he will replaced james comey who was fired earlier this year. he will be asked to talk about russian interference in the 2016 election. live coverage in the senate judiciary committee hearing starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3. you can also follow it live on c-span.org and with the c-span radio app. wednesday, a hearing on visa overstays. the need for accountability and national security. the senate judiciary subcommittee starting at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span 3. >>the need for accountability ad next, cia director mike pompeo speaks that the intelligence and national security alliance dinner in washington. he talks about his goals for the cia as well as national security threats. afterwards, he sits down for an interview. this is 50 minutes.

i'm pleased to introduce cia director mike pompeo. as director, he leads the cia intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. role, ensuing this director pompeo was serving in his fourth term as a congressman from kansas' fourth district. he served on the house intelligence committee, as well as the energy and commerce committee. prior to his service in congress, director pompeo founded fair aerospace where he served as ceo for more than a decade. director pompeo graduated first in his class from the united states military academy at west point and served as a calvary

officer patrolling the iron curtain before the fall of the berlin wall. after leaving active duty, mr. pompeo graduated from harvard law school having been an editor of the harvard law review. tonight, we will hear more about director pompeo's vision for the central intelligence agency. all of us in this room, all of us share a common purpose. ensuring the safety and security of the united states. it's an important mission, one that we can never forget because people are counting on us to deliver each and every day. leadership here requires integrity, teamwork, excellence and courage, just to name a few. director pompeo definitely embodies all of those qualities. welcoming join me in

director mike pompeo. [applause] dir. pompeo: thank you for those very kind words. thank you for inviting me to be here with all of you this evening. i have a set of remarks, some things i want to share with you, but i look forward to taking questions as well. i think i do. [laughter] i will let you know at the end of this evening. i will be remiss too. i thank you all for being part of this organization. i have spent most of my adult life running a company that has made aerospace components. cia.e tried to sell to the [laughter] you all form an important part of what we do at the cia every day and i want to thank you for that. veryoo long ago, a

brave warrior came to us after serving 22 years in the army. he served in the cia's director of operations to tackle some of the most sensitive tasks that are agency undertakes. he was eminently well-qualified. he brought with him a sterling military record and a great career. he had been a ranger. he was among the best and stood out for sure. he had character, intellect, grit and courage. he had the battlefield techniques, physical fitness and marksmanship. perhaps most importantly, he had an uncanny knack for getting the job done, however difficult a task. the cia was thrilled to have him join our team. first was in afghanistan working on counterterrorism. weeks, weeks, he was

involved in a predictable routine. the planning was meticulous, execution was precise. moves cool and composed. the objective would be achieved. he was asleep one morning having finished a mission the night before when an explosion woke him. he met up with his colleagues. several hundred yards away, obj. he was asleep one morning having finished a a car bomb exploded. it was at the main entrance of the compound housing afghan soldiers. he climbed into his armored truck and headed to the fight. just as he arrived, a second car bomb detonated. enemy fire came from every direction. instead of seeking cover, this cia officer left from his truck and ran towards the action. his colleagues said he had no fear. near the gate, he saw two afghan soldiers lying on the ground. they were wounded and in the open. he carry them away himself. he was hit once in the shoulder, once in the leg.

despite, he continued to fight. he'd move forward engaging the enemy, taking position behind a small set of concrete stairs. he fought to check the enemy advance. he was a one-man wrecking crew. the attackers shredded tree limbs with gunfire. there were hand grenades and rpg's, machine guns and suicide vests. he fought valiantly to subdue them until a grenade landed next to him. do.e was nothing he can it exploded, inflicting a mortal wound. while being carried away, our cia officer had a friend to call out to him. do. he shouted, "i'm here." officerthe end, the cia stood ready to serve whenever and wherever his country needed him. he was the best are agency had to offer. in 2017, are agency faces

serious threats. we are duty-bound to fight them. terrorism, weapons proliferation, cyber warfare -- they are all quite tangible. our mission demands that we have determined as aggressive espionage. we must be unafraid to make sure we have an unfair advantage against our enemy at every turn. i'm blessed to be the cia director and have thousands of officers working towards that same objective and incredibly proud to lead them. we will be relentless to defend against the threats to our nation because they are real. a quick rundown of the things we are facing today, although not necessarily in order. terrorism.scourge of the agency has been at the center of the fight since a temper 11. september 11. even as mosul has fallen, the dire threat remains.

we have worked to do to defeat isis. the same thing we did to core al qaeda is the mission for them. i hope they are listening tonight because the cia will be part of accomplishing that task. we still have a bunch tof work, especially given isis' major alss to forgo qaeda attacks for small attacks would small planning. we should be proud but never complacent. we have plenty of trucks and sidewalks. next in much of the news is north korea. pyongyang is pushing 24 hours a day to continue to develop icbm's that can reach us in the states and attach a nuclear warhead. north korea conducted its longest ever launch of a missile and icmbm.

this underscores the grave threat. while the president has made clear this is something that must be defeated, diplomatic and genetic responses of both difficult to achieve. thecia stands ready to help president achieve its end. for 20 years, america whistled past the graveyard of north korea. we do not intend for it to go on much longer. allowed him toe continue to develop weapons systems. it is time for that to cease. in iran, we face an adversary on the march. unlike isis and its mirage of a caliphate, the is lannett republic o -- islamic republic of iran is the largest sponsor of terrorism. when you look at what is happening today in syria, yemen, and iraq, you can see the

threat. buyers to be the hegemonic power of the region. iran represents our biggest need east challenge in a long-term. the cia will perform a central role in pushing back against this threat. finally, we confronted adversaries, states and nonstate actors who seek to erode democracy and the wilrule of law. this includes wikileaks that recruit spies, rewards people to steel secrets and uses that . it includes the russian government which has long been the world's foremost practitioner o. active measures. domain has greatly facilitated and accelerated these activities. instead of having to rely on agents, they can sit in a room

and do us harm. it is much easier for authoritarian governments to use these tools and then it is for democracies. there is much work to do. the bottom line is it is hard to sit in the director's chair and not see a world that is dangerous. the threats of the world israel. real. i come from kansas, the heartland. this sense that this evil in the world that must be defeated is not hyperbole, it is a rational response to these threats. returning to my question from a moment ago -- what does this mean for the cia and how do we accomplish this mission for america and the president? first, it means we have to do everything in our power to provide the strategic understanding for policymakers. for afor an intelligence collection. and put tremendous pressure on us. we have to be world class when

it comes to bringing together intelligence from across the government. not just the cia. fbi --, nga, everybody that has a touch point that provides information to keep our country safe. when we deliver assessments, we must do so with complete candor. as this the truth to serve. we whenever i swear in new officers, i tell them they had the duty to deliver the truth in everything they do. i spent a little bit of time with the president almost every day, sharing the amazing work the intelligence community has been able to serve. whenever i swear in new deliver. a single space and single point in time to inform his decision-making. i'm proud of the fact i get to be that vessel to communicate that information to our president. need offers of majestic intellect. across a wide spreading of

discipline. it is tough stuff to do intelligence work. it requires the capacity to absorb large amounts of information. and creativity. we need help from private sector partners as well. can continue to take advantage of the great work that is being done in the private sector to provide aid to our agency to weaken deliver world-class products of the united states government. if we are going to succeed against today's threats, we need a nation that understands what our nation does and does not do. i have read all the novels. i set on the oversight committee for a few years and had a seat to see the agency a bit. it's now possible to truly andrstand the scope capacity of the central intelligence agency without being part of it. i view it as one of the most fundamental important things i can undertake during my time. to make sure america knows that the work we are doing is noble and important and lawful and

central to keeping america safe. we are a foreign intelligence agency. that is our aim -- to catch bad guys that threaten us all around the world. we all, and i ask your help in this, we have to counter the narrative that the cia is untethered from government. i can tell you the cia has rigorous oversight and appropriately so, both from the executive branch and within the legislative branch and the courts. storiesto push back in in the media that are misleading, that talk about things are officers didn't do and talk about the media understands they are not permitted to talk about that our officers actually do. difficult to do in the intelligence business. we operate in secret for good reason. we are often limited in what we can say. we have to protect important

national security classified information. sometimes we cannot set the record straight when doing so can harm national security, but i think it is fundamentally important we maintain the trust of the american people that will continue to give us the authority and resources to perform the critical mission we do each day. we also need a commander in chief who appreciates the work we do and a government that understands it at well. we have to work closely with our partners and our partners in the homeland security and fbi to make sure we have a deep understanding of what is really taking clays around the world. i have now spent six months nearly working for president trump. he is a demanding customer. frankly, we like it that way because it shows he depends on us and value what we do. let me give you a brief example to illustrate that point. back in april 1 afternoon, i got a call from the president and wanted to talk about some disturbing images he saw coming from syria. i'm sure you saw many of them

yourselves. innocent civilians writhing in agony as victims of chemical weapons attacks. the president had a very direct message for me. he wanted to know exactly what happened and he wanted to know quickly. we assembled a crack team. a couple hundred of folks at the agency to diagnose and understand what has taken place. piecing together evidence, working closely with our partners all across the intelligence community. the next day, the president called his cabinet together. as he sat down, he turned to me and asked what we have learned. several of us shared what we now knew. i told him the intelligence community concluded a chemical weapon had indeed been used in attack and launched by the syrian regime. the president paused a moment and said are you sure? i will admit to you it took my breath away. i hope it did for some of you as well. but, i knew the intelligence

community had solid evidence, evidence of that we can provide to the president. i was able to look at him and say we have high confidence that is what truly took place. he never looked back. debate on the intelligence community's judgment, he made one of the most consequential decisions, launching a strike against the very airfield from which the attack originated. attack and launched by the syrian regime. finally, for us to be successful in confronting today's daunting array of security threats, there is one thing above all else the cia has to do and that is improve. adapted to changing times and changing threats. i'm proud to say the agency is operating for throttle with respect to that today. i've taken over an agency with capability. they only needed to accelerate to full speed. we have responsibilities for global coverage, but we are clearly going to set priorities.

i've created two new different to put acenters dagger at the heart of the korean capability. problem and the problem in iran. this set the priorities that makes clear that we understand the president assess -- asks us for a specific set of critical information to perform against a task he would use as most vital to our nation security. it reminds me when i ran a small business. there were many tasks that i had to perform at a high level of excellence but we had immediate tasks, things that we might fail the company might not exist. the government is a little different. immediate feedback is not always there. the same dynamic as the organization i tried to run as a business owner sits before me today. i'm so proud to the leading it. i'm demanding excellence from everyone at all times. i'm finding that everyone there wants to achieve it.

we won't always succeed. there will be bad days, but we have to accept some risks in her agency in order to be successful. if you are not coming short of times, you are not reaching hard enough but we certainly are going to do that. hard everyday. since taking office, i have seen firsthand why cia officers are considered a national treasure. theythey accomplish amazing this every day. that do so with courage, determination and humility. when i thank them, they often shun recognition. they often say they are just doing their job. they say they signed up to do this mission and indeed they did. their dedication is larger than themselves and that makes the cia very special. it is why i am so confident about our future. i have no doubt whatsoever that our country will turn to the cia many times and we will prevail against today's adversaries and

those yet to come. thank you for having me here today. i look forward to your questions. [applause] >> their ego. re wego. go. thank you, director pompeo. before we get started with a moderated discussion and q&a, a reminder -- there are cards on your table. if you have questions that were generated from that great speech we just heard, write those questions down. we will have amazing interns circulating around the audience. they will be looking for your questions. they are also looking for jobs. [laughter] if you got a job and want an

amazing person for it, one of these interns maybe it. haven't finished your dinner -- i think we are getting dinner out now. we will remind you to try to eat quietly because we will go ahead with the q an&a. now, it is my pleasure to introduce the man who truly needs no introduction, charlie allen. years at the cia, rising to its highest ranks. s under secretary of homeland security -- ok, folks, quiet down. the turnof chertoff group.

harder atbody works the business of intelligence than charlie allen. over to you, charlie. [applause] charlie: thank you for those remarks, director. heart, it is my really well received. a selfless and dedicated group of people. it is inspiring to hear how well you have taken over in the first six months that you have been director. you talked a little bit about thatcope and the threats runs all the way from north to china.ussia proliferation to organized crime which is a whole new world that is getting more and more to vicious. how do you view all of this? do you feel the agency is

changing to meet this feed and the velocity of the threats that we are facing? it is a very different world fromchanging to meet this feed d the velocity of the threats that we are facing? it is a very different world from the cold war that i work so hard on many years ago. dir. pompeo: asked one time howi thought the enemy would respond to a particular action. i said i would not have a meeting like this one. they will move quickly. changing to meet this feed and thewe have to move quickly as w. that means we have to understand the adversary in a way that truly reflects what they are doing. not to over you

overreact but also to make sure that we're not worshiping our own chart inside the agency. we understand the mission and able to move against the enemies quickly. that means several thing you have to understand the priority expect how it can change, and then, third, have to make sure -- a little counterintuitive -- build the reservoir of talent and resources, have to have the right people and the right technology. and so i try to spend a little about of time each day make sure we'll take care of things that will happen along after i'm director of the cia, putting in place the tools for five and ten and 15 years from now. knowing this world will change fast, and if we try build nit two months when it's a ten-year project we will be too late.

there's an agileness and excitement at the moment but we have to make sure we meetthe demands of the future as well. >> thank you. on the 6th of january this year, the cia, thefish, andthe national security agency, published an intelligence community assessment that said the russia federation, through cyber and through other covert means, tried continuenuisance the results of the u.s. election. do you have any comments on that particular assessment and how you feel about sanctions, the current sanctions against the russians and what is the outlook as we go downstream here with the president? >> yeah. look,'ll leave the policy issue, like sanctions to others. it's not my task. but the threat of our adversaries trying to muck with our elections is very real. the russians clearly did it in the 2016 elections, the 2012 election and the 1970s as well. there were those who seem aghast

and shocked the russians were trying to impact and adversely place the outcome they preferred on american democracy. they've been at that's hell of a long time. so we have a task to make sure we defend against it. not just from the russians but from -- we have seen the chinese, a lot of hacking during my time on the oversight committee, trying to get to places in which they have no business or systems. the iranians have done it. list of those who are seeking the demise of western democracy is long. many of them use the tools that are the typical ones talking and also active measures in cyber security and we -- i saw admiral rogers -- includes all of them being prepared to do this well defensively and think about how to respond to those attacks as well. >> thank you. director, mosul has fallen. we know that raqqa is being surrounded and will fall. you speak about thebattle with

battle against isis and slowly being annihilated in syria.in iraq and what about the diaspora? are we prepared to work ofour our europeanth allies and others to -- because evidently, isis, the islamic state, will come after us to damage the west and damage the united states. >> three tasks. i mean, the short answer is, yes, not only are we prepared to work with our european allies, we've been doing it. i spoke with one of my european counterparts today. i have worked closely with him in the first six months. we'll work with them to try to help them secure their countries against homeland threats as well. one, to make sure

there's few people in the diaspora as possible. so, first mission, kill as many as you can, because it is the case, they'll continue the fight. second, we need to make sure that as been gel community we do our work so we can track them wherever theygo. there are isis affiliates in half a dozen countries. some loosely affiliated with eye -- with isis, some deeply connected. we need to take down those networks and this is a task that pulls less to the cia, -- that falls less to the cia, more to others. we have to make sure we secure america against isis here as well. if we do those thing tryings with elan and aggressively, we'll push back and we'll win. >> the intelligence community is supposed to tell the president about threats and try to avoid surprise. as an old officer of the cia, we

failed in some cases. history is a little checkered on our ability to forecast, to give advance warning. to be able to understand the threats before we are in extreme crisis. i've been in extreme crisis at the cia where we failed to give advance warning. how about this world you talked about earlier, the digital world, where we have machine learning, we have big data analytics? how do you feel the agency is -- along with the community is positioned to do a better job of getting ahead of the threat? >> it's tough. i am confident when we look back 25 years from now the history will still be checkered and i'm sure we will miss a few, but i've seen an awful lot of good work done. some tactical, but also seen some really good work that has been done taking done operational and strategic threats as well, identifying

them, preparing all of u.s. government to think about how to be prepared when the threat actually crosses of the horizon and is on top of us. it mean wes have to be hard, we continue to devote the right resources that america will have to devote resources that are so precious but if we do it well, we can get it right. >> that's great. early in the administration we saw a good deal of press about morale at the agency and the administration was not being kind to the intelligence community. i take my own sort of private poll in talking to officers at the agency, i feel the morale is very high, frankly, at langley, virginia. could you give us a little more color or understanding that the -- understanding about the president and his top advisers and how he takes the briefings each day? >> sure.

i've traveled several dozen stations in six months, maybe a bunch, one of the highlights is to immediate with officers that are working around the world to defeat the bad guys, and these are young, talented, aggressive people who are just dying get to out there and crush it. morale his high and i'm thrilled to see that. that with respect to the president, i talk about the fact i'm with him almost every day in the oval office, delivering him both things that are really current, trying to prepare him for the things right in front of him and also working hard to ensure we're building a baseline of knowledge in the same way i'm working to build my baseline of knowledge. it is hard work. the president is a tough customer. he asks hard questions and we hope if we don't have the answer that day, we can get back to him and make sure we deliver it to him. i've read the story, too. i can only tell you my

experience, and the experience of the officers -- my officers who have been with the president as well. he not only values and appreciates the people but is counting on to us deliver for him, and i'm counting on my team to deliver for him as well. >> that's great. one thing that bothers me as an intelligence officer is what we seem to be occurring across government, including capitol hill, is a sort of culture of leakage. you went after wikileaks a few minutes ago, and you did it at csis. is there anything more we can and must do? because i think really we're putting the country at risk, putting sources and messages helped create years ago. do you have any further comments on this culture of leakage that has to stop at some point.

[applause] >> charlie, there's always more you can do. one of the first things i did is the head of counterintelligence now report to me. it was intended to make sure that i was personally part of making sure we were doing cia well but i wanted to make sure everyone in the organization understood that it was an enormous priority. we have to get that right. i think we can. there are things we can do inside our open buildings and in our screening process that will decrease the likelihood we have threat from inside. and then, too, things we can do to make sure that others aren't stealing our secrets, those from outside. we have an obligation to do that. it's enormously frustrating to read things in the press you now -- press that you know are not -- that you know

ought not to be there, and i hope it's the case this government will ensure that every man's evidence is available to prosecute those who violated the most fundmental principle of securing that information and keep our officers, their families outcome assets and our nation safe. [applause] >> you have worked your west point, farmer, then private sector and chen the congress. you saw lot of the private sector, as ran old intelligence officer we're not as agile in dealing with the private setter -- private sector and the motivations of what drives sector to private practice. what are the things the intelligence community should learn or has learned in order to be nor -- nimble agile? >> i think it's learned quite a

bit -- one thing the agency doesn't benefit from is the private sector, if now perform poorly, doesn't take throng figure it out. customers vanish, profits go away and the forked of directors wants to know what is going on. the feed back loop is not clear. my efforts have when to take the same basic free sense of leadership i had when i ran the two businesses i ran, which is first make sure everybody understands the commander's intent and make sure they understand what the president or i am looking for and be very clear about it, unabashed to make sure they know their expect mission and expectations. -- make sure they know their mission and expectations, and then knock down barriers. in some of the most talented people everywhere here. this book i swore in 70 more officers, great young people from every background you can

imagine in america, and i think my duty to them is to make sure i tell them what it is we accept -- what it is we expect from path,set them down the knocking everything out of their bay and then reward them if if -- reward them if they succeed. the same thing you do in the business environment. >> how important is traditional human source intelligence? it's a world that has changed so rapidly. cyber as ameans of acquiringings -- acquiring information. at the same time, human intelligence strikes me -- traditional espionage is crucial to the success and surety of the accoutrement what of your views, having looked at the agency, traveled abroad, talked to stations and people in the war zones. >> we have human intelligence incredibly well. it requires young daring men and women willing to good to rick -- willing to go to difficult places and attack their adversaries.

we have a whole host of them working for us and we have to do it well. it's more digital today. with all the digital footprints -- to get an anonymous officer to the right police at the right moment. it's trickier but just as important. also the case, and we work closely with our signals brothers. it is almost always the case we're working closely together. whether you call it signals enabled human, we're out there beside each other making sure we're delivering the right information. it takes human beings with the capacity to get to the most critical places at the right time and we have to make surewe -- make sure we are the world's best at it. >> how effective -- how do you the five i? i worked very closely with an information sharing and directing operations with our close allies, of course

we have other relationships around to the world. how do you work on the foreign relationships and the health of the relationshipships from the cia and the rest of the community to colleagues over overseas? >> i'm asked what is most surprising about my numeral? one thing i am always mentioning is how much time i spent talking to our partners around the world. those are helping us do our mission and we cannot do it without them. our partners occupy a special place and have the a special relationship, and that is central to what we do. but make no mistake, the united states government depends deeply on having great partners who are willing to share action with us, willing to run operates with us, -- run operations with us, willing to help us achieve our priorities and that means america has to do the same thing for them and i have been incredibly, happily surprised at how many great partner wes have

that are willing to help america do the most difficult intelligence tasks around the world. we're in real good shape. [applause] >> that's great. one of the things, you have andrew holeman here today and at teresa and others. they're trying to get technology quickly inside the agency and inside the others are leaders of the community are trying to get it inside their own agencies. commercial technology is moving case -- very fast pace and consumer technologies are moving even faster. how can the cia keep pace with the adoption of new and advanced commercial technology? >> we have to embrace it. welcome it, encourage it, be willing to pay for it. we have to put the agency in a place where private enterprise understands that there are real needs in the intelligence community and to help us deliver against it.

i think we can do it. i think we do it pretty well but there is room for enormous improvement. we have to be out trying to identify the way the agency has done well but being able to identify best in class technology and make sure we're not wedded to doing something only because we invented it inside of the building. rather be prepared to adopt world-class technology when it helps us to achieve our ends. if we do it, some of you will be richer and we will all -- america will be more secure. >> is an old intelligence officer, the cia is resistant to structural change. i remember we had a deputy director of plans who was their operation side and it was jim's lessons are who was briefly director, the director of operations, it seemed like a terrible thing to do. i remember old officer saying why would we ever give away the same ddp?

you had your predecessor, a modernization program which made cigna can change. what are your views on further modernization for cia? you just talked about senior centers you have had an putting a dagger in the heart. i thought that was a wonderful metaphor. what are your views? >> that was not a metaphor. >> surreal. >> i have not banned but i have suggested the banning of the word "modernization" at the cia, because it suggests an endpoint. there isn't. if we are going to do this well, just like when i ran a business, if the product was in selling, we needed something new tomorrow. we just moved onto things customers really want to. the first -- the same way the agency has to be ever-changing.

when we talk about modernization, it is like you are going to go through some transformation. urged people, those of you who are sitting with one of our officers at the table, ask them if they have our chart printed on the wall. if they do, let me know because i've asked folks not to print the thing. [laughter] >> i have done that it really because we have to be faster and nimble enough to go after our adversaries. anarchy does not succeed. we shouldn't worship and altar of this thing called modernization and we should just make sure we understand mission and we are taking the monetary resources, the technological resources, the human resources, applying to get that problem set with enormous vigor and if we do that, we will be fine. anytime you have a structure, i hope each and every day we are tearing down some piece of that and building a new piece. >> that is great [applause]

. -- that is great. [applause] my levine is tonight. he just appointed her. she is an old friend. how are you doing yucca you talked about the need -- you doing? you talked about the need for diversity. our getting people that are we -- are we getting the people we need? >> the short answer is yes. i think about getting that and making it even better, whether it is language skills or cultural understanding -- whatever the talents that may be , we have to make sure we have it right at the front end, so that 10 years from now, that next set of leaders, someone who will run our center 20 years from now, we don't have an opening where we have 30 or 40 people highly qualified that -- highly qualified for that. it is tricky to do.

lots of you are willing to pay people a lot for the same telesat. just for the same talent set. the great thing about living in america is because their people who are willing to sacrifice that. the most interesting set of tasks that anyone can undertake is being an officer p we have remarkable people have sacrificed a great deal to do that. for those of you who are us and wecome join need great men and women willing to do great things. -- come join us. we need great men and women willing to do great things. [applause] >> director, if you had to name three things that you learned being director of cia that you did not really fully appreciate when you were a member of the house member on intelligence, what would be the major points ? now you're inside langley

it is such a huge task. what do you think the most important take away is? >> most of what i have learned i cannot share. [laughter] learned? i talked about the importance of our foreign liaisons and the important work they do. i watched how the united states stands up and how difficult that task is and how critical it is we work to be better not only inside our building and inside the intelligence community, but make sure we are addressing the needs of this government to be prepared. it is an enormous undertaking. we have too many positions in our government not filled. all of the national security team can be in place. the last thing i would say is, the officers who work at the cia

do this in a way that is different. i was a soldier for a few years. when soldiers deploy, families come around, the communities come together. we have to make sure we have an obligation and we have to make sure we do our best to take care of our officers and their families. we have to make sure that we don't forget how much sacrifice the families are making on behalf of america. left to make sure we do that at a level of excellence that honors their commitment to america. [applause] >> the president has met with xi jinping at mar-a-lago and the g 20. china continues to be aggressive, at least from my perspective in the south china

.ea and in other areas you have any generalized comments you can make without getting into classified realms? to? >> china.t >> yeah. [laughter] >> it is a big country. >> a big country with a lot of challenges. the chinese present significant threat to the united states. the articulated a handful. they are desperate their expansionism throughout -- their expansionism throughout south china sea. they can possibly have greater economic power that is against the united states. we have to make sure -- they have an enormous cyber capability. first and foremost, i truly hope that we can convince them that

it is in their best interest to make sure that kim jong un no longer has nuclear weapons as well. [applause] >> they have the capacity to make a big difference and it is the president's expectations that they will deliver. >> that is great. ban, ise of the muslim that -- it is not a muslim ban. is that hurting us in any way? recruitment or bringing in talent? >> no. >> that is a good answer. [laughter] >> one of the things that does bother me, now i am working in the private sector was i didn't realize just how poorly government and the intelligence community included in doing contracts, getting from a

test the whole issue of getting a contract. [applause] >> great question for the evening. >> it is interesting. i remember the first time we did a contract with an entity. we were a tear to supplier -- we were a tier 2 supplier. i was told that it is binary. look, we have to make sure that we are delivering a contract that makes sense, that protects the taxpayers interest, that serves the cia's goal, but honestly i have seen the bureaucracy create nightmares, that is more paperwork for no benefit.

i am hopeful that we can do that anyway that is more positive. if we can match that, that will serve america very well. >> ok, i think we have time for one more question. primary threats were the same, russia, china, north korea. we had the arab spring and we had it in december 2010. the person writing the question there were celfin modulations -- there were self and modulations. it was a need to get ahead of the threat to anticipate to see societal changes you're doing a lot of work -- changes. you are doing a lot of work. platforms and ways to detect this early on, patterns and finding what rumsfeld used

to call "the unknown unknowns." any further comments? >> no, there are lots of really smart people and really good technologies that can help us supplement the human intellect in ways that can let us be a little more predictive. we can also make sure that we are not -- drink our own bathwater. we are currently challenging our assumptions, the platforms on which we build our analytic products. if we do that, we will serve the country well. don't, we will fail all too often to keep america safe. >> director pompeo, thank you for this evening to you have a lot of friends out here in the private sector. [applause] >> thank you for coming. >> got bless you. -- god bless you. [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. 2017] >> c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. willg up, todd harrison look at the debate in congress over creation of a space core, a fifth military branch devoted to outer space. the future of health care and bill pascrell will discuss 2018 andc strategy in potential leaders to move the party forward and be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern on wednesday morning. join the discussion. >> on wednesday, a confirmation hearing for christopher wray, president trump's nominee to be the next fbi director. he will replace james comey who was fired earlier. he is expected to be asked about russian interference in the 2016 election and his previous experience at the justice department. live coverage and the senate judiciary committee hearing

starting at 9:30 am eastern on c-span3 and you can follow it live on c-span.org and with the c-span radio app. coming up wednesday, a hearing on visa overstays. the need for accountability and national security. we will be live the senate judiciary subcommittee starting at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3. the house intelligence committee ranking member adam schiff called a meeting between donald trump junior and other officials with the russian lawyer, a disturbing development that should be looked into carefully. his comments came during a news conference with those on the house investigation into russia and the 2016 elections. this is about 15 minutes.