next on msnbc saturday, exit signs. nato agreement spells out signs when troops might be coming home. a stand on patdowns and screenings. who is getting the go ahead to bypass the examinations? plus looking for mr. snipes.

why the law wants the hollywood actor to go directly to jail. gearing up. rumor has it a new ipad may be in the works. good morning, welcome to msnbc saturday. i'm alex witt. let's get to what's happening right now out there. after more than nine years of fighting nato officials are opening a new chapter in the war in afghanistan. they've agreed on a plan where afghan forces will assume control of that country in 2014. hamid karzai is praising that decision. >> we're confident that the transition will succeed to the afghan authority, leadership and ownership. because i found today strong commitment by the international community. >> mike viqueira is live at the white house for us. richard engel is in afghanistan. mike, i'll begin with you at the white house. i know the president holds a news conference, what, about 30

minutes or so from now. what can we expect to hear? >> the president is now in a bilateral meeting with hamid karzai. a little controversy and perhaps a little wiggle room on that end date for combat missions of nato forces. the combat mission there in afghanistan. you mentioned already the longest conflict in american history. it was very controversial last year on december 1st when the president made his speech at west point unveiling his new afghan strategy saying that u.s. forces would begin to withdraw in july of next year, a lot of credit sichl for that, a lot of mixed message criticism from capitol hill and republicans as well. that's still in force. but now an end to combat operations by the end of 2014. the white house has been talking about it. nato secretary-general has been talking about it. but there's a question as to whether or not that is a guarantee. even the secretary-general said if the situation in afghanistan were such that afghan forces and

military and police forces could not take over security of that nation, then we'd have to have another look at it. similarly u.s. officials talking on background said that they had not necessarily committed to a hard end to combat operations in -- at the end of 2014. so the controversy continues. you mentioned that we're going to see the president in about a half hour, a press conference there on the fringes of this nato meeting. the president's third international summit in the course of ten days. one other thing. the s.t.a.r.t. negotiations stalled here in washington, senate republicans trying to block ratification of that deal that the president negotiated with his russian counterpart dmitry medvedev who is also there at the nato meetings. the president getting a lot of backing, putting pressure on the republicans to get this done in the lame duck session before the end of the year. >> mike viqueira, thanks so much for that. on the heels of mike, let's go

to bagram and richard engel. >> alex, president obama has a very difficult job selling this ha is effectively an exit strategy to his nato partners. nato troops are based on outposts and bases like this one at bagram airfield. currently there are about 100,000 american troops in afghanistan and 50,000 nato partners. now, the nato partners didn't necessarily expect this kind of commitment to the war in afghanistan. we are already just starting the tenth year of military involvement. now president obama says that the combat operations will last four more years. so if you add the nine we've already done plus the four we need to do, that's 13 years of operations. then a training mission will begin. training missions can take a long time, alex. that can be five, six, seven years, so in all, a 20-year military involvement in afghanistan. that is not something the american people and certainly

not the nato partners had been expecting when this began with the attacks of 9/11. alex? >> richard engel, thank you for that. we'll have live coverage of the president's news conference from lisbon coming up right here on msnbc as scheduled. air travelers furious with the new controversial patdowns are causing a major uproar. the tsa says it is changing its rules but only for a select few. good day, maura. tell us about the rule change. >> good morning, alex. the tsa now says that pilots won't have to go through these revealing body scan machines. instead pilots are now allowed to go through metal detectors. they have to show company and government issued i.d.s. now other airline employees want to be exempt, too. the president of southwest airlines flight attendants union says flight attendants should be able to bypass the intrusive

body scanners. so far that rule change applies only to pilots. several air travelers are planning boycotts before thanksgiving to protest these security measures. they're asking fliers to refuse to go through the body scanners. that would force agents to perform patdowns leading to massive slowdowns. they say the procedures are too invasive. >> an invasion of my personal space, my body. >> i just felt violated. >> used her hand to go up my skirt. >> is this just going to take us down to eventually, well, we can't scan you because that doesn't work, so you're just going to come in and take all your clothes off? >> late yesterday he issued a statement saying he is not backing down on the new security measures. he also pointed out that only a small percentage of passengers are actually selected for them. >> we're hearing a lot from the opponents. we're getting loud and clear what they're thinking. but overall how are americans reacting to these security procedures?

>> overwhelmingly they seem to support them. 81% of americans say they're okay with the use of those revealing body scanners while just 15% said they are not okay with them. but keep in mind this poll asks the general public and frequent fliers may feel a little differently. >> i can imagine going through that repeatedly. more than 10,000 ground zero workers who were exposed to toxic dust after the september 11th attacks have joined a legal settlement. the $625 million agreement wraps up a seven-year fight between new york city and first responders. the workers say they were not properly outfitted for rescue and cleanup efforts in the aftermath of 9/11, so they developed respiratory problems there. more man 95% of workers eligible for the settlement agreed to offer. the u.s. senate is considering separate legislation that could send medical care and payments to the sick workers. the fbi is investigating a suspicious white powder mailed

to the studios of "dancing with the stars." it shows the powder is not hazardous. it will be taken to a lab for further testing. tmz is reporting that the letter was addressed to bristol palin who is a finalist on the show. wesley snipes has not yet turned himself in to authorities after a federal judge ordered him to surrender. he was sentenced to a three-year prison term for tax evasion crimes. his attorney submitted a request for a new trial yesterday. major snowstorms blanket the country this weekend and drivers were feeling the effects of the storm last night. heavy accumulation is expected along the northwest coast today including down into the sierra nevada mountains. for the complete forecast, let's go to bill karins. good saturday morning, bill. >> great saturday morning to you, alex. today it's all about the west coast and the stormy weather that they're dealing with. snow in the high elevations and rain for areas that don't

typically see a lot of it. if you're waking up on that eastern seaboard, the great lakes, the tennessee valley down through texas, no problems for you. a little colder than we'd like from chicago to minneapolis. we can deal with the cold. in the west we have the rain and we have the snow. we have a couple different storm systems that are working their way through the west. moving into areas that are cold. great for the ski resorts as we head towards the thanksgiving holiday. one area today that will have rain on and off, los angeles all the way to santa maria. then down into san diego, we'll see rainfall today and even some snow in the high elevations of the mountains outside of l.a. and especially in the central sierra region. that's ski country out there. tahoe southwards down to yosemite. that's where we'll see the heaviest snow. we're predicting the possibility, see that little blue area in the middle in the o in san francisco, that's 20 inches of snow. y can see two to four feet in

the higher elevations in central california. this is the first big snow of the season for them. even l.a. with a chance of rain on and off today. tomorrow doesn't look much better. murky weekend. don't expect anything too treacherous travel wise unless you're heading up to ski country. >> karins, thank you so much. the president slid into the driver's seat of a car made by general motors after a meeting in afghanistan. the vehicle, an opal rngts will start going on sale in europe next year. he's promised to bring 1 million plug-in vehicles to u.s. roads by 2015. politics and power. republican leaders say they'll work with the president but will that mean compromise or will there be deadlock. apple could be working on a new ipad? [ male announcer ] at&t introduces a new windows phone...

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a new report from computer world is forecasting the arrival of the second generation ipad as early as april. the new model will essentially be the same as the first except this latest rendition will have dual front facing cameras. the report says don't expect more storage space. we'll have more on this rumored ipad later on this hour. the white house and republicans are at odds over taxes. and they can't agree on a nuclear treaty and there's still no deal on unemployment benefits. despite all those sticking points, republicans say they're open to dialogue.

>> it's not too bad to focus on the priorities of the american people. and republicans in congress are eager to work with anyone, republican or democrat, who is will to do so. >> pat buchanan is republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. also democratic strategist and msnbc contributor karen finney joins us. good morning to the two of you again. pat, republicans are talking about compromise, but are they following through on it? i mean, they wouldn't even meet with the president at the white house this week? >> the reason they didn't is they don't want to be used as a foil for the president before they got all their ducks in a row. the situation here is sort of odd. what you got is the country voted in november to move in a strongly conservative direction, but nancy pelosi still retains an 80-seat majority in the house and harry reid's got a 20-seat majority in the senate, just about that until january. but i think the republicans are united on this issue. they want all the tax cuts

extended temporarily or permanently, and the democrats got six different positions, but the republicans are playing from a weaker hand until january 5th. and i think they're playing it very well. >> let's see if karen agrees with that. because here's what karen, if she weighed in on the republicans holding out on the president. here's what you wrote on politico. what could be more important than meeting with the president to discuss american jobs? apparently protecting their fragile male egos and playing political games. man up, fellas, everyone knows that scheduling conflict is d. kr speak for talk to the hand. so you aren't fooling anyone with that lame excuse. you probably would have read it better than i did. karen, won't democrats have to give some ground to get republicans to the negotiating table? >> sure. but i think democrats have already given ground to get people to the table. look, this shouldn't be about mitch mcconnell's ego and

whether or not they felt like they were faced up by the president in january because they weren't prepared. if they're still holding a grudge about that, come on. get your ducks in a row, get your work done and get down to the white house and sit down and talk to the president about jobs and the economy. democrats have already said -- i mean, democrats are going to be the ones who have been sincere about sitting down and talking together. what we really heard from the republicans, they'll say in talking points that they want to sit down and talk. but instead they're talking about making obama one-term president is their top priority. tough against the president rather than what they're going to do to move the country forward. >> now, pat, americans did not vote against democrats so the gop could just block progress. do republicans risk misreading the midterm elections? >> not at all. the country voted clearly to repudiate nancy pelosi and harry reid even though he won narrowly

in nevada. but the democratic party has re-elected two repudiated leaders. the republicans are saying, look, we tried the big spending approach. the country wants to move in a different direction. even obama agrees they should keep the tax cuts up to 250. republicans are saying keep them all. that's the way to get this economy moving. that is actually rather than sitting down in the cabinet room of the president talking to some cabinet saying we got to create jobs. >> i think what the election was really about, pat, was the american people saying we need you to come together and work together. i don't think it was a repudiation of one ideology or another. if you want to go there, we can say there was a massive repudiation of all things republican not that long ago. going back to the bush policies of these tax breaks is not the kind of forward looking, moving forward action that the american people were looking for. >> what the american people did

was threw out a net of 60 members of congress, democrats and five or six united states senators, and if barack obama had something of a mandate in 2008, the mandate was taken away from him in 2010. now, barack obama's got the same ideas he's been talking about. >> -- have a mandate right now other than to work together to get something done. >> they've got a mandate not to go in the direction obama's been taking the country and pelosi and reid have been taking the country. your own party re-elected nancy pelosi -- >> of course they did -- >> in the house. what are you doing? >> absolutely. i think that was a great decision. nancy pelosi was our minority leader and she's the one that got us back in the majority. she's done a phenomenal job raising money, a great job leading the caucus. this is not a time, given what we know, the little shenanigans and games that we'll be seeing from john boehner, we need pelosi in there working for democrats. >> john boehner is sitting now

on i don't even think 180 member of congress. i know miss pelosi won in san francisco and she won in her caucus, but do you really think the american people said, we want harry reid and nancy pelosi leading this country on capitol hill? and that's why we threw out 60 members -- >> pat, come on. >> in the house? >> but you know what? your party loves to make this about harry reid and nancy pelosi. it is not about harry reid and nancy pelosi. >> it's about the democratic party. >> it's not. it's about the american people, that's what it should be about. when they say get something done, that doesn't mean get anything done. they said stop doing this and start doing that. >> don't get anything done. >> the republicans are reading it right and i think the republicans are quite happy with the way thins are -- >> i'm sure they are. >> and they're going to beat obama on these tax cuts. you know it. >> do you think that americans voted for gridlock for two years? >> no!

they voted to cut taxes, reduce the size of government and cut spending. that's what boehner and the republicans want to do. they didn't vote for compromise, they voted to move in a new direction. >> do they need to speak with the president to open dialogue? are you worried that come off as being a little bit arrogant on the heels of the win or that they come off as being obstructionists? >> they won the greatest victory since the 1920s by being the part of no to obama. now the president needs to get the message and send up what he would like to do when extending the taxes exactly. he's still got an 80-vote majority in the house. we can block something in the senate that we thing is not in the interests of the country, but we're all going to get the middle class tax cuts. >> we're talking about how you're going to block things rather than the president has said -- wait a second, pat. start with middle class tax cuts as our base. >> all right. i'll tell you what we're going to do. >> let's talk and have a conversation. the republicans said no way. why did they say that?

i think because they're afraid they weren't prepared to have a conversation. >> karen, we agree on the middle class tax cuts and we're saying you're not raising any other taxes. however -- >> i think having tax cuts is expire is not the same as raising taxes. >> tell me about it when i fill out my taxes next year. >> we'll end on a jovial note. nick has said 42 times in my ear, we've got to go. what nick says has to go. good to see you both. thank you. happy thanksgiving to you both. once again we'll hear from former president -- president obama from a nato summit that's wrapping up. we're monitoring all that and we'll bring it to you live when it gets under way. in a moment, living, breathing superheroes just like the ones in the comics. is this a joke or are they crime fighters? ♪

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big news this morning about those controversial patdowns and revealing body scanners at airports. the tsa has agreed to let pilots skip those procedures by showing two forms of i.d. instead. so what are your rights? joining me live now from san san, the founder and spokesperson for fliersrights.org. good morning. i'm curious what rights fliers do have here? any way to avoid the patdowns and body scanners and still get on a plane? >> if you opt out of the scanner and you are preselected for screening, there's not much of a way out of it. in other words, when you buy your ticket, you're assigned a code on that little scanner. and it will tell the ticket agent and the tsa agent whether or not you've been preselected for additional screening. in that case, there's not much

you can do unless you're under the age of 12. if you are under the age of 12, you can ask for your child to be deselected. opt out of the scans and don't wear any metal. make sure you have no change about your pockets, no metal in your undergarments or on your body. that's the best chance of not having to have a patdown. >> kate, how do they determine who gets selected for those screenings? is it completely random? is it a numerical thing, is there something in your profile that they're not certain about? >> it appears to be completely random unless you are on a watch list. if you're on a watch list, you're guaranteed to be preselected for additional screening or not allowed on the plane at all. and that will show up also on your ticket. they do that by name matching and other identification. that's why they increase the amount of information that you need to put when you're issued a ticket, the gender, birthday and xkt spelling of your name.

that was also to avoid getting the wrong people on the watch list. it appears to be totally random. partly that's because they don't want terrorists to be able to figure out how they select. they're not giving us a lot of information on how they make these selections for specific reasons of security. >> playing things close to the vest there. do you think if these new techniques had been rolled out in just the months and days following the 9/11 attack, do you think we'd be seeing so many complaints as we're seeing now? >> i doubt it. when there's a huge level of fear, that people will do just about anything to ensure that they are safe, whether those things that are implemented really make sense. you know, i think earlier this year after abdulmutallab people were more likely to have accepted these than now. but i also think the implementation of the patdowns was such a shock to people when they experience it, that now they're saying, wait a minute, i don't have a good option. i feel violated either way. >> yeah.

because it is so sensitive and each person has a different level of tolerance, if you will, how do you determine if someone has truly been violated? >> well, you know, i'm getting some complaints from people that are saying that when their genitals have been patted down, that tsa agents have actually grabbed them so hard that they've been in pain and even afterward had pain and i've had the same complaint from women about their breasts. and also, i believe they're supposed to use the back of the hand in the genital area and the back of the hand on the breasts but we're getting a lot of complaints from disabled persons and elderly persons that the tsa agents have stuck their hands with gloves on down their pants tall way down to their pubic bone. i don't know why tsa is doing this and especially to people who are infirmed have had surgeries. it seems like overkill. there's no common sense when it comes to who it is we think is a risk. >> i hope the tsa is listening

to this. because that's the kind of thing they absolutely need to know about. that is definitely invasive. >> exactly. thank you. once again we're waiting to hear from president obama at nato summit. he's expected to talk to reporters about any time now. we'll bring that to you when it starts. whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters, plus a powerful pain reliever, wherever you need it! [ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is!

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grizzlies, sarah palin's new book is on sale tuesday. it's called "america by heart." of course, people are wondering whether palin's reflections are part of a 2012 presidential platform. maybe this excerpt offers a clue. we're worried that our leaders don't believe what we believe. that america is an exceptional nation. the shining city on a hill that ronald reagan believed it is. we want leaders who share this fundamental belief. we deserve such leaders. shoshana walsh is with the daily beast. she's author of the book "sarah from alaska." >> hi, alex. >> what do you think? is palin saying that she is the leader we deserve? >> i think that in this book there are some juicy bits like we got in "going rogue" but a lot of the excerpts that have been released early you see her setting herself up as not only the leader of the tea party movement but as a good

alternative to president obama. a lot of the pages that have been leaked going after him. the part you read about america exceptionalism, talking about how president obama wants to change the country and not in a good way. as we see going forward, this is really the book is going to be the platform that she works off of going towards 2012. that a lot of the points she makes in this book are going to be talking points in a presidential campaign. >> the quote i'm about to read to you. i wopder if it will also be a talking point. it's been leaked on palin taking on michelle obama. she said during the 2008 campaign she had never felt proud of her country until harry husband started winning elections. in retrospect this shouldn't surprise us since both of them spent almost two decades in the pews of the reverend wright's church listening to his rants against america and white people. why is she revisiting this?

>> i think it's an important section out of all the parts that have been leaked this is the newsiest. she's bringing up jeremiah wright. we know now that in 2008 that mccain said he didn't want to bring it up and he would think people would think he was racist. sarah palin thought it was a valid point to bring up jeremiah wright. right away in the book, she's bringing it up. it will be a talking point if she runs for president. she'll talk about that relationship. even in 2008 she was upset that john mccain wouldn't bring it up and she thought it was a valid political attack. she has no problems bringing it up. she's going to continue that going forward. that's the newsiest part of the book that's been relieved. >> she reveals she's a fan of the movie junie, the movie knocked up and the 40-year-old virgin and likes simon cowell saying he's almost alone in his

willingness to tell hard truths. simon cowell, hard truths. he's not a politician. he's a reality muse ek show judge. is this the kind of person that she's looking to as an example of what being a politician is all about? >> no, i don't think so. but i do think it's quite odd that she spends this time of the book on "american idol" and how there are these kids that think they can go on stage and really they can't. we've all seen those beginning shows of "american idol" and a lot of us feel badly for them. but this spends this part of her book saying that they should know better and that simon cowell is the only one that will give them a hard review, which is what they need. i don't think that she's saying he's a good leader for the country, but that his harsh criticism is what a lot of kids in the country need. especially the ones that think they can sing. funny when you compare -- sorry, alex.

>> go ahead. >> i just think it's funny comparing when you see bristol on "dancing with the stars" is obviously doing well, she could win, but she's not the greatest dancer we've seen during the program. >> we kind of wonder what's behind that? but there are people with their theory, which i won't get into now. we heard on "morning joe" vice president biden saying if she were to run in 2012, he would take her seriously. do you think that's a pervasive thought and, if so, why? >> i think it is, it should be. whoever goes against president obama in 2012, they'll take seriously. it's easy. sarah palin's rivals are continue stantly saying she's the nominee that president obama wants. but they should take her very seriously. her supporters even though still when you see polling, a lot of americans think she's not qualified to be president. but her supporters are incredibly passionate.

they'll be out as soon as she zids to start running. they're already out on the internet telling her to run. so they're going to be a powerful force to help her get elected. i think that it was for vice president biden to say that shows that the administration is taking her seriously. i think she would be a formidable opponent. >> always good to talk with you. >> thanks, alex. we're keeping a very close eye on lisbon, portugal, where the president is running late, now nine minutes to the nose late. we're keeping an eye on things. once he takes to the podium, we'll take you there live. some models look so mad.

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prince charles is back pedaling about comments made to brian williams. a spokesman at the prince's royal estate says the intention remains that camilla will be known as princess consort when

prince charles becomes king. but is the prince secretly hoping for another title? good saturday to you. is question here is it's a very sensitive topic in the uk. what is the reaction been like to prince charles' comments? >> as you said, it is a very sensitive subject. up until now prince charles has stuck to the line that his wife will be known as prince consort when he's king. he's suggested the duchess could be given the title of queen. the princess consort was concocted to diminish the controversy when he married his second wife in 2005. aides are concerned that public had not warmed to the duchess. with the death of diana, princess of wales, still fresh in their memory, it was decided that the duchess should avoid using the title princess of wales. the prince has always believed privately that the duchess should become his queen and in the last five years her sort of

down-to-earth manner has made her increasingly more popular with the british people, making the prospect of her becoming queen more agreeable than it was five years ago. >> given the fact ha the queen herself is in excellent health as far as we know and that the prince cannot assume the throne until the demise of his mother, obviously. does it mean that there is still an outside shot that camilla parker bowles formerly could become queen camilla? is there still a possibility? >> i mean, legally speaking, she would be queen, whether queen consort or queen, the legal role of the queen. there was an article in one of the british papers saying that she can't actually become queen because their royal marriage wasn't legal because the royal family are not allowed to get married in a civil case. but these are semantics, because once if he does become king, she will automatically assume that role. so she will, for all intents and

purposes, be queen. >> to what extent are you hearing talk at all, ali, about in the wake of prince william and kate's engagement and that they'll be married, people saying, let's just bypass prince charles and king charles, queen consort, whatever she would be altogether in favor of those two? >> yeah, absolutely. the royal wedding bells are reignites debate over whether prince charles should step aside to let william be king. many are pursuing the idea as william pausing over the engagement to his longtime girlfriend kate. they argue that charles suffered irreparable harm when his marriage with diana fell apart and details of the affair became public. they're saying that charles is too old to start an effective reign after his mother queen elizabeth ii dies. the queen is 84 although in seemingly excellent health. little question on who would win

a popularity contest between the aging prince and alienating britons and his charismatic young son who reminds many people here of his late mother diana. but we also read a report in one of the papers today there was a poll suggesting that many britons would like to leave the line of succession as it stands. we have to see how that pans out in the future. >> we'll certainly see. nbc's ali arouzi. critics are calling harry potter and the deathly hallows part one one of the most darkest films in this series. take a look at this. >> my lord, i'd like to volunteer myself for this task. >> i must be the one to kill harry potter. >> well, let's get the details from daun yannic from "life & style." thus far a huge success.

>> a lot. $61 million in its first day. $24 million for midnight showings the other night. this is a movie that analysts are predicting could make 130 to $1550 million for opening weekend. huge numbers for the series. huge numbers for a movie that does nothing to encourage new viewers. if you don't know harry potter, you're out of luck for this movie. because this one picks up right where the last picks off. >> this is the first half of a very dense book. >> yes. >> so a lot of people are saying at the end of it, there's no feeling of resolution, but i guess that's the point. >> let me tell you, i was really excited. our editors are exciting for the next one. it is coming out in july. this is halfway finished. the worst cliff hanger in the world in that sense. >> dawn, on that note, i'll ask you to stand by as we have the president now taking to the podium in lisbon, portugal. let's listen to him in this news conference. >> the government and the people

of portugal, for their hospitality in the beautiful city of lisbon. and i thank my fellow leaders for the sense of common purpose that they brought to our work here. for more than 60 years nato has proven itself as the most successful alliance in history. it's defended the independence and freedom of its members, it has nurtured young democracies and welcomed them into europe that is whole and free. it has acted to end ethnic cleansing beyond our borders and today we stand united in afghanistan so that terrorists who threaten us all have no safe haven and so that the afghan people can forge a more hopeful future. at no time during these past six decades was our success guaranteed. indeed, there have been many times when skeptics have predicted the end of this alliance.

but each time nato has risen to the occasion and adapted to meet the challenges of that time. now as we face a new century with very different challenges from the last, we have come together here in lisbon to take action in four areas that are critical to the future of the alliance. first, we aligned our approach on the way forward in afghanistan, particularly on a transition to full afghan lead that will begin in early 2011 and will conclude in 2014. it is important for the american people to remember that afghanistan is not just an american battle. we're joined by a nato-led coalition made up of 48 nations with over 40,000 troops and we honor the service and sacrifice of every single one. with the additional resources that we put in place, we're now achieving our objective of breaking the taliban's momentum and doing the hard work of

training afghan security forces and assisting the afghan people. and i want to thank our allies who committed additional trainers and mentors to support the vital mission of training afghan forces. with these commitments i'm confident that we can meet our objective. here in lisbon, we agreed agree early 2011 will mark the beginning of a transition to afghan responsibility. and we adopted the goal of afghan forces taking the lead for security across the country by the end of 2014. this is a goal that president karzai has put forward. i've made it clear that even as americans transition and troop reductions will begin in july, we will also forge a long-term partnership with the afghan people. and today nato has done the same. so this leaves no doubt that as afghans stand up and take the lead, they will not be standing alone. as we look ahead to a new phase in afghanistan, we also reach an

agreement in the second area, a new strategic concept for nato that recognizes the capabilities and partners of the alliance to meet the challenges of the 21st century. it to give special thanks to secretary general mussan for his outstanding leadership for enduring the strengths of the alliance while adapting it to meet the missions of the future. as i said yesterday, we have reaffirmed the central premise of nato. our article 5 commitment that an attack on one is an attack on all. and to ensure this has meaning, we agree to take action in a third area, to modernize our conventional forces that we need to defend our nation. we'll invest in technologies so forces can dmou and operate

effectively. we'll have threats such as cyber attacks and refirm alliance command structures to make them more flexible and efficient. most important, we agree to develop a missile defense capability for nato territory, which is necessary to defend against the growing threat from ballistic missiles. the new approach to your pooen missile defense that i announced last year, the phase adantive approach will be the united states contribution to this effort and a foundation for greater collaboration. after years of how to meet this objective, we have a clear plan to protect all our allies in europe as well as the united states. when it comes to nuclear weapons, our strategic concept reflects today's realities as well as our future aspirations. the alliance will work to create the conditions so that we can reduce nuclear weapons and pursue the vision of a world without them. at the same time, we have made it very clear that so long as

these weapons exist nato will remain a nuclear alliance and the united states will maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear arsenal to defer, deter adversaries and guarantee the defense of all our allies. finally, we agreed to keep forging the partnership beyond nato that help make our lives a pillar of global security. we'll continue to enhance nato's cooperation with the eu, which i'll talk about in my sum lit summit later this afternoon with eu leaders. after a two-year break, we are resuming a relationship between nato and russia. i was pleased with dmitry medvedev who joined us today at the nato russia council summit. to the we worked hard to reset the relationship between united states and russia which has led to concrete conditions for both

the nations. now we are resetting the nato/russia relationship. we see russia as a partner, not an adversary, and we agree to deepen our cooperation in several areas. on afghanistan, counter narcotics in a range of 21st century security challenges. and perhaps most significantly we agreed to cooperate on missile defense, which turns a source of past tension into a source of potential cooperation against a shared threat. so overall this has been an extremely productive two days. we came to lisbon with a clear task, and that was to revisitize our lives to meet the challenges of our time. that's what we have done here. of course, it is work that cannot end here, so i'm pleased to announce that the united states will host the next nato summit in 2012. a summit that will allow us to build on the commitments that we made it here as we transition to full afghan lead, build new

capabilities, expand our partnerships and ensure the most successful alliance in history will continue our security and prosperity well into the future. i said to prime minister socrates considering he has thrown such a successful summit here in lisbon, i have been taking notes. you've set a very high bar of outstanding hospitality. so i appreciate everything that the people of portugal have done, and we will try to reciprocate that hospitality when we host in 2012. so with that, let me take some questions. and i'm going to start with margaret warner of pbs. margaret, why don't you get a microphone? >> translator: thank you, mr. president. what message do you hope this send to senator john kyl and other republicans in the senate who are resisting voting on an

ratifying s.t.a.r.t. in the lame duck session? >> well, a couple of messages that i want to send to the american people -- number one, i think that americans should be proud that an alliance that began 60 years ago through the extraordinary sacrifices in part of american young men and women sustained throughout a cold war has resulted in a europe that's more unified than it has ever been before, that is unextraordinarily strong in being an allie with the united states. that is a corner stone not just for the united states but for the world. this is a direct result of america's events and american

sacrifice. and i think the world appreciates it. the second message i want to send is that after a period in which relations between the united states and europe were severely strained, that strain no longer exists. there are occasions where there may be disagreements on certain tactical issues, that alliance has never been stronger. and that's something americans should feel good about. number three, that i think the americans should know that american leadership remains absolutely critical to achieving some of these important security on jack tys objectives. and i think our european partners will be the first to acknowledge that. what we ratified here today is

the direct result of work that we've done over the last two years to get to this point. and just to take the example of afghanistan, i think that if you said even a year ago or maybe six months ago that we would have a unified approach on part of our allies to move forward in afghanistan with a sustained commitment where we actually increased the resources available and closed the training gap in order to be successful, i think a lot of skeptics would say that isn't going to happen. it has happened in part because we have rebuilt those strong bond of trust between the united states and our allies. the fourth thing, and this finally goes to your specific question, unprompted i have received overwhelming support from our allies here that

s.t.a.r.t., the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty is a critical component to u.s. and european security. and it may have urged both publicly and privately that this gets done. and i think you've seen the comments of a wide range of european partners on this issue, including those who live right next to russia who used to live beyond the iron curtain, who have the most cause for concern with respect to russian intentions. and who have uniformly said that they will feel safer and more secure if this treatly gets ratified, in part because right now we have no