like climate change and nuclear trade. president obama will also celebrate india's republic day becoming the first american president to attend that ceremony. in advance of the trip, we will show you today's white house briefing. live coverage will begin at noon eastern. also coming up like today at 4:45, you have president obama's keynote remarks at the conference of mayors. that is part of our coverage of the three-day conference. you can see more of the final they live now on our companion network c-span3 where a panel is talking about the relationship between the white house and local governments. that is life right now on c-span3. --. is live -- that is live right now on c-span3. >> here are comments we received on the state of the union address. >> i'm excited by the president's state of the union address.

i would have liked to hear him talk more about job security now that unemployment has gone down. i would like to hear what policies are going to be in place to help people hold onto jobs they have an people have a difficult job finding work. >> i was unimpressed. maybe i am a little old school. but to me, a universally paid even community college takes away the initiative of the student. i don't know, back in my era we had to work our way through college. our parents did not provide. we found a way to get through college. for those who have nothing better flat broke potentially there should be some help.

but i think you have got to be cautious injudicious on how we are throwing that money out. not just from a budgetary standpoint, the what it does or does not do for the recipient. >> the republican from iowa, senator johnny ernest, she did make a comment that said you don't need to come from wealth and religion to understand what is right for this country. i want to let everyone know i am a first-generation american, so i do understand what it means to build from nothing to come to something you can be proud of. we need to let go of old ways of thinking and embrace where we are is a country today and when we are going. we need to continue to salute our troops and their sacrifices and embrace where our future is headed. but i also want to say we still have so much ahead of us. history has proven we can be just and will -- judgmental of our leaders. history proves that differently.

i hope in the next two years we can keep focus and hold tight to our values despite party lines to continue to grow our country and future generations. >> continue to let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us. e-mail us. or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >> here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. saturday night at 10:00 former governor mike huckabee on america's current landscape. sunday night at 11:00 the princeton historian examines the political initiatives instituted by president johnson as part of his great society. on american history tv saturday

at 8:00, the university california davis professor on the role of the british royal air force in allete strategy during world war ii. sunday evening at 6:00, the archivist at the purdue university special collections tours the amelia earhart collections. find our complete schedule at www.c-span.org. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us, e-mail us, or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >> we learned late yesterday of the death of king abdullah of saudi arabia. "the new york times" reporting the king died friday. he was 90.

the real court did not disclose the exact cause of death. an announcement quoted by the official press agency said the king had a lung infection when he was admitted december 30 12 hospital. his death as another element of uncertainty in a region already slumped by crises and as saudi arabia is in a struggle with iran for regional dominance. several arab delegates have left the world economic forum in davos to pay respects to the following leader, including king abdullah of jordan. we will take you to that form life this one to hear remarks from secretary john kerry. while we wait for that, a look at recent terror attacks in yemen and paris and how those could complicate u.s. efforts to combat global terrorism from this morning's "washington journal." host: the headline, the president quits, the country could split apart.

this is about yemen. he is the former ambassador to morocco, former mideast advisor to president carter. what is happening in yemen and how does that affect the u.s.? oh, that's a long question to answer, but let's see if i can take a stab at it. yemen has been subjected to an enormous amount of internal strife. the combustible mixture includes a group of shiite rebels. they hail from the northwest corner of the country. remember, yemen used to be two countries, north yes, ma'amen and south yemen, and they're part of that old part of yemen which was known as north yemen. they have been on the march. they had received an enormous amount of support, although they deny it, from iran, and they've now seized virtually the entire capital of yemen, and add to that the fact that

they now for all intents and purposes, conducted a coup d'etat against the american-supported president and his government which apparently has resigned, leaving the country rudderless and in the hands of these rebels, and at the same time, al qaeda in the arraign yans peninsula, has had its stronghold in yemen, and it has been probably ground zero in the arabian peninsula for american counterterrorism initiatives against the most virulent and most dangerous franchise of al qaeda that has tried many number of times to attack the homeland against the united states. everywhere everything from the underwear bomber to the inspiration of lieutenant general had ad who had attacked fort hood the tsarnaev brothers were inspired

by the assassinated cleric, american-born cleric, the leader of al qaeda. and he his followers have been more or less the most dangerous franchise of al qaeda in the world. host: so, ambassador ginsberg, does the u.s. have any contact with the group? do we have any interactions at this point? guest: no, they are adversaries to the united states. they are as virulently extremist in their views as the al qaeda folks are themselves. i doubt that we have had any major contact with them. their major patron saint in the region are the iranians. and what has happened in yemen is a travesty and a tragedy for american fofle in the -- tragedy for american policy in the peninsula. host: what about the president

prior, is it president salah? guest: yeah, president salah, who was the long-term dictator of yemen, was forced out of office in what essentially was a democratic uprising against his dictatorial rule. in fact, he was the subject of a almost successful assassination attempt, it took months and months of careful american diplomacy along with saudi diplomacy to get him out of office. where did he go? essentially rejoined, for all intents and purposes, adversaries against the government that succeeded him. so he has been tied to the group. he joined forces with them, and indeed, just a couple of weeks ago, the united nations security council of all bodies sanctioned him, sanctioned former president salah, for interfering in a democratic transition inside yemen. so if you're going start

pointing fingers, you point fingers not only at the houti, but as former president salah, who, where he got his support from remains to be seen, but he's also been involved in this fight against the american-supported government of the president. host: we're going put the numbers up on the screen. we're talking in this segment about efforts against global terrorism. we're also talking about the situation in yemen and the middle east in general. so if you have some questions for ambassador marc ginsberg, you can go ahead and dial in or tweet your questions, and we'll begin taking those in just a moment. now, ambassador, the death of the saudi king, the role saudi arabia in yemen. guest: king abdullah was first and foremost a champion of stability on the arabian peninsula, and saudi arabia, as

we know, has been engaged in a regional proxy war against its number one adversary in the region, and that's the shiite-dominated government of the ayatollahs in iran. throughout the area, whether it's been in syria, whether it's been in iraq, whether it's been in yemen, saudi forces have been supporting, for example, sunni tribesmen against the rebels. now, there are allegations that saudi funding has also supported al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, but i'm sure that the saudi government, which is fighting its own battle against al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, has been secretly and quietly supporting and working with the united states to try to prevent the rebels from seizing control, but, unfortunately, the yemeni army which along with anything else inside yemen is tribal in

nature, fragmented and splintered, and the only effective military force that was left against the rebels were the special security forces that have been fighting alongside the united states, and i'm sure along saudi counterterrorism forces against al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. so saudi arabia now has another major problem. it has a shiite adversarial iran-supported force that has now taken control over the capital city of yemen, and i'm sure that the heir to king abdullah, now king salman has a major security threat to deal with, which i'm sure he and the saudi allies were not counting on having to deal with. host: want to get your reaction to this "washington post" editorial this morning, the yemen mess. this is how they conclude it. the yemen mess reveals the weaknesses of mr. obama's partner strategy, which has

been too narrowing focused on drone strikes and training of specialized units and not enough on providing security for the population, institution-building and support for moderate political forces. unfortunately, the president's cursory description of his counterterrorism policies this week following a year in which jihadist forces and terrorist attacks expanded across the world, suggested that he remains uninterested in correcting his mistakes. guest: it's a bit harsh, but i think it is a fair statement to say that from secretary, former secretary of defense, leon panetta, who served honorably in the obama administration to the book that was written by hillary clinton explaining her dissatisfaction over president obama's policies in syria, the administration has not had a

the administration has not had a strategy in the middle east. as a result, we have seen the spread of isis. we have seen. deteriorate into chaos. we have seen yemen deteriorate into chaos. the fact of the matter is what we look at what happened in paris, why so much focus has been on isis in the region, the real threat to the homeland has been al qaeda. it has been a drone war with some counterterrorism forces. it has not resulted in the doable support that is needed to maintain security of a national democratic government in yemen. we can say the same thing about libya. libya has descended into utter chaos.

the administration gave it self pats on the back, but for all and since a purposes, it walked away. we have, in effect, a series of cancers popping up in the region. host: how do serious into all of this? guest: syria is also a ground zero for another al qaeda franchise. again, it represents either another chapter in the

centuries old conflict. we see this happening once again in yemen. we basically thought we were struggling against al qaeda's ideology after 9/11. there is very little that we can do to combat the centuries of hatred that drives these groups to fight each other. now we see this happening again in yemen. we have seen this in the iraq and syria. now, we see a full line to send down into yemen. there is a direct connection between the proxy war that is being waged by iran on behalf of the shiite domination of the middle east __ whether it is support for hezbollah or hamas, or the assad regime. now being confronted by our

strongest adversaries in the region that are being strengthened on the back of sunnis who are afraid of the shiite ascendancy. host: let's take some calls. we will begin with dennis in arkansas on our democrats line. caller: you know, they say that you cannot go to war with g5 unless god tells you to or you are not a muslim at all. that kind of eliminates an awful lot of these guys. those tribes have been fighting for a long time __ centuries __ trying to get a leg up on the other guide. isis is being run out of yemen and libya primarily.

firsthand knowledge from people who escape their is different from the political point of view. are we going to be the police force for the entire world? obama kind of said __ i'm going to get as out of the war, those are campaign promises. he is a man of his word. he also killed osama bin laden. you can say bush did it __ host: there is a lot better. a lot of connections being made by dennis. guest: it is so complicated and confusing to americans. all of this is terribly difficult. i always tell the folks that if you do nnot understand the

difference between a sunni and a shiite, it is hard for anyone to understand what is going on in the middle east. the fact of the matter is thatyes, the president should be given a great deal of credit for taking out osama bin laden. the fact of the matter is that the united states has been engaged in these counterterrorism struggles. i'm not merely point out the fact that we should be the world's policeman wanting comes to the middle east. it really is a dilemma for the american people. all of our efforts and forces have been thrown into this fight against isis. that is a miscalculation __ to try and protect iraq's integrity and prevent ices from overrunning iraq itself.

that would have been a disaster for american policy and our interest in the middle east. the fact of the matter is __ we need to create a structural containment which is up to most of our arab allies to wage their battles. we cannot __ the u. s. can simply not tab down all of the crises in the middle east by ourselves. it is not our duty or responsibility. we need to do what we can to protect us against al qaeda. the suffering of the syrian people. the strikes are taking place in iraq. the terrible calamity in yemen. the situation in syria. this is something that the arab world will have to deal with. there are not enough americans, and something that frankly the united states should not be engaged in __ trying to be peacemaker in the middle east.

host: brick in texas, republican line. caller: i saw the question that has been begging to be answered for the past few days with all the gitmo detainees that have been released. yemen was one of the countries where i believe many detainees were going to be held for some period of time. with the collapse of the government, what is the outcome of this? ddo you think these people will end up back on the battlefield? guest: tthe fact is, yemen was the initial homeland for osama bin laden. it was his initial base of operations, where his family raised him additionally.

there aren't an enormous number of people from yemen who have supported al qaeda in the last decades. one of the reasons that american policy has taken a hit here with the overthrow of the president is because he has been a strong supporter against al qaeda. what happens to these al qaeda terrorist to have been held in jails in yemen, yes, it is a big danger. host: ambassador ginsberg, we have a map of the region there. when you look at it, saudi arabia seems to be in the middle. yemen on its southern border. with the death of the king, is there a chance of greater unrest? guest: the saudi's have been dealing with their own internal unrest.

there have been problems in the kingdom and efforts by the shiite to affect protests there. i think it is very important for us to understand that al qaeda has been attacking the institutions of saudi stability for decades. there have been bonds and attacks. an american and canadian have been killed at a gas station just a few months ago in saudi arabia. there have been attacks on foreigners. saudi's have been called on to attack americans and canadians and other westerners inside saudi arabia. these attacks have largely occurred outside the headlines for the average americans. al qaeda and its supporters have proved to be resilient inside the kingdom. while the government has __

tthe saudi government has done a great job in counterterrorism __ these attacks have continued. host: came __ kim from massachusetts. caller: i just have a couple of questions. i'm seeing this is really complex. i'm wondering __ i notice that there is a lot of media that we get that is speaking to the choir. it is good for u. s. consumption. what are we doing for the shiites and their consumption? it seems to me like we have not done a very good job of turning things around. guest: that's like saying how do christians wind up

empowering the minority shiites in the middle east to feel they have been subjugated by the sunnis for centuries. iran is the dominant shiite country in the region. it is not an error country, it is a persian country. the shiite government has been supporting terrorist organizations throughout the region to and affect in engaging in war against the sunnis. they have been the primary supporter of former prime minister maliki. who wound up being an absolute disaster for u. s. foreign policy in iraq and to help to instigate the rise of isis. sunni animosity and anger against his government.

yes, it is confusing. yes, the century_old conflict between sunnis and shiites __ it goes back __ i have given lectures around the world on how this arose __ to the average american, i can only explain it in a way that makes it understandable. when the prophet mohammed died, he failed to name a successor. his disciples formed a party known as the sunni. the sunni wound up in effect dominating the more or less legacy of the prophet mohammed. it was the family of the prophet mohammed that felt like they were the rightful heirs to the prophets legacies. they formed a party known as

the shiite. shiite is the word for party. this battle has been going on over who is the rightful heir to the prophet mohammed. there are theological splits between sunni and shiite, which have now dominated the middle east and broke out into the first conflict and centuries. guest: homer is in louisiana. caller: i am a vietnam veteran. what behooves me is why we have got to play world police and decide what goes on in the rest of the world.

many really don't know why they are even in war. guest: listen, the issue over the role of the united states in the world and the fact that the president was able to withdraw forces from afghanistan, and we are now back in iraq in a more subtle way __ the fact of the matter is that al qaeda represents the greatest threat towards the united states. not a threat to the existence of the united states, but the terrorism. when i roll off the number of plots that al qaeda has inflected on the united states, tthe underwear bomber, the attack on the delta christmas flight that was supposed to arrive in detroit, the list goes on and on.

if we had to do with one major problem, i would highly recommend that we vanquish the number one franchise of al qaeda, which is currently trying to not only attack the homeland, but also has been the inspiration for most of the self radicalized americans who have either radicalized because of these sermons of the dead american clerk, but also because of the constant threats and exporting of terrorism against the united states. that is important for us to do in order to protect the american people right now. host: you referred to the al qaeda branches as franchise. guest: in deed. you have after the assassination of osama bin laden, the residual command

center of al qaeda in pakistan. that is more or less left in the hands of his number two __ the evil doctor, who is still alive, we presume somewhere in pakistan. al qaeda has messed up __ turned into a series of franchises are more or less influenced by the ideology of al qaeda. you have one franchise in north africa, one in mali, one in the northern peninsula. you have al qaeda in iraq. of course, you have al qaeda sleeper cells that we have seen pop up in europe, australia,

and god forgive in n canada and united states. the residual legacy ofbin laden still seems to be a will to attract these young arabs who want to be a member of al qaeda, aattracted to what is essentially this death cult of al qaeda. we have not a great deal of success to turn that off. host: we have this map of the middle east that we want to put back up. ambassador ginsberg, wwhat kind of military presence to u. s. have in __ does the u. s. have in this area? guest: if you go to iraq after the islamic state was able to take the city of mosul, the second largest city of iraq and

cease territory on the turkish syrian border __ if you draw the line all the way to the outskirts of iraq, to baghdad, you have territory where at least 2000 to 3000 american advisers __ were not in combat roles __ but in advisory roles. you have that force. you also have american counterterrorism forces in yemen. their safety and security is now very much a issue. for all intensive purposes, that is in about in so far as the american military presence in the region. we do have small military attachments to our embassies throughout the region. we have counterterrorism and military personnel supporting the government of jordan.

we have a military presence on the basis and in qatar. we have a military base in the united arab emirates. we have military bases in saudi arabia where there are americans supporting local forces and where there are several hundreds american forces. host: luiz from virginia, please go ahead. caller: hello. i wanted to talk about religious extremism and how do we combat religious extremism when we have zionist. that is religious extremism. we have the christian right here in the united states. in the state of west virginia,

you get about 20 christian television shows. it is all outrageous stuff that you hear. it is not about jesus and love. it is about hatred and zionism. and what israel needs to extend to wherever it was. how are we going to combat extremism and terrorism when we have terrorists amongst us that are not muslim. guest: that is a domestic issue and i may take exception to your interpretation of christians and zionism as extremism. i think the best way for me to answer this question is to focus on my area of expertise. that is the problem of radical

islamic ideology and its attractiveness to young americans who have been self_actualized on the internet. and why they believe for some reason that being a soldier of terror against innocent people somehow will bring them redemption under the banner of islam __ it is a malfeasant interpretation of islam. it is frankly, in a way of combating it __ i think i said in an article that i just posted in the huffington post __ how people learn that killing in the name of islam is not going to send you to paradise and provide you 72 virgins is the greatest challenge of islamic leaders right now. it is up to them to convince people that murder is not

correct or rifle under the name of islam. there certainly not going to go to paradise as a result of engaging in terror. they will rightfully go to hell. there have been in att __ in adequate voices, and a growing drumbeat by not only with local leaders, but also political and business leaders throughout the middle east. they have occasionally expressed horror __ ffor example with the attacks that is happening in paris. the fact of the matter is that since 9/11, it has been a tremendous challenge for local governments in the middle east and for the leaders, and for people who are respected as icons in the arab world. to speak truth to youth in the region being called to the banner of jihad. that is something that we

cannot do __ it is up to them to do. host: this tweet says __ wwe may understand this conflict on an intellectual level, by do not believe we understand on their level. guest: i cannot agree more. i was in saudia arabia a few years ago and i was meeting with a good friend of mine. we were talking about this issue. i was shocked at how this __ and how hateful one sector of islam feels towards their fellow muslims __ the shiites. they called them curses that i was surprise that. it is this visceral hatred that

i have been surprised at. where did it start at? it started __ if you asked me where the late got blown off after 9/11 __ it happened in iraq. saddam hussein had been a ruler over a majority population. when he was overthrown, the shiites have been subjugated and tortured, and had prejudice inflicted on them by their sunni, saddam hussein government. this has been where this began. it is a hatred that has gone on forever. since i said a while ago __ since the assassination of ali by sunni forces. it is pitted __ again, and

iranian shiite government that wants to restore some shiite hegemony in the middle east. host: marc ginsberg is are just. james is on a democrat line. caller: i have two points __ one, should we not clean our embassy out, before we have another ddisaster. secondly, why we ignoring the elephant in the living room. the fact that i ran is going to build a nuclear weapon, aand they are going to deliver it somewhere in the world. what are we going to do about that? guest: as a former ambassador i can tell you that the number one job for an investor is the safety and this security of the american people and stuff.

the united states has dispatched several warships to help in the evacuation of american personnel. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that if they get out safely __ i feel strong kinship to all my diplomat in the region, who every day they put their lives at risk on the behalf of the american people. their security and safety are foremost in my mind. with respect to iran, and its nuclear ambitions. there has been a growing series of negotiations that have taken place. each time that there has been a deadline set for the iranians to reach an agreement with the members of the security council plus germany, iran, and large the united states have extended the deadline. secretary of state kerry just

met with his counterpart in geneva __ with foreign minister of iran. what is emerging here is more or less an effort to close the differences between the west and iran with respect to the right to so_called enrichment. for all intensive purposes, its refusal to abide by the demands of the west to shut down its nuclear program. as you may have heard, the israeli prime minister netanyahu was invited by speaker boehner to come to speak on march 3 to congress to talk about this issue of iran's nuclear ambitions. it is not only a threat to israel, but also a threat to saudi arabia and our allies in the region. there is a great deal of

concern and consternation as to whether putting more sanctions on iran is essential at this time. for example, the democratic congress __ let me rephrase that. bipartisan members of congress __ both democrat and republican __ want to sponsor an additional legislative package of sanctions that would only be imposed on iran if these discussions fail. yet, they are opposing mr. mention this to is pushing this legislation. there is a great deal of debate as to whether passing of sanctions bill __ even though it would not impose more sanctions unless the topsail __ is the right thing to do. they say that this could cause the talks to collapse.

frankly, great deal people will disagree. host: time for a couple more calls. brian is going from washington, d.c. caller: good morning. i want to take issue with the ambassador and how he believes that we do not really understand. i am old enough to remember that iran had a democratically elected present. this man was overthrown by the united states government. he was very harsh on his people until they threw him out. the united states kept a war going on for the next 10 to 15 years. i believe it has been said that if it was not for us overthrowing saddam hussein we would not have these problems. so, the united states has caused these problems. they're the greatest purveyors of violence over there.

they have killed millions of people in iraq. no one seems to think that there's anything wrong with that. you have created these jihadists. they have not asked to come over here. the so_called lie about weapons of mass destruction __ wwe opened up pandora's box. again, we are not the police of the world. we cannot even pay our bills over here. i guess people over here should suffer, and soldiers over here should live under highways. host: we got the point. thank you. guest: that is an oversimplification of history. the fact is that everyone acknowledges that the cia overthrew the leader.

there was an uprising by his own people against the dictatorial rule of the shah. i believe that that gentleman has a much more distorted view of the situation saddam hussein. i disagree totally with the idea that the american people are instrumental in the killing of millions of people in the middle east. it is factually fallacious. host: our last call from new hampshire. caller: hi. good morning. i want to thank c_span. this is a great topic, especially with the ongoing negotiations __ or alleged negotiations with iran and the nuclear program. i agree partially to your assessment on iraq. iraq was the colonizer against

iran. iran was working with his nuclear program before we even invade iraq. i do not think that would've made much of a difference. i guess what i am looking for is __ what do you see in the future as far as the best approach? not just from the united states viewpoint but from the world viewpoint, and how we can address the issue without creating an all_out war on the middle east. i think these wars __ what has create a lot of these hostile al qaeda groups __ that is my question. guest: let me see if i can take off some things that i think we should try and focus our foreign_policy energies on that

are consistent with the goals and objectives of the american people. first and foremost, we need to have a far more effective counterterrorism strategy to prevent these franchises of al qaeda from attacking the homeland. .2, we need to do more to help resolve the error __ arab_israeli conflict. it would be a useful exercise to put to bed an issue that should have been put to bed a long time ago. we need to in effect support more arab moderate states that are facing the threat of extremism in the region, and promote more democratic institutions, and the durability of democratic institutions. overthrowing gadhafi in libya, and then abandoning olivia has created one more mass because

we did not have the power to follow up on the democratic transition is necessary. so far as american troops on the ground __ there is a great deal of debate within the administration as to the threat the isis poses to the american homeland. the fact of the matter is __ most senior military officials will agree that without more boots on the ground in northern iraq and syria, defeating isis will not happen. finally, i think we need to have a much more strategic policy of containment around the periphery of the middle east to protect us from these threats and to do what we can to empower more allies and be more strategic about these threats. i think we have watched the last eight years __ we have

sort of fallen backwards into crises that had we been more farsighted about, we could have avoided. i think our policy and syria has been a disaster. the failure of the obama administration to step in and try to empower more moderate in the region in syria has led to probably the greatest humanitarian catastrophe. now, is it the americans fault that this happened? no. could we have done more? yes. is it probably too late? yes. host: finally, ambassador ginsberg, what will happen in the admin in __ in yemen in your view? guest: it is anyone's guess now. these rebels are proxies for iran. they are shiite in a country in which there __ tthey only represent 30% of the population.

since they are not moderate shiites, but extremists, they will inevitably create an enormous amount of tribal mistrust on the part of the two thirds of sunnis. i hope that. i hope i do not see another outbreak of civil war between shiite and sunni. as far as i'm concerned, our only job is to protect the ascendance of al qaeda into the arabian peninsula. >> we are live at the world economic forum in switzerland sent to hear from secretary of state john kerry. we covered earlier french president francois hollande and a number of other speeches. that speech in particular you

can see at www.c-span.org. secretary kerry should be out shortly. we will have it live on c-span. president obama is departing washington later. the president will travel to new delhi for a three-day visit to india meeting with the prime minister. head of that, the president will be speaking this afternoon in washington to the u.s. conference of mayors in their annual meeting. we will have live coverage at 4:45 on c-span. secretary of state john kerry shortly. also want to let you know the white house briefing ahead of the president's trip will be today at noon. we will have that life as well on c-span -- we will have that live as well on c-span.

this is the gathering of the world economic forum in davos switzerland. they will hear shortly from secretary of state john kerry.

while we wait for that, we will show you more of this morning's "washington journal." host: you say you are supportive of business in a dutch uncle sort of way. what does that mean? guest: i am a fan of business and free enterprise. i understand the value of the capitalist system. i don't have patience for random government intervention, but on the other side of the coin, business in america today, when they lobby in washington, tends to have a somewhat hysterical "the sky is always falling," the slightest effort by government

to correct market shortcomings is the end of the world. the purpose of the book is to give a stern lecture to government, but more important to get people involved in understanding how taxing and spending policy of the government directly affects our lives, our happiness, and our future wealth. host: is it a new thing that business is saying the sky is always falling? has it always been that way when it comes to lobbying? this sky is always falling regarded -- regardless of the lobbyist? guest: it is not a new development. what is a new development is the volume. there is so much lobbying that goes on, so persistent it is hard to escape. when you are in washington, it is hard to hear yourself think over the din of lobbyists.

also, the receptivity of many members of congress to the message. you need to bring a lot of skepticism to the job if you are a policy maker. unfortunately, i think we are under-in doubt -- endowed with skepticism. host: the title of your book is "how government should spend our money." you write if we put government to useful work insert in areas where it most productively complements our private markets our country would be healthier, wealthier, and happier. what are those areas you would like to see government and how does that complement? guest: sure. the basic problem, and we saw it just after the state of the union address is we argue about taxes all the time in this country. the taxes are not what government does.

taxes finances what government does. what government does is spend money. the big question is, are there opportunities to spend money in ways that complement, don't compete with the private sector? >> i want to welcome an old friend of the world economic forum and supporter, secretary of state john kerry. and actually, when the secretary came the first time, it was in the 1990's. at that time, we spoke about the peace dividend. there was a lot of optimism. the world was at the dawn of a new era. the breakdown of the cold war and the end of the cold war. now we meet again, and it looks

like we are at the start of a world with many geopolitical issues, with many crises. he has shown us one of the foremost issues we have to confront. so of course, mr. secretary, you were here last year. if i just take one year that is not yet exist, when you came less time -- last time, it was just at the beginning and is now in a war-like situation. of course, the united states plays a very crucial, the crucial role, as the world's foremost power.

so ladies and gentlemen, we are particularly pleased to have the secretary of state, john kerry this evening with us to enlighten us how he sees the world situation. mr. secretary? [applause] >> everybody to thank you very much so and not just a generous introduction thank you for your extraordinary leadership. for many years i have enjoyed taking part in coming here for a one stop shop and thank you

to this institution. before i begin, i want to take a moment to say how sad we were to hear about king abdullah and i am here to talk about violence and extremism. he had a long partnership with us and the world not just counterterrorism and interfaith understanding and i remember as a young senator listening to him being encouraged by his commitment to putting together conferences and people together to create a better understanding and he saw that as a tall of extremism and

recently his very strong endorsements of the apple tv coalition in jeddah which has been a key to building a broad coalition that we have today, he has made a special contribution. i spent many hours with the king as a centre especially over the past two years, i saw a few months ago and he was not very well. he still had a great sense of humour in the midst of the crisis and we will miss his wisdom, his partnership and his friendship. i also listen carefully to the introduction, and he indicated privately to me that there is much on your minds, it is a moment of upheaval and the world in transition.

i nevertheless remain very optimistic. we have to understand what we are facing, six weeks ago a 14_year_old nigerian girl was discovered in a crowded marketplace. she had explosives strapped to her body but unlike arab companions she had refused to pull the tab, saving herself and others. two weeks later a teenage boy approached a shi'ite mosque in baghdad, he told the guards i'm wearing a suicide vest but i do not want to blow myself up. last november a young man from al shabana, he was no wanting to be part of it any more.

he said they promised him money, a bungalow in paradise and instead he said i had no lights, no family, no future. ladies and gentlemen, those three examples represent the most basic choice that there is, between death and life, between destroying and building, and it ought to be an easy choice and yet in nigeria last month a video showed folks shooting defences people on the ground with the narrator saying now on killing and slaughtering and destruction will be our religion.

on december 16 in pakistan authorities intercepted a radio message between a gunman and his boss, "we have killed all the children in the audit area, would we do next" the answer, wait for the army to arrive, kill them and then blow yourself up. a few weeks earlier, before pulling out of a town in somalia à la chabad buried a young woman up to her neck and then they smashed her head with rocks. in syria, iraq sell little girls into slavery, it seems

every day i must buy people what makes someone decide to do some of these things, why does someone decide to join a group like and leave their home and their loved ones to fight such a collection of monsters. the fact is there are a lot of explanations, some say it's because of long_held cultural grievances, a sense that their clan is under attack or disrespected or have been treated unfairly. many want to see the world in black and white terms, other odours basic material considerations and promise of regular meals and a pay cheque and a chance to plunder and leap. then the mundane choices, to escape boredom and go with the action is and to be lured by false sense of success, perhaps trade and anonymity for a note to variety for a few hours of fame on the internet.

in many cases it is a combination of these inputs but one thing is clear, if we are going to successfully cut back file and extremism we better understand all of the factors because we cannot change minds, without knowing what is in them. we have to do so mindfully of the fact that understanding and acceptance are not the same. when i was in pakistan last week and i was intended to go out to schools to pay tribute to those schools and the families but we were unable to fly because of the weather the officials showed me instead time stamped photos of the sequence of the military schools hall before and after the december 16 attack. i saw an auditorium of school

kids dressed, attentive and then faces filled with joy of listening and watching and a minute later the scenes changed and turned into a killings chamber. there was blood everywhere. torn jackets, small lifeless bodies piled on top of each other. on that day the school's principal already being is escorted to safety returned to try and save her students and when she was challenged by the assassins she pointed to the children and said, i am their mother. her last words. so let me be clear, there are no grounds of history, religion, ideology, grievance, economic dip's advantage or

personal ambition that will justify the murder of children and the kidnapping and rape of teenage girls or the slaughter of unarmed civilians. none. applause. no matter input, this kind of atrocity can rationalise. these kinds of actions can never be excused and they have to be opposed. with every fibre of our being they have to be stopped.

and while obviously there are many international priorities that demand our attention i'd never imagine the summer of simultaneous crisis which we are managing much more effectively than other people to automatically see but we cannot shy away from this reality that terra networks in some places are operating and imminent danger. a few of these networks such as are attempting to govern land. they are looking to expand and greatly adding to the risk of the so_called lone wolves and copycats.

it seems that terrorists are competing with each other for recruits and perpetrating more crimes. need i remind you, the 20th century was defined by the civilised world struggle to develop the rule of law as an alternative to chaos. today we are dealing with a form of anarchy which plays with religious foundations. against these enemies we are increasingly organising and fighting back but in doing so we also have to keep our heads, obviously the biggest we can do is to blame muslims collectively, crimes that muslims oppose.

and that muslim leaders themselves have the greatest ability to address. religions don't require adherence to be razed villages and blah people, its individuals with a distorted and an even ignorant interpretation of religion. vetted by networks of individuals who have a different agenda and finances actions. we will certainly not defeat by developers eyeing potential partners or by suppressing the freedoms that terrorists try to destroy. unless we direct our energies in the right directionwe may very well fuel the fires we want to put out.

the civilised world will not cower in the face of this violence, violent extremism has claimed lives in every corner of the globe and muslim lives most of all. we are each threatened regardless of safety so it is imperative that we each, all of us respond, there is no room for anti_semitism. in no way or form let terrorists know they strengthen. we must act as one and the place to begin is quite simply by defeating dash.

they directly threaten peace and stability not of one group in iraq but of every single country in the region and because they have further over the threatened to take their threat around the globe and are working to do so, this is a threat to the entire structure that we have worked so hard to replace since the end of world war ii. it is a threat to rule of law and freeing iraq from its ruthless occupiers is the critical, crucial first turning point. of just four months ago dash was trumpeting plans to seize baghdad. two things happened, and not by

accident, in iraq the new government was assembled that was intent on reform and iraqis themselves came together determined to move to a different future and determined to add the confidence of their citizens and you've just heard from the prime minister and second we forged together an international coalition. with a band aid to disrupt to defeat dash. we are both deeply involved in those developments. since september, our coalition has pursued a carefully crafted comprehensive strategy to weaken on multiple fronts.

we have launched 2000 airstrikes and disrupted their structure and undermined their propaganda and squeezed its financing, dam urged its finance structure. today much of iraq and with coalition support they have retaken terra tories near cities of tick correct and in syria dash__ no regard unit can move forward without worrying about what will come down from the sky is now. yesterday at this coalition

meeting held in paris, iraqi prime minister badi describe the steps his team are taking to bring the country together. after years of delay baghdad in the kurdish region have finally reached a more conclusive army. there reciprocates with open arms and held hands but yes we need to be cautious and we are even while the changes are taking place in iraq and those changes are unmistakable they are not at reversible and there is much yet to be done and even we have soiled their momentum we are not satisfied yet, with the pace of our product.

we are starting training in a matter of days in traditional sites and we are already training in iraq themselves and this is making a difference. to succeed the iraqi government must enhance an ex_dight certain communities, the coalition must remain united and the world must see this terrorists for what it is. the area is under its control are languishing in many places there are shortages of clean water the area is under its control are languishing in many places there are shortages of clean water and in 7% supplies of medicine food and water. fighters are trying to escape have been persecuted and children are forced to witness in torturing of prisoners and teenagers are being crucified all of which emphasises the

greed od dash. advertising of paradise like promised by al qaeda which in fact leads to a road to nowhere. what are you going to talk about today is bigger than just dash. i want to talk about it with this audience as you all need to make choices in order to do what we need to do to turn the corner. in the weeks to come we have not only have to continue moving forward but to eliminate dash, we also have to strengthen somalia. we need to strike at the tentacles of al qaeda in yemen

and wherever else they appear, there is nowhere that you can leave that is an ungoverned space with this crowd and believe me there is nothing to negotiate. these are the frontline battles i have just listed and they require that we do not waver in our solidarity or courage. eliminating the terrorist that confront us today only solves part of the problem. we have to do more to avoid a cycle of terrorism. we have to transform the very environment from where these muslims emerge. in ways that respond effectively to the underlying causes as well as as the systems of violent extremism.

and it cannot be limited to the middle east or any other region, we need all of us to take the steps so that the decor or two in the future,, they are not standing here responding to a new list of acronyms with the same concept with different players. the terror groups they have different acronyms in the future they may be targeting different countries but if we do not do what we do now than i guaranteed to fundamental conflict will stay the same or get worse. my counterparts in the gulf and in north africa have told me over and over again graphic and today's and by the way in east asia and elsewhere they tell me that the terrorist leaders are planning for the long term.

they tell me how they grab these young kids, pay them a little bit and get into their heads then they don't have to pay them then they become the accolades because they are brainwashed, brainwashing them when they are young. they see themselves as ready to fight to the death so let me tell you, in response we need a commitment for the long term, we have to take more risks, we have to invest more resources, we need a global partnership that will implement this strategy and that is why president obama is hosting a summit in washington at the white house on 18 february in

order to exchange ideas and galvanise support for what is needed on the road ahead. inevitably there will be a military component of the strategy, you have to be ready to defend yourselves and picks a fight. as president obama emphasised last may we must and we will work constantly but ultimately this fight is not going to be sited on a battlefield the outcome is going to be determined in classrooms, workplaces and houses of worship, community centres, urban street corners in the perceptions and the thoughts of individuals and the way in which this perceptions are created. creating prosperity that is widely shared, measures of growing gdp, and only matter if

they translated into greater opportunity. just go back to that story of that niche and fruit vendor when he got slapped around by the police and rebelled against the corruption and felt he had nowhere else to go. this future will be determined by an accountable and successful justice system that everyone everywhere feels they can be protected by the government and they can be expressed themselves and have their voices heard. we have to do a better job of creating all the talent is the violent extremism. that is broadly available. start with the basic issue of

governors, obviously the most exciting topic and no one's going to spend millions of dollars to make a movie about tax policies and the fiscal report that exciting or not, we have learnt the hard way that ungoverned or barely governed spaces on the map are open doors to chaos and disorder that breeds terrorism. chaos in afghanistan. the taliban provided a home to al qaeda. in nigeria, they have taken advantage of the government's. ability in syria, dash wouldn't exist if this so_called president was a respected instead of reviled. he was attracting terrorists for the purpose of his removal.

in libya, he is a product of the government's demise. and most recently by rebel group in the north is now spread across the country and challenge the sovereignty of the entire state and to understand better how this vicious cycle is perpetuated let me offer you an illustration, a few weeks ago my assistant secretary shared with me a conversation that he had with members of the minority group that has been hard_hit by terror.

they all expressed disgust, they want them gone, but when asked if they were reported terrorist recruited to the police every single one of them said no because they were afraid the terrorist would find his way out of prison and fined them and kill them. they were worried they would be arrested and therefore forced to pay bribes to silence seemed to be the only choice and thrust it seemed obvious that that circle of paralysis is destructive and dangerous, the hard truth is there are too many people in too many places see themselves trapped in the world. now whether or not these perceptions are accurate they exist, and that is a challenge for all of us. despite the huge investments

that we make to fight terrorism we need to do more to prevent the list of countries growing and we should begin by identifying those with the greatest vulnerability those that have not yet descended into chaos. and with the potential for terrorist infiltration, these may be near current hotspots, at the heart of africa the area around lake chad and in the middle east or parts of south central america, there are plenty of places to identify and then we need to tailor our efforts to meet the particular needs.

for example peach maniacally groups in their own example trade young people to prevent radicalisation in prison walls and encourage police and judicial systems and address the feelings of alienation and exclusion and given the scope of the challenge a few modest programs here and there, cannot get the job's done themselves. and quite frankly government resources alone will not be enough. we all know that nasa's private finding close to the extremist groups. we we have about 5 to 9 major lines of effort that is working towards our coalition policy and one of them is stopping financing. one of them significantly is to do the work to counter the work of these extremist groups.

for people to come round from all around the world to come together and speak out. dash is an order of satan. that is what we need to work at but we need to put re_sources into helping the other rises that can encounter and using many of the same mechanisms that we use to deal now to deal with disease and famine and ebola and aids and poverty. the bottom line is we need everyone involved, governments foundations and philanthropists and ngos and private sectors. that is what we're going to talk about at the white house on february 18 but our

collective security, is not divorced from everything that everything that every single one of your tried to do. the stability that have allowed our economies to grow in flash and allowed innovation to take place in education to take place and what we have to do is recognise that we have to bring this together to bring a holistic strategy and it depends on all of us stepping up, no one is divorced from this let me tell you historically, this is important, when we have believed we need to do something, we found the money. we did it. we found the resolve. we made things happen.

when the united states and our allies need stopping fascism a priority we found this $3.6 trillion to pay for it, in the decade plus since we went walking in iraq __war. we found the several trillion to pay for that to. just yesterday the european central bank announced plans to purchase more than $1 trillion worth of public and private funds. leader after leader and country after country is fighting the scourge of violent extremism is a priority so let's prove it. we have to get serious about investing that really make a difference. if we don't make those investments today we will pay far more for it down the road as extreme as are certain their

reign of terror wider. remember the stakes, in recent years the taliban attack tacked 1000 schools __ attacked. the principal tactics are to butcher teachers, kill boys and kidnapped girls in all of the areas under control dash has bombed classrooms and entire society has been distracted. imagine what the threat level will be if we do not choose what is required of us to do

now, pakistan who was shot in school bus after her ardent wish was that this children in her school was to get a real education one of the major problems in afghanistan before where girls could not get education. already __. in some countries i hate to say this but including europe as

many as 60% of young people are both out of school without regular jobs, each one of these men and women my friends is a story that will end in frustration of opportunity and the outcome of the race between hope denied and hope to field will be one of the most significant factors to shape the world that we live in and our children will inherit. so we need to do much more in the areas of education training modern technology and no one here can tell us when you look around the world, that there aren't school to be built and rose to be built and hospitals to be developed and children to be educated and there is an ageing mount of money to be made and work to be done. economists tell us that a 50%

cutwould increase global output by $3 trillion and will reduce the pressure to choose socially destructive options. it has now been more than 20 years since the first world trade bombing and more than 30 since 911 there's the time since we have seen acts of terrorism from madrid to mumbai and many points in between. thousands as people have paid the ultimate sacrifice. security officials work round the clock in order to keep us safe.

many have tried. working with international partners, we've already taken some important international steps. in abu dhabi, thanks to the varieties there is an international centre for violent extremism and it is engaged in training in dialogue and research, there are many other issues but we have yet to fully implement all of the tools available to us to win this battle. and at the beginning of my remarks, i mentioned to 14_year_olds, this syrian boy and a nigerian girl to children who went to faces

darkest choice imaginable and thankfully chose life. it is very simple. we face problems of our own each day. we can sit back and can assure ourselves that some how it may not touch us, you wherever you are with the threat of violent extremism is hopefully containable you can think that if you want, or we can go forward with a strategy to destroy its very roots and in the doing so make life far better for far more people in far more places than we are prepared to today. so making this choice, we might reflect on the claims obama has made in recent years. that the entire international system is unravelling, my own view is very different, in the

course of my travels i don't see an unravelling, i see just the opposite. i see nations working together to negotiate new trade pacts, to bring an end to the appropriate epidemic and to seek peaceful resolutions to restore peace based on law and in ukraine. to reach an ambitious global agreement to exploit climate change. with efforts to improve the trade between colombia.

i see countries sharing ideas about pounds 2015 millennium goals determined to move beyond the impressively that we have made already, we are making progress and reducing extreme poverty, we know that all the work and we know a lot of them don't. we're expanding education and increasing life expectancy in fighting aids, aiding child malnutrition and growing middle class. and while i have focused at length purposely today are the very real threat that extreme terrorism poses us, we have faced more significant threats in the past and we have prevailed, statistics show that even with these increasing acts of terror a smaller percentage of people today are dying

violent deaths than at any point in modern history but one of the principal reasons we are in achieving this progress is because we have not been content to settle for the status quo. we are where we are because we especially this group here, builders, where the descendants of do_gooders. we are the inheritors of an activist in tuition that is not afraid of challenges and most effective when they are put to the test so now it is our turn, the rise of violent extremism is a challenge. the forces that contribute to it the danger that flow from it. to prepare and plan and assist that our collective future will be uncompromised by the

primitive and paranoid ideas of terrorist but instead it will be built by universal values of decency, knowledge and law, that is what we stand for, that is where we stand and with the images of paris fresh in our hearts, no one should doubt that we are going to stand together. thank you all very very much. applause.

♪ ♪ç ♪ a reminder you can see all of our coverage from the world economic forum online. coming up shortly on c_span is a white house briefing.

this saturday live coverage of the iowa freedom summit begins at 10 am eastern features include 2015 presidential candidates. the iowa freedom summit this saturday on c_span, c_span radio and c_span.org. and now back to the world economic forum for the french president françois hollande.

(applause) good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. before having the great honour to introduce the president of the french republic, i would like on behalf of all of us express our condolences to the saudi oil family and to the saudi people. it is a huge honour for me to

welcome you to davos today. and i would like mr president to tell you just how deeply affected all participants here were and the great solid as the tea they feel towards france and this exceptionally difficult time following the tragedy of these seven january paris. like many observers i was incredibly impressed by the response of the french people and the dignity of the national union and further, by the accounts of solidarity and support that came from the entire world to france.

france has a unique cultural heritage and is which is recognised throughout the world as a creative force. as a member of your strategic counsel for attracting investment i have been struck bythe approach of combining intuition and why france is having to deal with many challenges, europe needs a strong and confident france in order to be able to find the path to growth. growth which needs to be open to opportunities for all.

one of the lessons of the recent tragedy is that we cannot forget the weakest and the youngest who are prey to those who seek to spread a discourse of hatred. and finally the world needs a france that will continue to defend a message of freedom and peace around the world as it has always done and it is in this spirit that i welcome to see francis active role in the international negotiations with climate in a major summit due in paris at the end of this year. we are bound to find the best answer to the extremist is to build a better world and not

to sink into distress. ladies and gentlemen it is a great honour for me to present the president of the french republic françoise hollande. ladies and gentlemen, allow me first of all to thank him for inviting me to this forum. i would like to echo his words of condolence and the tribute he made to the saudi people. i am grateful to prof for having reminded us all of the

circumstances in which i am speaking to say half of my country. france has been struck by a terrorist attack, for three days it had to face with dignity, with unity with effectiveness, extreme challenges it was facing. it benefited from it exceptional international solidarity from around the world. particularly from europe which fully understood what was at stake. because, the future france, it is freedom it is democracy it is the liberty to live together it is the foundation of our

society which has found itself under attack. i need to say, insincerity and frankness today that all countries where ever they are in the world are vulnerable to terrorism, many of them have already been affected many fear of being hurt, every country needs to prepare because our main duty is that of clarity, clear mindedness, we need to recognise the sources of terrorism. it has sources such as radical islam, ideology of al qaeda. terrorism has battlegrounds.

it takes strength from when talking about iraq, syria. terrorism also has powerful action, it fuels itself from all kinds of illicit trafficking. drugs, weapons. it draws strength from those of finance and money laundering and international crime. i'm talking about the internet which terrorism using as a weapon to doctor nation and of manipulation, a weapon of confusion.

terrorism has links with other societies, it recruits what we have come to call foreign fighters. of the 40,000 terrorists that have been immobilised by isis 10,000, one quarter comes from outside so we need to find an answer. when a country is hit we have to find the answer at an international level. there also needs to be a global international response, it needs to be international and it needs to be shared between the states who have to bear responsibility. particularly the largest corporations who can also act.

let me come first of all to the responsibility of state namely france, we have to find solutions, i'm thinking of syria where political solutions have to be found, it's something we have waited too long for france is participating in a broad coalition, to support those who are in the front line of the fight against terrorism and isis. france is on the grounds. it will be present to help those countries who are having to deal with terrorism.

france cannot do everything, france cannot act alone but whenever it can it well, to lead by example. the national community has to provide answers as well, each time we let a conflict last, terrorism benefits. if you have a look at what is happening in libya where this country's unity fell apart and terrorist groups became embedded there. but france will be present. france has an international position that is made up of principles.

and with ideas of freedom that we don't want to keep to ourselves but share with everyone. france will be on the front line when it has to be. we have to be in africa, so france will call again on international communities to provide the challenges and the threat that we face. to succeed we also need to fight all sorts of traffic in both weapons and illicit financial funds but we also need to take important decisions to strengthen the controls and identify terrorists and to follow their movements and identify the presence of danger that they can represent. we need to

establish a register and a major program that needs to be put into place and protect our freedoms at the european level and at the national level we need to ensure that these are not used for the messages of hate and violence. we need to invest in cyber security. everything that france can do will be doing it of course but it will be acting as wealthy europe and the world. yes it is an investment, yes it is expensive at a time where my

country is having to reduce its deficits and manage its expenditure and carry out reforms but i believe that this investment is an investment that france has a mate for itself, for europe and to the world because we cannot claim to be a great nation if we are not capable of giving the world what it collects from us, mainly in france. and then,there are some efforts we have to make in some other countries that promote terrorism, fundamentalist sectarian phenomena. the issue of urban segregation here again we can carry out measures that are important for security cohesion and solidarity. we need to put measures into place and that is why it is important to have policies to create jobs, to promote trading

in education so that young people have confidence in their future. the economy is an answer, what answer against despairing poverty. is one answer in the face of insecurity. we talk about growth and innovation, we speak and we also need to share and contribute to solidarity and security. so you, the life blood and the head of the major corporation i would ask you not only need to be mindful i ask you to get involved particularly to the major digital corporations.

and establish a clear brawl because you are also stakeholders in the process. i call upon the financial system to ensure that the terrorist sources of funds are dried up. for us to fight tax paid than is and money_laundering. please do not leave it too late. i i call on you also need to

counter another threat which is one that leans over the future of our world. we need to fight global warming. professor, you remind us that france will be hosting a conference on climate change the end of this year. it is not just to welcome heads of state or government to paris. we are doing this not just to state our principles and to deliver a forum on the state of the world. we are not just coming for a meeting. it needs to result in a binding global agreement that will map