eating cake! >> happy birthday, elisabeth! bill: a u.s. marine set to face a mexican judge two months after he was thrown in a jail south of the border. for the first time he will tell his side of the story. good morning, i'm bill hemmer, welcome to america's newsroom. martha: he says this happened because of three registered guns and a wrong turn he took. he's facing the mexican authorities today. he claims it was all about a poorly marked sign that led him

to cross that border accidentally, then he made this 911 call. >> i'm having a little bit of an emergency. my problem is i crossed with border by accident and i three guns in my truck and they are trying to take my guns from me. >> reporter: since he has been behind bars at times he has been chained to his bed. at one time he reportedly tried to take his own life. he will have his first court appearance and he will be able to cross-examine the mexican

customs officer. tahmooressi has been diagnosed with ptsd after several traumatic experiences on the battlefield. he says he took a wrong field and wound up at the border with three guns in the back of his car. he called 911 but at that time it was too late. his family says they hope this isn't the first step in a very long process. bill: is there a chance he will be set free today? will he walk? >> reporter: the mexican judicious system can be very difficult. the hearing is not open to the public. it's going to take place in a small room. just enough room for the judge and the witnesses. he will be able to cross-examine those that were there that

night. my colleague william lajeunesse is in tijuana and he will bring everyone the results of those hearing when they happen. bill: thank you. martha: william lajeunesse went toot border to see how difficult it might be to make that wrong turn and end up in another country. watch. >> sources who work the border say it's not uncommon for travelers to miss that u turn. the sign used to be big but during construction it's replaced with his tiny sign. now drivers see this, a bright flashing sign but only after tahmooressi's stormy became international news. we get a live look at the u.s.

military academy at west point. this is the location where president obama will deliver what we are told will be the framing of the rest of his foreign policy this morning. he will do that in the form of a commencement speech that will be coming up in about an hour or so. he announced the drawdown of troops in afghanistan. reducing our troops and a complete to zero status at 2016. chris tires wal2016. -- chris stirewalt joins me now. >> we expect the framing of a defense of a troubled foreign policy. the president is under fire across the spectrum for a foreign policy that has not delivered much of what he promised aside from the winding down from those two wars. he ran against the iraq war in his 2008 campaign.

the after the began war was always unpopular with his political base. he announced the ultimate troop surge that he never sold much. today he essentially puts the closing note on this. i doubt we'll hear much more from the president on the failed effort. his strategy never paid off. he essentially admits defeat. he says the troops are going to come home and at least i'll give you that. >> we'll see if he admits defeat or if he has a different way of looking at afghanistan. there are so many ways that are raised by the entire arab spring issue. they claim he will frame the approach to counter terrorism and the approach to al qaeda in the years that follow these entanglements in iraq and afghanistan. weep could get the response that's people have been looking for in terms of what he plans to do now, right? >> they say a lot of stuff.

we were going to pivot to asia. they say a lot of stuff. the places where we have seen the president's foreign policy in action. motor notely lynn yeah and syria it has -- most notably libya and syria, libya where the united states was part of an effort to depose the rule they are and install what we believed or what we were told was a moderate islamist government. that is essentially turned into a failed state. syria the united states efforts to depose the strongman there has not worked and that country is devolving into total failure. the president is hard pressed to identify where this strategy works other than the two things his base has wanted him to do all along question is to end u.s. commitments in afghanistan and iraq. this is a sop to his base in an

election year and a way to try to get folks on the left back on his side when it comes to foreign policy. martha: we'll see what he says this morning. chris, thank you very much. reporter: the head of the house armed services committee buck mckeen, one of the many critics of the plan saying quote holding this mission to an arbitrary egg timer doesn't make a lick of sense strategically. buck mckeon is with us next. >> . this is his view of the world and his view of how he sees america's view in the world. martha: a scathing editorial in the post saying you took the troops to zero in iraq and look what happened. you said we wouldn't allow the red line to be crossed in syria

and look what happened. the president has a lot to answer for this morning and he will do that at the west point commencement speech. you see the cadets as they file in. bill: it's a striking sight of time we see it. martha: the white house is investigating itself after a huge blunder us about th -- a ha top cia official in jeopardy. brit hume calming this another example of the administration's mismanagement. >> reporter: obviously it was an oversight and mistake but one wonders what kind of operation you have where sufficient a grievous mistake can be made. it feeds into this ongoing

running story that led to suggestions this administration has trouble running things. martha: white house counsel is being asked to come up with a recommendation on how to keep something like this from ever happening again. bill: the oldest member of the u.s. house, ralph hall losing a runoff elections to a tea party candidate. former u.s. attorney john radcliffe. hall first ran for office in 1950. he was a democrat until he switched to the have you can party. also in texas. a victory for dan patrick who beat three-time incumbent for lieutenant governor. patrick crediting that win for having a bold conservative message, end quote. martha: he revealed the nsa's surveillance program.

but was edward snowden a spy himself or was he palo-level hacker. we are going talk about that. bill: throwing the blame for a mass killing on hollywood movies. seth rogan is charging they are the ones for this shooting in california. martha: the time to take va hospitals out from under the government's thumb. some say this is the moment that the government should go private with the va hospitals. >> the lesson here is this is something better left to the private sector. despite all the good intentions to the world among make bureaucracies, they are not equipped to do this kind of thing.

martha: new revelations from nsa leaker edward snowden. snowden dismissed the claims from the government saying he was a low-level hearing. he says no, i was a trained spy. >> were you trained as a spy? it seems to me spies probably look more like ed snowden and a lot less than james bond. >> it's no secret the u.s. tend to get more and better intelligence out of computers than they do out of people. i was trained as a spy in the traditional sense of the world in that i lived and work

undercover overseas pretending to work in a job that i'm not and even being assigned a name that was not mine. martha: the 30-year-old accused the leaking of classified document in one of the biggest breaches ever now living in russia and he is wanted in the united states on espionage charges. >> this is worse than a political took the announce the leaving. it's an act of personal narcissism. when this was talked about a few months ago in the press there was mention of the fact if a full withdrawal happened in 2016 that would allow obama to leave office having fulfilled the promise is to liquidate the wars. is that how we are setting the strategy of the united states of america in a war zone where so many have died and so much treasure and blood has been spent so that a president can leave office looking good?

bill: charles krauthammer claiming the president is putting his legacy ahead of our troops. president obama wants us to leave afghanistan by the end of 2014. virtually all u.s. troops will be out by the end of 2016. pete, what do you think of the reaction of charles krauthammer. >> i think he's on to something. this president has been all about withdrawal deadlines, setting deadlines ending these wars no matter what. it's always seemed to be around elect years. in 2008 it was deseeing the success of the surge. in 2012 it was all about getting out of iraq as quickly as possible and not sign aggrastat us of forces agreement. today we see civil war. in 2016 we are hearing a

president that he's announced he's going say we are down to zero troops in 201 so he can say his legacy is end can these wars and we turned the page. the problem is our enemies have not turned the page. if we don't leave behind good conditions we could find ourselves fighting in these same places. bill: this is john kerry on the "today show." >> unless you set a date they won't assume responsibility. it's basic human nature. do you get your homework done if there isn't a deadline? generally people don't. if you tell the afghans we are going to be here for as long as it takes, take your time, believe me, they will take all the time in the world. bill: you give them a mile, they will take a mile. you give them five miles, they will take five miles. you have to set up boundaries. what do you think of what

secretary kerry is saying. >> if you give them an much they will take that mile. you have got to have tight parameters. but i think what he's dismissing too quickly. when you declare you are going to leave calculations change. so their calculations are based on how am i going to survivor what allegiances do i have to create so i keep the job i have when the americans are gone. the optics of commitment are important. that's the problem of what the president is doing wrather than saying we'll do what's necessary with an enduring commitment. but we are committed. instead we are saying turning the page. all it says to our enemies and allies is we won't be here and it's time for them to pursue their own ends. >> when we see the president at west point and the cadets are

gathering for their graduation ceremonies. there will be talk about afghanistan. the future for the united states all over the world. in the middle east, ets, ets. especially syria. there is consideration being given that the president may approve the eyed to train and equipment moderate fighters inside that country. this has been debated for more than a year. is this something you would support? >> it's five days and five dollars short. we have been sending non-lethal aid and red lines we have advocated and ignores and in the process the situation as only gotten worse. you have a civil war with more islamists on the ground. you have to vet those rebels, determine which are less radical and try to assist them while they are on the homes because assad has been able to push them back. i welcome the fact he's taking a

serious approach in acknowledging just sending food and non-lethal aid isn't enough. the question is can what he turn the tide. does assad believe we are committed to seeing this through? if he receives this as an incremental small step there is nothing this president's rhetoric that sound or seems like strength which is important. bill: you see the rights of islamic extremism in syria and fallujah, an bar provinc iraq .. martha: a judge in iran wants to have a chat with facebook founder mark zuckerberg. he has ordered the founder to appear in his iranian court. will the facebook founder head to iran? bill: standard intended to curb

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bill: an iranian judge ordering facebook founder mark zucker tboarg appear in court. apparently iranians are complaining about privacy for facebook and instagram. for now the judge is trying to block those sites. martha: a big battle is brewing over school lunches. first lady obama is pushing back because house republicans are pushing to ease the guidelines she put in place. they say there is too much waste

because the kid end up dumping the food in the garbage can. >> unfortunately despite successes we are seeing efforts in congress to roll back these new standard and undo the hard work that all of you, all of us have done on behalf our kids. you know, this is unacceptable. it's unacceptable to me not just as first lady but as a mother. martha: marc siegel joins me now. is she right, did she make a mistake? >> she is not right. the healthy hunger act of 2010 which she sponsored is terrific. i think the act is terrific, i think its goal to get more fruits and vegetables into kids' lunches and less carbohydrates

is a good idea. a harvard study did show that kids are eating 16% more vehiclables with this going on and they are choosing 23 per more fruit. but there is a lot of misinformation. the school nutrition association is saying what do you mean by compliant. spoch these things like the amount of salt you are supposed to eat and the amount of grains you are supposed to get. fruit for breakfast. those aren't even in place yet. plus there is a ton of plate waste going on. kid a fruit and throw it out. martha: people are hungry and starving and you have got people throwing out their food. they should make it buffet style so kids take what they are going to eat and skip the cookies and cake at the end of the line. here is the congresswoman on what she thinks about all of this.

>> it gives local schools the flexibility they need to make sure the kids she see coming through the lunch line are getting the food they need to be healthy. >> i agree with that. and i agree with you. the other point is about the money. the feds are subsidizing 6 cents were lunch but the schools are saying it's costing them 10 cents. so the issue of this waiver is for schools in financial trouble and might even have to close over this, let's give them a waiver. haven't we given waivers under obamacare? i think michelle obama would say if you send that message you would send the wrong direction message. i think the house appropriations committee is on the right track and i think it will pass the house and not pass the senate. it's a great program but it needs to be made a little bit more flexible. >> if you eliminate their

choices and there is no cake and cookies and they are hungry they will take a spoon and vegetables because they wants to eat. >> if i serve my kids fruit and vegetables at home, they will eat it at school. martha: thank you, dr. siegel. bill: how closely does the tsa look at our bags when they place through airport security. wait until you see what necessity just found that made it through undetected. martha: two actors are in the middle of a heated controversy after a film critic say their movies share in the blame for the loss of life because they have promoted a sexist culture. >> she doesn't offer a shred of evidence, not a single quotation that would indicate that those movies should be linked at all to those terrible acts.

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*. >> we are just getting information crossing the wires moments ago that renowned author and poet maya angelo passed away at the age of 86. she'll be remembered for her huge list of poetry and her books and speak as the the president's inaugural and giving a very moving poem at that event. these pictures coming in of maya

angelo as we remember her today dead at age of 86. bill: a look at west point military academy. the white house advising he will lay out his broad vision for u.s. foreign policy and our role in the world. he has places like afghanistan and syria and so many hotpots around the world. we'll cover this live. it's always a remarkable sight to watch and to listen. we'll take you there this morning. martha: a film critic for a top american newspaper is backtracking a bit on a controversial article she wrote, an editorial suggesting that hollywood's sexist stories are at least partly to blame for elliot rodger's ma'am rage.

he shot 6 people to death, injuring 17 others. she said who many students watch "neighbors" and feel as rodger did, unjustly shut out of the college life that should be full of sex and fun and pleasure. how many men raids on a steady diet of judd apatow come does in which the shlubbyed a le sent always gets the girl. rogen said i find your article more reply insulting and misinformed.

how dare you imply that we getting girls in movies caused a lunatic to go on a rampage. allen colmes and joan a goldberg join us. obviously everybody searches for the reasons for something like this to happen. allen, is miss honaday right in any way? >> no. we struggle to find closure to how senseless tragedies can happen. we try to ascribe a reason for it. but to point towards a judd apatow movie, there is nothing to back that up. you played a clip of that earlier and it's quite frankly insulting. there is one commonality among these horrible tragedies, mental illness and guns. weep seem to avoid talking about that that is the real issue.

march already i agree with you. there is actually three things. violent video games, movies to a certain extent, and even the president at one point said hollywood needs to also get involved in this conversation and obviously not everyone who goes to these move why is is in a situation of this wrong man. but i'm suggesting it's a powerful potent cocktail that brews in some of these very misguided and ill individuals that allow these kind of things to happen. but miss hornaday did respond again. >> the singling out "neighbors" and judd apatow i didn't mean to cast blame on those movies or judd apatow for this heinous action. but it bears all of us asking what the costs are of having such a narrow range of stories we constantly go back to.

>> i basically agree with both of you. the culprit here is the single individual who had serious mental health issues that police actually went to his home to make sure he wasn't a threat to people and unfortunately this kid fooled them. at the same time i have a lot of sympathy for hornaday. i don't think of rogen's and apatow's readings of her couple are quite fair. while we always search to find other things to blame, i don't think asking what kind of g for our kids is nearly as stupid a reaction as blaming sarah palin's facebook map for the gabby giffords shooting. you can find lots of narratives

that you can feed into this. the idea that judd apatow invented the story line of young shlubby guys getting the girl is bizarre. martha: you can find that way back in film and story history. but there is a point to be raised here about the crassness of society, about the way that women are portrayed in a any sonin amisogynistic right. it becomes all about one thing, sex and sort of these -- >> men are also portrayed as grunting neanderthals. martha: we are not saying these movies are to blame for what happened. we are saying they are part of as i call it this potent cocktail that mixes very badly

in certain individuals. and we can't ignore all of these elements. everybody wants to talk about guns. you have got to talk about mental health as well. >> manhattannal health plus guns. to simply say it's culture or movies or hollywood, there is a subculture. the united states is a gun culture. but there is another subculture. the pick-up artist of which he was a part. there is a group of misogynistic men. he was part of that culture and that specific subculture is much more to blame than the subculture of hollywood or movies. martha: hopefully it will encourage people to act in responsible, positive ways and stop these situations if there is any way to do so. gentlemen, thank you very much.

good to talk to you both. bill: i want to mention a few more details. one of the most reef noun and influential voices -- one of the most renown and influential voices of our time, maya angelo reportedly battling health problems among so many things. here is one. i learned that people will get what you said, people will get what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. maya angelo. 86 years old. martha: airport security making a mangerror. what customs caught on one man that is raising serious alarms

today. bill: va hospitals coming under serious allegations that dozens died while waiting for care. should the government stay out and ahow the private sector to take care of our veterans. >> they are not qualified to run energy or the economy. everything here is smoke and mirrors. ♪

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>> there have been problems with the va you can chronicle since the beginning of the va. the overriding problem is this is something the government can't do. despite the best efforts it's something the bureaucracy just can't handle. i think the ultimate solution to this is going to be farming out part of it or maybe all of it to the private sector. bill: my next guest may not disagree with that. rush limbaugh making his argument for privatizing the va. my next guest says it should all be private. how are you, sir, welcome back to america's newsroom. >> i'm doing well, bill. >> you will tack your idea public today. what do you hope to get done? your vision goats a lot further than what a lot of people have expected or talked about. lay that out. >> that's right.

what the va is talking about is a patchwork system where in a given case on a given day if they can't get an appoint they are allowed to go outside the system. that won't work because their entire record is in the va system. our veterans ought to be given the chance of getting all their care in a private system if they choose. bill: you have say the only way you think they will find a way to get out of this big mess is to go this route. do you still think that. >> i don't think the government can run the system. it's proven year after year it's not up to the task. they deliver the for federal employees and medicare. they ought to treat our veterans as well as our federal employees. bill: do you find anyone against

that idea? >> the veterans administration will want to protect its bureaucracy. on memorial day as i talked to veterans in my district they want the option of getting care in a private system. they want to sign up tomorrow. bill: the va came out and said they will go ahead and make three ate tempts to contact every veteran who has been on awaiting list for 30 days or more. is that acceptable? would that help? would that alleviate? >> i don't believe they have the personnel the make three attempts to find every veteran. they are not up to the task. they are not up to the task of delivering the care we need to deliver from the veterans coming home from iraq and afghanistan. all of the vietnam veterans who are age. the va system is just not up to it and we have to take this opportunity to break new ground and do what we should have done

years ago to you have a every veteran the chance to get their income the private system. bill: what's unique about your background is you worked in the va system and the private sector. now you are working in the public sector. can the private sector help the va in a way that it could never do on its own? in other words, would there be more after burden after private sector? is this something we can knock off in an easy way? >> the private sector can expand to need. that many the way the free market system works. i worked in military hospitals, va hospitals and the private sector. of those threat on one that expand readily to meade demand is the private sector. the other two aren't built to do that. >> do you think this mess portends what we all could be in for once obamacare is fully

implemented? >> if the end game in obamacare is a single pair federally one system you are looking at the va system is that system and as we are finding out in spade right now, that system just doesn't work. it's not going to work for our veterans and it's not going to work for americans. >> we are going to keep in touch with you and your office. thank you, sir, for your time. martha: a game show has turned into a ratings gold mine on cable tv and it's based entirely on the bible. it's a runaway hit. what that says about faith-based entertainment. bill: maybe not the ever. maybe top five worst ever. the throw that's got to everybody talking today. that wasn't a ball or a strike. that's why i like glucerna shakes.

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bill: "new york post" reporting man from yemen was flying back to his country from jfk airport and officials failed to spot two empty ak-47 ammunition clips in his luggage. the tsa says it does not actively search for them in luggage. martha: new evidence that faith-based entertainment in this country is on solid ground when it comes to ratings. millions of people tuning into "smash hit," it's a question show based entirely on the bible. here is a look. >> 18 new teams.

19 new games. are you kidding me? the road to $100,000 begins again. i'm jeff fox worthy and this is the american bible challenge. martha: how does the show work? >> reporter: to be up for the bible challenge you need to know your bible. i went to private christian school my whole life and i don't know the answers to any of these questions. it's now in its third season and they will be asked anything from the new testament to the old. the prize goes to a charitable cause. >> fir question, how i met your mother mary. joseph is beef side himself when

12-year-old jesus is missing. here is the question. where did this parents find him. the temple, in a market, in the desert, in the line at the apple store. >> i hope you didn't guess in a line at at apple store. the executive vice president says it's the ground swell about religious beliefs in the country. this is the only game show based on religion. martha: how is the show doing in the ratings? >> when they fir debuted its second season was up and by comparison the zombie drama brought in 5.1 million and "madmen" brought in 1.2 million during its premiere and "duck dynasty" ended with 6 million viewers.

the "american bible cleaj is" is a top -- the american bible challenge is a top 40 show when you take away sports. bill: thank you, julie. awaiting president obama's commencement address at the u.s. military academy at west point expected to make a national announcement for his vision for national security. that's a day after the announced drawdown of our forces in afghanistan. martha: the u.s. marine being imprisoned in mexico is about to get a chance to face a judge for the first time today. we'll be right back. i make a lot of purchases for my business.

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new direction for u.s. foreign policy as he winds down the war in afghanistan. he is delivering the commencement address at west point. we are told it will be a big picture outlook for this role in the world and there are questions about that and this vision for the rest of the president. i am martha maccallum. >> and i am bill hemmer. good morning. ceremony is underway. the president's speech is set to begin at any moment. he plans to lay out his vision for national security and u.s. foreign policy after the announ announcement of the post-war plans this weekend. we will start with ed henry at the white house. what can you tell us? >> what is interesting is aids

to the president are signaling what he wants to do is point out this graduating class at west point is the first one for a long time not facing deporting to iraq or afghanistan. yesterday he talked about ending the war in afghanistan and drawing done to 9800 troops. aids say he saw real security gains on the ground over the weekend. but critics are saying you need in the range of 20-25,000 to lock in the security gains. >> together with our allies and afghan government we have agreed this is the year we will conclude our combat mission in afghanistan. >> the force isn't sufficient to continue training advising and assisting the afghans and

conduct a robust counter terrorism organization. that being said, i think it is the minimum force you can maintain in afghanistan. >> reporter: mccain put out statements saying it is hard to see victory if you lay out a date for the enemy and say we are leaving at the end of 2016. >> should we be listening carefully to the speech? >> i think we should listen for syria where the president are saying we will train the more moderate rebels in syria. critics have been calling were the training for a couple years there so the question is will it be too little too late. i asked about his doctrine and

he talked about hitting a home run occasionally. he is trying to answer that into the speech. >> now bangladesh -- now back to martha. >> so much to talk about after the president announced his exit plan and getting to zero troops on the ground in afghanistan, iraq and libya. jack keane is formal chief of staff for the army and chief correspo correspo correspondent. talk about the goal with zero boots on the ground. does that get us anywhere? >> i think it is a huge mistake. i thought he learned that when we walked away from iraq much like we ended the forces.

there to push ahead with the government and not just with security, and i think thought we did here, i think the president's decision isn't genuine totally. he is ending our occupation and involvement in afghanistan in 2016 versus 2014 and continuing the drawdown and everybody out by 2016 and leaving no one there to deal with the taliban or the afghan security forces. that is what not military experts recommend or experts on afghanistan. >> what do you say to those who say it is time to get out, been there for ten years plus. >> that is a good point. protracted wars test the will of

open it democries like america for sure. but you have to keep coming back and tell them why this matters and why it is important. we are at the cusp of ending our involvement but keeping a residual force there to assist in the areas they need help with is in our national interest and that should be explained to the american people but sadly it isn't. people are saying it is time to put it out of our minds. >> and we see the strengthening of al qaeda throughout the region and without any troops that is an increasing threat. i want you to talk about syria. i know you feel there is an opposition mark there and we have been beyond the mark of helping them out. apparently the president is

going to say something. >> i know for a fact that secretary kerry and his predecessor wants to do something about this. the president turned clinton down and hopefully he is going to assist not just with weapons but robust training. this isn't about our troop involvement. it is what they have asked for. we believe we can turn the momentum we just weapons to do it. we will do the fighting. >> thank you, general jack keane. >> good talking to you. this is a big day for a u.s. marine jailed in mexico. his name is andrew and he is going to appear before a judge

to explain how he crossed the border with three firearms legal in the united states but not in mexico. what can we expect from the hearing today, william? >> one of the problems is one is an ar-15 military assault rifle. illegal in mexico and they take those seriously. we just got off the phone with him this morning. they are preparing to move him about 40 minutes to the courthouse. it is very small. it isn't public or open to the media. judge, court report, and his attorney and the government's attorney will be there. and there in tijuana it is only

miles from where he crossed the border. we gave them to the custom agent who believed him and prepare today take him back to the united states but when it was mentioned he had firearms the military got involved and his arms were seized and he was held. today is like a preliminary hearing. agents, mexican military and then they will have an opportunity to cross examine them. there is talk about them liking him to go away and find a due process problem. no one is expected him to be released today. >> william it is good to have you on route today there.

the world is mourning the loss of angela mayo. she died this morning after battling health problems and canceled a scheduled appearance at an event in her honor. she was one of the most influence voices of our time. she spoke at the clinton inauguration. >> you may have the grace to look out and into your sister's eyes and your brother's face. your country. and say simply, very simply, with hope, good morning. >> dead at the age of 96. >> thank you for all of that

wisdom. waiting for the president's commencement address to get underway laying down the new foreign policy plans and how you deal with them. we will talk to the chairman house armed committee buck mckeon who is live to react. >> and the white house has committed a major security blunder exposing the name of the cia station chief in afghanistan. will anybody be held accountable for this? >> you cannot say poor old say and say was a member of the junior varsity and didn't know what he was doing and it was a mistake and be forgiven. people need to be disciplined so others are alert in the future to them.

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help you help her. our professional caregivers are carefully chosen and highly trained to provide a variety of in-home services while truly engaging with your aging loved ones so they can stay comfort keepers. keeping the comforts of home. call comfort keepers now to learn more. >> big story. the white house is launching an ternal investigation after releasing the name of the cia agent in afghanistan. >> this man is in afghanistan on the front lines of a shooting war so the danger is obvious and the mistake was flagrant. it was an oversight and mistake

but one wonders what kind of operation you have where such a grieveious mistake could be made. it needs into this story that led to the suggestions that the administration has trouble running things. >> mike baker is a former officer and owner of an intelligence firm. just to back track here. over the weekend the president made a surprise visit to afghanistan and there was a press release that had a list of the different people that would be involved in the visit and the name of the station chief was on there. they then recalled and eliminated it from that week but the damage was already done. how big of a fumble is that? >> well, yeah, just make the new list and pretend you didn't see the earlier list. it is a mistake.

it is a serious mistake. it is a mistake born from carelessness on someone's part. the amazing thing is that the administration, the white house, just seems unable to accept responsibility for anything. their go-to once this happened was to immediately throw the military under the bus. the list came from the military. about our fault. but their responsibility is to scrub anything released to the president. it shows carelessness. is anybody's head going to roll? probably not. >> you would think when you release the name of someone undercover and expose them to danger in the field that the person would most likely be fired? that is what you would expect. explain to everybody what this

person has been exposed to now. >> when you are a station chief in a high important location like kabul you have gone up through the ranks. this isn't a young officer engaged in street and field work undercover. you have a large responsibility for operations. so a station chief is working the local service and coordinating and working on all of the issues that relate to ho country. it is a significant threat in an environment like afghanistan. so the likelihood -- and this has happened before, the agency knows how to handle a problem like this. they hate to see it happen but they are good at handling it. it is unlikely the individual

will stay in afghanistan. yes, some knew who he was but you don't want to pass the name on to the enemy. >> we remember the cia agents lost on the ground after their location was revealed. thank you very much. going to the president now. >> going to west point here. up the hudson river from new york city. and the general is about to be released and he was the 59th super intendant last year. served in iraq and many other places. this is his message today as we await the president. >> it looks like the weather is holding off and let's hope it holds off for another few

minutes. we are lucky and grateful here. thank you all for being and sharing this day with us. welcome. i want to extend a welcome to the parents, grandparents and family and friends of the graduates. thank you for your continued support in helping your cadets get here, stay here and make it to the end. it is also the beginning but the end is here and that sure sounds good. thank you and welcome. let me just take a moment to acknowledge our guest with us today. first, our graduation speaker, the 44th president of the united states, president obama. [ applause ] >> our 21st secretary of the army the honorable john hue.

and our 38th chief of staff of the united states army general raymond odium. for the class of 2014, today you become lieutenants in an army that is the best trained, equipped and battle hard after a dozen years of battle. and you become members of the professional arms and servants to the nation. all of us up here and the many we represent who have had a hand in your development could not be more proud of you. you have met every challenge of the leaders that our army must have on this uncertain times. on this day as you accept this responsibility of leading american soldiers, you have the

complete trust and confidence of everybody up here and may i be bold enough to say all of america. you should never doubt you with well prepared. you worked and sweat and maybe blood a little to become a commission leader committed to the value of honor and duty and country and prepared -- to be sure they will live up to their model and serve the nation with dedication, commitment and

character as they take their place with the many that have gone before them. standing in the dpaps of whatever evil is out there standing in the way of the constitution, nation and the american people. sir, thank you for being our speaker at this honorable s ceremo ceremo ceremony. family and friends of west point, class of 2014, today i am honored to introduce our commander and chief, our 44th president of the united states president obama. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you, general, for that

introduction. general trainer, general clark, the faculty and staff at west point, you have been outstanding stewards of this proud institution and outstanding mentors of the newest officers in the united states army. i would like to acknowledge the army's leadership. general mccue, secretary mccue and general nofsh and senator jack reed who is a graduate from west point himself. to the class of 2014, i say congrats on taking your place on the line. among them is the first all female command team. you have a road scholar as well.

and josh her beck proves that west point accuracy extends beyond the three point line. let me assure you as command and chief that i hereby let go all of the people on probation for minor offenses. [ applause ] let me add that no body did that for me when i was in school. i know you joined me in extending a word of thanks to your families. joe demoss, whose son james is graduating, spoke for a lot of

parents when he wrote me a letter about the sacrifices he made. deep inside he wrote, he want to explode with pride at what they are committing to in the service of our country. several graduates -- like several graduates, james is a combat veteran. and i would ask all of us to stand and pray tribute to the veterans and the 2.5 americans who have served in iraq and afghanistan as well as their families. [ applause ]

>> this particular useful time for america to reflect on those who sacrificed so much for our freedom. a few days after memorial day. you are the first class to graduate since 9/11 who may not be sent into combat in iraq or afghanistan. [ applause ] when i first spoke at west point in 2009, we had more than a 100,000 troops in iraq and we were preparing to surge in afghanistan. our counter terrorism efforts were focused on al qaeda's poor leadership. those who carried out the 9/11

attacks. and our nation was beginning the climb out of the biggest decline since the depression. four and a half years later as you graduate the landscape has changed. we have removed our troops from iraq, we are winding down the war in afghanistan. al qaeda's leadership on the border region between afghanistan and pakistan has been decimated and bin laden is no more. and we invested in the key strength of america: the growing economy that can provide for everybody willing to work hard and take responsibility at

home. by most measures, america has rarely been stronger relative to the west of the world. those who argue otherwise or suggest america is in decline or seeing the global leadership slip away are misreading history or engaged in partisan politics. think about it. our military has no peer. the odds of a direct threat against us by any nation are low and do not come close to the dangers we faced during the cold war. meanwhile, our economy is the most dynamic on earth and our businesses the most innovative. each year we grow more energy independent. from europe to asia we are the

hub of the nations. america continues to attract striving immigrants. the values of our founding inspire leaders in parliaments and new movements in public squares around the global. and when a typhoon hits the philippines, or girls are kidnapped in nigeria, or a plane is hijacked. it is america the world looks it to for help. [ applause ] the united states is and remains the one indepensable nation. it has been true for the centuries past and it will be true for the centuries to come. but the world is changing with

accelerating speed. this presents opportunity but also new dangers. we know all too well after 9/11 how technology and globalization has put power once reserved for states in the hands of individuals raising the capacity of terrorist to do harm. russ russ russia's aggression is unnerving tension in europe and china's rise worries its neighbors. from brazil to india rising middle classes compete with us and governments seek a better say in global forums. and even as developing nations embrace democracy and market economies, 24-hour news, and social media, makes it imp possible to ignore the

continuation of conflicts, failing states, and poplar uprisings that might have received passing notice only a generation ago. it will be your generation's task to respond to this new world. the question we face, the question each of you will face, is not whether america will lead but how we will lead. not just to secure our peace and prosperity but to extend it around the globe as well. this question isn't new. at least since george washington served as commander and chief there have been those that warned against foreign entanglements that don't much on

our security or economic wellbeing. today according to self described realist the conflict in syria, and ukraine and the central african republic isn't our problem to solve. view is shared by many americans after the expensive view. a different view says we ignore these conflicts and america's willingness to apply force around the world is the safeguard against chaos and our failure to act with russia and syria will cause more issues in

the future. each side can speak to support for their views. but i believe neither side applies to this moment. american isolation is not an option in the 21st century. that is true. we don't have a choice to ignore what happens beyond our borders. if nuclear materials are not secure, that poses a danger to american citizens. as the syria civil war spills over the borders the capacity of battle hardened extremist groups to come after us increases. regional aggression that goes unchecked whether in ukraine or russia or the south china sea will impact our allies and might draw in our military.

we cannot ignore what happens beyond the boundaries. and beyond this i believe we have a real stake and self interest to make sure our children grow up into the world where school girls are not kidnapped or individuals are not slaughtered because of tribe or faith or political believe. i believe that a world of greater freedom and tolerance is a moral imperative but it also helps to keep us safe. but to say we have an interest in pursuing peace and freedom beyond the borders isn't to say every problem has a military solution. world war ii some of our costly mistakes came not from our restraint but the willingness to

rush into the ventures without thinking through the consequences and building national support for our action, without levelling with the american people about the sacrifices required. tough talk draws headlines but war rarely conforms to slogans. as general eisener said at this commencement ceremony in 1947 war is mankind's most tragic. to seek and deprive is a crime against all men and women. you all know all too well the

wages of war and that includes those of you here at west point. four of the service members who today in the audience when i announced the surges into afghanistan gave their lives in that effort and a lot more were wounded. i believe america's security demanded those deployments. but i am haunted by those deaths. i am haunted by those wounds. and i would betray by duty to you and the country we love if i sent you into harm's way because i saw a problem somewhere in the world that needed to be fixed or because i was worried about critics who think military intervention is the only way for america to avoid looking weak. here is my bottom line: america

must always lead on the world stage. if we don't, no one else will. military that you have joined is and also will be the backbone of that leadership. but u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of leadership in every instance. just because we have the best hammer doesn't mean every problem is a nail because the cost associated with military action are so high you should expect every civilian leader especially your leader in chief to be clear about how that power should be used. let me spend the rest of my time describing my vision for how the

united states of america and our military should lead in the years to come for you will be part of that leadership. first, let me repeat a principle i put forward at the beginning of my president, the united states will use force if necessary when our core interest demands it. when our people are threatened or livelihoods are at stake and the security of our allies is in danger. we still need to ask tough questions about whether our actions are propotionate and affective and just. international opinion matters. but america should never ask permission to protect our people, our homeland or our way

of life. [ applause ] >> on the other hand, when issues of global things are not a direct threat to the world. when they stir our conscious or push the world in a more dangerous direction but don't directly threaten us than the threshold should be higher and we should not go it alone. we should mobilize allies and partners to take collective action and include diplomacy and development and sanctions and isolation, international law, and if just and necessary multi

lateral military action. in such circumstances we have to work with others because collective action in these circumstances is more likely to be sustained and less likely to lead to costly mistakes. this leads to my second point. for the foreseeable future the most direct threat to america at home and abroad remains terrorism. but a strategy for every country that harbors terrorist networks isn't sustainable. we must shift our focus to more effectively partner with countries where terrorist

networks seek a foothold. and the need for a new strategy comes from the threat today is no longer from a centralized al qaeda leadership. instead it is affiliated and extremist. many focused in countries where they operate and this lessens the possibility of large-scale 9/11 events but heightens the danger to people abroad and to defenseless target like in africa. we have to develop a strategy that diffuse this threat and expands our reach out sending sources that stretch the

military too thin or stir up local resentments. we need partners to fight terrorist along side us and empower partners is what we have done in afghanistan and what we are currently doing in afghanistan. together with allies, america struck against the al qaeda core and pushed back against the insurge that threatened to ruin the country. this depends on the afghanistan people to do the job and that is why we trained hundreds of thousands of afghan police and they secured an election and voted for the first democratic transfer of power in their history and at the end of the year a new afghan president will be in office and america's combat mission will be over.

[ applause ] that was an achievement made because of america's armed forced. as we move to a train and advise position in afghanistan, we are allowed to address threats in the middle east and africa. earlier this year i asked my security network it develop a plan of partnerhip and today as part of the effort i am calling on congress to support a new counter terrorism fund that will allow us to train, build capacity partnership countries on the front lines. it will give us resources to

fulfill different missions including forces in yemen and supporting forces to keep the peace in somalia and working to control the bord force in libya and working in malia. a critical focus is gooding going to be the ongoing crisis in syria. there are no easy answers there. no military solution that can eliminate the terrible suffering anytime soon. as president i made a decision we should not put american troops into the middle of this increasing sectarian war and i believe that is the right decision. but that doesn't mean we should not help the syrian people stand up against a dictator who bombs

and starves his own people. and helping for the right to fight for the syrians to fight forory own future we are pushing back from the people trying to start chaos. we will stand up and support syria's neighbors as they confront the refuge. i will work with congress to work with those who offer the best alternatives to terrorist and brutal dictators. and we will work with friends in europe and the arab world to push for a resolution and make sure those countries and the united states are not the only

ones contributing their fair share to the american people. and partnerships i have describes don't eliminate the need to take direct action when we need to protect ourselves. when we have actuallytualtual -- actual -- information we will do that like with the drone strikes in yemen and somalia. there are times when those actions are necessary and we cannot hesitate to protect our people. but as i said last year, in taking direct action we must uphold standards that reflect

our values. that means taking strikes only when we face a continuing threat and only when there is no certainty of no civilian ca cashties. we must not create more enemies than we take off the battlefield. and i believe we must be more transparent about the bases of our counter-terrorism actions and the manner in which they are carried out. we have to be able to explain them publically whether it is training partners or drone strikes. i will turn to the military to take the lead and provide information to the public about our efforts. our intelligence community has done outstanding work and we have to continue to protect sources and methods but when we cannot explain our efforts clearly and publically we face

terrorist propeganda and erode partnerships and reduce accou accountability in our own government. this issue of transparency is relevant to a third aspect of leadership and that is our effort to strengthen and enforce national order. we had the wisdom to support the peace and keep human progress. from nato and the united nations to the world bank. these institutions are not perfect but they have been a force multipler and reduce the need for unilateral action and increase the strength among other nations. just as the world has changed,

this architecture must change. at the height of the cold war kennedy talked about a peace based on the gradual evolution of the institutions and evolving them to meet the demands today is a critical part of leadership. there are a lot of people that playdown multi lateral institutions. respecting international law or working through the un to them is a sign of weakness. i think they are wrong and i will offer two examples why. in ukraine, russia's recent action recall the day when soviet tanks rolled into eastern europe. but this isn't the cold war.

our ability to shape world opinion helped isolate russia right away. because of american leadership the world condemned leadership and europe and the g-7 joined us for sanctions, the ims is helping to stabalize ukraine's economy, and this mobilization of world opinion and international institutions served as a counter weight to russia propaganda and troops on the and armed miltia. ukrainians voted by the millions this weekend and yesterday i spoke to their next president. we don't know how the situation plays out and it is grave ahead.

but standing with allis and institutions gave them a chance to prove their future without us following a shot. and despite frequent warnings from the united states and others the iran nuclear program is up to par four years later. now we have an opportunity to resolve our differences peacefully. the odds of success are still long and we reserve all options to prevent iran from obtaining a weapon but for the first time in

a decade we have a chance of completing an agreement that is more durable than what we would get with fighting. it has been our about to work with multi lateral channels that kept the world on our side. this is american leadership. this is american strength. we built coalitions to respond to a challenge and now we will do more to strengthen the institutions and prevent the problems from spreading. nato is the strongest alliance the world has ever known but we are not working with allies neat the new mission. both in europe and beyond the borders are our allies have to

pull their wait to failed states and train networks of partners. likewise the u.n.provides the platform to deep peace and we need to make sure they have the training and equipment to prevent the peace so we can prevent the killing we are seeing in congo and sudan. >> we know there a few more pages on the address but before we close out the program we wanted to get reaction from buck mckeon who is here with us.

good morning, to you. the last part about iran and achieving peace without action and force. what was your sense of the theme the president was working there? >> as i listened to the speech, he listed numerous opportunities where our armed forces were going to be sent to different parts of the world to help show so we are going to continue to be leaders. the problem is under this president and this congress we have cut a trillion out of the defense. he was talking about adding $5 billion for a new venture into partnership with somebody but we have not done anything to replace the trillion that has been cut from the ability. so we talk about cutting the military but expecting them to do more. it is real cunonedrum he was put

us in. the fact he thinks he can lead -- i get military leaders from all over the world every day in my office and they continually ask me the question of where is america? their concern is while we are cutting back are we going to be able to be there to fulfill our commitments we made with our allies and the people we have treaties around the world. i am glad to see him speak up and addressing the problems. i listened to the speech in afghanistan and that is one i have been asking him to give for over a year. tell the american people the accomplishments the troops have made and tell the troops they

should be proud of the things they have done. they have done everything they have been asked but we are cutting back their ability to do that. >> how do you square that response with this is the my bottom line? america must lead on the world stage, if we don't no one else will. >> no question. but the problem is we have not been leading. we heard his idea idea of lead from behind and that doesn't work. the other leaders around the world come in and ask me the question of where is america and as we pull pack the vacuum is created ask that is why putin is doing what he is doing and china is doing what they are doing. that is a concern that i have in

korea and the whole middle east. all of these things are happening and he says this isn't the cold war but itic likes like putin is doing what -- looks like -- he can to make it that way. >> thank you, sir. >> we are joined by jack keane and general jack keane welcome. i know what is happening in syria is important to you. are you satisfied with what the president is doing for additional funding for the oppositional forces? >> secretary clinton and then the director asked for that. they wanted to arm the opposition force and increase

them. i am not clear what the discussion truly is. i know what is needed and that is increase the arms of the opposition forces and increase their training. it is not too late to shift the momentum in syria. this hasn't been about military intervention from the united states. it has been about trying to help others who need the help so they can fight the war themselves. >> and he said america must always lead on the world stage, if we don't no one else will. what do you think about that statement and did you believe he is putting it into action? >> i agree with that but i think he created a false choice. his critics are not after him because we are not using military force around the world. his is about advocating strong

leadership and leading in the world. that is what the talk is. not helping the libyans and strengthening the security force we just walked away not assi assisting the syrians and we helped to create the growth of the radical movement and what took place with putin and the feckless response we had. this has nothing to do with military intervention. this is strong american leadership and diplomacy. >> stating what you mean and standing by to make sure we provide the support in the countries that need it to tip the balances over the force of al qaeda that have been growing in that region. great talk to you. >> one of the closing lines the

president says is we have been through a long season of war and this is had first graduating class at west point since 9/11 that will not have a duty to go serve in afghanistan and iraq. >> there maybe other places that need or support so we will see what the action is that follows the speech. >> we have to wrap up now and we will watch you moments away. "happening now" starts now. >> president obama making a commencement speech at west point where he is outlining the foreign policy vision