taurel will talk about the executive order on immigration. finally, william pomeranz with the woodrow wilson center will discuss best clean conflict between russia and ukraine. as always, we will take your questions and calls. ♪ host: good morning, now that the senate has approved a bill to move forward with the keystone xl pipeline, the house will take up the measure. also, to members of the senate testifying before the senate finance committee to talk about america's tax code. this week, the white house is expected to have -- ask congress

for authorization of military force against isis. it also comes as the german chancellor heads to washington. she will meet with the president tomorrow. it is sunday, february 8. we will get your questions and comments on authorization of military force. i -- our lines are open. guest:(202) 748-8001 four republicans. (202) 748-8000 four democrats. (202) 745-8002 for independents. and outlined for military or retired, (202) 748-0003. you can also send us an e-mail or tweet. first, we want to talk about our fight against isis in iraq and syria. and the authorization of the use

of force. by way of background, congress did give president that authority. it was passed on september 14, 2001 and signed by president george bush on september 18 2001. just one week after the terrorist attacks on the 20 hours in new york. that authorization grants the president authority to use all necessary and appropriate force against those who plan on -- planned, authorized, and committed the september 11 attacks. members of congress have dubbed their constitutional authority for warmaking but a meaningful debate on the use of force against the islamic state, nor shown any indication whether or not they will endorse or modify that mission. this was right after the midterm election pass.

ed. that's where we are this week as congress takes up the issue. the white house reporter from reuters is following all of this co. thank you for being with us. walk us through what is going on on capitol hill. guest: they have said that they will work on language on an au ums. it is expected in this week. the president has that in the state of the union address that things are stronger when congress worked together. he has already ordered strikes in the islamic region to -- but he wants approval from congress. we have been asking when this

language will be sent out when they will spell out what they want, now the answer is in the coming days. it is interesting to see what they have to spell out. they have to talk about a timeline, if they want permission to continue to fight geographically where they want permission to do so. and how much force congress will allow him to use. whether that will include continuation of air strikes that have already occurred, and are still occurring, and whether it goes further than that to include boots on the ground. host: we are talking with jeff mason, white house reporter from reuters. we want to get your comments on this. our phone lines are open. if you are at this -- active or retired military, the line for you is (202) 748-0003.

jeff mason, let me go back to what we discussed at the beginning of the program congress did give george bush that authorization to fight al qaeda. why do some feel that is irrelevant today? guest: some have articulated that this is a different war and the different fight. president obama has been using that as justification for airstrikes already against the islamic state. it has been a long time, obviously, since that original authorization is granted. this is, at least from capitol hill and lawmaker's perspective, is different. host: this is a quote from nbc news he said, and the current crisis, the authorization does not apply.

you touch on this a moment ago just how broad or narrow do you think this authority will be for the president? guest: the president has said repeatedly that he did not want to send ground troops back into iraq. obviously, one of the main reasons he was elected in 2008 was because of his promise to and the iraq war and bring troops home. the legacy that this white house will hope -- hopefully extend to president obama is one that ended wars and not one that continued them. obviously, what is going on with the islamic state is a huge challenge this administration. part of dealing with that is getting theis authorization and showing that the united states is serious about attacking the islamic state. to answer your question

specifically what i think they will do is maintain his promise to not send troops back. they will want an authorization they give them the flexibility to continue airstrikes, and possibly the flexibility to do more going forward. i think what you will see is something that is fairly limited to what is actually already taking place now. pretty much focused on airstrikes. host: (202) 748-8000 that is online for democrats. (202) 748-8001 four republicans. as congress debates military action on isis, we want to be your thoughts, comments, and questions on that. let me tell you about another topic, angela merkel's meeting on isis. what do you expect tomorrow? guest: tomorrow i think it will

be another meeting related to war. it will be the war on ukraine. the coalition, or the western allies of the united states and europe have until now been on the same page about how to handle president putin of russia. a have imposed some very serious sanctions that have hurt the russian economy. now they are coming up to what may be a sticking point. as the war continues between the separatist and ukraine, and russia, russian forces, the question has come up now as to whether or not the united states, and maybe others, will help arm some of the ukrainians. angela merkel opposes that and many in europe oppose that as well. along with many of our allies france, and others. she has been doing some diplomacy to encourage russia to

agree to a piece land. what i expect will happen on monday is she will talk to that plan -- about that plan to the president. you heard his new nominee for defense chief within the last week, ash carter, saying he is open to that. this is a big debate right now. it will be interesting to see the two of them come to a compromise on that. it would probably be good for you 10 if the western allies are not -- puting if the western allies are not in agreement on that. host: secretary of state john kerry in europe. jeff mason, joining us live on the phone. thank you for being with us. by the way william pomeranz

from the woodrow wilson center will join us to talk about this. first, we want to get your calls and comments on the president asking for congressional authority for military action against isis. one of our viewers, stella, has this point on twitter. he wants congress to put restraint on his authority so you can blame them for tying his hands in the future. our first caller. the morning to. retired military? caller: not retired, a veteran. i do not think authorization should be given until president obama clarifies what exactly does he want to do. and how long is this going to last. a definite time. , a definite mission, so that we

know exactly what we will do, and a limit to win it. they had these lingering words -- just establish a goal and do it. that is all i have to say. host: thank you for the call. from dana, this point -- if the president wanted authorization he would have it. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 four republicans. what do you think about the president asking for military action? is it necessary as we battle isis, which now controls a large swath of area. here is what the president had to say at the national prayer breakfast. [video clip] >> we seen violence and terror from people who claim to stand up for their faith. profess to stand up for islam but in fact arbitrating it. we see isis.

a brutal, vicious death coltsult that in the name of religion carries out ask the bar is it -- barbarism. subjecting women to rape as a weapon of war. and claiming a mantle of religious authority for such actions. host: the comments from the president at the national prayer breakfast. either way, that event part of our c-span video library, you can check it out on our website. this point on twitter -- while congress wants to cut back here though sent our money over there. the hill newspaper reporting -- speculation is mounting whether the israeli prime minister will deliver a speech to congress

next week. a high profile address two weeks before he faces the polls back home. speaker boehner's bold move that has sparked a firestorm and has brought and often c complicated relationship between washington and israel. vice president biden says he will not attend the address due to a previously scheduled trip abroad. netanyahu and vice president and former senate vice presidential chairman have a close working relationship. i get, the article is available at the hill.com. justin on the democrats line. good morning. what do you think? caller: i have a question and a comment. i want to know every time the

news media or the white house mentions an islamic state, or muslims in general, they associate w them with terrorism. it is like synonymous. it is not make any sense to me. also, why is america so quick to go into the middle east and put troops on the ground? there is a lot of collateral damage there. it took them 27 years to go to south africa to end apartheid. not a single american troops on the ground there. host: let's go to call next in chicago, democrats line. caller: good morning. i view the president asked for authorization as a good move on

his part towards his critics. i watched john mccain on the sunday show. he is one of the president's critics. what he described basically was what the president's action doing now. to me, what he is doing -- congress will have to publicly say these are all things that we want you to do. we do not want ground troops. in other words the criticism of apparatus. host: thank you for the call. this morning, macon's goalie -- megan scully on "playing

defense. greg is joining us. republican line. good morning to you. caller: good morning. one thing about it is we will have to put boots on the ground. i do not think that iraqi government or the people have the willpower to go in and take over and hold their oilfields. that is where isis is actually selling oil and getting money. plus, i'm wondering if the new saudi keying has the willpower to clean up his royal family. we do not know how many princes in saudi arabia are actually funding isis. this will be on this -- a mess. hopefully down the road because i can see it coming, we may even need a declaration of war. host: that was greg.

thank you for the call. i look at some of the newsweeklies. seek you weekly -- cq weekly. from the weekly standard "the oil bonanza." also an article on huckabee, paul and how they will never be president of the united states. bloomberg businessweek following up on the story of radioshack -- the company that excelled at failure. next and independent. caller: good morning. i would like to make a comment that in the last few days there have been reviewing the retirement program for the military. they are talking about

transferring tri-care to commercial insurance companies having a 401(k) type retirement plan plus reducing benefits. here we go again, now we are going to get involved in another mess. the people that they play in these messes, in these wars, they, meaning this country, does not take care of them. they are going back on the commitment that they need to these people. i'm a member of the american region, and i said just that all veterans join an organization like that so that we can support these people that were giving the short end of the stick. host: thank you for the call.

gary has this point on our twitter page -- getting involved in more foreign entailment is not in our interest. let regional powers defend themselves, secure our borders. congressman paul ryan finding a novel role as the unlikely role as gatekeeper of obama's gender. -- agenda. if mr. ryan can strike a deal with the administration on fast-track trade authority, an agreement with a dozen partners around the pacific rim and an

overhaul of the tax code, he may be the only one on the cap capitol hill -- again, the tax code will be before the senate finance committee on tuesday. two members testifying. it will be live on the c-span networks. bob from tennessee, independent line. good sunday morning two. caller: good morning. host: what do you think about getting congressional approval for fighting isis? caller: we have a military to do one thing. to protect this country and fight one necessary. all these people call up and think they know everything. i was in the military 50 years ago. things have changed quite a bit during those 50 years. we have kind of neutered the high and military guys.

you have a chain of command, you always have a chain of command. we have to made generals, too many politicians telling the generals what to do. we need to get in there and take care of this problem. host: thank you for the call. some headlines from outside of the beltway. from "the houston chronicle" -- wave of cuban finding refuge in houston. from the "hartford current" the fatal train crash. from "the sunday denver post" -- state educators may lower bar. prudence is next. what is your take on all of this? caller: i'm very tired of war

after war, after war. continuation of war, after war, after war. when republicans were taking control of congress, i knew things would escalate. it seems, if you look back, republicans do and joy war. there has never been one that they do not like. we do not do them well anymore. i action do not think we have won of war since world war ii. i recall, during vietnam, it was referred to as a conflict. we have a conflict with everyone in the terrier -- entire universe, i guess. we want to take care of everybody's feelings com in every country there is. except for own. we can not afford to take care of our progress, -- impoverished

, nor the military when they return. we do not have money for this. we are wasting our money on war. we need to change our whole attitude. we used to be called peacekeepers. the ever since they have talked about peacekeepers, we have not been keeping the peace. we need to mind our own business. we have a country here and it is in dire straits. no one seems to care at all. either way if we declare war against another country, we would not want there to be any peace there, in the middle east because someone would be able to pump the oil. oil control is very important. what we do not have it i do not know how the universe existed. host: thank you for your call.

this is from carol who says that the president never cared what congress thought before, he was to blame them if things go wrong. the front page of "the new york times" focusing on hillary clinton's agenda. writing that there are clear indications that she is determined to put together a campaign organization that is different from the one she had in 2008. designed to avoid mistakes that contributed to her undoing against president obama. bloomberg politics writing about the latest white house senior staffer, she announced that she will step down. jennifer palmieri will leave this spring to become the communications director for what

will become the clinton 2016 campaign. that is inside bloomberg politics. back to your phone calls. we will go to robert in dimon, missouri. republican line and retired military. what is your take? caller: good morning, steve. i would like to let you know i think on this because i'm retired. this isis deal is serious. the people in the united states who do not like the united states, and they have something of the government, i do not know what it is. but it has something against our government and they're going over there, getting passports going over there and getting trained by isis. those people ought to be filed out -- found out. when they try to get back into the united states to do damage

to the american people, for example -- one of those helicopters flying over the super bowl think what would happen if that stuff that kills people got them. steve, this is serious. these people over there, they want to wipe out the united states of america. they do not like us because we are for freedom. we stand for freedom. host: michael has this point. since the middle east supplies over 60% of oil used in the world, it is important to be involved there. jerome is next. caller: democrat. whose side are the republicans and fox news on? host: thank you for the call.

speaker john m boehner also commenting on this. [video clip] >> congress should not tie the president's hands. i expect there will be an authorization of use of military force in up in the next few days. we will go through a rigorous set of hearings and continue to discuss this. it will also be in comment on the president to go out there and make the case to the american people for why we have to fight this fight. his actions will be an important part for us to get the boat taxi past -- to actually pass an authorization. host: speaker john boehner last week. again, we are asking you about the authorization of military

force against isis. similar to what was granted to president george bush in the weeks that followed the september 11 terrorist attacks. jenny is next from illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to make two comments. two days ago benjamin netanyahu's facebook page -- on his facebook page, he's posted a video tape as to why they do not want him in congress. one of obama's people that help to get him into office -- how do i put this? they are trying, they are

funding with taxpayer dollars, his opposition. host: thank you for the call. this is from bloomberg business. the israeli ambassador to the u.s., who was born here, and the look at the often tense relationship between the israeli prime minister and president obama. this is available on the website. glenn from michigan, democrats line. caller: good morning. i think that congress should authorize -- a -- one million man army, go over there and watch them out. they only have a 30,000 man army. why can't we just go over there and get it over with. thank you. host: thank you for the call. huckabee, christie paul, three

candidates -- oh my. saying that did not take long. three candidates saying why they will never be president. they never did anything to disqualify themselves host: a related story on governor chris christie who spent the first part of the week in london. chris christie's week long train wreck. he intended to use the week to present himself as a figure right to lead the country. the governor start the trip in london by bobbling a question over whether measles vaccinations should be mandatory. the next day, he snapped at a reporter who tried to ask him about foreign policy. a new investigation into his it minnick -- administration. the full story available online at politico.com.

michael is joining us from california, republican line. good morning michael. one more time for michael. caller: yes. i have to call again to correct the record. lady from utah said republicans never met a war that never liked. may i remind everyone again world war i, woodrow wilson, the mccracken. world war ii, fdr, democrat. the it non-, john f. kennedy democrat. bill clinton wrote the iraqi regime change act of 1998. all democrats voted on it -- voted for it. who is indoctrinating these people that they can just say

what they want and you guys never check people? you never correct them unless it is a republican criticizing a democrat. host: this is a forum for you and others to express their opinions. there are different circumstances that led to world war ii. whether it was a democrat or republican. you're right vietnam, the democratic president. thanksgiving for the call. gilbert is next -- thank you for your call. gilbert is next. caller: let me say this. why are we over there killing those people in their country? they are no threat to us at all. before that, european's been involved in killing those folks since 1096. the crusades. the crusades, went over there to get back their christian country.

they had converted to christianity after painting themselves blue and howling at the moon. they went over there to kill those people in 1096. here we are, almost 1000 years later, still killing those people. we need to come home. we have enough trouble in this country. host: this is from her rea who says, what is the difference between mr. putin stealing parts of the ukraine and in -- and israel stealing parts of palestine? you can join in on the conversation at facebook.com/c-span. independent line, good morning terry. caller: i want to know if it is true that 22 men a week or month that die by suicide in the service. my son is 29 years in the service right now.

he works at the pharmacy and he sees people come and go and go and come. i want to know -- my father died by a gun in the service. when are they going to straighten that out? when are they going to stop recruiting guys -- they have problems. the thing of it is, they are not getting to the root of the problems in the service at all. what they are doing is culminating -- trying to make more war. if they're going to do something, why don't they shut their mouths and do it? not show us the deaths or anything her rent us to get us going -- horrendous to get us going host:. . host: isis, no threat to us?

c-span two's booktv is live with nonfiction programming every weekend. taped interviews. this week, among the top 10 list includes being mortal. yes please by amy poehler. god, guns, grady and grits, by mike huckabee. we will continue to look at the list with ann, on the democrats line. caller: hello? can you hear me. ? host: we can. caller: i was calling in to talk about this isis problem. it would not have been created if those people had -- if they are not going to iraq. they're getting tired of other people running their country. when we had the civil war here, people overseas did not come over here to invade us and interfere.

one more thing. we have a war here that they are not recognizing. gang wars. people are dying here every day and our people are not saying anything about it. senators, both democrat and republican, are not saying anything. people getting killed here every day. host: another viewer saying does isis have a navy? if you're just listening, we're focusing on the president expecting to ask congress about the use of military force after the events of 2001. some in congress things a different battle with a different enemy. robert is joining us from billings, montana, republican line. caller: quick points. i agree with the gentleman who said we should not be involved

overseas. many americans believe that. it was believed by the british and the french in our isolationist america after world war i. i can understand that. eventually, they were forced into the war as were we. i believe barack hussein obama should get some sort of agreement to allow our people to go over there and do it they should do. bombing will not settle a war over there. it does not damage. if it had not been for the atom bomb in world war ii, thousand only thing ever and -- it was the only thing ever ended by a bomb. host: tom wheeler, the current fcc chair putting forth his

recommendation on net neutrality. the house oversight committee has opened an investigation into whether the white house improperly influenced the federal communications commission in its consideration. a spokesperson confirming that the agency is reviewing a letter sent by a member of the committee. republicans have complained that by outlining his own net neutrality proposal last november, the president put inappropriate pressure on an independent agency. next is rose from new york, outside of rochester. caller: the topic appears to have turned to war versus no war. our problem in the world is that the problems are fueled by america. american problems are fueled by america. for starters, we start with too many politicians with one agenda

of greed. this isis problem, for example, we created that in the middle east. we have gone in, saying we are protecting our little friend israel. we have bombed much of the middle east in the one goal of protecting our friend israel. we bombed afghanistan. we bombed iraq. we bombed syria. now, we have been setting our sights on iran. there is talk about bombing lebanon in turkey eventually. i think part of the problem is that we should not be a negotiator at the table with palestine and israel. host: next is, joining us from paradise, california. independent line. tom, you with us? caller: i am.

my twin brother died 29 years ago. he committed suicide and was in the air force. host: i'm so sorry. caller: i am too. his suicide was directly militarily related. he was stationed on a place called johnson island, where they did all the aboveground nuclear testing in 1959 before the test ban treaty was signed in 1961. he was exposed to radiation and had a goiter in his thyroid. he was there for two years. the point i'm making is, young people listen up. when you sign up for the military, your government property. like a -- my brother was exposed to chemicals that the first bush administration went over and insular -- and incinerated. i think we need to bring it back home.

i think we need to implement the marshall plan. we to shore up the americas, north and south and pull out of the middle east, the situation with -- i'm not tried to be a big it but they have been fighting for thousands of years. i call them rag heads and i think it is a shame that we continue to waste our youth fortune and empire on this. host: how many missions did your brother fight in? caller: my brother was in the air force in the late 70's -- late 1970's and early 1980's. ironically enough4% of the agent orange was stored on johnson island. before we signed the treaty for chemical recommends -- chemical

weapons, we had to destroy all those weapons. we used agent orange under geneva convention. host: thank you for the call and sharing your personal experience. sorry about the loss of your brother. congressional ok for military action against isis. the president, expected to send to capitol hill recommendations on how broad or narrow that would be. another story that is been getting attention is inside the new york times. brian williams under to -- under scrutiny will take a leave of absence. the memo published yesterday. in that memo, he said that lester holt would be stepping in . at huffington post, who could replace brian williams? the story with speculation on

possible successors if that were to happen. nbc news is currently looking into rhein williams' trip. nbc news, slow to respond to mr. williams' revelation this week. mr. williams to sign a five-year deal -- just signed a five-year deal. joseph from waterbury, connecticut, independent line. caller: i find it curious that no one in our government will tell us whether or not isis enjoys public support in the areas they control. that means, to me, that they probably do. if they do enjoy public support we cannot call them terrorists anymore. it is a revolution.

we should not interfere. this government has a habit of putting labels on people. when i was in vietnam, they would send us to destroy villages by telling us they are vc. the orders were kill or capture anybody between 15 and 45, male and female. host: joseph, thank you for the call. the dynasty question is a story from national review. thoughts on jeb bush. outlining his agenda on poverty and middle-class families. on the issue of congressional approval for military action to fight against isis the article

says john mccain is peddling cluster bombs and the blaming the usa. she writes, this is a bomb that has been taking for a while. they were flummoxed over why the leading network anchor felt he needed a heavyweight dish at hemingway-esque -- the media big shots who once roamed the land were gone and there were nowhere -- there was no one around to pull his chain. a look at other network anchors from maureen dowd. david, you get the last word from corpus christi, texas. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask the question, why is it that anybody would want us to go to war over there and what is the benefit for us? we