we grew the army in order to meet our commitments in iraq and afghanistan. so i think it's -- i'm comfortable now that in fact our -- we're done with iraq. commit sment coming down in afghanistan that we can now do this. i don't see it as we're bearing the burden. we're making a correction as what we see out there in terms of threat. what i look at is what is 490,000 get me? so what we're doing is we're increasing our special operations force. we're going to go to 35,000 total special operations forces in the army. it is important to understand this it's important to understand. this is significant growth. we've been doing this over the last three or four years. i want to emphasize the role they play in iraq, afghanistan, around the world. we want to continue that. we think that's the way of the future. also now the relationship built between a special operation and conventional forces. the integration we've gained in iraq and afghanistan we will carry forward as we continue to conduct missions around the world. i see that as a factor. then i look at the numb

how does your organization differ from others that help iraq and afghanistan vets get job? >> we're the first and largest nonprofit advocacy organization for vet in iraq and afghanistan. we're a young are population and we define community a little differently so we have to redefine how we deliver services. primarily because there are so few of us. 2.4 million have served in iraq and afghanistan, less than 1% of the population so the traditional models of service delivery don't work. we are online. we understand community that's not defined by where we live but by our access to communication. the way we can't with the world is different from previous generations. it's a way we've been innovative so we can reach out and redesign the sense of community we had in the military. over the last two years, the joblessness epidemic in veterans has been worse. we're looking at an average unemployment rate of 12.9%. we don't have any real way to qualitatively and quantitatively tell the business community what a military skills are, what being a military medic is, what being a platoon

we grew the army to meet the iraq and afghanistan. i'm comfortable that we are done with iraq and our commitments are coming down in afghanistan that we can do this. i don't see it as we are bearing the burden of it. i'm saying we are making a correction based on what we see out there as tench threat. in terms of strategy, what i look at is what does 490,000 get me. what we are doing is we are increasing special operation forces. we are going to go to 35,000 total special operation forces in the army. this is significant growth. i want to reemphasize the roles they play. we want to continue that. we think that's the way of the future. and it is now the relationship that has been built between special operations and conventional forces. the integration that we gained we will now carry forward as we continue to conduct our other missions around the world. then i look at the number of brigade combat teams. i feel comfortable although as i mentioned right now we are planning on reducing and a reorganization. the capability that we would ha

me which was increased in size for the occupations in iraq and afghanistan you make cuts there and you don't cut these big ticket items because jobs depend on it income depends on but while we are drawing troops out from iraq from afghanistan there is this mounting tension with iran and i mean do you think that the u.s. is ready to go to war with iran well going to war with iran is very challenging to be perfectly blunt i mean if the united states is twelve feet tall iran in comparative terms is maybe six inches high it's a nonentity militarily it can project military power beyond its borders the fear of iran closing the straits of hormuz is much exaggerated the iranians would suffer terribly from that remember that about eighty three percent of china's oil comes from the middle east it has to pass through the strait of hormuz and so the strait of malacca reach china the japanese the koreans are equally depended upon it no one no one profits from the closure iran has revenues would tank it's already going to suffer as a result of sanctions nothing would improve we would not benefit. fr

punctuate and emphasize the fact that when he took office there were 180,000 forces positions in iraq and afghanistan and the president trying to emphasize the fact that he has followed through on his promises. obviously, the war -- the american involvement in iraq from a combat perspective has ended and afghanistan after the surge, the drawdown is already under way now, with forces scheduled to be withdrawn or at least afghan forces in the lead by 2014. we can expect the president to talk about that. >> here we go the president and secretary of defense arriving in the room. let's justin in. thank you, mike. >> good morning, everybody. the united states of america is the greatest force for freedom and security that the world has ever known and in small measure that is because we built the best-trained, the best-led, best-equipped military in history. and as commander in chief, i'm going to keep it that way. indeed, all of us on this stage, every single one of us, had a profound responsibility to every soldier, sailor, airman, marine and coast guardsman who puts their life on the line for america. we

. >> there are right on iraq and afghanistan. iraq was a disaster and gets worse every day. today, iran has far more influence in iraq than the united states. he also said that the best defense we have against iran was set down and sang. >> that is true. we supported him in a war against iran. linda gasparello, is there a possibility for a better relationship with iran in the future? this is a sophisticated country with gifted, talented, people, but we have been in in a state of cold war with them since the revolution. >> with present leadership there cannot be, but there is opposition in the wind. there are groups that are waiting to lead effected protests, which they did leave last june and we did not support very well. there are women's groups, if you can believe it, and traders unions. let's not forget technology. we have the iranians that are out of work, led by people they do not like, but they feel powerless. there is a big group that does not support what is going on, and it is looking for their chance to change things. >> andre, when i listen to that, and i've heard

to offset the cost of getting a security clearance for federal jobs as well as a program or afghanistan iraq veterans. the bill was signed into law that would outlaw the synthetic drug. bath salts can be inhaled or ingested. it mimics the height of cocaine. maryland passed a similar ban on bath salts of the natural october. you can read more about the dangerous effects of bath salts on our web site wbaltv.com. now in tonight's education alert, the city were regain control over the full system if the baltimore lawmaker gets his way. keith mitchell has introduced a bill that would return authority to appoint the school board and also the district ceo to the mayor. right now they jointly appoint a board members. he says it is time to change that. >> as i have stressed to my colleagues and others, this is not a knock on the dr. alonzo. is not a knock on the current school board. it is a way baltimore city can control its school system and continue to progress moving forward. >> mayor stephanie rawlings blake says she favors more funding for schools. in other news tonight the man accused of plott

in afghanistan and iraq, over the last decade, the u.s. fielded a huge armies. this huge machine faces its greatest challenge economics. >> three years ago -- >> president obama says the huge deficits are a chance to repair ties. he admits defense cuts of the least $450 billion over 10 years and possibly as much as a trillion will hurt. >> the military will be leaner, but the world must know that the united states is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible, and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats. >> the army and marines will bear the brunt of the cuts with large reductions in the numbers. the rise of china made the shift in focus to the asia-pacific region. there will be continued investment in high-tech weapons. america's military future is being watched closely in places like annapolis, md., a town with a history of training new recruits. in this diner, we found most of the regular is worried a smaller military between bigger risks. >> we are more likely to have terrorist activity. >> we cannot d

if you reduce it to a bumper sticker, it would say no more wars like iraq and afghanistan. >> as we look beyond the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the end of long-term nation building with large military footprints, we will be able to ensure our security with smaller conventional ground forces. >> reporter: the president and his advisers held up libya where the u.s. committed air and naval power but no land forces as a model for future wars. and joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey cited the pacific as the future theater of competition, if not conflict. >> all of the trends, demographic trends, geo political trends, economic trends and military trends are shifting toward the pacific. >> reporter: dempsey is talking about the rise of china. that and the hard earned lesson the u.s. could could not afford to fight two wars simultaneously in iraq and afghanistan are perhaps the biggest game-changers of the past decade. you could say the new strategy is finally catching up with the real world according to defense secretary pa net a, it adds up to a smaller army and marine corps and more air

in iowa, ey doon't want to be in afghanistan, iraq. what does not work nationally works really well in iowa. also he is organized, he has a wholnetwork there. >> i watched him with the veterans' group this week in iowa. substantial crowd there in a number of young people going out to him and saying, "dr. paul --" they refer to him as dr. paul -- "i am honored to be in your presence." he is like a cult figure with some of the young people out ere and with the veterans as well. >> that's right. has the biggest veterans' support of anybody in the state as of this moment. >> is one of the places -- iowa is one of the places where you still see retail politics. this is worth its weight at the beginning of the primary season, but not everybody is still on its continued significance in the nominating prorocess.. gail c collins in all but a " -- in "the new york times" poke fun at the state for being out rep. does it deserve all this criticism, and thomas -- evan thomas? >> yes and no. [laughter] >> there is a bold statement. >> it is not repr

as we look beyond the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the end of long term nation building with a large military footprint will be able to ensure our security with smaller conventional ground forces the white house and the pentagon are committed to increasing its presence in the asia pacific region while maintaining cost savings by getting rid of expensive cold war era systems though according to reports there are no plans to mothball any of the eleven nuclear powered carriers that the u.s. navy has obama's plans were assailed by many republicans including several vying for the opportunity to run against him in november the president's proposals to dramatically reduce our defense spending in my view weakens our military and puts it at greater risk for the obama winding up his first and possibly only term in the white house the future of the department of defense may be left up to his successors in the from the or another republican candidate takes over the white house next january it seems unlikely that obama's policy would stay in place with the exception of congressman ron paul all th

. >> if you total up all the time you spent in iraq and afghanistan, what are the numbers? >> a lot more time in iraq and afghanistan. at this time i did for trips to afghanistan. i think i spent four of the last six christmases there. it has been my life. >> you're how old? >> i am now 31. it has been a long decades. >> your college is what? >> nyu. i studied english. it's certified me to join the workforce. while i started at "newsweek" as an unpaid intern working for being is international. >> you say in your book that there are 27,000 working pr people in the pentagon spending $4.7 billion a year. 27,000? where did you get that number? >> it includes a broader number, not just propaganda folks. it goes from software programs. the pentagon is making auditors are social media. there has been a recent example where the army is using a program that monitors how may times bradley manning is mentioned. it goes through the massive public relations apparatus that all branches of the military have. i have often thought about this. there are more public relations people on a gener

and we're showing what does happen every day in iraq and afghanistan. >> the man in the net is scott olsen. >> we're doing this for them. >> the iraq war veteran injured in october when occupy oakland demonstrators clashed with police. >> i'm not 100% yet. but i'm feeling better every day. he says he came out to stand with fellow veterans against a law they say gives the president more power to redetain terrorists. this happened in iraq and afghanistan can happen, here. and they serve formed their street theater in front of banks and government building. >>s. >> reconstruction projects had less than when saddam hussien was in power. >> when asked to respond a spokeswoman reply nod comment two. words scott else onsays are not in his vocabulary in spite of injuries. >> i'm not going to be shut off and stay home. i'm going come out. i'm going keep doing this, what i believe in. and tonight they will be joining forces to march through the city as the sun sets. we'll bring live coverage of that march right here on abc 7. live in san francisco abc 7 news. >> thank you very much and a little

they don't want to be in afghanistan, iraq. isolationism does not work nationally, but works real well in iowa. also, he is organized. he has a whole network there, has been there along t -- has been there a long time. >> i watched him with a veteran's group this week in iowa. substantial crowd, but a number of young people went up to him and said, "dr. paul --" they refer to him as dr. paul -- "i am honored to be in your presence." he is almost like a cult figure with some young people out there, and with some veterans as well. veterans will support him. >> he has the biggest veterans' support of anybody in the state as of this moment. to follow up on what colby king had to say, are we making too much of iowa? it is one of the few places where you still see retail politics, where candidates have to answer questions from real- life people like here dressers and truckdrivers. but not everyone is sold on the continuing significance in the nominating process. gail collins in "the new york times" poke fun at this week at the state

winding down in iran and afghanistan, is the president right to reduce troop numbers? >> the war is not over in iraq as we have seen in number of weeks. the war is not over in afghanistan. the war against the tide is not over. certainly we are in a better position against al qaeda than we were. certainly, the rot can handle their own problems with the war's not over until the enemy except to feet. -- iraq can handle their own problems. the war is not over until the enemy accepts defeat. >> the crucial issue is working out who the enemy is. the president is putting more emphasis on cyber warfare. >> he is right to emphasize cyber warfare but the real trick here is not to try to be right. it is to try to not beat too wrong because you cannot predict the future. the clinton administration never thought they were going to get into haiti, somalia. the bush administration did not come in thinking that they would be nation builders in iraq and afghanistan. reality has a way of imposing itself. from my perspective, the real decision is not to get the balance of power too far out of balance. my fear is that

in my view both afghanistan and iraq was totally illegal under international law and they have actually created far more problems than they have solved if we have solved any problems at all going back to . nine eleven. that was a heinous crime not an act of war and the united states response to it was totally disproportionate. in fact point i just made about being. a crime the former head of the u.k. m i five security service recognized that in recent lecture. eliza manning and buller and. there were a number of other options a military attack on afghanistan which could have been pursued as i and other said at the time. the consequences that followed from from my hat are the present state including the rise of visual mist in various places so i'm afraid that i do think that the. united states has actually harmed its own security by its activities in the last ten years matthew if i go back to you in madison one of the interesting things is if you want to jump in there but i'd like to talk about the militarization of the american american economy because i had first. well i just want to p

if you reduced it to a bumper sticker it would say: no more wars like iraq and afghanistan. >> as we look beyond the wars in iraq and afghanistan and the end of long-term nation building with large military footprints we'll be able to ensuring our security with smaller conventional ground forces. >> reporter: the president and his advisors held up libya, with where the u.s. committed air and naval power but no land forces, as a model for future wars. and joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey cited the pacific as the future theater of competition if not conflict. >> all of the trends-- demographic trends, geopolitical trends, economic trends and military trends-- are shifting toward the pacific. >> reporter: dempsey is talking about the rise of china. that and the hard-earned lesson that the u.s. could not afford to fight two wars simultaneously in iraq and afghanistan are perhaps the biggest game changers of the past decade. you could say the new strategy is finally catching up with the real world according to defense secretary panetta, it adds up to a smaller army and marine corps and

they have been at war for many years, some of them being transferred from barack to afghanistan -- from iraq to afghanistan, and some of them are not cut out for that kind of work. that is not an excuse. is inexcusable. it may be an explanation of how these people get in this state of mind. >> in other news, the arab league has confirmed two of its observers have quit the mission to syria. syria is continuing its crackdown on protesters. meanwhile, clashes continued in the east of the country, and reports from homs say the regime continues to fight with demonstrators their. other observers are joining at the opposition, the free syrian army. to importance eurozone countries -- two important purism countries have good news. >> the worst of the eurozone debt crisis is behind us. they met with very strong demand, prompting a drop in borrowing rates for both countries, are rise on the road, and a rally in european stock markets. >> there was relief in madrid. spain's government bond auction raised twice as much capital as the target. three-year bonds sold at a yield of 3.8%. only recently borrow

so to speak of us as pull troops out of iraq would feel like thousands of contractors behind president obama said it was draw all day for u.s. forces in afghanistan which is due in twenty fourteen but winding down the decade of being conclusive wars in iraq and afghanistan won't necessarily mean less wars but rather wars of a different shape shape that was outlined to us this morning the us is already fighting this new kind of warfare on multiple fronts in different countries with the use of air force with the use of drones levy is one example the whole country was destroyed mainly from air pakistan is another example not not a successful one though people in pakistan are infuriated by u.s. strikes we end up killing many civilians and as it happened recently their own pakistani soldiers over washington said the strike was a tragic mistake the u.s. will have to do a lot of damage control work to help the pakistani leadership overcome the humiliation so although the u.s. administration looks at the old strategy of ground wars is passe and irrelevant in this day and age yet it's not clear what result the new strategy will bring. well as it will hold

after a decade of war in iraq and afghanistan, the united states is embarking on the biggest change in military strategy in a generation. president obama has announced a far reaching and defense review announcing cuts of half a trillion dollars, thousands of job losses, and a shift in focus to the asia-pacific region. >> since the cold war, america has fought with overwhelming power backed by a vast budget spent in afghanistan and iraq, the u.s. fielded huge armies. military might protecting hard power across the globe. now they face their greatest challenge economically. >> three years ago -- and >> president obama says that huge government deficits are a chance to prioritize penn to defense cuts of $450 billion and possibly as much as a trillion will hurt. -- president obama says that huge government deficits are a chance to prioritize. defense cuts of 450 billion will hurt. >> we will make our forces agile, flexible, and be prepared for a full range of contingencies and threats. >> the army and marines will bear the brunt of the cuts with large reductions in numbers. the rise of chi

iraq. we arrested and reversed the taliban's momentum in many areas of afghanistan.s again on behalf of those with whom i have been privileged to serve since 9/11 that i accept this award today. as i thought about my remarks today, i thought i might share some of the especially memorable moments of my career over the past decade in particular in which i had the honor of soldiering alongside reserve officers and those they have led. for our reserve components have played an absolutely essential role in iraq and continue to do so in afghanistan and in fact in many other locations in my old areas of responsibility and elsewhere around the world. indeed, in those done countries, our citizen soldiers without whom we could not keep our nation secure. four years ago almost to the day, i was on 18 january -- i had the great privilege on the 100th anniversary of the u.s. army reserves to reenlist 100 reservists. i was the commander in iraq at the time, and i was a true honor to use that occasion to thank all of our great citizen soldiers for their considerable contributions,

. >> the administration is in the midst of a strategic pivot from afghanistan and iraq over to asia. at the same time, there are growing calls from the political sphere and congress especially, let's pull american troops outside of europe. you think that that's a mistake. why? >> the term strategic pivot is a mistake. perhaps one moves troops outside of europe, but one has to think of the strategic pivot not of the united states, but of the west. largest economic space in the world. >> 450 million people. >> absolutely. whatever you measure, if we are pivoting, it is because it is the biggest shift of political influence and economic influence since the 18th century. from west to east and from west to south. but what you don't want it to be is a shift of values. you have to bring your community values with you. that is the us, europe, it is also japan, also australia, also our friends in latin america. so we have to actually look at the world differently and to talk about the united states pivoting, without taking our common values along, would be a mistake. >> how, what is the best

america has reduced numbers in afghanistan and pulled troops out of iraq. they're trying to deal with the damage but do not expect any change in policy. >> there is news of another legal issue involving u.s. armed forces. the military is suggesting a court-martial for bradley manning. reasonable grounds are present to say that he did commit what he is accused of. >> he is serving in iraq and he is accused of taking classified documents and leaking them to the website, wikileaks. this includes classified cables and what are called the warlocks. he is accused of taking and leaking a video that shows a helicopter attack in iraq. he has been in custody in a military facility since he was arrested and now he has been facing what is called an article 32 hearing. this is whether he should stand trial. the hearing, the priding lost the presiding officer has recommended that bradley manning should face a full court martial. -- the presiding officer has recommended that bradley manning face a full court martial. if he's found guilty, he could face life in military co

winding down in iraq and afghanistan, is the president right to withdraw troops? >> these are two issues. the war is not over in iraq as we have seen in a number of weeks. the war is not over in afghanistan. the war against al qaeda is not over. certainly we are in a better position against al qaeda then we were. certainly, iraq can handle their own problems but the war is not over until the enemy subs defeat. until we and those wars in the most positive way, that will have a negative influence on the next decade. if the violent extremists concluded that they beat us, this will not be 18 years of peace. >> the crucial issue is to look at who the enemy is. -- this will not be 10 years of peace. >> he is emphasizing cyber warfare, is that correct? >> he is correct to do that but the trick is not to try to be right it is to not be too wrong because it cannot predict the future. the clinton administration never thought that they were going to get into haiti, somalia. the bush administration did not come in thinking that they would be nation builders in iraq and afghani

a little humbling to be following general patrice it was deployed to places like afghanistan, iraq and space and i deploy at a library. i will try to be brief and try to get a conversation going, because we of a number of big subjects. i am honored to be speaking before my good friend, who i know will get a very and for speech very important today. and with a generally supportive word about where the administration is going, but a few questions and concerns. in the interest of conversation, i will focus on the latter. let me say how much of an honor it is to be with you. i know we have leaders from yesterday, today, and tomorrow in this group were so interested in our national security and do so much for it and sacrificed so much for it. as a civilian i can only humbly say how much i appreciate and admire what you do for our nation. think you for that great privilege. let me talk about where we stand with the defense budget. -- thank you for the great privilege. i think the administration is general the right on track for looking for savings for 400 billion-500 billion over the next de

and this is exactly what we're seeing but this is not new again this is what they've done in iraq and afghanistan is created deliberately the conditions for civil war because they're scared of these countries which are resource rich countries at least in the case of iraq and libya three scared of them being independent countries that are able to have some regional influence in the world so sorry. we're out of time i'm afraid down but thank you very much for your thoughts there from from london. now it's the second day of business he divorced as the world's financial decision makers and top brass politicians make new plans to keep the global crisis and bay while making some profit along the way too may be also on the table at the world economic forum in switzerland is fallout from the arab uprisings and finding ways to try to breathe new life back into the struggling eurozone wrapping it all up parties lauren lyster in dab was. today we heard from david cameron u.k. prime minister who had quite a different message than what we heard from angela merkel yesterday when she opened up davos so david ca

that while president obama went through went through over with the promises to scale back on iraq and afghanistan and he's been. he's been actively believe building a platform for possibly new wars and also just about the other promise that that he did not even mention in this speech and that is to shut down guantanamo he promised to shut down guantanamo by the end of twenty eleven but you know instead we have seen him signing the indefinite detention act which are infuriated so many americans of course he talked about america's mission to hunt down terrorists globally president obama certainly prides himself on his role in killing osama bin laden and a number of other terrorists but the means by which the u.s. is going about that task chasing down terrorists raises a lot. of red flags that there is a crisis in the west pakistan relations because pakistanis are you created by the right right kind of thing many of the things that happened recently their own pakistani soldiers some experts argue that washington is doing it what washington is doing is fighting terror and provoking terror at the same

iraq. they have reduced numbers in afghanistan. a tentative peace process with the taliban is under way. do not expect any change in policy. >> what will the fallout from this video be? i am joined by a u.s. army veteran in iraq and afghanistan. he is the senior fellow at the center for security. this is not another abu ghraib. it is not going to have the same impact that did. >> to a degree, the die has been cast in afghanistan. the timetable for withdrawal was set in stone. the taliban shrugged this off. negotiations are going to proceed along a separate line of operations. >> we have the u.s. secretary of state coming out and condemning this. parks as well she should have. the response from u.s. and nato spokespeople has been appropriate. it is deeply embarrassing for the united states marine corps. these marines have disgraced the marine corps and the country. >> did you think that these kinds of incidents happen more often or less often than in previous conflicts? is it the nature of communications today and to get these on line quicker? >> perhaps less often if you look at the offic