at defense issues facing the trump administration. nd joe plenzeler, worked extensively with general james mattis, donald trump's nominee to head the defense department. host: good morning this is december 26. today we begin a weeklong long series on key issues facing the administration of donald trump. he will take office in an few weeks. a look at national security. the question for you today, what are the biggest national security concerns you have headed into the new year. , democrats are numbers 202-74 8-8000 and 8-2000dents, to a two-74 two.

if not by phone you can take part by social media. 's our twitter handle. and facebook that calm -- a is able to so deadly mayhem. he writes that in the past few weeks see islamic's date has sustained a string of literary defeats. struggling to maintain its cold on mosul and losing ground in syria. the deadly truck attack in berlin made clear, those losses do not diminish the groups power to inspire mayhem around the world and may even help to fuel it. in the past year, even while under continuous compartment by the american-led coalition, the islamic state has claimed responsibility for attacks.

that figure does not include the organization's home terrain and syria and iraq where it has lost 50,000 fighters in the past two years, according to the pentagon's. were carriedttacks -- by assailants who cited as a motive for acting at home. at the core of the islamic state access and vulnerability is a peculiar blend of theological , something al qaeda, its predecessor and rival ever achieved. the "newhe piece in and our first call is from john in spring texas on the republican line. russia.my concern is

i am 65, i was in the cold war and donald trump is talking i don't want to go through that again. that is my main concern. the u.s.t do you think poster should be towards russia, especially under the new president? once is more than enough. hope they would reduce the number of's, not reduce it -- not increase it. is it 900, 700?

i can't remember what the number is. we have 20% more than russia does right now. john talking there about russia. you might be interested in this piece. $20 -- $20 billion a year to update the nuclear. a twitter message on improving nuclear capability obama committed spending 20 billion a year to update the nation's ability to conduct a nuclear war. mr. obama has plus the go-ahead for a major new weapon systems. he also funded a new and more accurate atomic. just some of the details there as the president leaves office about what he has been doing. becky is on the line from illinois, democratic line.

good morning. what is your top national security concern? caller: donald trump. i'm afraid he doesn't know what he is doing. host: in what particular area of national security are you afraid of most? i am afraid he is going the bushesext, -- middle easted , theicts and all that weapons of mass destruction and now we are fixing to get another republican in that doesn't have a clue what he is doing. she has never been elected to anything. that's not smart. host: based on what you said

about the new president, what would you say is the next role for congress or maybe the media or the public in general in this area of national security? caller: everything he does to make sure that it is in our best interest for congress, for the media, everybody that seemed to turn a blind eye to his stupidity during the election. host: thank you for calling. len from new york, democratic caller. good morning. caller: i don't know who this last caller was that i have a very similar feeling about --ump, heelect trytr is erratic, narcissistic.

he could be so --n-skinned that he decides just to point out what happened the other day with pakistan reading fake news and thinking israel was going to attack them. trades in thep fake news and the ability to start a war simply because he likes this talk tough and make people guess what is going to happen next. this is the biggest threat we that someone can control the nuclear arsenal of the united states and saying why can't we use them if we have them. a-. guy is a crazy son of

one day we will be able to hold him accountable if anything goes wrong. but we did not hold bush accountable for getting us into the war. it is only economic insecurity. host: what would you say president obama's legacy should be in the area of national security? caller: his legacy is going to road,king cans down the when he could have made both statements about the future, he chose to sit back like you did with a lot of other policies. some relatedre stories what you are talking about, here is a -- piece at wire.com. they say it is complicated now wait until trump get started.

the issues they face as , are clear.ey write president obama will leave behind wars in iraq and syria and a new year deal with iran and a network of alliances to manage and big spending decisions. let's see what david has to say, from davis, california, democratic caller. caller: hello. a main issue is i think it is huge mistake to alienate the muslim community. that is the wrong way to go. i think people are giving in to fear in this movement towards nationalism is a big mistake. i disagreehave to,

with that completely. i think it creates more terrorists abroad. host: let's hear from the shell on the- from michelle democratic line. what is on your mind the most? mainly the interpretation of a lot of the -- a lot of disrespect, -- president donald trump has the , commanders in the military. he is going to take the advice of the advisors. he is a businessman. he is not a politician. he is not in it for self gain. he is not in it to control. we have had so much devastation and economic disasters in each state.

we need a new breed of blood, somebody educated and not in it for self -- money, power. a group of famous, wonderful, strong individuals that have made our country great . that is what we need. host: thank you for calling. wendell from decatur, georgia, independent caller. what is on your mind in terms of national security? caller: mine is more concerned that the agreement obama made with -- it around? i am afraid that donald trump will undo the agreement that was made with the wrong -- with iran. calls -- mad dog mattis and kelly.

these are serious war hawks. of americanone foreign-policy is the protection of israel. that was the best interests of america. i am afraid the oppression -- pressure will be from netanyahu, to get rid of the agreement that was made with their run -- iran. i'm afraid it will cause war with iran. host: thanks for calling. here is look at facebook this morning. david writes, being able to adequately identify warning flags of domestic terrorism in --ed by isis, also , protectedcurity

under the constitution. those are david's concerns. writer, sandy writes the last time we had a president that ignored the intel reefing we had the worst terror attack ever to happen in the country, and now we have to make people believing fake news instead of fax making it easier for an attack to happen. here is a two minute piece of commentary from an assistant to the president in domestic security area. she talks a little bit about this country strategies since 9/11 and moving forward. she was asked the question at a recent event whether the u.s. has been good or lucky. i think we have been both. there has been a tremendous defenses,build up our

to strengthen our systems, whether it is boarding systems, screening systems. the intelligent community and law enforcement community to interact with our foreign partners that has stopped countless attacks in planeuring the so-called plot i was at the fbi. we were engaging with our ontish partners twice a day secure videoconferences to understand what they had, so that we could compare it to what we were looking at domestically and that kind of integration of information and relationships has only gotten greater and gotten better. we have gotten better. as often has been sent we have to be right 100% of the time and they only have to be right once or it to your

question about recalibrating, i agree, we do need to recalibrate. that is what i was getting at in my reference at the top to the new face of terrorism that we are in. the immediate threat that we judge comes from isis and in particular, their ability to inspire individual actors or small groups to conduct less spectacular but certainly deadly attacks that have real consequences and have a unsettle to communities quite justifiably. we have to calibrate the tools that we apply, whether it is counter violence, or human the tech sector to work with us to address the abuse of their platforms. these are all efforts that we

did not talk in the immediately aftermath of 9/11. we have to build up those tools as well just as we have build up these tools to harden our borders. eventyou can watch that at c-span.org. joe centreville, virginia. i believe it will be russia for the next couple of years. , wee cyber attack strengthened our cyber security because they can shut down our entire power grid. the president at his news conference said the u.s. will do something, some type of her italian nation against russia hackedt they believe

during the election season. what are you advocating? caller: i don't think we should do anything. we spy on germany. ifs ok for them to do -- they do it to us it's not ok but if we do it it is accessible. host: gloria from michigan on the democrats line. what is the name of your town? caller: negaunee. believe we do provide money to israel. how they use it i am sure in part is for their protection. not -- netanyahu can summon our ambassador to him as if we owe him some great debt.

i think that hubris in the first degree. that is what i have to say. host: thank you. we are asking you what your top national security concerns are heading into the new year. from twitter, steve writes that the loan will is the toughest threat to identify and contain. carroll writes we need to make it clear to our adversaries that we are strong. actions speak louder than words. cyber weakness is a concern and a lack of a fallback of electronics and media are rendered useless. caller talks about this concept of fake news that people have been talking about. pakistan threatening a nuclear attack on israel. coming from this. this is yahoo! news and it says the concern about the effects of fake news ratcheted up a notch

on sunday with a tweet from pakistan's defense minister threatening nuclear more on that mistaken belief that pakistan was britain. news -- now a typo riddled fictitious story on news was posted quoting the defense minister israel's current defense minister adding -- as saying he would destroy pakistan and it prompted a response from pakistan's defense minister threatening retaliation. the ministry said pakistan would retaliate against any nation that threatened it. he was reacting to a fake news story. yahoo.com. you can read more about it there. call from berkeley springs, west virginia. caller: good morning.

obama was concern was .oo timid he could have set up a safe zone. serious have destroyed air force and set up a no-fly zone, a safe zone for all the refugees and they wouldn't be scattered all over the world. the people in the world could have contributed to help those people. i think it was a big mistake to open up the floodgates and let from these middle eastern countries come into our country without being properly vetted. news, i have fake heard a lot during this campaign and the biggest one was about

--.hazi being the cause of that's what you call fake news. democratic line calling next. your national security concern? when you look at the encouraging all that is theld -- risk. what is going to be left? when they're moving from one country in europe to another,

that's a very big risk. way tohat is the best beef up that security that you are speaking of? caller: beef up alliances. the countries have to be able to communicate, to share information. host: what are you expecting under the new administration here in the u.s. in that area? their strategy is to -- isure that alliances think they should read think that strategy. we are at a greater risk. stan is on the republican

line. i am a my thought is minister of the gospel of jesus christ. the big threat is going to ifpen one day, i don't know donald trump will be the tosident, we know according ezekiel chapter 38 and 39 in the bible that russia and china will come against israel. what will have to happen after that, we will have a big war against russia and china because we are going -- the u.s. will have to make a decision to support israel or not to support israel. now, we are talking about two state solution. there will never be one after the rapture.

that is the big issue that i have, russia and china will come against israel, and then the united states will have to make a decision. thank you calling. more of your calls in a few minutes. let's check in with a few were .ore -- reporters as we talk about national security on this monday. joining us from beirut is erika solomon was a correspondent in the middle east for the financial times. talk to us a little bit about syria. oft is the lead story out syria today in regards to the conflict? it is about turkey, claiming an attack that isis on the civilians, turkey is trying to take back with the help of

syrian rebels on the ground. they had airstrikes on their town. 70 civilians died. on top of that, videos of isis killing turkish soldiers. host: what is the status of the syrian president assad right now, especially after actions of recent days. what is his strength and what is he saying at this point about the future of this country? still after what has been a complete victory in the electoral -- aleppo. he is claiming they are going to try to recapture all of syria which is in some ways is against what the regional powers of trying to strike. one of the big diplomatic

developments is talking a lot with turkey, one main backers of the opposition. they are trying to strike a deal -- create aake transitional body. say people on the ground sort oflly means it is understanding that different parts of this complicated world has power locally. what happenednst in syria. how about' of russia and speak to the change of leadership. the u.s. with donald trump and what the expectations might be there, the thoughts and actions of people here in the u.s.. atthe way russia is looking this after this big win for them and local allies, how can we submit this into a deal?

that is working with turkey. this is significant because it shows how in the past few months the u.s. has been in a way sidelined diplomatically. seem to want that because they think this can get a little bit more of what they want. they are inening is a rush to get asthma star before donald trump comes into power. we generally don't know what will happen. these guys to -- don't understand how trump will affect the coming years of this conflict. they want to try to do as much as they can before january 20. host: i have to ask about your

work is a reporter in the relative difficulty it is to cover a story like syria. how difficult is it to find out what is going on and report the news? it is difficult because we are relying a lot of -- from people who are inside. you can't always be sure what the motives are. it's a complicated situation. one of my colleagues said for him it was the most is our do reporting on a war that is only two hours away from us. that is the reality. thedo have journalists on ground especially on the government side.

that will lead to an improvement in coverage, seeing multiple sides of this war. i'm hopeful for that. ast: air kiss solomon is financial times correspondent. thank you for your time this morning. purpose christi texas has been hanging on. julie is a republican. largelymy concern is .he borders i am glad we have had the example of the free borders elsewhere in europe and how -- we shouldased use the example of the

historical on other countries why isis and terrorism is on the rise. is right therety on our part -- borders. i live right there. thinking ande you what you will see from the new president and the republican led congress on immigration? i don't think it will be as extreme as everyone thinks it will be. the wall and whatnot. that will take a while to get past and cooler heads will prevail and security concerns has to be them concern of any country.

on the border down here in south texas, probably not. protecte other ways to and watch people. they are looking to increase trade with america, all the way up to canada. ,o t core door -- corridor coyotes bringing in people. it's not just people from mexico it is from all over. host: thank you for calling. ,owell, fredericksburg virginia. republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. my greatest concern is people like al sharpton, coulter, obama. divided -- the divine they

are created the between blacks and whites. they don't appear to see the hoax that has been perpetrated on the u.s. for the last eight years, if we have this racial divide in our nation, and it it will returnd to some type of civil war. i already think we are in somewhat of a race war. host: thank you for calling. this is the voice of newt fox news he was on sunday program yesterday talking about national security. back in an arms race

with russia? >> this is the same donald trump the liberals were terrified was look we sell out putin, can be your best friend or your worst enemy. you want to make threatenings beaches, let me show you what a threatening speech looks like. the russians have been rebuilding their nuclear capability and we have allowed our stew weekend. -- we have allowed hours to weaken. i think for the president -- next president to say we will have to systematically rebuilt our nuclear capability is right. and he has also served notice that if you succeeds economically in making america great again and we get back to 5% or six or some real growth, what he is telling both the chinese and russians is you really want to be in this

competition? we have the potential to win it. >> the manner in which he did it. you say that 140 character there's, is this any way to conduct foreign policy. it's one thing to talk about modernizing the nuclear arsenal or in but expanding the arsenal that flies in the face of the half century of arms control, reducing our number of weapons. control, andd arms the north koreans have developed nuclear weapons. the russians in the last few years have increased the capacity -- capability dramatically. they have introduced new kinds of missiles that are designed to avoid our anti-ballistic missile systems. the number of steps they are taking to be a war fighting capability we have to overmatched that. it is not something we want to do but if you are going to be in the real world.

we might as well get used to it. this is who he is and how he will operate, whether it is brilliant or stupid. clinton. hillary he isn't giving it up. >> do you think it is brilliant or stupid? >> brilliant. he is able very quickly over and over again to set the agenda. it all at almost no cost. your top national security concerns in 2017. allen from brooklyn new york on the democrats line. caller: thank you. the last comment by new gingrich ties into an early concern i had from the caller you had, the minister. folly to allow our national policy to be governed by anything but evidence.

as part of the understanding of the open of office of any party who is taking power in this , the understanding should be a loyalty to the constitution, a loyalty to the provisions that include due process. makingudes determinations based on objective evidence. anyone talking about biblical prophecy who is being guided by miss information via twitter or the internet, this is contrary to the idea of objective evidence that allows us to make decisions. there are limits to free speech. one of them is anything that interferes with the ability of the wisest and objective evidence.

this is to allow us to have our system of government run amok. host: thank you. rogers from kentucky on the independent line. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. concern is security a little bit about what the gentleman just talked about. what is going to be covered by our media. you had a wonderful guest on , talkingika solomon about syria. i find it difficult and -- the tragedies that have happened over there. peopletle the american are shown with all the technology, you are going to tell me that we should not know a whole lot more that was not exposed to the american people and the slaughter that happened to those people in syria.

that's my biggest national security concern for our country and the media. thank you for c-span. twitter the biggest national security concern is the military taking over the military. loss of control as spelled out in the constitution. the's more on aleppo in "washington times. ". the fall of the rapidly -- rebel held city and forces loyal bells .t deathknell hands off counterterror doctrine. the fall of aleppo was the biggest victory for government forces and their russian and iranian forces emboldened by

regional uprisings to the arab spring attempted to overthrow aside. it was a pivotal moment for the obama administration whose intractable stance against the assad regime was translated into an and does -- indecisive policy . there is no doubt obama will be hammered in historical terms. why he didn't do more is the question. this is from a former presidential advisor. you can read that story in the "washington times". caller: good morning. my concern in the united states is sailors burke, pennsylvania. town inp in a pennsylvania. -- with the was

president of turkey on september place i can in the state of new york. i was with them and the media does not tell the people what taylor --s on in taylor spurred pennsylvania. they don't tell you about other terrorist organizations that hillary clinton was backing these people over the years. the biggest problem is you saw what happened in turkey with the russians -- the russian ambassador. it all -- it might not be fully birth --m taylor's , why won't the media talk about this. no one talks about it. talked to a lot of people and i'm letting you know it has to

stop. for fact that donald trump will take care of the situation. you will see something about the american people are going to wake up when he takes office january 20. host: thank you for calling. the media is the topic of another tweet. national security does not put bread on the table. russian hacking and domestic issues, crickets. we have a week media. over christmas the israeli leader summoned the u.s. on via concerned about the story in the washington times. he was requested to attend a meeting with netanyahu. the meeting follows a series of summons on christmas day from with --rom countries wish past 14-nothing.

breaking with the long-standing policy of blocking resolutions, they did not use their veto powers to stop its passage. israeli media reported that netanyahu had instructed his cabinet to refrain from traveling to countries that voted for the resolution. frank from self slowly would -- frank from hollywood florida. we go home at night and we secure our front door and our back door. since america is our home we should secure our front and back doors. we must secure our home.

the legal and only way to enter the united states. israel, israeli army with the american army. there will be peace in the middle east. , on thebin new york democrats line. caller: thank you for c-span. comment butng to the clip you showed from nook ingress may qualify as fake news. last i heard my understanding is that the number of nuclear warheads on both sides is down dramatically over the last several decades, 30 or 40 years. what he was just talking about is true on both sides that we have more advanced technology, but the number of warheads i believe, is at an all-time low.

i don't know the numbers. i would think the department of defense you would be able to bring up and be able to refute, but gingrich just said in terms of the numbers. i was going to comment on national security. i think our 20 trillion dollar national debt -- deficit, is perhaps our greatest threats. host: how come? becausethis whole idea if it continues to get much worse we will dig ourselves in and not be able to dig ourselves out. the whole idea now that trump introducing the same old trickle down economics, give more tax breaks to the rich and it will trickle down to the rest of us is not why he was elected. that is the big snow job that he told the american people.

he has already discussing it in such ways that he is trying to convince on his thank you to -- to her thanking people that trickle down economics is what he voted for. but it's not. giving tax breaks to corporations who manufacture within the u.s. you don't have to be a rocket scientist to not give tax breaks to companies that have -- to give to express to companies that are operating outside of the u.s.. the majority of manufacture is outside of the u.s. host: thank you for calling. we will get an update about iraq . correspondent a for reuters. deja vu for u.s. troops celebrating christmas in iraq

once again. we have a chance to visit an .utpost of u.s. soldiers what was striking is the footprint here is much smaller than it was a few years ago when there were more than a hundred thousand u.s. troops in iraq. what is striking is that some of the same soldiers that are here , they were here during the occupation and they are here with a different mission. host: what is the status of the battle for most of headed into the new year? and remind us why most will is so important -- most will is so important? around 2a city of million people. it is one of the de facto capital of the islamic state.

it is significant in terms of large population centers and it last pusholic -- the for the iraqis to kick that the saudis. that has been going on for more than two months now. it launched in october. coalition thatal the united states is leading has been providing assistance training and very critical air support. they made some quick advances and took a lot of territory. they have taken about a quarter of the city itself. it has slowed down the last few weeks. as they are getting into more build up territory, they are court more slowly and in -- and encountering a real grind.

i just published a story a few minutes ago about the next phase of the operation, which is expected to start in the next few days. forces the u.s. has been , the restnd training of the city as possible. steve, you tweeted last week that civilians are not safe from violence. pushed back in certain areas, what is the latest? personal security for people there? mosul -- about a quarter -- it is still a populated city. people are living in and around the fighting. whenlot of times they will

the iraqi security forces -- -- getting away from isis. in the beginning that work all right. , theyutside of the city are being displaced to other parts of the city. the problem with that is even though the government plans to control that part of the city, isis is using mortars and snipers and car bombs. distancetravel long population. also with the car bombs a few days ago in one of the most eastern districts two months ago

-- or a month and half. this is an area that has been cleared for a long time, they are in their doing distributions. there were two big car bombs that killed -- or injured 23 individuals. i have to ask you about the incoming trump administration. point andg at this regular folks in iraq about this new u.s. president? the government is optimistic that the trump administration support u.s. to militarily. in terms of helping the iraqis this is an iraqi mission, we are reminded by u.s. officials here and driven by the iraqis.

there is a massive amount of support in terms of training of troops, air support, advice on strategy in fighting. that is critical and without that this battle would be going much more slowly. the u.s. is also providing more than a billion dollars in military assistance, reconstruction and the site -- these types of things. they arecritical and hoping that assistance will continue. withrime minister spoke donald trump and came out with a trump madeaying that positive indications about support. optimismeven more about donald trump. back in july during the campaign

he was seeing that we needed to do more to help the kurds who do a lot of the fighting here in northern iraqi -- iraq. there is popular sentiment in favor of trump here. an enterprising businessman opened up a restaurant called trump dish. popular dish that he labeled with trump name. thank you for your time this morning. we appreciate it. mary from collegeville, tennessee on the democrats line. thank you for waiting. what is your top national security concern for the new year? , i feel foroncern

the people over there in syria. and iraq. my concern is about our concern right here in the united states , more andbout murder more people are getting killed. somebody has been killed every day down here in memphis, tennessee. that is what i am afraid of. who will help us? somebody has been killed every i am afraid to go out in the streets to go shopping or a restaurant. int: what are you suggesting terms of alleviating the problem? longer sentences and when people do the crime here in tennessee, the bond is low. put the bonds up to a million dollars or $2 million. let the gang members know they can't shoot people up. -- feel sorry for the

people over there. but we need to be protecting ourselves. they are not talking about that. i guess it's ok for americans to kill americans. host: thank you for calling. anthony and manchester, connecticut, a republican. your concerns? seems to me that regardless of having a neocon democrat following in george bush's footsteps, war criminal nominating such frightening people, the biggest problem is that we have a long history of meddling in part of the country, whether it is creating countries, reaching change, putting in dictators or fascists or democratically elected people, arming them like crazy, stirring the pot, then be

surprised when they turn against us, our business or security interest. now what there are eight active force in the middle east? i don't see anything changing, democrat host: or republican. what is your message to the new republic -- the new president? caller: it is too late for him. he is totally on board with continuing this. the nuances he tries to put on both parties are still interested in perpetual war. that is the direction we have been going for years. war is profit. we will sell to anybody and then we wonder why there are constant wars. , our private security companies. people make a fortune from the turmoil in the area. that is stimulating the global economy.

i don't see anything changing. host: thank you for your thoughts. of the op-ed section of the new york times. it is written by valerie hudson was a private a certain -- a university. secretary of state clinton was not the first person to argue that national security is linked to women's equality. george w. bush identified respect for women is one of the nonnegotiable demands of human dignity. even the president of china said that every step taken to promote women's costs has been a giant step forward for the progress of human civilian -- civilization. over a decade's worth of research show that women's advancement is critical to stability for reducing political violence. ,ountries where women's

resolving disputes with other nations peacefully. they write at the end of the piece, during the campaign mr. trump called for a return to foreign policy realism in which national security is the foremost concern. the states are zero sums and the most powerful states are the only ones that matter. to build such a foreign policy women's rights are and -- are indispensable tell her. brian, sterling heights, michigan an independent caller. caller: national defense was my major concern. the american citizen. heneed to let trump do what can do. we gave obama a shot he destroyed our military. we elected president trump and now it is his term. we need to put some faith into the president elect.

i believe when he said he will bomb the tar out of isis, he is going to bomb the tar out of isis. that is where we need to start. can't we please just get behind our president elect. i know a lot of people may not like him. now it is trump's term. we will take care of our backs. thank you very much and happy new year. new year to you as well. we will check in to one other foreign hotspot. that is afghanistan. jessica, what is the latest on the efforts to fight the taliban in the country? >> over the past year, the taliban and the government are at a steel met -- stalemate. the government is hanging onto -- andities like couple

kandahar. they're having trouble holding more places. stepping in with airstrikes and special forces operations. the afghan forces, do they have the capability of defending the country either now or in the future? this point the afghan forces have been funded by --. they are dependent on them. they are not really to be standing on their own anytime soon. host: we saw one headline over the weekend put out by voice of america, officials in afghanistan are counting around 30,000 war dead this year. can you put that number in perspective for us?

be the30,000 would number of killed and wounded, i think. -- is acting morale. the afghans are not able to recruit as fast as they are losing people to attrition, casualties, and absence without permission. that has an impact on their ability to hold territory and move into a defensive posture, the u.s. military has been trying to get them to do. host: you recently wrote a piece about a new front in afghanistan. can you explain where that is and why it is significant? guest: this is one of the major cities in afghanistan. there is some debate.

it is a provincial capital that has fallen twice under government control. last year when it fell for the first time, there was an effort by the government to reappoint officials there on the civilian side. trying to prevent that from happening again. what we saw was around the same time one year later, a small number of taliban fighters came into the city and afghan forces a speedyrequired intervention by u.s. special forces to take the city back. establishing a base inside the governors -- and it took them about a week to regain control. signal that the government is not addressing problems that is affecting the military's ability to hold ground, which is corruption and

-- the afghan forces did not know what they were fighting for. host: what will you be looking for in the months ahead in afghanistan and with the change of leadership in the u.s. with donald trump coming in? guest: i think initially when donald trump was elected, there was an early sense that this will lead to a more decisive posture by the u.s., possibly more troops to address the increased threat of the islamic state. this surety less about that. the trend has been an erosion of control. everyone is waiting to see whether donald trump is prepared to commit to that because if he is not, the discourse could

become the taliban may be controlling one or more provinces. that may affect the balance of power even more and feet into efforts to negotiate. things are present, and the government is in its own internal crisis because of the vice president and allegations that he raped somebody with an ak. donati is joining us live from cabell, afghanistan -- kabul, afghanistan. thank you for taking the time to explain the situation. guest: thank you. host: we will continue to talk about foreign policy and national security when we come back. lomathetalk with dan when we return.

joining us will be retired lieutenant colonel joe plenzler of the marine corps who worked closely with general mattis. in april general mattis spoke about strengthening america's standing in the world . [video clip] >> in terms of strengthening america's standing among european and it'll eastern nations, the sense is that america has become somewhat irrelevant and we have the least influence in 40 years. we will have to recognize we have an imperfect arms-control agreement, second to what we achieved with a nuclear pause, we will have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. in light of the other four threats i mentioned and a 12 year delay of the nuclear program, each will have to be addressed in action and

planning. we will have to do something about missile defense. we will have to do something about cyber monitoring, the cost of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. we will have to do something about maritime efforts. we will certainly have to counter the terrorist activities. we have some time to get our act together. iran has a lot to gain in the next 18 months to two years by and notby the rules taking too many chances as they tried to get the economic benefits. thought secretary pretty firmlou was that there would be no access to american financial cetaceans. now i hear that is not as firm. i do not know where that stands. that would have a big impact on slowing iran benefiting

economically if we were to hold the line on that. there is nothing in the agreement that forces us to do that. if they are unwilling to live up to the spirit of the agreement, i think we should take some counsel by that and be slow to give something for nothing based on an alleged spirit we cannot see operating in iran. i think we are to have to be very careful about red lines in the middle east. if we give one in the future, we will have to make good on it. let's be careful what we are going to do and be sure that we keep israel in the region. we work with our partners in the gcc, whether that is on ballistic missile defense integration, which secretary clinton tried very hard to get initiated some years ago, and certainly to work on the other efforts, and the navy should be

maintained at a robust strength in that region because navies can be very stabilizing in what they do, and they carry fewer of the penalties of having ground forces stationed, which is challenging in itself. we have to work better with our allies. we cannot have leaders of our partners picking up newspapers and reading about what we have been doing diplomatically with private talks with their adversaries and our adversaries as well. >> "washington journal" continues. dan lynnthe table is of. let's stay on national security. what do you expect the biggest -- has to be for donald trump? guest: i think reconciling the conversation that is being had aboutoscow and russia

what 2017 will look like, what the future will look like. we see that in the conversation with nuclear weapons. the arms race that has been thrown around in the last week, the question becomes how does present trump -- president trump putin see thet world. say their would you foreign-policy goals are in the new year? guest: putin will be more of the same. he is continuing to stretch his wings and make russia a power but also increase its influence, it's sphere of influence with countries that used to be much more closely aligned with. when you look at the baltic states, they are fearful of putin and russia.

the downin can test trees in -- boundaries in nato, that is where he is looking to push things. the largests about national security concerns in the middle east. guest: you will see the continued push against isis. we are still talking about how long it will take muscle. that has turned into an ugly fight in the last several weeks. you will continue to see a long fight their in a lot of ways. iraqi security forces have been tested. while they have taken a number of blocks, they have been pushed back in other places at times. the threat is very high and not going away anytime soon. of hows the question long it takes to push into the capital.'s so-called

you are seeing operations involving the allies of the united states and others. battlefield,pe the but it is a real question how to actuallyll take have a victory of sorts. host: we will leave our phone numbers on the bottom of the screen. we are taking phone calls from democrats, republicans, and independents on national security and defense. our guest is the developer, or you launched this checkpoint military website back in 2014. guest: this was launched as the washington post moved into being a much more digital publication.

i write for the print publication and for checkpoint, which functions as a blog, a landing spot for pieces i veterans and others. we tried to be nimble in terms of offering analysis quickly. we try to have something to say that is interesting and not regurgitate what you're hearing elsewhere. host: you were embedded as a journalist with troops in afghanistan in the last several years. what did you learn in your work there that tells you where that country might be headed in 2017 and beyond? guest: i think the? is because there -- i think the question mark is because there is so little that was said about afghanistan in the presidential election.

that haveof people served there and spent time there, that is concerning. when you look at afghanistan and where the united states was and afghanistan was with their own security three or five years back, it is getting to the point where very little parts of that country are safe. many places the united states have allge presence but completely fallen to the taliban. pockets these little that are still a holdout, but the majority of that province is gone. to what degree candy coalition there and the afghan military take any of that area back when they have been pushed so far back? general mattis is the defense secretary nominee. we will talk to little bit about expectations for him. 2011 abouttalking in

why he thinks the u.s. military is the best in the world. [video clip] >> the u.s. military is a national treasure. i deal with people now, and the first words i say to them are mr. prime minister or mr. tan,ident or king or sul every one of those leaders would love to have the u.s. military. it is a treasure worth more than all the gold in fort knox. not because of the technology, which is very good, but because of the selflessness and commitment of the young folks who join up. host: what are the expectations of the u.s. military moving forward in those two parts of the world? guest: there is a real question about what kind of presence could be requested that is not there now already. president-elect trump has made

it clear he does not want to be in places we don't have to be. he thinks the intervention we have had over the last 12 years has not always been the right course of action. he makes it clear that he wants to push isis back on their heels. there is a real dichotomy in terms of what we could see. when you look at somebody like general mattis, who has spent a great deal of time in that part of the world, there very well, involvedclined to stay and continue to push those partnerships and see what we can do to help, where that works out and where that does not based on where the white house wants to be is an open question. strengths ofe the general mattis in this position, and how do you expect him to interact with the president and the rest of the relevant cabinet officials?

guest: i think his strength is that unlike very few people in this world he has served at essentially every level. that is something we don't get in the secretary of defense. thatotential downside everyone would have concern about is whether or not there are unusual friction points as a result of having a recently serving general in a role that has a most entirely been a civilian position. i think where general mattis can find common ground with national security advisor to be mike flynn and the chairman of the joint chiefs, those are places that they will see i tie on some levels, and you will also have this interesting situation with a recently serving general who used to be a calling who is now league who is now a boss.

host: caller. 69-year-old a vietnam veteran. campaignump in his made the statement that he loves war. he had five deferments during the vietnam conflict. now he is trying to be friends with putin. he has always been our enemy and always will be. he backed the north vietnamese and the koreans during the korean conflict, and is backing the people over in syria. he is not our friend. majority of them have not been in war. they are rich and billionaires. the working man doesn't have a chance. host: that is a comment we have

heard from certain portions of the hill. guest: he is absolutely right that you hear that from a lot of people. thank you for your service. your concern is something we have heard from many people. the question becomes where do they seek common ground? where can that help? where are u.s. leaders going to give quarter or compromise in ways that has to administrations would not? it is worth pointing out when you say the majority of people have not served or don't have the experience, when you look at -- that does not really old true to be on national security issues when you look at general kelly and homeland security or general mattis and the pentagon, these are people who have

served for decades. these generals that donald trump has brought in can shape the administration. host: we have an independent color from colorado. good morning. caller: i am curious what you think about donald trump's view is with our northern border and canada. ofdeau has brought in a lot refugees with lackluster background checks. caller: thank you -- guest: thank you. we hear a lot about the southern border. partner, a longtime and i think you will see conversations about where it makes sense to change things on the margins. i don't get the sense that anybody has said that there is a major concern about the northern border.

i don't think that will change at this point barring some major events. host: with national security and issue, take us to asia. koreas to china and north if you can. guest: i think what has been said still holds true. you have rising china. the standard talking points for the last few years has been china rising is fine, aggressive behavior is not. when you look at recent things like that underwater drone taken out of the water, that is something the pentagon took clear exception to right away. it is not that there was anything necessarily sensitive about that reticular piece of hardware that was -- particular piece of hardware that was floating, it was more the behavior. donald trump saying you can keep

it. i think he is trying to push back in his own way and in a way that is different from the standard positions. where things are going in the south china sea and where china continues to stretch their wings, that is something worth watching. host: do you see a lasting impact to the phone call that esther trump had the leader of taiwan? guest: that is hard to predict. i think it will fall back towards norms. host: talk about the policy toward north korea and their leader there. it is an important story with the nuclear weapons and the tensions. how do you expect mr. trump to approach that country? guest: north korea does not get as much attention as it should. i spent a week in south korea

and i was struck by just how concerned people who live there are. i do not have an appreciation about what that looks like on a day-to-day level and the concerns that are there and all the weapons that north korea oul.s that are aimed at sea you will see north korea stretch their wings and test boundaries and see what they can do and continue to work on their nuclear weapons program. that always remains one of the central concerns. that does not get discussed until there is a major movement in addition to another missile getting launched. st: let's hear from karen, a republican caller. caller: is president obama the first resident in history to

ever have a language virus? i cannot listen to your program anymore because all these people are working weird noises into theirs each patterns. that is all i will say about this. the biggest national security threat to this country are the liberals and the democrats. look at the way they threatened the electors. the fbi is not even investigating that. that is basically my comments. politics is going to continue to get played on both sides. trying to cut through the noise is something we are going to have to do. host: that makes me think of congress and the democrats in the senate as well. where will be pushed back be in national security and defense not just to donald trump but to the republican leadership? guest: i find one of the most

fascinating friction points to be where senator mccain takes things. he has traditionally been very hawkish but also concerned about things that are different from what donald trump has suggested so far. may you look at where they lock horns on russia for example , two of the most dominant republican leaders in the new 2017 administration and politics are at edge. where that goes, that will be interesting. i don't see either one of them looking to change course at this point. betty on the line from virginia beach. democrat. caller: good morning. happy holidays. host: same to you. these: i wish that one of

national security people had told donald trump, who i definitely cannot stand and definitely did not vote for, to keep his big mouth shut about israel. we have one president at a time. schizophrenic a view when it comes to jews and israel. bannon, that in my opinion, my opinion, from the things i heard our white supremacists or neo-nazi people and his son-in-law. i am jewish myself. not religious. that is what im. realewish son-in-law is a sellout. be he saysscenes may something, but he is right there with them. he is 100% for israel, which i

support too, but i also supported what obama did the other day with not voting. you know what i am trying to say. i cannot pronounce the word. i approved of what they did because i think the settlements have caused problems. i am not saying they caused all why onblems, but that is this defense secretary, i think he might even things out. all i can say is i just turned 73 on december 22, and it was the worst election of my life. i cannot stand it, but there is not too much we can do about it. host: thank you for calling. she mentions the settlement issue, the u.n. vote from the other day. here is a headline from a colleague of yours. isreal summons u.s. envoy

concerning the spoke." guest: i think where this could go in 2017 versus where it is now is something that the signals you're getting out of washington could change. the obama administration made it clear they do not want to give israel a blank check. they consider them an ally. looking to build that relationship and sees israel as the continued number one ally, and will probably try to assuage some of those concerns. minutes have about 25 left with our guest, national security writer for the washington post.

we will take more of your calls and talk about iran. if mr.ler said that trump erases the nuclear deal with iran, then this country is headed for war. let's see what general mattis had to say about iran earlier this year. [video clip] >> countries like syria, lebanon, iraq, pakistan, afghanistan, yemen, every morning i woke up in the first questions i had to deal with were iran, iran, iran. they're consistent behavior shows no sign of changing. the state department has characterized it well when they said they picked up their tempo of operations. the ballistic missile test being one. they conducted cyber attacks on

the u.s. resulting in seven u.s. indictments. they have doubled down on assad's murderous regime. they have increased the flow of arms into saudi arabia, explosives into bahrain, and arms into yemen. in the last three months, the french navy, australian navy, and u.s. navy have all season arms shipments. if anyone flies over that area of the world and sees the hundreds of vessels on any given , the idea that we are catching all of the arms shipments is fantasy. we are not catching them all. there is nobody in the intelligence services i think that would say so.

next in your view? guest: i think where a mattis run pentagon wants to take things is fascinating because he has a long-term reputation of being concerned about iran and wanting to not let them have too much. i think a lot of the things he mentioned, where iran is on weaponsn allowing shipments in two places like yemen, where iran is on isis did not come up too much in that clip, but it did come up in that engagement. iran has these militias that they back in iraq that are going to shape that country in a new way as things continue. the united states has their allies on the ground, and iran does as well.

very muchlays out is worth watching and being concerned about. host: tell us more about congress and their approach to iran. what will they be watching as mr. trump takes over the nuclear deal? guest: i think this bears watching. general mattis has come across as not a fan but at the same time has said we basically need to live with it. where congress wants to take that, especially a republican 2017 and congress in whether that is heard and listen to is interesting. host: let's go back to the phones. ken is calling from connecticut. caller: hello. how are you doing? host: fine. how are you? caller: i want to make a few

comments. donald trump talks about building a vast wall. i am reminded of what george patton said. fixed fortifications are monuments to man's stupidity. as far as expanding our nuclear arsenal. we already have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world. what is the point? i don't think russia wants to and the world, and i don't think the united states wants to end the world. north korea has little to lose by using nuclear weapons. the same is probably true with india and pakistan. those countries are probably less likely to use nuclear useons -- most likely to nuclear weapons. donald trump talks about wanting to rebuild our infrastructure and building a wall.

now he is talking about expanding our nuclear arsenal. where is the money going to come from? these people who supported donald trump need to think about that. that is all i have to say. host: thank you. guest: i think where this nuclear weapons question is is still very unclear. you look at things on has said going back years, and he was not a super hawkish guy on nukes. i wonder if something got lost justanslation or if it was a word choice thing that has led us to this conversation we are having about increased armaments and how many nukes we should have, especially if it is going to go in the plus direction. there has been a long call in the pentagon for modernization of the existing triad. you have summarize, bombers, --

bombers, and silos across the midwest. the pentagon would like to see that updated. you have heard from the existing pentagon chief say that and navy and generals who have connections to the existing platform. donald trump is probably looking ,o modernize existing systems and once that got called into question on what he actually meant, you have a couple of comments that seem flippant. i think it is an open question of what a 2017 nuclear policy will look like. host: the washington times with the $20 billion figure out their

saying that mr. obama has forcated $20 billion development and maintenance of the current system. what does that figure mean? guest: that is a drop in the bucket if you're going to modernize everything. all these systems are getting old. the submarines are very old system. the missile silos, not silos but the missiles with new delivery mechanisms, that is not a cheap raw says. -- process. it is so expensive. host: john is calling from michigan. independent caller. caller: i would like to talk about the borders of the middle east that were drawn up by european imperialism in world war i. i'm not saying this is the most important, but i'm asking for a sequence of understanding that these borders were drawn up with

total disregard for culture and religion. they are still in place today. i just don't hear anybody talking about it. know -- i would just like to know your thoughts about that. host: thank you for calling. guest: i think that question has come up a great deal and will continue to. i don't think it comes up in terms of where things are now, but i think it comes up in terms does 2020 syria look like? what does iraq look like when the dust settles? will northern iraq exist in the same way or will they have increased independence?

there is no real sense of where they might go now. they are unsettled. inse borders that were drawn real life on the ground don't always hold up to be true. host: we will talk more about general michael plan will be national security advisor to donald trump. talk about him and his relationship with relevant figures when it comes to places like syria. was a general flynn respected intelligence officer who in some ways was very instrumental in pushing changes. he had a paper that was published some years back that opened a lot of eyes and led to conversation about how intelligence is used, where the failures are, and have things can be changed. -- how things can be changed.

the question is once he is in charge of an agency himself, he was pushing a lot of change without consensus. that led to problems. now that he has moved, and really was one of the earliest significant national security supporters for the president-elect, he is going to position.nfluential he has ruffled a lot of feathers in the past. how he works with the existing joint chiefs and general mattis, those are among the most interesting storylines of 2017. i should have asked about general mattis earlier. he needed some waiver to be considered for defense secretary. what happened with that issue? guest: in the spending bill that was push through congress about three weeks back, they added legislation that made another exception.

he will still need the traditional confirmation, but in terms of the concerns that were there about him not having been out of uniform seven years, which was the longtime tradition, the one exception being general george marshall in the korean war era has gone away. host: 60 vote threshold? does he have 60 votes? guest: the expectation is that he will sail through. host: good morning, greg. caller: good morning. when we went to war against iraq, we went to war under the agreements of the war. warad a declaration of against iraq. when we took iraq, we could have occupied iraq so iraq was able to have a military sustain

themselves. webber was on with you, i heard and say iran has taken this iran has also taken 1.7 trillion from america. seems like anyone america ,upports, any of our friends even saddam hussein, look at the end when we get through using them where they end up. what is the un's job if it is not to come in and stop genocide in countries? host: thank you. let's hear from our guest. guest: there have been u.n. convoys in syria. they have been bombed. how the u.n. can get help to a place like aleppo is an open conversation and not easy.

there is no way around it. the practicality of delivering supplies and those things, they are still working that out. this is a dire situation on the ground. that is something that will continue to be discussed, but at the sometime has probably not gotten the attention it deserves. host: back to the iran deal. one viewer sent this question. they ask how will the perceived bond between vladimir putin and donald trump affect the deal? guest: that is an interesting question. in some ways you have rhetoric on the trump administration that pro-russia. and putin are inimir line on syria.

this is a question about how these things get worked out. i don't have a good answer. host: let's go to al in tennessee, independent caller. caller: do you know what a nuclear bomber is? host: that is pretty traditional, yes. media, the major news the be 16 nuclear bomber has been improved under the obama administration to a lot of people think it is a second that separate -- that it is a separate vehicle now. when people like your guests, on we talk about donald trump need to have a factual basis.

the fact of the matter is the obama administration is spending billions of dollars to upgrade nuclear weapons and making them controlthat their arms problems with their effectiveness, so the major news media is a threat to the country. host: thank you for calling. anything you want to respond to? guest: it is a fair point to say that the actual bombs, the money has been spent. the question remains and should not be glossed over that many billions more than that are currently in the system and plan ned for. that upgrade was a piece of the pie, but only one piece. host: minnesota, republican caller. good morning. caller: good morning.

they are bashing donald trump and his secretary of state for being friends with putin. didn't i hear hillary clinton say we have to build bridges with people? that is my question. host: anything you want to respond to their? caller: not sure -- guest: not sure i quite understand. host: are you still there? we are having trouble understanding the point you are making. caller: they are bashing donald trump for being friends with vladimir putin. didn't i hear hillary clinton's campaign say we have to build bridges with people? wouldn't it be better to be friends with russia? host: thank you. thank you for explaining it again. guest: i think there is an open question about where common

ground can be found. the problem is i think in the eyes of many, when you look at what vladimir putin has done over the last several years, it does not look from a. it does not adhere to the norms that a lot of society calls for in the way that they have bombed, pushed into territory that is not theirs in the eyes of most people. crimea, georgia in 2008, those are places they pushed on their own, unilaterally. pennsylvania, independent caller. caller: how are you doing? host: fine. what is on your mind? caller: iraq right now and a long-term solution seems so convoluted. terms, because

obama told american troops out, that was the cause of iraq today. it appears to me that the mistake was made when we went in, and i remember colin powell said if you break it, you will need to fix it. i assumed we would have some type of a marshall doctrine or for a firmin iraq foundation, maybe democratic petitions and a strong push to try and at least give them a chance. it appears to me that we let the shia take over the government. we left the sunnis out in the cold. the kurds are in the middle. it seems to be chaotic. have been bestd advised to leave the sunnis in power.

let the sunnis control the army and navy, let them be a buffer to iran. it seems we made this mess ourselves by breaking it and not repairing it. host: that was harold. guest: the problem becomes when you look at it, we are not the ones making these decisions on the ground in some cases. they are a free people that put in their own leaders. those leaders made decisions that the sunnis in particular did not agree with. itself --hape shaped itself, if you are going to take a step back as the united states people, and you are not going to dictate everything from washington, the results have not always been what we wanted or as predicted. that along with decisions like

pulling out troops played a role in where we are now. host: is there anything we have not talked about that you will be reporting on in the year ahead when it comes to national security and defense? guest: i think one of the biggest stories that will be is under in 2017 donald trump i would anticipate under his first budget you will see increases called for in the size of the army, the marine corps, the size of the air force,. all of these things cost a lot of money. i think some of those services have been calling for it for years. i think there is some common democrats alsoay look at it. what gets priority as you are adding to that budget, to the baseline in terms of the kind of soldiers and marines, what role

they had and how you train them is important. host: let's go to one last call. sherry on the republican mind. last word. caller: thank you and good morning. recentlyngton post has been known as a fake news outlet. russia was the only country that was invited into syria and was responsible for saving syrians from the assault that america did in syria. that is number one. that over 55% of our budget is spent on the military when our infrastructure is collapsing at home? why is it that we are spending more money on prisons rather than education?

america's basic foreign policy, the truth is -- the imperialism and hegemony of america, it displaces the people. it does not take care of its people at home. president vladimir putin has masterilled as a strategist. thank you. host: thank you. guest: merry christmas. you are absolutely correct that syria is the one that the assad regime wanted. the question comes what should the world be ok with as an international community? the dumb bombs if you will, the amount of civilians killed in that situation is not something i think the majority of the international community is ok with. how that plays out when you are

right, we are there on our own will. agreements have been reached with russia and some of the countries in the region in terms of where the boundaries of that are. as things go forward, as this war continues to progress, it seems likely we will get to the point where russia and the united states will have to talk more and more as they reach places where they are overlapping. host: national security writer for the washington post, we appreciate your time. we will take a short timeout and learn more about general mattis, the new defense secretary. he will talk to someone who knows him. plenzler, colonel joe retired with the u.s. marine corps. he worked closely with the general. we will take more of your calls. we will be right back. ♪

>> this week on c-span in primetime, tonight at 8:00 eastern, hear from some of the democrats vying to lead the ofty including the chair south carolina's democratic already, and keith ellison from minnesota. lown 2014, we hit a 70 year in voter turnout.

the democratic caucus is smaller than any time since truman. this last year we hit a 20 year low in presidential turnout. we have a lot of rebuilding to do. >> president barack obama and japanese prime minister shinzo abe visit the american naval base at pearl harbor. the promised or is the first sitting japanese prime minister to visit the site of the japanese attack during the war two. topics include the flint michigan water crisis, the wells fargo unauthorized account scandal. >> you found out that one of your divisions had created 2 million fake accounts, fired thousands of employees for improper behavior, and she did thousands of your own -- cheated thousands of your own customers and you did not once consider firing her? >> we remember some of the political figures that passed

away in 2016, including nancy reagan and antonin scalia. morningight, are in the program continues with mohammed ali and john glenn. this week in primetime on c-span. join us on tuesday, january 3, for live coverage of the opening day of the new congress. watch the official swearing-in of the new elected members of the house and senate. our all-day coverage begins at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span and c-span.org, or you can listen to it on the free c-span radio app. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our guest now is retired lieutenant colonel joe plenzler of the u.s. marine corps who

knows general james mattis from working with him are a number of years. thank you for joining us. we want you to start by telling us a story that helps us understand who he is as a commander and as a man. guest: he can talk to diplomats and two marines with ease. took about 5000 marines out to the northern egyptian desert to do international exercises. tension was pretty high. he could talk to investors and to marines with ease. what people are going to know as they start working for him, when he asks you how things are going, he will not let you go without an answer. he would talk to marines about how things are going to run the camp. they would say outstanding.

he would ask for something that was going on. you could see the gears turning in their heads. they would say to the paper. -- toilet paper. the next thing we know a whole going to vehicles alexandria to get toilet paper. it sounds like the little thing. sanitation in the middle of expeditionary is important. that taught marines that when they went to him with issues, he would listen and take action. i saw him do that on hundreds of cases. host: there are lots of issues that general mattis would be doing with around the world. because about his temperament and his ability with various issues that are going around the world with such a big agency like the pentagon. guest: people that know him know

him to be a thoughtful person and leader. he has dedicated his entire adult life to service of the country and defending the constitution. i know him to be a circumspect man, a very concerned leader. the image out there of this mad , it does not do the man justice. like the marvel version of a man, a cartoon, not who he really is. he is definitely not off the chain. let's put the phone numbers on the bottom of the screen. the kernel will give us more insight into general james mattis who will be getting a confirmation hearing fairly early on i imagine. we will take your calls in just a moment. you mentioned that title of mad

dog that was attached to you wrote this piece saying it was the wrong thing for the guy. guest: he is an aggressive leader. the mad dog title brings the thought of someone who is foaming at the mouth and out of control. that is not true. he instills confidence and brings calm to the situation. a little bit about general mattis from 2011 talking about why he thinks sense of humor is so important. [video clip] >> sense of humor is one of your best defenses. it is as good as the helmet on your head for protecting your spirit and your heart. on one occasion i walked the hind a marine squad where they were shooting at an enemy down the street.

year history of the marine corps, i asked the single dumbest question ever asked in combat. i said, what is going on? [laughter] corporal evinced that someone had released the local village idiot. he said we are just taking the fun out of fundamentalism over here. knowing that this was a squad that believed in itself that was sticking together and was about the mission even though they were fighting among innocent people. a squad leader can keep a sense of calm and humor under those conditions is worth more than 100 generals. host: a little bit about humor there.

schoolat one point at a at a warfare course, one of their leadership traits is cheerfulness. there were british marines and u.s. marines. we were making fun of them about this. general mattis understands that. that attitude is a weapon. that is true. if you can maintain your sense of humor when everything else is hard around you, this puts a mental armor around your psyche. host: we have heard plenty from the president-elect about why he selected general mattis to lead dod. why did general mattis take the position? why does he want to be defense secretary? guest: i'm not sure i know the answer to that. that is something you have to ask him. he has dedicated his entire adult life to defending america

and the constitution. that is something he takes seriously. he has talked at length about it over the years. that means a lot to him. given the opportunity to serve, i think that is a hard thing to turn down. host: if you were to give him advice, what would you tell him? guest: far be it for me to advise him. command and not content with advice is for people in the pentagon working with them. heck of a for a ride. working for him was most ormative experience for 20 years in the marine corps.

people working for general figure out en, exactly what he wants. if you gain his trust, you'll to do your job. host: one quote you attribute to him, qualities i look for in marines, initiative and aggressiveness. how does he motivate people? i've noticed ng about him, he talks to marines with him that served as though they were the best at what they did. you to look at your own strengths and weaknesses and shore n weaknesss and them up and try to become better at the things you were deficient in. he built a sense of loyalty by talking to you that way. you felt good in his presence. you didn't want to let him down. as bust your rearend twice hard, make sure you live up to that expectation. 30 minutes spend general, and first

call from thomasville, north carolina, republican caller. hi, vincent. >> good morning, gentlemen. sir.: good morning, caller: my question is how long mad dog, so to office to start doing his duties up under the trump administration? so thankful he's there. well, the -- going to take senate house confirmation, that is k as soon as done, he will probably step into the role. host: we'll watch the hearing what it comes, we expect fairly early in the new year, the new of donald trump. take us to these hearings that you be happening, what do expect for him to hear from terms of the senate, in of his ability to do this job? guest: the stuff i've been there is fair amount of

bipartisan support for the general. was said earlier, i expect him to sail through the confirmation hearing. host: let me get your take on one piece in the "washington ost" by reuben gallego, a congressman from arizona, i think. he wrote in the post, as combat of marine corps and long-time admirer, of general i tis, i was sad to announce could not announce granting him secretary of e as defense. he's gotten a waiver through a spending bill, he explain the motivated by ot politics, but concern for the control at thean military. the central tenant of our democracy should matter individual.ny single he said he got pushback from his position. whole you make of the concept of the general, retired general, coming back to lead the

pentagon? guest: i continuing is an important national conversation to have. civilian control of the military is a part of our democracy, it's since we put a general in charge of the defense department. so, you know, i think it is an important conversation that place, great counter-point that the congressman wrote. i'm personally comfortable with choice. i worked up close and personal with him. i understand fellow citizens of mine, who would say, put the brakes on and talk about this a little bit. point and the whole reason we have senate onfirmation, to address the issue. host: how does the general himself as leader of the agency pentagon, typically run by civilians? guest: it will be interesting to watch. coming from marine corps d.n.a., level, ed at the joint joint forces command, he definitely understands working coalition partners, he

understands the inter-agency, so interesting to see dealing plays with him with former piers now that he's the boss. dynamic.e different host: lots more calls coming in. ohio, liria, ohio? nathan. caller: good morning, it is i was in the naf and he attached to the marines for months in the brig. suggestion forne the incoming maddog mattis. trump,ested to president change the name of the defense war tment back to the department. okay. host: why? aller: because ever since it's been the defense department, we've been on the defensive, we war since 1947.

host: all right. et's hear from the lieutenant colonel has to say. guest: i think it is ppropriately named, defense is broader portfolio of operations than war. he military is called to do everything from humanitarian assistance all the way to major combat operations. i've done both time in marine is appropriatese name. host: go to gary, wilson, north caller., republican caller: hello. host: yes, sir. is, with question very l mattis being a strong personality, and certainly incoming president-elect being a strong able ality, will they be to establish the proper working with how mattis would respect and how trump will his role as commander

in chief? guest: i think in a certain sense they established the beginning of a relationship. saw where general mattis went to trump tower to talk to rump about waterboarding and left with a different perspective of the issues. all ou know, i think relationships take time to build trust and that is something back and watch develop as time goes on. host: here is more of general at an event earlier this year talking about the u.s. strategy in the middle east. a look. >> where is the u.s. right now? in a strategy-free mode, confused, i believe, and not invested in strategy. e are shifting our focus from one region or sub-region to another. remember the pivot to the friends int left our the middle east and europe very concerned, that kind of word is used in strategy, it might make good operational hinking, but i don't think it

is a good idea on a strategic level for a country with worldwide responsibilities. you remember we are very we are d about primea, not anywhere, it is the eastern ukraine.d eastern we've been attacking isis in iraq, a little bit, shifted to and gradual efk escalation now. the islands, not trying to get off track here, but my point is, we have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time and it are go withing a hit-and-miss approach shooting the duck. guest: he had a lot to say. say anything you want to there? guest: it is classic general mattis, i think clear-eyed view understanding d of threats and importance of alliances, he spoke about that, as well. host: more about his relationship with donald trump, as president. that candid type of

advice, will he be able to do that? he's known for doing that. he's made friends in this town for telling the sdpruth made enemies for telling the truth. think the consistency there, speaking truth to chose in charge and telling them what his professional opinion is and that he's done entire time in uniform and i expect that to continue. host: where is he from and what you tell us about the years before he entered the ilitary in terms of what makes him tick? guest: from the pacific northwest, the poland area of went to n and he college out there, as well. and i remember one story he was time about ne hitchhiking across the united states when he was a young man. spirit of adventure deep inside his world. carlsbad, new mexico. independent line. hi.er: my question, i guess is a little fundamental.

my son is a c.b. done four tours. on his return home last time, he called before some kind of tribunal. there was one of the people that had s responsible for that otten malaria, and he was supposed to supposedly watch malaria ople take their medicines personally and sign off on it. now the person that got malaria months out of his command or perview. they did, they shotgunned about five or six line of command, in other words, his guy, when he was in command of the guy and hen four others that were

closer to the person. three of those were drummed out service, he and then the decided to der him, go a different route and fight it. able to ey have been fight it adequately. it is the is, why regular army, regular navy, marines have this sense hat they can just crap on the reserves? won sailor of s the year three times, three never been done before, he comes back from duty notis charged with some guy taking his meds for malaria five months before when the malaria is period for two weeks. that is insanity for the marines nd army to be fighting each

other. host: thank you for calling. colonel. this i can't speak for case. if you look in context of general mattis, high experience him has been he knows and rence between missions one thing that general mattis do, be true to coaches to our marines and not passion for excellence destroy their spirit, right? delivered , he's clear guidance, he's when people error, takes by human that is a learning opportunity. you know, if it was a situation blatantly disregarded rules, he was all about good order of discipline. quote to general mattis, you are part of the world's most feared and trusted force, engage your brain before you engage -- little bit more expectation. guest: it doesn't sound like a maddog, does it? funny, i remember standing

desert in kuwait, he said, i need this letter. what do you need a letter for? i want to give a letter to all 23,000 marines before we cross the border. thought it was interesting request. sent the 1st mattis. general it didn't survive. he took a pen to it and made it his own. said, we don't want to fight all 30 million plus people in iraq. to keep that want saddam in power, we will take on. they want to step aside or help us, they will find a friend. find in his es he spare time, if he has spare time? scheduled. tightly those aren't the questions we ask. e reads a lot, he likes to exercise, two things i know he likes to do in spare time, do training and read.

host: john, independent caller colonel, fwd nant morning. caller: good morning, colonel. general mattis has exemplary combat record and operational background, but very little dealing with acquisition and requirements side of the house. going to think he's handle that and what are the going to put on thing? thank you. a lot of secretary defenses will do, they split duties between themselves and deputy secretary of defense. think you might see some situation where the general handles policy and the white maybe there is a person that come necessary to be person for the pentagon. i mean, theyville a whole to that with ted

a.p.l. host: insight from general mattis. a senate he was at hearing on national security. talk about national security and role he thought senate arms service consist play in the future. take a look. national security strategy needs bipartisan direction. to ome cases, we may need change our process for develop integrated national strategy mixing capable peep weltheir good ideas and bad bad sses result in the processes defeating good out ofs ideas nine times 10. this is urgent because in tin way when can work in tandem to destroy prosperity regain try needs to strategic footing. we need to bring clarity to our fforts before we lose the confidence of the american people and the support of the potential allies. committee, i believe, can play essential strategic floel regard. host: anything you want to

respond to there? guest: i think he's looking for legislative etween and executive branch. yeah, i think the two things supposed to do is provide oversight and fund executive branch. so i think general mattis c.s.i. it up in the speech, how much will we collect and other adversaries in the region. yeah. i think he's looking for with the congress. host: rich from belleville, michigan, independent caller. hi, rich. caller: how's it going? host: doing fine. ahead. caller: just want to mirror your general on whether mattis will keep us up as an oil military to e our the nvading somalia for oil-rich indian ocean, are we that up or use as

the general earlier, want to to as war department, as you refer to it as the defense but we really haven't used it as defense dmpt years.0 so, you know, what do you think he will do about that? for calling, rich. guest: i think it is appropriate name to be the defense department. when you do i would say probably duty of folks in active today who dispute the fact we the 't acted in defense in nation. after 9/11, we acted that way. after the 2004 -- we went indian ocean basin to escue people and mediva c patients, that showed goodwill, as well. ost: something else you wrote about general mattis. treat everyday as if it were day, what is he say thering?

guest: he's saying when the balloon goes up and americans that is not battle, the time to start thinking about what should i have done to marines and soldiers for facing what they will face. caldron, g into the hardest human environment on the planet. at that point, you need your ready when the nation calls. drill omething that they into the heads of every officer in the marine corps, make good your time. let no man, if only trained properly. to martin in florida. florida? caller: yes, sir. host: you are on the independent say, what would you like to or ask of the colonel? caller: the question i have, we near tampa where the headquarters is at. general rumored that mattis was relieved of his command early here and i want to and what at was true the reason was behind it.

host: anything cutell us? asking the wrong guy. that is a call to the white grade. way above my pay host: a republican caller, hey, bob. caller: how are you today, sir? fine.doing caller: great. can you comment on the role of close-air support weapon for the marine corps? guest: oh, boy that, is out of my area of expertise with the f-35. for good 're looking cash platforms. host: why do you bring it up, bob? caller: you're got multi-role ircraft and to me, you are putting typical 10 pound necessary a five-pound sack and he question is, will it do the job it needs to do. host: okay. if anybody else has an answer to that question over time. petersburg, virginia. learning about general james rita, any thoughts?

caller: good morning, how are snu fine. doing caller: my question, if we've always had a civilian running his department and you are putting in a general in control, is it because we are going into war? host: how would you address that question? know.: i think, i don't any time i assemble a team, i best people available. tremendous pick to be next secretary of defense. host: there is one viewer by way er who put it this sdchlt our guest have anything critical to say about general don't know if criticism is the right word, you getting at.'s constructive criticism or strong watch, anything he should out for based on what you know about him as he goes before the senate and begins to take his position? guest: sure. valid, 12 different

general necessary my time in mat -- they are d the human beings, like anyone else. he is very capable and caring leader. you know, i think one thing i for general rking mattis, he expected you to push back and challenge his ideas behind closed doors and staff meetings. made, he decision was expect you to step on the gas and carry out his intent. people whoto welcome brought contrary ideas to him, contrarian. i think that is going to be something to serve him well in pentagon. host: ed in mountainview, arkansas, ed an independent. hi, ed. caller: good morning. host: morning, sir. colonel believe eneral mattis will be able to pop the president's bubble as far as admiration for vladamir

putin? mr. poout spoout former k.. should be fficer and looked at with skepticism? guest: i think that is what americans are looking at today, how to address russia going forward and each the istration, we saw with obama administration, they push the reset with russia and try to start new. good for a while for the last president and we'll see how it works going forward. general i know about mattis, he's clear-eyed about the powers that be throughout the world and the threats they to the united states. host: any sense how he would get likely to killerson be the next secretary of state? guest: never met the guy, hard dynamic will t play. equally curious as you out far as how the administration will come sdpth what is next. to fred in dyet, indiana, independent caller. sir.orning,

caller: fred, are you there? host: one more time. caller: hello. there you are. i'd like to say how great it is to be an american now.now we have a marine okay, hello. host: you're on the air, keep going. caller: yeah. we have our son is in the army. and s 10 years in the army there is no room for advancement or him anymore and they're going to give him an early out, i think it is a shame to see 10 wasted becausefe there is no room for advancement. thanks for your service, sir. thank you. colonel. guest: thank you for your son's country.n to our i can't speak to the army ersonnel and manpower requirements. i know as force levels go up and contrast andnities contract. perhaps you heard mr. trump expanding the

military, they will look for eeping more people in and recruiting. that is something to keep watching. the voice of general mattis last year senate hearing armed services committee. ask about volunteer versus draft invading other countries. >> volunteer has been good for bad for the country. i would only add on the decision country to go into -- i don't know what our policy is on syria. what the political end state people want to accomplish. you wander into war, you will get lost on your way to somewhere. you that we should never go into these countries unless we have a reasonable of a better outcome and war is unpredictable. long-term commitment with clear political end state and fully resource sound get there.

otherwise, don't go in and look t libya in your rearview mirror, or anywhere else and wonder what you have done. response, colonel guest: i agree with general mattis, force has been great for a lot of reasons, we have more military than we've ever had in the nation's history. the problem with having all force, with less than one half of 1 percent of the population serving there is not of americans that have skin in the game. this is something general mattis is concerned and edited a book with recently about this about and when i was working for him, he talked about the role of the ommander-in-chief and explaining to the american people what the national strategy is and why it is make sacrifices in certain areas. the second point he brought up, win? do you do when you we went into iraq in 2003, fall the general talked and

said, realize when you break it, you own it. remember standing in baghdad in april of 2003, looking around team, , where is the dart the usa folks, lieutenant in the looking at me, absence of a plan, our plan becomes the plan. that was a real shock to me back in 2003 as a young captain. host: viewer named steve from ask, if you to have a sense of the general's position on what some are enhanced interrogation technique? guest: you heard him say it when to talk to mr. trump it.t everything i read on torture, is, s call it what it usually doesn't work out the way you think it is going to work out. longstanding as a policy against it and i support that. massachusetts,om independent caller. hi, norman. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to ask colonel about

this, perhaps you can't speak you do general, maybe know about his opinion on it. 2014, the u.s. congress to aid the voted na new -- and overthrew the appointee for secretary of state ad said to have had dealings with legitimate government before it was overthrown. to expect in -- with the fact that general incoming the administration on this? if not, could you just give us it?r thoughts on guest: yeah. you know, as far as that goes, i conversations with general mattis about the ukraine. knowing him, it is probably omething he's looking at

closely, beyond that, i can't say. host: to tim now in odessa, on the republican line. you are on with the lieutenant colonel. morning. caller: good morning, gentleman. want to ask, what do you think on the policies of the social engineering going on in the last eight years on the obama administration, do you think those eneral mattis things will change, the transgender stuff that has nothing to do with the military, also lowering of standards of combat women or women in and also women -- also trying to get them involved like the navy trying to lower the standards, i wonder mr. mattis' opinions on this. you, guys. host: thanks for calling in. guest: i think what you are it what they ll will, i see increase of opportunity and fairness and standards. the forces that the gentleman brought up women in combat. have been in combat.

the vaded iraq in 2003, current chairman of the chief of staff was female running his training. that have the folks expressed concerns about lowering standards have not seen standards lowered. seen mat rein e corps keep standards high. that is important. advocating forre for women in s combat, they have yet to hear any folks say, lower the in.ndards and let women high standards for women and the opportunity to compete. retiredr guest has been plenzer.n ee eel host: we have a half-hour left it is hington journal," december 26, and congress will be in session a little bit more han a week for opening day of

the 150th congress. what we will do when we come back is take open phones. you can talk about any topic you like. republicans call 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8002. cspanwj is our t twitter address. post a comment at facebook.com/c-span. we'll be right back. >> announcer: sunday, in depth, live discussion on presidency of barack obama. e're taking phone calls, tweetss, e-mail and questions. presidency author of in black and white, upclose view of three presidents and race in america. princeton university professor, black anddemocracy in

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companies and n is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: so open phones now. you would any topic like. we spent most of the show talking about defense and if onal security issues, those are on your mind we look forward to hearing from you. if you have something else you thinking about, let us know, we look forward to hearing from you over the next half-hour. news, tomorrow is an interesting day at pearl harbor in hawaii. is vacationing there. the japanese prime minister is coming to visit tomorrow. in the "new york times." any pearl harbor visit, a symbol in japan.liation they write five years ago a japanese prime minister was in an economic summit meeting, but stayed away from earl harbor n. this coming week, tomorrow to be exact, the

prime minister will fly to expressed purpose of visiting the site of the surprise attack 75 years ago, 2400 americans killd and drew the country to world war ii. a sign of how far public opinion in japan has moved. trip to themake the memorial, accompanied by obama, condolences to the victims. reckon s struggled to with their history, it has been cast as inevitable response to embargo that would have devastated imperyol empire. domestic y because of political opposition it has been all, but impossible for japanese officers to visit pearl harbor until now. o back to 1994, when the emporer tried to visit the american the battleship on which most losses occur.

protest from japan right wing prompted him to alter his plans. they say in the times after mr. abe, a conservative politician with strong ties to the nationalist groups, anoubsed plans this month of protest from japan was largely reception in. happen tomorrow. we'll be looking out for overage of their visit, which perhaps will include remarks, ut not an apology, as we've read in recent weeks. look for that tomorrow during the day and tomorrow night on the coverage er turns out to be. e have dick on the line from albuquerque, new mexico, democratic caller. good morning to you. morning.ood am i on? host: you are, sir, go right ahead. missed the , i previous guest that you had, the colonel. is everyint in general year i give toof organizations s

that help out the veterans. i also do ingly and i with a clenched jaw because feel the veterans administration and i think ng to war, r country goes they need to think ahead about the cost, the human cost of wars. bloody shame as far as i'm concerned. host: dick, let me ask you. is the v.a. falling short in your view? caller: number of things, but particularly for the young veterans. hese guys are needing more and

advanced pros thesis and the the way to get those in timely fashion is through rganizations like wounded and other out fits that get funding from the people. this is something the v.a. should be doing, they shouldn't on wounded warriors veterans.are of our it's just a shame. you for calling from mexico. you likeer, what would to say this morning?

caller: hey, well, first off, i would like to say, i think maddog would be a great general. i think he would be great in the position. trump has picked him, he was a your guest,l tochlt i appreciate his service. what i want to talk about, and this new administration will come along and they will deal with the healthcare situation. my idea i thought about was that like -- what if state farm, geico and able to ve would be sell health insurance, it might be able to drive the price down people might get into that, before you did that, you might have to make it so that pharmaceutical companies can't just price their drugs as whenever they nt want. you know and i know like tylenol advil raise price or lower price 10 cents, might affect the the government and how much they buy the drug at. in point.pipen, case the way you might be able to do law thatington, pass a says if pharmaceutical company comes up with a new drug, you

original price of the drug five times the riginal price within five years. that might give it a little bit opportunity for growth a little not just people wanting to make more money during a quarter and price up a drug. it.t: got christopher, what do you expect from president trump and the republican-led congress in this area? caller: well, i see they try to an open market and to make n open market for the healthcare. i live in florida and watch how florida and not just florida, several other states didn't buy the affordable healthcare act. there was a reason. if you step back and look at it, to yourself, you didn't pend millions, but billionos designing a website, i know c-span covered it, that is not only flaw there is some good things, i think the name, is a able healthcare act, wonderful name and i think we should keep it. on your hat staying

parents plan is a good thing, we should keep it. but there is some other things that helped drive the price up afford, a that can't lot of people created businesss going health insurance so they don't get kicked off the plan. o i appreciate you taking the time and last point to the v.a. how much spitals, money the last eight years, how much money has the v.a. wasted trying to build new facilities? one thing i know trump can do is buildings. give him the budget wasted on v.a. buildings, you wasted a couple billion in a see what he tion, can build. have a great day. god bless. for christopher, thanks calling. whatever congress and the new president do with healthcare, or various al changes, watch the process live on c-span, we'll cover any

of course and s the floor session can be seen on c-span for the house and c-span 2 for the senate. they are back in next tuesday to 115ththe new congress, the congress, that will include the paul on of speaker with ryan running against against pelosi. paul ryan another session as speaker. we will watch swear nothing on house side. that action kick necessary noon eastern tuesday, january 3rd. here and we should point out on the healthcare opic, all week on the "washington journal," we're doing key issues facing the administration. today we did national security. healthcare.l do tomorrow we'll focus on trade starting at 7:00 tomorrow, we'll with bloomberg news reporter on trade and job policy administration, we'll have a round table with hufbauer.r and gary

dean baker with center for hufbaueresearch and mr. from the peterson institute. trade and morrow on what it will mean for this country, starting tomorrow at 7:00 with open phones and then 8. guests at enough talking from me, more of your calls, matt, staten island, york. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. hello. ahead.o if you can turn the sound down n your set, we'll hear you better. caller: sure, can you hear me now? host: much better. caller: great. here is of course there seems to be mr. trump has change social security and medicare the way we know it. andknow, you have paul ryan others wanting to modernize it. what do they have in mind and is it going to change, how is it going to change? any change in social security more dicare by making it

difficult for people to get, lower social security payments that matter, make medicare into voucher system is impact on erribly people who can't afford healthcare and retirement. could you tell us exactly what there or what exactly are the planning to do? nat, want to ask you, you mention about what you're concerned about. what of those points specifically would impact you family?ers of your caller: well, not just members of my family. large.mmunity at people who are not on fixed, i not on government there are d then people who just live off social ecurity and retirement and medicare. now naturally if you in any way the benefits it's

going to impact their lives, you of people nk a lot sink back interest poverty. caller: thank you for calling, allen in virginia. is on can, allen, what your mind? caller: good morning. or a a question statement. where does is this money go when he government sues large companies for millions or billions of dollars? you think it goes? caller: i don't know, it goes cesspool pit in washington, d.c. it would be applied toward the debt, the national debt. host: what is impact of national debt, do you think on the way the country operates? atrocious,think it is but because the interest that a waste.ing is just host: okay. llen, let's hear from thomas,

in new hampshire, independent caller. good morning, sir. good morning. a lot aboutthere is country, one of the biggest is, going to be something who about wages, people work full time and for instance, -- i understand -- get able and i do, should -- don't you think? and bring jobs to this country jobs, everything fws up everyday, price of food, gas.thing, what are the plans for that, you know? citizens -- control since i've been alive.

thomas, what is a reasonable increase in wages, do think? whether further increase in minimum wage or elsewhere? minimum wage, might as on stay -- you can't live going, e way things are somebody can't make $50,000 a something wrong. these are blue collar jobs, $50,000 e able to make without working 100 hours a week. host: okay. thank you for calling. couple stories about the courts in the papers. ne in the washington times talks about the efforts of president obama during his eight says obama'sadline strategic choices changed the course of the courts. federal court he for decades to come with record umber of women and minority appointed to life-time judgeship, despite losing battle

over the supreme court. of the 340 judges nominated by confirmed by the senate, 42% of women, 19% are hispanic.11% are more female and minority appointees than any other president. he is also appointed 11 federal who are openly gay and that is a record, according to the washington times. in "washington post" writes, lead story today, that trump, donald trump is set to change courts, reshape them. donald trump is set to inherit vacancies mber of despite what we just read about the president and increasing of vacancy in the federal court in addition to supreme court giving the president-elect monumental opportunity to reshape judiciary after taking office. 103 judicial vacancies that president obama expected to hand ver to trump in january is nearly double the 54 openings

bama found eight years ago following george w. bush's presidency. to willie in louisiana. hello, willie. caller: i'm willie, i'm a 75-year-old black man. military during segregation, a lot of hope for to be fair. i did two combat wounded, this is first time in my life i that this country goes -- down, i mean, down. i don't care if i lose everything, i don't care. host: why are you saying that, willie? aller: the trump rallies, i never thought i would see america come out the way they did behind a racist, never would see it is again. i remember george wallace, it is right back to the same thing. will probably die before he out, that's okay. thank you, sir. host: another, thoughts of on the new min stragz and

the country. hello. aller: hi, man, been a long time since i talked to you, you guys do a good job. throwed off track by my man willie. illie, don't feel like that, have you seen too much and america still is great, but people are hurting and the reason they are hurting, willie, you know why, because america is anti-monopoly anymore. paul dwe stop being anti-monopoly. nationaltion, to multi corporations running the united states. people are hurting, willie. guy from florida, he made ood points about ideas, guy in the first segment from virginia talking about whites and black, versus poor tis wealth poverty and confusing part is tie, man, the that confusing part, man is that people are not educating

themselves. spending more time on ntertainment, more time on passive activities versus taking care of three primary things for americans. you know what that is, family, education. we got to do that. thank you. host: what is the best way to self when it comes to public policy issues, the ablenment, the news, being to be active participating citizen, what do you think? paulo, c-span, "washington journal," paying c-span, 1 c-span, 2, 3. this is not for every american, there will be losers and winners. particular opinion, we, the american people have let corporations, monopolys take over the in the united states. to the callers, you guys got

call in here without that ideas e and call in with about what we can do as citizens america great. trump did a lot of things, trump quo, and now status they have triangalated themselves around trump and to be controlling trump's agenda and we don't want that. is boisterous guy, i believe he wants a bright future 10-year-old boy he's got, for those kids he's so proud of. will do hink he anything, you know what i mean, too dangerous that will put us peril. and willie, don't give up on us, man, this is america. there isseen a lot and more to go. the american people have to pay attention to politicians and global corporations who are controlling this and turning another.st one have a great day. host: take care, happy new year

to you. earlier ne of the callers, to a certain extent asking where the money goes. the "wall street journal" has a recent story, big banks paid $110 billion in mortgage-related fines. where did the money go? banks penalized for role in inflating mortgage bubble that helped cause crisis.l who got that monsne a piece from earlier this year. hey wrote the nation's largest banks paid fines totaling $110 billion for their role and mortgage bubble to cause that financial crisis n. new york, they write the annual using bank s settlement money to build a new stables.rn and delaware, proceeds being used to e-mail accounts for police. a former reality star collected rewarding a bank's misconduct. banks write the wall street jrnl tens of thousands of homeowners with mortgages and

jacksonville, from florida to california, funded loans for low income borrowers donated to dozens of community groups and legal aid writes the s, yet "wall street journal," some of the biggest chunks stayed with levied the fine place.first $109.96 billion in federal fines related to the housing crisis, $50 billion ended up with the government. the u.s. government, little disclosure what happened next, according to analysis in the "wall street journal," that answers to a certain extent what one of the earlier callers said, his is a piece written earlier this year. "wall street t at journa journal". dale is calling from indiana now. dale. caller: yeah. about trump omment and vladamir putin. even george w. bush was talking about looking

soul of putin and nixon, each ck to efore vietnam was completely finished, he was in china making trade, so it seems drifted have all towards communist countries and kissinger was -- had a lot to do with deals in and vietnam and chile and -- i'm not going to trump until i see how he does, but i can judge nixon and bush and those on what they did and that is my comment. host: all right. thank you for taking part in the

dale.am, carol in pittsburgh. carol. caller: thanks to c-span. to be ou for trying unbiassed through this year.tely crazy but i just want to say a couple things. democrat coming from a blue collar background in pittsburgh. father was a foreman at u.s. steel. i'm old enough to remember the etc, ons, the industry, etc. i was disappoint third degree ear in the way things were handled. 'm old enough to remember the clintons, understand how have perated in life, the legal limit thinking their toitlements enabled them not be prosecuted for a lot of things.

things disappointed when started coming out about the collision toward bernie sanders, etc, etc, i gathered my successful girlfriends, most who back from pittsburgh wrshgs we're living now after being liberal cities. i've had an exciting life, including show business, but got very involved in politics and started to get turned off and took my friends down to the polling booth and voted for donald j. trump of reasons i don't need to bore you with. i want to comment on something has come out recently, one i don't know why c-span isn't covering it. you guys are up to the minute on everything, but it has been reported, i don't think it is allegedly it has come from the finalces, that in weeks of clinton's strategy, decided to no longer put their time and energy and money

electoral after the votes because they thought they 350, and even some 400.reporting it is so that might be one of the reasons why they didn't go into all and only went to michigan at the end. he wasn't very active in comparison to mr. trump. i'm 70, have great energy, never year old man with this kind of unbelievable's blessed inrgy, which served him well the last couple days. but what they did supposedly, a million dollars in weeks, two years, two in ginning up the popular vote urban citys with high supposedly ers and her popular vote, which i'm so about, because is pretty smart

and if it was a popular vote, their strategy would have been vote ander the popular probably supposedly her popular has come from three counties. wo in los angeles and one in san francisco. host: what does that mean, carol? caller: what it says to me, i'm to death of these people making one excuse after another she didn't win and harping on the popular vote when any rationale has been on this earth long enough you go to large states like new york, where i don't think he campaigned and didn't campaign in california, that ifwould make sense you are out there spending time and money, you know, you are gin up that note. really it is electoral college and all the delegitimize

him by protest and electoral college and recount is ridiculous. host: thanks for calling. want another voice or two on. that might ry interest you in the style section of the "washington are " about a&e, they pulling the plug on documentary emily writes kkk, five days after a&e announced ku klux s about the klan, the net work cancelled in a statement released christmas said the network learned the show's producers rom a third party production ompany made cash payments to participants which violates the a&e policy. the show would look at anti-hate focused on helping people leave the kkk. a long history of violence against african americans and others, they are based on e plug

violation of policy. paying cash for access. in indianapolis, democratic caller. good morning. caller: hi, paul. know, it is funny. i agree with almost all of the last four callers, even though democrat. yes, for eason, serious reasons, hillary lost, that is trump won. fair and square. i'm more concerned about what is think o happen now and i that maybe people won't even the stand the effects of trump presidency for 10 to 20 years. the supreme fill court with more conservative think the "wall street journal" had a story on that, nature of the justices he as possible g candidates. and he's also going to run up on one hand debt the national debt doesn't matter, it could be 50 trillion,

other hand, at some point, it is really going to affect us all. grandchildren will have to national debt does not matter at all. it could be $50 trillion, but on the other hand, it is going to really affect us all and i think our grandchildren will have to pay for it. anding up the national debt pushing it higher and higher instead of holding it down is problems that are just almost inescapable. people do not realize this. they keep going therir merry way. host: tom, you get the last word. happy new year to you, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day here watching c-span hopefully. we will be back tomorrow with another edition of the "washington journal." we are spending the entire we talkin addressing key issues of

the trump administration. onorrow michelle jamrisko trade and job policy. plus plenty of time for your calls tomorrow on trade on "washington journal." [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> this week, "washington journal" will devote the entire programming to the key issues facing the new trump administration and congress. on tuesday morning, trade and job issues examining how congress and the trump and change current trade laws to

create or save jobs. on wednesday morning, our issue is energ and climate issues may be impacted by congress and the incoming trump administration. thursday, we will talk about immigration and how president-elect trump and that congress might change policy. we take a look at the future of the affordable care act and how the republican congress and the trump administration will repeal and replace the aca, and the key players to watch in the months ahead. be sure to watch "washington journal" at 7:00 a.m. eastern. week on c-span in primetime, tonight at 8:00 eastern, hear from some of the democrats vying to leave the party, including ray buckley, jamie harrison, and representative keith ellison from minnesota. >> in 2014, we hit a seven year

low in voter turnout, 36%. the democratic caucus is smaller than any time since truman. in the last election, we had a 20 year low in the presidential turnout. we got a lot of rebuilding to. >> tuesday night at 8:00, president obama and shenzhen shinzo abe visit pearl harbor. abe is the first japanese leader to visit the site of the attack that launched u.s. involvement into world war ii. a review of house and senate hearings on topics including the flint, michigan, water crisis and the wells fargo scandal. >> you found out one of your divisions have created two million fake accounts, fired thousands of employees for improper behavior, and had cheated thousands of your own customers, and you did not even once consider firing