does putting the sage-grouse on the list going to help? that is what we set out to discover. >> the greater sage-grouse is another declining species. over a century ago, there is over 16 million of these birds. today there is less than 200,000, and the number continues to drop. >> the current situation with the sage-grouse the numbers for the bird are about down to 5000. the amount of habitats that the bird has has been reduced by half since the early 1900s due to development branching wildfires, invasive species. they thrive in a sage brush habitat, and they only have half of what they previously had. last case scenario is that will

be put on the endangered species list, where if that happens that could really harmed the economy here in nevada. >> wildfires or invasive species. >> wildfires are number one, which is driven by an invasive grass. >> catastrophic wildfire and invasive species. >> based on the sage-grouse's current needs, there are many who believe putting it on the endangered species list will only hinder its recovery. there are still those who advocate for its listing. >> i think one way it will help is that will it will bring it more into the spotlight for the general public. people tend to pay more attention when a species is in peril, and it is obviously listend. that may generate more conservation activity. >> if the bird is listed,

off-line management will have to do consult with the u.s. fish and wildlife service on any measurement activities that occur within areas that are determined to be sage-grouse habitat, which is a large percentage of northern nevada. this will slow down this process of doing habitat restoration. it will also put out the process of doing any other type of activity, such as mining, etc on the land that are managed. there are conflicting opinions on whether or not this will help for hamper the bird, because it will slow down the process of restoration. >> i think looking at a species, they think species the very worst thing we can do for the sage-grouse is listed under the endangered species act.

in the 11 western states that the ms. wood: sage-grouse is in, there has been an unprecedented amount of cooperative conservation that has been happening across the board between federal agencies, private landowners, state agencies. there is a huge movement that has been built up. my fear for our wildlife populations in a general is that a listing of the sage-grouse as endangered will set back conservation efforts a generato ion, maybe two generations. we have made such strides in getting along and how to communicate and how to work cooperatively, that i would hate to see that lost. >> the species is now the focus

of unprecedented range wide conservation efforts to turn its status around and to prevent it from being listed under the u.s. endangered species act within the next three years. for example, the usda's conservation arm has bent over $100 million to conserve this species. >> i think you need to establish some court habitat zone. -- core habitat zones. the problem with that is finding the money to do it. the nature conservancy has rehabilitation projects that would recently be designed to prevent wildfires to restore areas that have been burned, and to protect some areas especially areas where nothing is going on, no mining or grazing, to really protect those areas. >> our number one problem we have in these systems is that they are surrounded by juniper trees, which have increased onto

the sage brush ecosystems. we could have a large impact on improving habitat quickly by removing the trees surrounding the wet meadows system and reducing the impact printers -- impact predators would have. >> we all work together, we communicate, we collaborate, we do not set distinct boundaries, we each help each other out to do multiple conservation projects for the sage-grouse. i have worked with other species into decline and i have never seen this kind of collaboration. i think it is a really positive thing. i think it is something that needs to continue, the letter -- no matter what the listing decision should be.

if that happens, good news for the sage-grouse. >> there are huge conservation efforts being made to perversely sage-grouse -- to preserve the sage-grouse species. is listed on the endangered species list, these may be stopped entirely. >> it will end up on the list if we don't actually do something. >> to watch all of the winning videos, and still are more about our competition, go to c-span.org and go to studentcam. also tell us what you think about the student and this documentary on facebook and tw itter. >> president obama talked about the agreement on iran's nuclear program by calling it a deal that makes the world safer. his comments in the rose garden are just under 20 minutes.

president obama: today, the u.s. with its allies and partners, have reached an understanding with iran, that will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. as president and commander in chief, i have no better responsibility than the security of the american people. i am convinced that if this framework leads to a final, copy hence of deal, it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer. this has been a long time coming. the islamic republic of iran has been advancing its nuclear program for decades. by the time i took office iran was operating thousands of centrifuges, which can produce materials for a nuclear bomb. and iran was concealing a covert nuclear facility. i made clear that we were prepared to resolve this issue diplomatically, but only if iran came to the table in a serious way. when it back to happen, we

rallied the world to impose the toughest sanctions in history. sanctions which had a profound impact on the iranian economy. now, sentient alone could not -- sanctions alone could not stop iran's nuclear program, but it did bring them to the table. because of active emetic efforts, the world stood with us. and we are joined at the table by the world major powers -- the united kingdom, france, germany, russia, and china as well as the european union. over a year ago, we took the first step towards today's from amework. recall that at the time, skeptics argued that iran would cheat, that we could not verify their complaints. and that the interim agreement would fail.

instead, it has succeeded exactly as intended. iran has met all of its obligations. it eliminated its stockpile of dangerous nuclear material. inspections of iran's program increased. and we continued negotiations to see if we could achieve a more apprehensive deal -- comprehensive deal. today, after many months of tough, principled diplomacy, we have achieved the framework for that deal. and it is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives. this framework would cost every pathway that iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon. iran will face strict limitations on its program and iran has also agreed to be most robust and intrusive inspections ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history. this deal is not based on trust

it is based on unprecedented verification. many key details will be finalized over the next month, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed. but here are the basic outlines of the deal we are working to finalize. first, iran will not be able to pursue a bomb using plutonium, because it will not develop weapons grade plutonium. the core of its reactor in iraq will be his mental and replaced. the fuel from that facility will be shipped from iran for the life of the reactor. iran will not build a new heavy water reactor. and iran will not reprocess fuel from its existing reactors ever. second, this deal shuts down iran's path to a bomb using enriched uranium. iran has agreed that it's

installed centrifuges will be reduced by 2/3. iran will not enrich uranium with it such fuses for at least the next 10 years. the vast majority of iran's stockpile of enriched uranium will be neutralized. today, estimates indicate that iran is only 2-3 months away from essentially acquiring the raw materials that could be used for a single nuclear bomb. under this deal, iran has agreed that it will not stockpiled the materials needed to build a weapon. even if it violated the deal, for the next decade at least iran would be a minimum of a year away from acquiring enough material for a bomb. and the strict limitation on iran's stockpile will last for 15 years. third, this deal provides the best possible defense against iran's ability to produce a bomb

secretly. investigators will have unprecedented access not only to iranian facilities, but to the entire supply chain that supports iran's nuclear program -- from uranium mills to the centrifuge production and storage facilities that support the program. if iran cheats, the world will know it. if we see something suspicious we will inspect it. iran's past effort to weaponize it's program will be addressed. with this deal, iran will face more inspections than any country in the world. so this will be a long-term deal which addresses each path to a potential iranian nuclear bomb. there will be strict limits on iran's program for a decade additional restricted on building new facilities were stockpiling materials last for 15 years.

the transparency measures will last for 20 years or more. indeed some will be permanent. and as a member of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, iran will never be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon. in return for iran's actions the international trinity has agreed to provide relief from certain sections. around sections, and those provided by the -- our own sanctions, and those provided by the security council. if iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place. meanwhile, other american sanctions on iran for its support of terrorism and its human rights abuses, its ballistic missile program, will continue to be fully enforced. let me reemphasize, our work is not yet done. the deal has not been assigned. between now and the end of june thomas the negotiators will

continue to work through the details of how this framework will be fully implanted, and those details matter. -- fully implement it. if there is backsliding on part of the iranians, if the verification and inspection mechanisms do not meet the standards of our experts, there will be no deal. but if we can get this done, and iran follows through on the framework that our negotiators agreed to, we will be able to resolve one of the greatest threats to our security, and to do so peacefully. given the importance of this issue, i have instructed my negotiators to fully briefed congress and the american people on the substance of the deal. and i welcome a robust debate in the weeks and months to come. i am confident that we can show that this deal is good for the security of the united states, for our allies, and for the world.

for the fact is that really have three options for addressing iran's nuclear program. first, we can reach a robust and verifiable deal, like this one and peacefully prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. the second option is that we can bomb iran's nuclear facilities, thereby starting another war in the middle east, and setting back iran's program by a few years. in other words, setting the back by a fraction of the time that this deal set it back. meanwhile, we would ensure that iran would raise ahead to try and build a bomb. third, we could pull out of negotiations try and get other countries to go along and continue the sanctions that are currently in place, and hope for the best. knowing that every time we have done so, iran has not capitulated, but has instead advanced its program. and the breakout thailand will be eliminated.

-- breakups timeline will be eliminated. and a nuclear arms race in the region could be triggered because of that uncertainty. in other words, the third option leaves us very quickly back to decision about whether or not to take military action. because we have no idea what was going on inside of iran. iran is not going to its ugly dismantle its broken because we demanded to do so. -- not going to simply dismantle its program because we demand it to do so. iran has shown no willingness to a limited those assets of the program that they say are for peaceful purposes. even in the face of sections. should negotiations collapsed because we, the u.s., reject with the majority of the world considers a fair deal, what our scientists and nuclear experts suggest what give us confidence that they are not developing a nuclear weapon, it is doubtful

that we can even keep our current international sanctions in place. when you hear the inevitable critics of the deal sound off ask them a simple question -- do you really think that this verifiable deal, if fully implanted, backed by the world's major powers, is a worse option than the risk of another war in the middle east? is it worse than a what we have done for almost two decades with iran moving forward with its nuclear program and without robust inspections? i think the answer will be clear. remember, i have always insisted that i will do what is necessary to provide iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and i will. but i also note that a diplomatic solution is the best way to get this done, and offers a more comprehensive and lasting solution.

it is our best option by far. while it is always a possibility that it iran may try to cheat on the deal in the future, this framework of inspections and transparency makes it far more likely that we will know about it if they try to cheat. and i, or future presidents, will preserve all of the options currently available to deal with it. to the iranian people -- i wnatant to reaffirm what i have said since the beginning of our presidency, we are willing to engage you on mutual interest and mutual respect. this deal offers the prospect of relief from sections that were imposed because of iran's violation of international law. since iran's supreme leader has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons this framework gives iran and the opportunity to verify that its program is, in fact peaceful. it demonstrates that it iran

complies with its international obligations, that it can fully rejoin the community of nations thereby for filling the external retell it and aspirations of the iranian people. that would be good for iran and the world. of course, this deal alone, even if fully implanted, will not end the deep divisions and mistrust between our two countries. we have a difficult history between us. our concerns will remain with respect to iranian behavior, so long as iraq continues its sponsorship of terrorism it to destabilize the middle east, its threats against america's friends and allies like israel. so make no mistake, we will remain vigilant in countering those actions and staining with our allies. -- standing with our allies. it is no secret that the israeli

prime minister and i do not agree that the u.s. should move with a peaceful resolution to the iranian issue. prime minster netanyahu is looking for the most effective weight that iran does not get a nuclear weapon, w-- way that iran does not get a nuclear weapon, and our experts can confirm that. i will be speaking with experts today to show that there will be no daylight when it comes to our support for israel's security at our concerns about iran's destabilizing policies towards israel. that is why i have directed my national security team to consult closely with the new is really government in the coming weeks and months about how we can further strengthen our long-term security cooperation with israel, and make clear our unshakable commitment to israel's defense. today, i also spoke with the king of saudi arabia to reaffirm our commitment to the security

of our partners in the leaders of the six countries who make up the leadership council -- uae batar, bahrain, to meet with me in camp david to resolve some of these complex whoich havoc caused much conflict in the middle east. finally, it is worth remembering that congress has on a bipartisan basis, played a critical role in our current iranian policy, helping shape the sections that forced them to the table. in the coming days and weeks, my and ministers will engage commerce once again on how we can make -- how we can play a constructive role. i will begin that effort by speaking to leaders of the senate and house today.

in those conversations, i will underscore that the issues at stake here are bigger than politics. these are matters of war and peace. they should be evaluated based on the facts. and what is ultimately best for the american people and for our national security. for this is noticeably a deal between my administration and iran. this is a deal between iran, the united states of america, and the major powers in the world including some of our closest allies. if congress kills this deal, not based on expert analysis, and not offering any reasonable alternative, than it is the u.s. that will be blamed for the failure of the closing. international unity will collapse, and the conflict will widen. the american people understand this. which is why a solid majority support the diplomatic resolution to the iranian nuclear issue.

they understand instantly the words of president kennedy faced down the far greater threat of communism and said "let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate." the american people were number that at the height of the cold war, presidents like nixon and reagan struck historic arms agreements with the soviet union, a far more dangerous adversary. despite the fact that that adversary not only threatened to destroy our country and our way of life, but had the means to do so. one of the agreements is that we are not perfect. they did not and all threats. -- end all threats. but they made our world safer. a good deal with iran will do the same. today, i would like to express my thanks to our international

partners for their steadfastness, their cooperation. i was able to speak over to date with our close allies, president cameron, chancellor elan, and chancellor merkel, -- president hollande. i want to its present my thanks to our tireless, and i mean tireless secretary of state john kerry and our entire negotiating team. they have worked so hard to make this progress. they represent the best tradition of american diplomacy. their work, our work is not yet done. and success is not yet guaranteed. but we have an historic opportunity to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in iran, ended to do so peacefully, with the international community firmly behind us. we should seize that chance. thank you, god bless you, and

god bless the united states of america. >> just of the president's remarks, house speaker john boehner released a statement this afternoon on the nuclear agreement on iran, saying in part "my my immediate concern is the ministration signaling it will provide near-term sentience relief. congress must be fully allowed to review the details of any agreement before any sanctions are lifted." before the president's remarks in the rose garden, news was announced in switzerland. this is about five minutes. >> together, with the foreign ministers of the e3 plus 3 china, france, german,y the

united kingdom, and united states met from march to april in switzerland. as agreed in november, 2013, we gathered here to find solutions towards reaching a copy has a resolution -- comprehensive resolution that will interest the peaceful nature of the iranian nuclear program and become prehensile listing of all sanctions. -- comprehensive listing of all sanctions. today we have taken a decisive step. we have reached solutions on key parameters of a joint plan of action. the goodwill, the political determination, and the hard work of all parties made it possible. let us thank all delegations for their tireless dedication. this is a crucial decision playing the agreed basis for the final text of the joint copy has

a plan of action. -- comprehensive plan of action. as iran pushes a peaceful nuclear program iran's encouragement stockpile -- enrichment stockpile will be limited for durations, and there will be no other enrichment facilities. iran's research and develop it on centrifuges -- development on centerpieces will be carried out on a schedule which is mutually agreed. four of those will be converted from an enrichment site to a nuclear physics and technology center. international collaboration will be encouraged in areas of research. there will not be any materials before those.

in international joint venture will assist iran in redesigning and rebuilding a modernized heavywater reactor in iraq that will not produce weapons-grade plutonium. there will be no repossessing. a set of measures have been agreed to monitor the provisions of, including implantation of the modified code 311 and application of the additional protocol. the international atomic agency will be permitted the use of modern technologies and will have unannounced access through agreed procedures, including two clarify past and present issues. -- to clarify past and present issues. another important area of

cooperation will be in the field of nuclear safety and security. european union determinants the imitation of all economic and financial sections, in the united states will cease the application of all nuclear related economic sections. simultaneously with the iae there are five of its -- verified of its commitments. a un resolution will endorse and terminate all previous related nuclear related resolutions and incorporate certain restrictive measures for a mutually agreed. of time will not work to write the text -- we will now write the text of a joint conference of path of action in the political and its level, we are committed to

complete our efforts by june 30. we would like to thank the swiss government for its general support in hosting these negotiations. let me personally, and on behalf of everybody you all, journalists, media from around the world, for having followed our work and somehow worked with us over this difficult but intense and positive week. thank you. >> john kerry also spoke to reporters this afternoon. secretary kerry: thank you, very much, for your patience. i want to start by expressing an enormous thank-you to the people and government of switzerland for their incredible generosity

in the way they have welcomed us. it is really extraordinary, and we are very, very grateful to them. throughout this entire process certainly over the past week, the people us with similar have gone above and beyond in order to facilitate these negotiations, and i did not think anybody could imagine a much more peaceful setting in order to pursue a peaceful path forward. i also want to thank the many other nations that have provided homes for these negotiation's over the past couple of years. it has been going on that long. that includes austria, which was incredibly generous in hosting our delegation in the anna for a long time -- which has not only

hosted a number of meetings, but played a critical role in getting these talks on the ground in the first place, and then of course, we say thank you to turkey, russia, kazakhstan, iraq, and my home country, the united states. i particularly want to thank president obama. he has been courageous and determined in his pursuit of a diplomatic path. from the day he took office, president obama has been crystal clear that a nuclear armed iran would pose a threat to our security and the security of our allies in the region, including israel. he has been just as clear that the best and most effective way to prevent that threat is through diplomacy. the journey towards a diplomatic solution begin years ago --

began years ago, and i have been involved personally for about four years beginning with the time i was serving in the united states senate. others who have been on this journey and others on our team have been involved longer than that. as far as the high representative, what he announced moments ago, today we reached a critical milestone in that >>. we are in our partners and iran have arrived at a consensus on that key parameters of an arrangement that, once implemented, will give the international community confidence that iran's nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful. and over the coming weeks with all of the conditions of that

2013 joint plan of action still in effect from this moment forward, our experts will continue to work hard to build on the parameters that we have arrived at today and finalize a comprehensive deal by the end of june. we have said from the beginning -- i think you of heard me say it again and again -- that we will not accept just any deal, that we will only accept a good deal. and today i can tell you that the political understanding with details that we have reached is a solid foundation for the good deal that we are seeking. it is the foundation for a deal that will see iran reduce its stockpile of an enriched uranium by 98% for 15 years.

it is a deal in which iran will cut into its centrifuges by more than 2/3 for 10 years. it is a deal that will increase your rairan's -- time which was confirmed to be two to three months, the time that it will take iran to speed up its enrichment to produce enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon, and that will be expanded now under this deal to one year from these two two three months. i would like also to make one more point very clear because it has been misinterpreted and misstated not misrepresented for much of this discussion. there will be no sunset to the deal that we are working to

finalize no sunset, none. the parameters of this agreement will be implemented in phases. some provisions will be in place for 10 years. other will in place for 15 years. others will be in place for 25 years. but certain provisions including many transparency measures, will be in place indefinitely into the future. they will never expire. in the bottom line is that under this arrangement the international community will have confidence that iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, providing, of course that the provisions are adhered to. and if they are not, we have provisions that empower us to deal with that. alternately, the parameters that we have agreed to will do exactly what we set out to do --

make certain that all pathways to make fissile material will be cut off including the plutonium pathway at arak and another pathway. we, our partners, and iran have agreed that the only an iranian -- uranium enrichment facility iran will use forward will be the facility -- and that one will undergo dramatic changes. the vast majority of the centrifuges and their infrastructure will be removed. and for at least the next 15 years, the stockpile will remain at 300 kilograms.

and any uranium that is enriched at -- will be capped at 3.76%, which is a typical level of enrichment for civilian nuclear power, but does not even begin to approach the enrichment level necessary for a weapon. we have agreed that the facility at -- will hold all uranium enrichment period, all uranium enrichment, and, in fact, there will not even be any fissile material at the site and no enrichment r&d. the facility will be converted into a nuclear physics and technology center. we have also agreed that iran will redesigned and rebuild its heavy water reactor at arak so it will no longer produce any weapons-grade plutonium. and the united states will be able to sign off certify, the

rector's final redesign -- the reactor final redesign. it will be transformed into a reactor supporting only peaceful nuclear research and nuclear medicine. and as you heard earlier, -- will be taken out and destroyed. we have agreed that iran will shift all its spent fuel from the iraarak reactor out of the country for the reactor's lifetime, and iran has agreed to refrain from building any additional heavy water reactors the next 15 years, at least. at least means still or be on that period in the next three months. we have agreed that iran will face regular and comprehensive inspections, which is the best possible way to detect any

attempt to covertly produce a weapon. not only will inspectors have regular access to all of iran's declared facilities indefinitely, but they will also be able to monitor facilities that produce the centrifuges themselves and uranium that supports the nuclear program. and they will be able to do that for at least 20 years. this critical step will help to guard against diversion of those materials to any contest i'm location. -- clandestine location. iran has agreed to allow iaea to investigate any suspicious site or any allegations of covert nuclear activities anywhere. so these are just a few of the key -- and i mean a few -- of the key measures that will make up an extraordinarily comprehensive transparency

regime when and if it is finally signed and completed over the course of the next month spirit and we have been very clear both publicly and privately a final agreement will not rely on -- it will rely on proof. it is important to note that iran to date has honored all of the commitments that it made under the joint plan of action that we agreed to in 2013. and i ask you to think about that against the backdrop of those who predicted that it would fail and not get the job done. and in return, for arak's future cooperation, we and our international partners will provide relief in phases from the sanctions that have impacted in iran's economy. and if we find that at any point iran is not complying with this

agreement, the sanctions will snap back in place. so together, these parameters outlined a reasonable standard that iran could relatively -- readily meet, and it is a standard that iran has now agreed to meet. throughout history diplomacy has been necessary to prevent wars and to define international boundaries to design institutions, and to develop global norms. simply demanding that a ran capitulate -- that iran capitulate, makes a nice soundbite, but it is not policy. it is not a real plan. so the true measure of this understanding is not whether it meets all of the desires of one side at the expense of the other. the test is whether or not it

will leave the world safer or more secure it would be than without this agreement. and there could be no question that we are moving toward will more than pass that test. this is not just -- testing. is not just the assessment of the united states' delegation and our experts. is the assessment of every one of our partners who stood up under the flags of the nations. it is the assessment of our negotiating partners -- germany the u.k., china, france, and russia -- and all of our experts who have analyzed every aspect of this issue also join in that assessment. from the beginning, we have negotiated as a team, and we are all agreed that this is the best outcome achievable. no viable alternatives would be

nearly as effective as preventing iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon thann ovaryver a period of time that the parameters get completed and are sent. our political understanding arrived at today opens the door for a long-term resolution for the international community's concerns about iran's nuclear program. we have no illusions about the fact that we still have a ways to travel before we arrive at the destination that we seek. we still have many technical details to work out on both sides. there are still some other issues that we acknowledge still have to be resolved. for example, the duration of the youu.n. arms and ballistic missile restrictions and the conversion of the reactor. and once we are able to finalize

the comprehensive deal, the process of implementation then remains in front of us as well. but that is a good challenge. throughout this negotiation we have made a diligent effort to consult with our allies, our partners, including israel and the gulf states, and we have vigorously reaffirmed our enduring commitment to their security. no one should mistake that. and we will continue to stand by that commitment in the years and days ahead. obviously, we remain deeply concerned about iran's destabilizing actions in the region, and we remain fully committed to addressing the fall slate of issues -- the full slate of issues that we currently have with iran. what it is because we are so concerned about those issues and about the region's security,

precisely because of that concern that we believe this deal is critical. the status quo with respect to iran's nuclear program is unacceptable. certainly we will continue to consult closely in the days ahead with the united states congress. they need to understand that if iran were to have a nuclear weapon would be more problematic. i spent almost 30 years in the united states senate, and i had the privilege and responsibility of chairing the foreign relations committee when we put tough sanctions in place, when this regime was put in place. and that is the regime that indeed has brought this negotiation about. we are deeply grateful to congress' support of the diplomatic path to date. we appreciate your patience. there were those agitating to take action earlier.

responsible voices held on and helped us to get to this moment that we appreciate. we sincerely hope that members will continue to give us that time and the space that we need to fully explain political agreements that we have reached a to work out the remaining details of a final deal. >> john boehner released a statement on the agreement with iran saying -- president obama talked about the agreement with iran at the white house. you can watch his speech at 8:00 and we will take your phone calls, tweets, and face book comments. at 9:00, the u.k. leaders debate. prime entry elections are made seven. -- may 7.

prime minister cameron debated a number of candidates today. that debate tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. hero some of our featured programs for this holiday weekend. on c-span saturday it 80 clock p.m. -- at 8:00, wendy davis on the challenges facing women in politics. easter sunday at 6:30 p.m., jack nicklaus receives the congressional gold medal for his contributions to the game and community service. on c-span2's "book tv," cornell west on the radical political thinking of martin luther king jr. sunday on new, a lot conversation with a former investigative reporter for "the

washington post," who has written 20 books. in american history tv on c-span3 saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, east carolina university charles calhoun on the obstacles faced and the comp insurance made by ulysses s grant during his presidency. sunday afternoon, patrick shoulder takes us on a -- patrick schroeder takes us on a tour of the appomattox courthouse. >> the most memorable was hearing senator cory gardner at our lunch yesterday say you need to be firm in your principles, but flexible in the details, because it reflects the solution, like a harsh polarization we are seeing, and the methodology that if all the senators, all the country's men

and women, you can come together as a country and solve many of our pertinent issues. >> my favorite quotation came from julie adams. she said that remember to be humble and have a strong work ethic. because of the people you meet on the way up, you will meet them on the way back down. >> congress itself, we oftentimes have a lack of two statements. -- statesmen. john mccain committed to the veterans affair reform bill, and reading the senate culture report and maintaining that staying away from torture is essential to the character of our democracy. to the point we are willing to have people cross the aisle, we are willing to make these decisions with people with whom they may not often agree with, that is essentially what we need to maintain the security, the integrity of our nation as we go on. >> high school students who rank in the top 1% of their states

were in washington as part of the united states senate youth program. sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's "q&a." >>today saudi arabia's master -- investor said his country had no choice but to take action against rebels in yemen. he made the remarks this morning in washington during a panel discussion at the national council on u.s.-arab relations. >> ladies and gentlemen, please come to order please. >> thank you, dave. good morning, everyone. thank you for coming. it shows that the topic itself is timely, relevant, and to some of the participants is indeed urgent. we're talking about a region that is hardly marginal, part of

the on the -- we are speaking about a region that has two kinds of oil, turmoil, and the other kind. without security and stability you have no peaceful to volunteer to without security you have no stability. without that two, you have no foreign investment. without direct investment in a country as poor as yemen, the future looks more than link. if it only looked bleak, that perhaps would be an improvement. that we have a number of resource specialists. some of them have devoted their

lifetime to yemen, and its indications, regionally, globally, that nationally, locally, some regionally, and these two on my right and three americans on my left, including myself, and we will do our best to confine ourselves to 10 minutes each. we will have a discussion. you have cards on your chair. these write a question as opposed to a comment, a speech, a valedictory address so that we can have a server rebuild massage here. in terms of yemen, very quickly i will let you know something about the context and how complicated and complex this country is. but before doing so, we thank the media for being here. you will have a little whiplash there on the next site. we have 10 of the global international, national, and regional media filming this,

filming it live. we appreciate, especially c-span cnn, and all the others that are here to captured this on record for posterity. if the gentleman with the camera there on my left will step aside for a menace, and i hope my voice carries. we are talking about eight yemens, if you will. think of yemen as louisiana. think of it in terms of a boot, this being the ankle, these being the heel. you have two factors in northern yemen that our ipods with one another to a degree that the commonality of interests. you have the northernmost part of yemen the base of the

houtis, who were not a household name 10 years ago. they are a recognizable force now. southam that area, -- south of that area has been led by -- since the end of the yemen civil war revolution from september 22, 1962, through march 14, 1970. that brought saudi arabia brought to the -- and egypt that to the southern city. these divisions of shia and sunni are not as pronounced as they are in other places. they intermarry between the two. there is a commonality between the two. these are two in the north, and in one area of the north, east of the capital called where the

country's mineral wealth is. coming down to the south, what used to be the border between the north and the south -- would be the second largest city in the north. the south of -- towards adan en, there is another world, a protectorate, and this is the area where the houtis have advanced to the last two weeks. then there is aden itself, a crown colony. great britain had only five during the reign of queen victoria. this is where the diamond in the terra of queen -- triara of queen victoria came from.

more ships in aden's harbor then you had in -- and djibouti up until into the 1960's. just as egypt has the gift of the nile, so has aden and the gift of the suez canal. when the suez canal was opened in 1957, and remain closed until 1975. it was in this atmosphere that aden lurched to the left to become a marxist government. that was the only american allowed to live there, but there has been no other marxist government in the arab countries like there was in aden based on the prestige in terms of global

international trade. to the east of aden, this area here, these are small villages with a -- yemeni architecture. they are quite different in terms of what drives them. immediately to the east of them is the -- has produced around 10 million yemenis within the last 20 years. [indiscernible] minister of education were all part from yemen. this is the root of osama bin laden's father. just east of -- is that --

state. it is quite different. it is from this state that we are talking about the -- which the soviets had an eye on at one time -- and this is a -- until now is not in the coalition against the houtis because we are talking about a state here that oman's policy will be driven by -- the last factor, the numbers fluctuate up and down, and saudi arabia -- there have been as many as a million. [indiscernible] along with saudi arabia, and elsewhere, yemenis all over the world are probably on the move. they were the first arabs -- and work and respond to henry ford

and honest wage for an honest day's work. [indiscernible] in that particular union, the largest of the uaw. this is to paint the brushstroke of the context here. we will go to mr. shaw who is with the congressional research service. he is the person who does the research, writing, analytical written work for the members of the united states congress. biographies are on the materials you picked up coming in on your cpa i ask that you write a question on a three by five card and pass them to national council staff who will bring them forward and i will use them in the question and answers. the ambassador is due here around 11:00. he called yesterday to say i

will be there. we're looking for an operational and just go feet because he has been in the kingdom in the last 72 hours and now he is coming back, and this particular event is highest on his agenda. jeremy sharp. mr. sharp: thank you, john. i wish i could do that. just go to a map and give a country's history in a broad brush stroke. thank you to the national council and u.s.-arab nations for hosting this event today, and a welcome not just to the media and our outside guests, but a special thanks to our congressional clients for coming here today. like a good panelist, i am legally obligate eyes -- obliged to note that my remarks here are my own. i also would like to thank john for moderating this morning. i can tell you firsthand that john can hike that yemeni

bylines better than most -- the mne high lands better than most -- the yemeni high lands that are than most people have his age. thank you for moderating today. pleasantries aside, this is a particularly unpleasant time for most yemenis. i am always humbled by the fact that i cover yemen from a seat here on capitol hill and i am mindful of the fact that perhaps one of our panelists, perhaps some of you in the audience, have friends or extended family members who are entering a -- are enduring suffering now. i'm constantly mindful of that fact. the cousin i am situated here in washington, i wanted to gear my remarks toward u.s. policy and what are the implications for operation decisive storm, u.s.

policy toward yemen, and the region at large. i want to make a few policy remarks and then analyze where this is going in the weeks and months ahead. no one, the points to start it with is there is a serious political imperative in washington to demonstrate support for saudi arabia at this time, both in the administration and congress. whatever you may think of saudi arabia's involvement in yemen, the reality is u.s. policy in yemen, which is foremost to counterterrorism is highly dependent on saudi arabia, not just for counterterrorism, but before politically and financially supporting yemeni central government. this is between -- this is especially true between the transition that began in 2011, commentating in 2012. because of the alliance has

expanded so far into yemeni territory, harbaugh -- far beyond what most of us thought there has been a lot of signal sending by the administration that we understand a red line has been crossed in saudi arabia's mine and we support their actions. this is pertinent amidst the wider regional environment of an international environment of an iran nuclear negotiation and the sensitivity to sunni-era perceptions. if you remarks on iran for a second. for iran, who is supporting the houthis, what a great investment yemen is for iran. it is a high return to low risk investment. iran is certainly supporting them, but the level of support does not mirror what is being done in syria, what is being done in iraq, in lebanon, and the media, every time it mentions iran in yemen is is basically doing itiran's

work for them. it is a concern and support cord increase in the years he had, but we have to keep that in mind that we have to measure what is exactly going on there. u.s. support for saudi arabia one named official told "the washington post" that when it comes to security we have their back, providing the most unique capabilities to facilitate their actions. u.s. support for saudi arabia at this time is not just political. there is certainly a material element to it. at the back of the room as my colleague, chris blanchard. chris's report on saudi arabia has catalogued and documented pentagon and defense department notifications to congress that since 2010, there has been a planned arms bill for saudi arabia, something like over $90 billion.

so when you think about that number for a second, when saudi arabia goes to war in yemen, there is a definite u.s. element that is working behind the scenes. you sell an f-15 to saudi arabia but there is u.s. work done on the maintenance of it. there is u.s. refueling, training of the pilots. when saudi pilots went down just a few days ago, there was a u.s. search and rescue operation to assist. so there is a lot we are doing behind the scenes. and the administration is not hiding the fact. the white house issued a statement on the day that operation isis storm against blaming houthis for causing the crisis in yemen, recognizing the president as a legitimate leader of yemen and president obama authorized the coalition of support to gcc led military operations. the administration claimed that while u.s. forces are not taking direct military action in yemen,

we are establishing a joint planning commission with saudi arabia to coordinate military and intelligence report. so that is one aspect of the policy and one that is being played out in public. now, privately, we can sort of speculate that, yes, we're definitely in support of what is going on, but there's a lot of concern perhaps that the longer that this persists, the greater the chance for terrorists on the ground to become empowered. i am really glad that i woke up at 5:00 a.m. to prepare for this today because had i not, i would have not checked the new cycle and seen that there was actually a major operation last night where aqap terrorists, in what

seems like a major operation protect certain facilities. while workgroup attacked facilities, another one attacked a jail and broke it open and several hundred militants escaped, including a high-level regional commander. so we know from yemen's history that when the central security forces dissipate, take sides abandon their posts, that that leaves a vacuum for aqap whomever to take route. there is a lot of concern that this is happening. and it may happen continually if the conflict drags on. now, there is also sort of the immediate concern of how does the u.s. conduct c.t operations, counterterrorism operations in yemen. and the administration has really several statements trying to reassure the american public that will take action if there is an immediate risk to u.s. homeland security, that we have assets in the region, offshore assets, assets

in djibouti and saudi arabia that we will employ if there is a terrorist threat. at the same time, logic would dictate that if our embassy operations are suspended, the free pulled out a certain level of military personnel, that that is going to certainly impact our on-the-ground knowledge of what is going on. now, that is an obvious point, but there is also something else that is out there. and that is since 2006, as part of our c.t. strategy in yemen, we have had a train and equip program. i think one concerned that hasn't been expressed is that if this conflict persists, we have made a lot of investments in the yemeni military. and if there is damage done to those investments, both material and human, that is going to be a lot harder to reconstitute our program in the years ahead. so there is a lot of concern that that doesn't take place either.

and finally, the fourth part about u.s. policy in this conflict is that the u.s. has really tried to get it own personnel out of harm's way. as i mentioned, we have suspended embassy operations moved diplomats to the in jiddah, and like i mentioned before, we moved all of our special forces trainers and military personnel out of an air base, which was near a nearby town that was attacked by aqap militants just a day before we decorated our personnel. now, where is this all going? it is obviously going to be dictated by where this conflict goes in the days and weeks and months ahead. an oversimplified way of looking at things is to sort of take two tracks. one is that this is a military conflict, that the saudi-led

coalition, either by ground, air -- there is a bbc report just a few hours ago that there had been maybe led forces in aden -- i have no idea. some of you may know better than others if you are on your phone tweeting or whatever. there is a military dimension to this with a coalition just pushes everyone back pushes them back perhaps to the capital perhaps beyond. but i also think force is being used in another way. i think that is something we need to look at. and that is perhaps forces being used to break apart houthis marriage of convenience. if you look what has been put out in the arab media lately there has been a lot of reports of leaks between the former esidprt and the international community, claiming that he was to negotiate a deal with himself and preserve his immunity in

yemen in exchange for turning on the houthis. there is a quote. i don't know if it is with him directly, but he said, let's go to dialogue and elections, and i promise you that neither i nor any of my colleagues will run for the presidency. and a houthis spokesman retorted, he is only doing this to keep the arab states friendly. i don't know exactly what the play here is, but trying to break up this marriage seems like a pretty rational strategy. whether it is by force, i psychological operations whatever. using the media. because, look, at its course, he is a rational actor who is concerned with its own preservation and the

preservation of his family. his sons, his place in yemen, he is a competent negotiator. i don't know if any of you saw this, but the sanctions committee a few weeks ago put out a report that somewhere between $60 billion and $80 billion out of yemen during his time. that is like a "forbes" list. i think that is something to look at, to carefully analyze. what is a deal if there is any? and what does it mean for president hadi, especially, as we have said, he is a legitimate ruler, if there is one day of negotiations, what is it going to look like in terms of his status? i will leave it to the rest of you. thank you very much and good luck. mr. anthony: thank you, jeremy.

mr. des roches: thank you very much, dr. anthony. i feel like the forgotten member of that 1970's supergroup -- [indiscernible] mr. des roches: ok. my remarks also do not reflect the view of the national defense university or the united states government. it is always awkward when you are in violent this agreement with members of the podium, but i would like to address a few aspects, focusing on security aspects of yemen and its neighbors. i won't get too wonky, but you can let me know about questions if you want to know about tanks or missile-guided weapons. it is clear that it was a mistake to leave -- in yemen. the calculus at the time was that it would prevent conflict

and bloodshed, a move that with hindsight i admit this, considerable hindsight, that was misguided. it is not clear that he retained the loyalty of many parts of the armed forces. the extent to which yemeni armed forces are loyal to him were brought into question with the summer upon's rapid advance into the capital. it ended with his house arrest and interrogation of many a political system. the lack of an opposition to the houthis expansion southward can only partly be explained by inefficiency in the normal fighting problems of a patronage-based army. there were some treachery involved. there was some turning of units. the houthis are misunderstood. this is important. it is not well known here, the houthis are seen as the

vanguard of the established order. that is, they are not a unified fighting force. and their support may be transactional and shallow in parts of the country that we and the saudis consider as conquered. armies generally do not do well in areas occupied by hostile tribes. my bias, my career has been in the ground forces, but it is important to look at this. the saudis, for their part, have seemed to concluded that both the year many air force are under de facto houthis control and have made a point of targeting those early in the bombing campaign. they hit the surface-to-surface missile depots twice. it is interesting to note that with they mig 21, they chose to crater the runways and attack hangars, but that the aircraft

itself. so long as the runway is cratered, they can't fly. the spectacular series of explosions on tuesday night were proof of the determination of the coalition to prevent retaliation. indeed, there have been reports that saudis also moved batteries -- and have upgraded to pack three -- to the southern border to prevent an attack. the air campaign is impressive. saudi arabia has shown it learn from an approved on its generally unimpressive conduct of the border war with houthis in 2009. a general criticism was and you will hear from everybody is that

the saudi air force relied too heavily on the precision cut it the contrast now is extremely impressive. the saudi'ss is a coalition which sends a message to the iranians. perhaps it is a quid pro quo for an eventual iran deal. the u.s. agreed to provide intelligence and logistic support. presumably this means help in identifying and taking targets and assessing the targets after each strike. this could also mean rapid resupply of f-15 parts. so this will not even be used

more accurately, but they will also be replaced more rapidly. and the american cooperation extended sunday to the rescue of two saudi pilots. and that is extremely important. as the air campaign grinds on, however, its effectiveness will decrease not arithmetically, but exponentially. high payoff targets are already destroyed. other targets will be dispersed among civilians or in areas such as mountain valleys where they can be defended by anti-aircraft artillery traps. as we saw with the kosovo campaign or with korea or with vietnam or with world war ii in europe, if you try to achieve military victory just from the air, you eventually redefine not only your target set, which expands, but also degree to find victory. and forces cannot seize and hold terrain. i'm going to say that again. air force is cannot seize and hold terrain.

the same will happen to this coalition if the military effort is not accompanied by an effective political coalition that offers the houthis something other than surrender. it is important to discuss what victory means here. the houthis may not be who we think they are. they have always been unhappy with development in this era. as airstrikes harden opinion this will be a part of it more broadly-based group. you many opposition to the coalition will harden, lost among houthis. saudi arabia and her partners may find that what they thought was a proxy war with iran will transform into an actual or with yemen. a word about the ground operations. ground operations by non-yemeni forces -- i think the houthis

forces are actually a saudi brigade that switch sides -- they are ill-advised. the egyptian army lost 5000 soldiers in north yemen in 1960's. the terrain is mountainous and the infrastructure is rudimentary. an assault on the red sea would involve enforcing a potentially endless series of thermopylaes. the question is, who does the army answer to? loyalties are transient things in yemen. hopefully, saudi influence and money could force a shift back. if the campaign continues and the inevitable civilian casualties amount, however, this outcome becomes less likely. now a word on aqap. aqap remained an important security concern for erica. >> for america.

only aqap has shown the intent and the capability to amount attacks on the american homeland. aqap is a shared concern. yemen has been a vital, but vacillating power in the campaign against aqap. we saw that in this morning's jailbreak. if a q ap were defeated decisively, he would be put in the same box as other international pariahs. the challenge for policymakers in the united states has always been to discern where the line is between treachery, tribal politics in local government and the central government lack of capacity. the houthis and aqap have fought, but it would be foolhardy to suppose these two forces will cancel each other out.

the fighting with the houthis has detracted from the fight against aqap, who is a global concern. finally, a word on iran. iran did not give birth to the houthis. and the support of the houthis is not by their success. to have survived on their own. they have exploited the opportunity to stick the thumb in the eye of the saudis. i have skimmed over a number of things. i would be happy to take your question, but let me close by saying there is no military solution to the current problems in yemen. and i welcome your questions. thank you. dr. anthony: thank you, david. we now have mr. abbas almosawa.

he is an editor of a widely, well-received, respected journal. translating simultaneously for him will be -- mr. almosawa: good morning everyone. i will speak -- [speaking in foreign language]

translator: good morning everybody. greetings to everyone. i will be translated. he cited a verse from a yemeni poet. basically the idea that there is a real tragedy going on in yemen since the arab spring. any many factors coalesce. basically, a week state and now al qaeda seems to be getting stronger.

[speaking in foreign language]

translator: there are many arab groups in yemen. and now what remains is being destroyed by the coalition. i am not a houthis lover. they have attacked my family and my people, and it basically carried on against the state. [speaking in foreign language]

translator: the houthis have used the libyan example. they've used arms against everybody else, but they have expelled the president, the legitimate president. they have attacked the state. but the problem is the current conflagration, the current war is actually assisting the houthi

s. [speaking in foreign language] translator: both saudi arabia and iran have their own agendas. they have been using yemen, libya, iraq, syria to basically eeke it out with each other. [speaking in foreign language]

>> iran supports its own groups at the same time saudi arabia supports its own groups, and the u.s. has committed many egregious strategic mistakes in afghanistan and iraq and in libya. the problem is, you get rid of somebody else, but you don't build something and said.

-- instead. [speaking foreign language] >> yemen basically has 2000 kilometer border with saudi arabia. it has become breeding grounds for a lot of groups that are doing harm. [speaking foreign language]

>> the state is weak, the republican guard has led the houthis do what they want to do. the republican guard has helped the houthis gain what ground they have been able to gain. i hate a war, war is only or destruction. [speaking foreign language]

>> it said that this war is a war of necessity. i really don't think so. there have been many opportunities for a political solution but it said that saudi arabia does not have a choice. it does have a choice. all parties have a choice for a peaceful resolution of the problem.

basically the idea that the war is really helping the houthis do what they want to do instead of weakening them. my apologies, i did miss out on one thing you mentioned something about 15 million pieces of weapons among the people of yemen. >> thank you. [applause] our last resource specialists any of you your students of genealogy and ethic -- ethnic groups know that they have strong root. she is an analyst for al jazeera english and arabic, bbc, npr

and a cnn analyst on yemen. >> i'm very happy to be here and to see so many people in the audience who care about yemen. to the yemenis here and our brothers and sisters, thank you for coming. i'm actually going to do something different here that i don't usually do at my other talks. rather than focusing on the politics and the analysis behind everything, i would like to say that when i first anger, i came to study at university and i never thought of it gain this country. my hope was to go back. of course this is becoming less and less of a reality. the situation in yemen has gotten significant we worse every year. as of recently, a friend month in your photo of a drawing done by a child who is asked years old of planes dropping bombs on them -- a child who is years

old. i realized how bad the situation has gotten. i participated in the children draw or their rights program. i never thought i would draw a plane with things falling on my head. having said that, i would like to represent the voice of yemeni people, considering i speak to so many people on the ground in the north and south of yemen. i want to begin with aden, that is really suffering today. somebody people have died. people are talking about bodies piling up on the ground without being able to pull it away. the lighting in aden is the result of houthis fighting, the shooting is targeting everyone and there are 63,000 internally just waste people, people have fled into villages and at the moment a lot of people cannot go anywhere because of the shifting of move. the airstrikes won't stop.

rather than talking about corruption and politicians in having the blame game we talk about iran and reread your fighting each other, we forget there are 26 million stuck between these names that we talk about. everything we see today is a result of having a week government, having a week leader. the government had an opportunity from 2011-2014 to deliver services to people, which left a vacuum for houthis to step up and take the plate. yemen at the moment is surrounded. besides the humanitarian aid, we import a lot of our oil, about 80% of her gasoline is imported from the outside and revenues can only last up to three weeks. right before the war started, we were expecting another shipment that we did not receive. that means there is inflation,

oil prices are going up, the dollar is really up. is impossible to find it in the market and there are laws restricting people on buying gasoline. of course we depend on gas for more than just cars. we don't have electricity in the country is running out of water. at the moment, a lot of the countries participating in this coalition are claiming they are there to save yemen. however, 4900 people more than that actually, it's increasing every day, are stuck at airports worldwide because no country would grant them thesis. yemenis don't have the opportunity to get visas to enter anywhere. at the moment, the only country accepting yemenis as refugees is somalia. we have in yemen 200-4000 refugees on the ground. we have iraqi and syrian refugees. yemen has opened its doors to these refugees. however, no other countries are

opening their doors for our refugees are immigrants, and that is very tragic. since we are technically in a siege, we don't have medical supplies for those who are wounded. we don't have enough doctors are medication. the situation is getting really bad. talking about the airstrike, i constantly think, how can you curve and ideology by launching airstrikes against a people? we've learned through drone strikes or other experience is that you cannot fight and ideology by dropping bombs. you need a proper government infrastructure, better education, you need a development land area you need to employ people in order to ship them from fighting with malicious into participating in good governance. moreover, a lot of the airstrikes have targeted military site and military bases, meaning if there is a

leader is going to go back to yemen, he will not have a military to leave. they will have to start everything from zero and build the infrastructure from nothing. everybody here on this panel has talked about the role of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and given -- and human. yesterday they free 300 prisoners and are taking advantage of the opportunity to expand on the ground. the problem with this war is that the only group that was capable of defeating and fighting al qaeda in the arabian peninsula was in fact houthis. what is worth is that the houthis -- they're blaming everything on the president claiming he dragged the war there. our southern brothers and sisters are suffering from the concert and his of these politicians. at the same time, aqap has looted the sun all central bank

and we still are not sure how much money to have taken. what's worse than that, we talk about the scenario of having on the ground, it's going to be hard to distinguish who is who in yemen, considering the military going in is not going to know the jogger the of yemen or distinguish who they are shooting at by just looking at them. -- not going to know the geography of yemen. i request that the saudi government reveal the target they have attacked and i asked them to be transparent about who they are attacking and to give people notice of the areas they are going to target. just a few days ago they attacked and weapons depot and it -- it's self imploded and missiles came out of the mountain in every direction. that was in a heavily populated area. all the areas where these airstrikes are taking class place

are the most heavily populated areas. so far, we don't have any international ngo workers in yemen. we can't get the right statistics. in the last several hours we had several ngos come up with rough drafts of the numbers of deaths happening there. considering there are no drones on the ground -- no journalist on the ground, it's hard to tell what is happening and who is killing who. i depend on the saudi government to provide us with their targets to know what is going on. besides the effects on human beings, whether psychological or physical i want to pay attention to what is happening to the biodiversity of yemen. this will affect people's health long-term if we don't know what weapons they are using and who they are targeting. the repercussions of this could be very great. we already have smuggling in yemen and illegal markets. as a woman, i wonder what that means to my sisters back home in

yemen. are they going to be part of a smuggling operation? i don't know what's going to happen and the idea terrifies me. looking at what is happening in aden at the moment and this chaos, i'm worried about other minorities in yemen as well. this is the time to launch attacks in yemen. you have to look at other minorities and protect them. this is me stepping out of my professional realm, and i do request that the humanitarian law is implemented in yemen. unfortunately yemenis now are stuck tween fire coming in and fire from within. a lot of the people have not had the chance to make plans to evacuate. there are no light coming in or out of yemen. yemen has many yemeni americans and roughly 40,000 yemeni american citizens are trapped in this fire.

every other country has citizens there that they cannot evacuate. i think it is very necessary for the government of saudi arabia that is leading the coalition of course it's not the only country responsible for this but to reveal what political agenda they have in the future for yemen. i urge them to have a plan another backup plan. everything that is happening in yemen now is result of having only one plan and yemen, which was the national dialogue conference which failed miserably. having said all of these things, i think we need to pay attention to those that will have a lot of turmoil in the future. talking about the military moving over i heard the u.s., saudi and other countries participating to pay attention and learn lessons of nato in libya, of the dcc in syria of

the u.s. in iraq. it's very important moving over of paying attention to how to restructure the military. everything were talking about today, analysts like myself have warned of a long, go. we have warned about the elder of yemen's national dialogue. we warned about the expansion of the houthis into the capital. we have warned and warned and unfortunately i feel that our voices are not heard. here today i am warning about the repercussions of this were continuing. yemen is going to be a disaster and al qaeda is expanding. isis is carried out an operation in sanaa. this is an opportunity for me to warned that if the wars continuing without a clear plan without opportunity to say people, it's just going to recruit more people in the fight into the houthis side or the al qaeda side, but it will move all

yemenis against the side of saudi arabia and the u.s.. therefore, i urge everybody to request -- i urge all the analyst to request a humanitarian cease-fire for the people to make plans of evacuation to find places to move here it a lot of people are trapped in their own houses and our resources are about to go down. i asked for the allowance of shipments of a and so on to into the country. for the return of some ngos, for allowing doctors without first to come in and treat the patients. otherwise a lot of those who are wounded would die out of not getting the proper health care. at this point i would like to end my conversation, but i would like to point out i'm also very well-versed in many politics, so if you guys want to ask about that, i'm happy to answer that. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, and i commend all

of the speakers for confining themselves to the assigned 10 minutes. now we have time for discussion and questions and we as individuals to write their questions on three by five cards and bring them forward so that we have real questions as opposed to statement and valedictorian addresses. several have been asked of me and i'll will answer them as quickly as i can. one is, hasn't too much been made of the sunni shia divide here? i made in my opening remarks yes in the case of yemen because the divisions between the sunnis and shia there are rather soft. historically they have cooperated. nothing nearly as pronounced as you find to the northern part of the arabian peninsula, although it does exist. it is true that egypt had 80,000

troops in support of the so-called sunnis from 60 25 and 67. it's true that saudi arabia plus iran backed those in northern yemen who were the monarchists as such. that itself is a window for one. secondly, in terms of people saying that saudi arabia is adamantly anti-shia, throughout the 60's and 70's, saudi arabia cooperated most closely, geopolitically and strategically with iran, whose head of state was shia. in terms of the human government over the years, who has saudi arabia supported most? a shia head of state. saudi arabia's aide to northern yemen in southern yemen has been greater than that of the world bank, the imf, the united states, great britain, the

netherlands combined. aspects of it have pertained also to lebanon and the accord in 1989, it was saudi arabia that pushed for a reconfiguration of power in lebanon, which enabled the shia element in lebanon to have a greater percentage of power and authority and influence positions than the had before. these are or cases there, and one can add with regard to syria , saudi arabia's long-standing relationship with sera before the recent troubles has been with the government headed by an offshoot of the shia rate. these are poor examples of reaching out beyond ethnicity beyond religion, beyond sectarian dynamics and divides to cooperate on interest and strategic commonalities.

i subscribe to what some others have said. here you have a situation of an individual who ills that he was ditched are not supported when the arab spring came about. and did not want to see yemen devolve into what happened in iraq when you got rid of a strong person but did not replace a strong person with another strong person. the same thing in libya. that situation is in shambles. one has to ask with regard to syria, what after bashar al-assad? most of the christian sects in syria are beholden to his family. this does not come out in the media, but what are the

implications of that, in terms of getting rid of a strong man in yemen? more than 30 years of being in power, no head of state and yemen knows the tribes families the marriages, the ethnic groups, that you traffic groups, municipalities more than that individual. yemen yearns for security and stability. to completely rule him out on grounds of dislike, of corruption, of ms. rule, all understandable but what about the implications of doing that given what we have seen where other strong people have been removed there? this aspect with regard to the united states goes back to the 1990's when yemen held the chair of the united nations security council and did not go along with the consensus to use force to restore kuwait national

sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity. yemen paid a big price for that. the country did indeed suffer from that aspect of his leadership. but when people talk about dictatorial, authoritarian strong person rule, backwardness, yes and no. development last, economic wise but not necessarily in terms of the levels of 90. having been the observer from the 1993 and 1990 evan election, 2006 was just one of 33, but the consensus was that these elections were as air and three and open and transparent as anyone would find among the 130 developing countries. do not overlook that. in 1998, secretary of state madeleine albright chose yemen of all countries in the world to

host an emerging democracies for him. so these windows on yemen must not be overlooked. the development in the south aided was almost an overdeveloped city in comparison to the other cities up until independence in 1967. we are talking about the waste of a lot of talent with regard to the yemeni people who are extraordinarily hard workers. this also seems to be lost in the account. lastly, with regard to the south, it not only analogous to the south's aunt and -- south sudan and cartoon. -- khartoum. leaving out dafur in the west, leaving out the north in nimby a and leaving out the east.

one wonders why you had the reaction of violence of these extreme other regions. with unity in 1990, south yemen played a hard hand and ended up with 50% of the power, 50% of the cabinet post and the other 50% the deputy ministers. when the population was only 1/7, 1/5 the you can see while the south wanted to regain or retain its powers, but you can also see the animus of the north, many of whom off the south took too much, got too much didn't deserve asthma. jeremy shaw, on the questions of the united states relationship with yemen, what are the implications of this? is this likely to result in an increased depth of an americanism, hatred toward the

united states the longer that this conflict continues? jeremy: i feel like i should give my room -- my opening remarks all over again. one side of me is -- things that on any given day, even when there is not a major international operation in yemen, it is never a good situation like panelists described. this is a country with incredibly low socioeconomic indicators in terms of human development. on the u.s. side, we have a history now of u.s. connecticut operations in -- u.s. kinetic operations and yemen. mistakes have been made, civilians have been killed. that obviously in dangers a great deal of discord against

the united states. certainly, like my panelists said, if there are more airstrikes that hit dairy factories or weapon depots in civilian areas, that is also going to fill a lot of discourse. in terms of u.s. operations and not necessarily saudi, you get into sort of broader questions about how we conduct counterterrorism operations not just in yemen but in pakistan, afghanistan, iraq, syria. how do we protect our own homeland security without creating new breeds and generations of terrorists? it is being tested in yemen and will be tested elsewhere. i do not have the answer to that debate, but it is worth revisiting, certainly.

colonel, how long will the logistics and operational assets on the ground in yemen likely last, including ammunition? and what are the implications for u.s. yemeni defense corporation that is now on hold and idling at the intersection? how do you assess this situation and what is the prognosis? colonel: thank you, sir. the other vehicles, rebel lines of litigation and unfortunately, rebel line of communication is what you and i would call a road. the target set is already fairly broad.

what you will see happen is some form of precision guided munitions will run not relatively quickly because there are not a lot of stocks and they are difficult to replace. we don't know for sure what has been used, but based on what they bought, i assume paisley and brimstone, which are british produced and used by britain and saudi arabia, if those production line is small and incapable of searching and they will run out quickly and you will see typhoon and tornado having to move back up to the north. on the other hand, the former douglas produced snap-on's, those are very cheap and there are a lot of them an easy to move around. those will probably become the target. the paradox is the saudi stocks will decline at the same time they become harder to find, so you have fewer precision guided ammunitions when your target

requires more guidance. and your political frustration increases which leads to this and it is time to put away the stick and show the carrot. we will not be able to happen. the second question, the u.s. support yemen, right now there is a lot of -- i would imagine there is a lot of consternation within u.s. circles because a lot of the things we have given to the yemenis, such as night vision goggles, we cannot account for. these are something we try to track cosi and that we inventory on a monthly basis. i actually inventoried the yemeni parachute brigade's. it was immaculate. we do not know where those are. unless we can establish where they are, we are not going to send more things of that nature. there will be cooperation of there is an entity we can