that. >>. our : we have a system in country, an elections system that requires us to go out and constituents. tlement know what policies we've advocating in washington. a month for us to get off and get out within the public specifically when they -- public is focused on the campaign. any other time you visit your aren't focused on washington, d.c. and people ee me around and we chat and everything like that. on, we n the campaign is need to make sure that members of congress are out the talking to people about what they getting the feedback and making sure, i would hope

i try to lleagues and be honest with my students about what positions i'd taken and the then, to s a right, question you on that. nd so i think this one-month before the election getting off is justified. host: for authorization of war against isis. should the president go to nahr?ss guest: yes. well, let me put it this way. to vote for a general authorization that the president had. we had basically acknowledged was dealing ident with a hostile force in the world. successful.m to be but the reason i voted against focused onday was it the $500 million, which is a lot money which we're borrowing from china, probably, to go to arm the free

army. should arm eve we them. it's not a good choice. i voted against that. limit to there a time the amendment that was passed to erday because it's tied the cr? then?appens guest: we can come back and do what we want again. congress can reverse itself. $500 million, the though i bet we will, that we have the vote that the saudis others should be picking up .hat tab created the y problem. now we're trying to fix it. it would be appropriate for them to pay the bill. independent n our

line. guest: y -- agree with you, mr. representative, for not voting for the bill. and i don't think that the be armed.uld happens if the rebels turn, what happens to the questions then. those are the things that i such a ink about for bill. guest: not that the rebels the fact that we don't know who they're going to target. we can't assure -- we want them isil and the horrible force that's been beheading our crucifying and murdering christians for not islam except for -- yeah, we want to make weaponsy're using their faction.king that many of them, large number of

islamists dical themselves and said, we're going o use our weapons to attack assad. assad means us in terms of the united states, no harm. saddambad guy, just like hussein was, but there was no us, again, to -- original h made the mistake of committing hundreds of thousands of americans in an first place the which created this chaos. there's no reason for us to take assad. just like there's no reason for hussein.ke out saddam and so we don't know if they're weapons use those against the radical islamic force that we intended as the target. host: kansas, republican line, david, go ahead, please. caller: good morning, sir, how are you? good morning. caller: i wanted to call your

attention. right before you is marcy captor. a call from the republican who asked, with all weaponry that we know is ossessed by middle east governments let alone that and enlists m, and he several with all of the troops they have, and they won't even to doing more than training at this stage. n the benghazi hearing, it so happens that adam smith was questioning about the militia that was contracted by our guard them. and how they turned on us.

i that militia that was, assume, muslim, and had every intention we thought to be on our side actually gave us up. in some cases, i won't go into benghazi hearing but in some cases, walked away. in some cases, assisted. to move cause we have on, what would you like our guest to address? caller: back to this, back to question? we're looking to associate the locals -- the whoever the locals are. the same exact moment in history are the hearings that re examining how a similar setup that this administration, not bush, got us into. thanks, caller. guest: first and foremost, i say that george w. bush did get us in in a dramatic way

in to this calderon. republicans not to admit that's number nd one. let's admit that. we should not have jumped in with the united states military with a huge occupation force change the situation. i would have certainly supported time arming the kurds gainst saddam hussein as i am supported now. you have to make sure very well that the people you're working are, number one, do not -- how do you m to -- a long-term reason hate you. they'll beathe end your enemy. it's true. and the number of areas in this that's one of the reasons i think we should rely

on the kurds who have a long history of being friends of the united states. other forces at play there in the middle east. there are friends that we should like israel, for example, atzer buy january is a think has proven itself to be a member of the united states. the air force there -- there are don't know.hat we the saudis have been arming our enemies for decades now. you know? arming the radicals that wanted want wanted to destroy and to conduct terrorist activities against americans. figureeed that -- when i out who to support and i'm sorry that the free syrian army make the grade. it's not there that we could be assured that the same thing is to happen that you just talked about in benghazi. host: patrick, up next. caller: first off, let me thank all of the representatives,

congress, everybody that our forefathers put in this position andake care of our country, guide it -- thank you. guest: you're welcome. caller: i understand you have one critical job. let me say this, given the fact we have double digit unemployment. we have hundreds of thousands in going homeless food, at what point in time do we say it's been over worried about everybody else's problems and say that's it. we're worried about our borders and our people. you tend to your own crap. that's it. we can't afford you anymore. guest: i -- caller: isn't it about time. uest: the point you're making is really -- it's much more significant than just the surface. there's a -- the essential we're supposed to be here of the american people

safety of the me american people. there are too many people who get involve in the government and they're here to fulfill some philosophical goals that they have that may or may ot be the ones that are in the specific interests of our -- of the safety of our people. think that the motives of his vision of the world that are of rseding just his vision the security for the united states. that's one of the problems here we've got and who we're going to ally with. now, having trouble right providing , with general cici in egypt. he's the president. the election.

he overthrew a radical regime there. ut we know general cici, if he had in creating a stable ituation and a total return to if that in egypt, terrorist wing of islam takes country, that will threaten the united states and the security of our own people. administration is in trouble even giving spare parts for the military. we have the idea that we have to the -- in iraq, this very issue we're talking about, we're the g all of the aid to kurds who are really and would be watching out that their interests are our interests. to give the money to

baghdad. iran.ullah regime in hus we have to keep the president believes we have to keep the borders the same. that's why we can't recognize kurds, all of the aid that we are giving to the force that's hostile to them politically. so, no, america should find out who our friends are, who will safety tribute to our and security, and go directly to them and work with them. look for a trying to bigger picture, representative rohr rohr back our guest. caller: i find it baffling you don't worry about assad killing people. you have no issues. if there's any radicalization occurred throughout the free syrian army that's because of the lack of

involvement earlier in the civil peaceful p the uprising as it started as part of the arab spring. baffled goichlt --. that's good. the arab spring resulted in a -- the stability and and democracy winter for approach.n for this caller om line is the before suggested we should be doing what is interesting in the american security. temporarily, yeah, assad moment --even at this and then, having assad taken out would have furthered the cause democracy. no doubt, he's a bad guy. but look, joseph stalin was a guy, but we actually allied adolf hitler st adolf hitler was the

biggest threat of safety and security. assad, he hasn't gotten a grudge united states, like saddam hussein didn't have a grudge against the united states. eliminating saddam hussein is what opened it up. harm, but will no fight those radicals who do mean crucifying are we should there so try to put him in the position the radical muslims who, by the way, will not bring their countrym to and will probably bring more murder and death than the assad regime itself. host: four minutes before the house gavels in and gavels out.

biloxi, mississippi, go ahead. caller: i want to say something quickly. yesterday on pat sajak of wheel gave a prize to a rip to vietnam to a guy was jumping for joy she was going to vietnam. e must remember, we lost thousands and thousands of americans. itself. repeats the islamic empire goes back generations. go up and they conquer many, many countries. regime so the catholics defeated them, this is going to go a long, long way. guest: i will have to tell you, talking about vietnam, i spent 1967.time in vietnam in i was not in the military, but i was in the war zone.

the mountain herds for a while. and i walked away thinking this mistake that we ver made was coming in with american troops on the ground to o the fighting for the locals in vietnam. going out.ces teams i thought it was a good idea. it was not a good idea for us to become the warriors in that area. we turned a lot of people off. we have outside troops like that carrying the load. we made the same mistake in iraq. hose were the two major mistakes. person who be the garrisons the world, and against force in the world. it's going to break our bank. people or the american to live their lives in freedom

here and not be taxed or to lized and sent overseas have their sons and daughters murdered on behalf of someone and daughters unless it directly affects the security of our country. republicans, i y might add, that do much of the complex.industrial that is too anxious to get -- to send our troops all over the orld and put our people in harm's way. local people. he wants to carry the load. in india, a new prime minister there wants to carry the load in world.art of the he's side with the people who want to carry their own load who are allies of ours. alliances with whoever will help us defeat without huge numbers of would eventually come and threaten our own security.

president ukrainian will pad dress a joint session at 10:00 today. what are you expecting to hear them? guest: expecting us to ask us frankly -- i and don't know if he'll justify democratically elected government that seceded him. i'm the few republicans that -- i'm one of the few members of he house who do not see things most people e way see it. i think the european friends manipulated us in doing their bidding in ukraine. would hope we could be a force for peace there rather ukrainians,ming the we should try to find an agreement.

of finding he way that. the federal system, eastern ukraine with a different point from western ukraine will be able to run their own affairs. >> thank you for your time, sir. again, the house of representatives set to gavel in for a short session. we'll continue on with our program once we with are done to alk with the president of the indiana university as a continuing look at c-span's buses, big ten college tour. right now, to the house. >> the speakers rooms, washington, d.c., september 18, 2014. appoint the honorable oug collins to act as speaker

pro temporary on this day, signed john a. boehner, speaker representatives. >> the prayer today we offer by chaplain, union baptist church, hempstead, new york. >> let us pray. good morning, lord god. are god edge that you alone, large and in charge and i loving, a for being a forgiving, and a just god. in these hallowed halls-to-house, this chapel of democracy, i asked you to give all of those who have the responsibility to represent, protect we the people, the courage, conscious, thing.art to do the right by choosing the principle positions over political posturing. lord god allow them to enact the laws that will help and heal not

we the people. give this body the courage to decrease the divide between the the have-nots, the ourcious to consider all of children as precious, and the love. to lead with o that this house turns from a purpose,pain to one of promise, and productivity for we the people. lease bless speaker boehner, leader pelosi, and all those who have the challenge to lead for such a time like this. lord, before i ask you continue to bless america, bless our president, barack obama and all of those in to this great nation. teach us to bless you more so may continue to bless america. it's in the name above every that i offer up this

position to the throne of grace. speaking of my lord and savior jesus christ is the name i pray. say together, amen. >> pursuant to clause one, rule one. approved.l stands the pledge of allegiance will be held by the gentlewoman from new york, + mccarthy. >> i pledge allegiance. to the flag of the united states of america to the public for which it stands under god indivisible and for justice for all. >> if gentlewoman from new york mrs.mac consider think is recognized for one minute.

>> the wonderful prayer opening today's session of the house of representatives. reverend mcknight serves at the union baptist church in hempstead. she's a product of the roosevelt public school system and a graduate of syracuse university. currently she's a candidate for of twinty degree. it's been my honor and pleasure mcknight e reverend for many years and i've taken this time to recognize the she's ding service that provided to local people hroughout our unique district and organizations.