>> from washington, "the mclaughlin group," the american original. for over three decades the sharpest minds, best sources hardest talk. >> issue one. chairman of the joint chiefs. >> confirm these remarkable leaders without delay so we can stay focused on the work that unites us all as americans keeping our military strong, our nation secure, our citizens safe. >> president obama has nominated general joseph dunford current commandant of the marine corps to become the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. if confirmed by the u.s. senate, as is widely expected, general dunford will replace current chairman general martin dempsey. general dunford has already served in key national security

roles, notably between 2012 and 2014 general dunford commanded nato forces in afghanistan where he earned president obama's gratitude. the president accepted dunford's recommendation to extend the deployment of u.s. forces to afghanistan. going forward, chairman dunford will have to manage u.s. operations against the islamic state in iraq and syria. he'll have to consolidate nato forces against potential russian aggression in europe. he'll have to provide military options to commander in chief obama in the event that his nuclear negotiations with iran fail. and he'll have to make sure that u.s. military forces in the pacific are able to deter and defeat chinese aggression. and he'll have to do all this, and more, with shrinking budgets. yet most observers say dunford is up to the task. here's how he closed his speech

when becoming commandant of the marine corps. >> to ensure that our corps remains, the expeditionary force that our nation has come to expect. god bless you all. semper fidelis! fanned for those still in uniform, continue to march. >> question. what does general dunford's nomination tell us about president obama's military strategy? eleanor clift? >> what it says about it is that the commander in chief, the president, feels comfortable with him, that he's worked closely with him over the past year and a half, two years. and you said he extended -- convinced the president to extend the presence in afghanistan. but more importantly, he's winding down the true presence there. he's also a team player. and very unlikely to go public with any disagreements he might have. general dempsey who currently has the job, rather famously

said he wouldn't hesitate to ask or tell the white house if they needed more ground troops or needed ground troops. that isn't something that this new general would say publicly. >> this is known as fighting joe. he's a combat marine. however, he is a very reasoned individual. he is not a xul compulsive intervention. very much in the tradition of general dempsey, who i think was excellent and gave the president good advice, to basically keep us out of those conflicts where we don't have any real vital interest and let others do the fighting. and i think that he's in that tradition. and i think he's an excellent choice by the president of the united states. and i think it's sort of an indication that we probably are not going to be intervening unless something really serious happens, in any big way until or before barack obama leaves office. >> barack obama's military

strategy is disengagement. dunford has managed the american withdrawal from afghanistan to meet obama's expectations, while maintaining a token force to inhibit an iraqi-style post-withdrawal meltdown. that's obama's model. >> yeah. but you've still got them coming out. it's the end of this year or next year. they're going to be coming out. >> and that's why general dunford -- i think he's a good choice. i agree with pat. general dunford made that recommendation to keep forces in afghanistan so we can do things like aviation, flying helicopters, logistics and training and special forces that the afghans can't do by themselves yet. >> cyber warfare? >> that's going to be the next thing. but look, dunford has the respect of the president. that's very important. he also has the respect of the military. and that is very important. it's rare that you can find those two combination factors. hehas a very distinguished record. i think he's a very good choice. >> he's confirmable in the u.s. senate also. ha ha! >> when mccain and obama agree these days, that's something.

>> thank you very much. >> what are your thoughts? >> well, i noticed that he does have, on the ground combat experience p. we've seen in the past that generals who do have combat experience are the least eager to get into more wars or to expand our overseas military involvement. he is a prudent and experienced commander. and he does know how to play his cards close to the chest, which the obama administration respects. >> the chairman of the j.c.s. is the armed services point man with the white house. is dunford suited to that challenge? what do you think of that? >> well, i think it's a challenge that is going to pay off. and with sort of the experience that he's had. >> it's going to pay off with this white house, because clearly they formed a bond. but his term, a two-year term, would commence in september. so he will belong to the next president as well. and so i think the president is kind of setting up the framework that he wants going forward. >> there's some neocon

unhappiness, i think, with general dempsey, that he wasn't as aggressive as some of those folks wanted him to be. >> he did advise in terms of putting special forces in the ground in iraq. i've actually been a fan of dempsey. i think he's been not as hesitant behind the scenes as some people think. but look the obama administration is fanatical about keeping things closed, and they worry about leaks unless they're the ones leaking. they trust dunford to be part of a team player. look, you need that. if you can have someone that can serve the country well, good. >> any identification, i mean, the -- any opposition. the guy is a reason guy. he's not a xul compulsive interventionist but also not what you call an isolationist. >> and he doesn't represent dissatisfaction with his soon-to-be predecessor either. the president has actually gotten along better with the head of the joint chiefs than he's gotten along with a lot of other people. >> going forward, one of the key things is, we do need to have a

situation in which the military maintains that position of not being linked -- we don't want to go back to, for example, the early bush years. >> you're going to have a coming battle over foreign policy coming up when you've got marco rubio out there, cruz out there and jeb bush out there. there's going to be a battle over foreign policy. and intervention. >> the voters out there wanting to get involved in world wars -- i think the public right now wants a small footprint, doing a lot with as mall small of a footprint as possible. >> he's the most talkative candidate in the race. >> do you think the obama white house is openly disdainful of the military brass, as i think robert gates stated in his memoir? >> i think there are probably people in and around president obama who have never been in the military have never appreciated the military and have never understood it. i think gates is one of the best public servants we've had in a long, long time. >> gates seems to like dunford.

issue two. hillary's cinco de mayo declaration. >> now, this is where i differ with everybody on the republican side. make no mistakes. today, not a single republican candidate, announced or potential, is clearly and consistently supporting a path to citizenship. not one. when they talk about legal status, that is code for second-class status. >> hillary clinton made her first visit to nevada, as a declared 2016 presidential candidate, this week on cinco de mayo. the date in 1862 when an outnumbered mexican garrison defeated a superior french invasion force at the battle of puebla. at rancho high school, in las vegas, the former secretary of state promised a roundtable of political supporters and immigration activists that she would create a path to

citizenship for an estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants. the path would be her priority if she becomes president. mrs. clinton contrasted her position with her republican challengers, many of whom support a legalization route for undocumented immigrants but one that stops short of full citizenship. >> question. has hillary declared herself pro amnesty? patrick? >> 100% pro-amnesty and she's going to put all the folks on a path to citizenship. she's right. no republican has gone anywhere near that far. what she's saying in effect is that, you know, in the last election, barack obama got 71% of the hispanic vote to mitt romney's 28. i think he's looking at this as a general election strategy first and foremost. and secondly, she wants to drive a wedge straight through the republican party between marco rubio on one side, say who is now much tougher on amnesty than he was and jeb bush, who does

have sort of a "no sending back but no path to citizenship" position. >> well -- >> so she is -- >> well, amnesty is tantamount to an epithet, the way it's being used. and the democrats do not support amnesty. it's very -- earned citizenship, which takes year. you have to get to the back of the line, pay fees. in fact, many of the people, if they signed up today, probably wouldn't live long enough to achieve it. and the u.s. senate passed with 68 votes a lot of republican votes, a bill that included path to citizenship. there's no democrats that are going to be opposed to that. and marco rubio, john mccain, a lot of other republicans, signed on to that bill. so this is not some radical departure. >> rubio got religion. >> well, he's now pandering. this is the correct policy and it's also good election year policy for hillary clinton to draw this very bright line against the republicans.

>> you know how far it did will get you, when it comes to saying amnesty. on the right, it's amnesty anything that even moves in the direction of a pathway to citizenship. >> you have had an invasion into this country, after the three million amnesty. you give this one, and there will be no end to the folks coming in. >> i know! [laughter] >> but here's the thing. you don't hear hillary clinton talking about border security which has to be part of the deal. that's always been part of the deal, going back to the republicans -- >> that is so 90's! the border is so secure now! they come across and they hand their teddy bears to the border agents. ha ha! >> if we're going to have serious comprehensive immigration reform, that is not what hillary hal is is talking about. >> tell me, how many fences do you want to built? >> you've got unemployment at about two or three times.

and these folk comes in are taking those entry-level jobs. that teenagers used to get. >> at least half the undocumented immigrants come in and just overstay their visas. you can put all the barbed wire up you want. >> it's the language, isn't it? barbed wire versus amnesty in i'm in the middle. >> we all need -- we don't need barbed wire. just a shark pit. >> hello? hello! hold on. undocumented immigrants have heard these promises before. mr. obama ran for president in 2008, he told the hispanic audience he would make immigration reform a priority. but afterwards, president obama deferred legislation until a second term. at the rancho high school, mrs. clinton declined to commit making immigration her top priority with congress. hillary has her own credibility

earnsconcerns. only 25% of respondents rated hillary clinton as honest. 25%! >> well, she's still leading in the polls. >> can hispanic voters trust hillary to follow through on her promises? >> well, they can trust her more than the other contenders, is what it boils down to. it's all relative. you're right. obama made that promise. then he ran up against a brick wall in congress. >> and it was at the end of his first term -- >> george bush couldn't get through amnesty. if you've got a republican house or senate, hillary clinton is not going to get through. >> no one calls it amnesty except people who aren't going to favor anything. ha ha! >> he's talking about executive action, which is just a continuation of obama's policy. >> issue three. russia on offense. [speaking foreign language] >> president putin insists that no russian military forces are operating in ukraine.

but ukraine's war-torn southeast again has erupted in violence. donetsk, a city held by pro-russian rebels, was reportedly attacked by forces loyal to the ukrainian government in kiev. but ukraine's government insists pro-russian rebels are working alongside russian special forces to seize new territory. collectively, nato believes that russia is carving out certain ukrainian cities an villages and turning them into de facto russian territory. nato's military response reflects that fear. 300 elite u.s. paratroopers are now training ukrainian soldiers in western ukraine. is u.s. ambassador to ukrainian geoffrey pyatt. >> the most valuable assets of the u.s. army are the men and women in uniform. one of the most powerful tools that the u.s. military has developed over the years is the training, the doctrine, the skill set that our military enjoys.

this program here at yavoriv and the series of training exercises that we're going to be involved in over the next few months is about helping to impart some of those lessons. >> ukraine is on thin ice. watch how the ukrainian press reacted to their president petro poroshenko, when he took a photo with u.s. army trainers. [speaking foreign language] >> question. defense secretary carter testified this week that russian separatists, with putin's backing, are preparing a new offensive in eastern ukraine. is the u.s. military training aid too little and too late? tom rogan? >> no. it's not too little, too late. i think it's unfortunately late. but look, there are american troops on the ground. i wish there were more. i worry it sends a message of disinterest to putin but look it is good that we're on the ground in western ukraine.

we're taking calibrated steps. i think the key to stopping president putin is actually to enforce the european union, if you can, to put a transactions lockout, a financial lockout of russian business. but, again, president putin is trying to carve out that space and get -- >> let's make it clear. ukraine is in his sphere of influence. the u.s. does not want to get into a proxy war in that area. i think it will only go just so far. he's not going to cross any nato red lines. i really hate the way he tends to glorify him on this program like king of the world! he is one of the richest, if not the richest person in the world world. >> he could march in and do it. he would take him in a day. he hasn't done it. what he wants is a deal which leaves him with crimea and leaves eastern ukraine nominally

under ukraine but more autonomous, because he doesn't want a war with the west basically. he could have that anytime he wanted. i think president obama has wisely kept us out of there militarily, and i think it's a mistake to send in troops start training troops for poroshenko so he can restart the war, which has been basically in abeyance since february. >> this is the day that pat buchanan approves of the policy. i this i you're right on though. >> i think he's right on iran. >> we'll have to show some measure that we do care, that we're not disinterested, but at the same time -- >> we don't want war. war is not going to be good for the ukrainians. their economy is a basket case! >> we do have to accept that the nato border states are very concern about russian movements. carter has improved things a lot with the presence there. we need to move on. >> he does -- oh. >> why hasn't president obama agreed to provide u.s. weapons

to the ukrainians? i don't get it. >> because he doesn't want a proxy war. >> he doesn't want a war at all. and that's the right thing. to stop this killing of ukrainians, whether they're in eastern ukraine or western ukraine, because look, if you get in an all-out war, russia will win it. >> is obama paralyzed? >> united states could not beat russia in a land war in ukraine. are you kidding! >> the russian military could not sustain the supply lines. the u.s. air force would destroy them. >> we're not going to get into a land war in ukraine. forget it. >> the financial outcast, that's the way to hurt putin. that's why i agree with pat. >> is president obama intimidated by putin? i'm not getting an answer. >> no, he's not intimidated. >> no. >> i worry he is intimidated. >> their sphere of influence like mexico, is ours. >> but is estonia -- where does its end? that's a nato state.

>> it shouldn't be a nato state. >> well -- >> is putin a macho man? >> he's a macho man. but look -- >> that shouldn't be glorified. >> is obama a mama's boy? >> no. >> no, he is not. but putin is following a long tradition, going back to stalin and the czars, et cetera, if you don't look tough and act tough in russia -- >> the russian people really do like that strong authoritarian rulership. >> don't say mama's boy on the eve of mother's day. >> i have a question. who would you bet on to win in an arm wrestling contest president putin or president obama? >> i'm afraid i've got to go with the russian on this one. [laughter] >> of course, you're presuming it's a fair contest. ha ha! i think -- >> a game of chess? i'll go for that and obama will win that. >> what do you think? >> i think president putin would win. but to be fair to obama i think president putin would beat just about anyone.

president putin is in exceptional physical shape based on his photos and his judo experience. >> obama can do a chicago option. >> he shoots hoops. >> oh, yes. he does. >> he would win that. bush would win throwing pitches. >> he'd win shooting hoops. the arm wrestling would be won by putin. >> issue four. bernie's revolution. >> the wealthiest people in this country, and the largest corporations, have got to join the united states of america. they've got to come back to this country, and they've got to maintain and respect their responsibilities. and their responsibilities are not to ship jobs to china. their responsibilities are not to avoid paying federal taxes. we need real tax reform which says to the wealthiest people and largest corporations you're going to have to start paying your fair share of taxes. >> he's a proud socialist, a proud independent voice in congress. this week, senator bernie sanders announced he's proudly running against hillary clinton for the democratic party

nomination for president of the united states. he's running to the left of hillary on virtually every issue. alongside his desire for far higher taxes, and far greater spending the senator is a vigorous opponent of free trade and wants major environmental regulations to prevent climate change. but in a dig against hillary who wants to raise $2.5 billion for her presidential campaign bernie says he's running so that a nonmillionaire can lead the american people in a, quote, quote/unquote, political revolution. >> this is in a sense what my campaign is about. can somebody who is not a billionaire, actually win an election in which billionaires are pouring hundreds of billions into the election? it is not just hillary. it is the koch brothers. >> is it good news for bad news for hillary clinton?

>> i think it's good news. also, bernie sanders was bragging that he raised several million over the internet in small donations. i think he's going to do better in new hampshire than expected. he's got some name recognition there. frankly, a lot of democrats are with him on the issues. and they like the fact that he's going to force a discussion. i think hillary clinton agrees with him on much of his views concerning inequality in this country, but how is she going to shape that into policy? i also think he's going to be a "send a message" candidate. i think in new hampshire there is a run group and elizabeth warren is not going to get in the race. it was thought those people would move to martin o'malley. he's been damaged by the events in baltimore. vote for sanders in the primary and vote for hillary in november. a lot of democrats are saying that. he has a potential to make a bit of a showing in some states. >> john, bernie sanders and i were in -- fought shoulder to

shoulder against and a nafta and hoffman and everyone. but i will say bernie, i mean, he's standing up and he's right about the transnational corporations. they take all these jobs abroad and bring their products back free of charge. and everybody at the top makes an awful lot of money. the way to change that is put a tariff on the products coming back into the country, cut the taxes on signal businesses that produce in -- small businesses that produce in the country and some of these fat cats will come running home. >> bernie sanders talks about the language of make making the rich pay their fair share. the way to address income and inequality is to address social mobility. he has this idea of a socialist utopia. the problem is it doesn't work. >> the real problem is, the simple upward mobility that we had when i was a kid, we ain't got anymore.

college is too expensive. all these barriers. and this gap keeps getting wider. and there are ways -- well, money is going to solve it, so he's got to raise money, one way or the other. that's the reality that most voters understand. >> cheaper education and health care would solve it. >> let's talk about realistic policies not happening now as just dismissing these folks doesn't really solve the problem. bernie sanders has the right kind of rhetoric to appeal to much of the discontent over there and maybe move us toward a more honest discussion. >> bernie sanders is not perfect for democrats who worry about gun control. he's got some -- he likes the muskettings in -- muskets in vermont. >> on a political probability scale from zero to 100 zero meaning no likelihood whatsoever, what's the likelihood that bernie sanders will be the democratic nominee?

zero to 100. give me a number. >> somewhere between one and five. >> i'm going to give it a zero. >> a zero? >> yes. >> four. >> four? >> no. it's zero but he's going to help get a more hobbs honest debate and help us sharpen hillary clinton. she needs some competition. >> what kind of a number? >> zero! >> i'm not hung up on it. >> bernie gets 25. prediction pat? >> the turks are aiding the radical leftest leftists in syria directly aiding them. the israels are bombing them. occasionally the pro-government forces. saudis are attacking in yemen. i think there's a real danger, one, that assad's regime could be in very grave trouble. if that goes down, i think it would be a disaster. i also think there's a greater chance of expansion of this whole sunni-shia conflict and

it's really metastasizing. >> that's an ugly broadcast. >> no. i think it's realistic. >> right. right. well, i'm going to go with a happier prediction. david cameron won big in the u.k. the conservative party has another five years. i think he won because he listened to the voters. and the voters were demanding a referendum on whether they stay or get out of the european union. and cameron does not want that to happen. so now he's going to have to embark on his next campaign, which is to convince the u.k. to stay in the e.u. >> tom rogan, be quick. >> in the coming days, david cameron is going to make major concessions to the scottish nationalist party. i also want to say happy mother's day to my mother. >> watch for the justice department's report on the baltimore police's practices to confirm what the baltimore sun reported last year about a pattern of rough rides and other

bad practices. >> i predict the prospects of a senate vote on nuclear agreement with iran will force president obama to insist on concessions the iranians have long been resisting. the result will be a prolongation of the talks with a new deadline in december of this year. you get all that, pat? you can use it in your column. happy mother's day weekend! bye-bye!

next on kqed "newsroom" surviving in east oakland -- >> the outside world looks at us as gangs and cliques. most of the time we look at them as family. >> they already got a guilty sign do you get what i'm saying? >> what happened in baltimore can happen here. people were tired of being tired. >> hello and welcome to kqed news room. earlier this week i interviewed three young people who grew up in east oakland in some of the bay area's poorest neighborhoods. they were all involved in street life at one time or another. what they told me was quite movi