the organization -- al qaeda's ideology. the organization as individuals involved of the talk about this on things like blogs. i notice a difference in the statements after fort hood and then after the december 25 attempt. they were different statements. the guy is trying to figure out -- he doesn't have a problem justifying fort hood, military target. and there's a lot of shucking and jiving after the december 25 attack. it would have been a better idea if it had been a military target. no kidding, chief. this ideology is killing itself. the most recent example to my mind is an organization that slowly establishes some version of safe haven that takes the brilliant step of doing the same thing again. killing so many pakistanis that the pakistan the parliament has now said that they better go after these boys. you have the most sustained operations in the tribal areas and outside the tribal areas that we've had since 9/11. i think many people in these countries still believe some of the motivations for al qaeda are -- but be

look at the way they think about al qaeda. i did not think they are interested in dealing with them. i think they look at lower level activity and say, they are bleeding our enemy. they did arrest a leadership council in spring of 2003. i think the story is a little bit fuzzy. they are bleeding the enemy. >> please identify yourself. >> suzanne spaulding. thank you. that was outstanding. >> thank you. >> i want to ask about the domestic threat. whether ec these smaller-scale of times as the -- whether you see these smaller-scale attempts as the tail end of the common. you're familiar with the united kingdom's efforts. they have a large scale homegrown threat and a pillar of their prevention efforts that outreach to muslim communities as compared to enhanced electronic surveillance as ways of addressing homegrown concerns.. >> i think that the operational implications of the mist pesticides threat -- of the threat -- if you have three kids in a basement, the prospect of any security service will find every one of those is zero.

the organization -- al qaeda's ideology. the organization as individuals involved of the talk about this on things like blocks. i notice a difference in the statements after fort hood and then after the december 25 attempt. they were different statements. he does not have a problem justified for hood. and there's a lot of shucking and jiving after the december 25 attack. this ideology is killing itself. the most recent example to my mind is an organization that slowly establishes some version that takes the brilliant step of doing the same thing again. they killed so many pakistan is that the pakistan the parliament has now said that they better go after these boys. you have the most sustained operations in the tribal areas and outside the tribal areas since we have had since 911. -- a sense 9/11. -- since 9/11. the headings overseas and body parts in bali, these are not winning propositions. i can tell you, going back to when we first sat at those tables that i went back to in january of 2002, the world seemed extremely tur

together, with the greater efforts of the pakistanis to hunt down al-qaeda in their own country, al-qaeda are now under pressure on both sides of the border. 18 months ago, the then prime minister told the house thht some 3/4 of the most serious terrorist plots against britain had leaked from thh border area. i'm advised that the threat from al-qaeda from afghanistan and from pakistan has reduced. i am also advised that if it were not for the current presence of u.k. and innernational coalition forces, al qaeda would return to afghanisttn and the threat to3 the next question is how long must we stty? the afghan people do not want foreign forces on their soil longer than necessary. pritish people are really impatient for progress. our forces will not remain in afghanistan one day longer than is necessary. i want to bring them home the moment it is safe to do so. the key to success is training and equipping the afghan security forces at every level to take on the task of securing their countty so that afghans can chart their own way in the world without their country posing a threat to othe

it is from here they gain safe haven to the al qaeda network. that is why the operation is crucial to the success of the nation. we went into homeland with 3000 troops. i do not think anyone argues that was sufficient. -- into helmland with 3000 troops. i do not think anyone argues that was sufficient.+ we have more than 10,000 troops in the country as a whole. with the continued growth of the afghan security forces, we are evening out the presence in the main areas. this is an absolutely crucial point. in the past we have not had an of soldiers. it is much improved. the force in addition to contributions from other partners have given a huge boost. for example, the marines have arrived with 80 helicopters of their own, which are available to support, and it is clear we have made real progress this year. a degree of normal life has returned to places, where the bazaar has opened and people are going about their daily basis. the progress is not irreversible. there will be tough fighting and afghan forces will push the insurgents out of villages.

i would ner take my eyes off of al-qaeda. we will always watch them.e are helping to build the capacityn iraqi special operations forces that when we leave 2011, they will have the capability to continue to go after the extremist element inside iraq. we're working very hard on that moving forward. >> are you keeping your qrs somewhere handy? >> it depend on the timing. i would say, 50,000 soldiers, i feel pretty comfortable that at is enough for me to do. again, i cannot stress enough how much the iraqi security forces have improved, how much better they are, how much more they do. that is what is different between now and 2006, 2007, 2008, theontinued development. >> b there will not be u.s. combat troops after the first of september? >> the bottom line is, our missio to train and advise. i need to train and advise iraqi combat troops, i need combat troops to train and advise. so, they will be in that role. if there is a terrorism operation, there will be combat capability. >> you have talked repeatedly about how comfortableou are with 50,000. do you

recently, when two of the top al qaeda leaders, al qaeda iraq leaders were killed, that is the iraqi security forces were very much involved in that and every time i both either see or ask about this issue, they are in the lead, and there is a great confidence in them, particularly their ground forces. we are working through their naval capability and we are working to evolve their aviation capability but they have been particularly strong. what general odierno will also speak to what is, he was taken back a little bit by they way they see this requirement. when we came out of the cities a year ago last june, their country, a lot of pride in what they do and they really have stepped up and made a difference. >> thank you. >> mr. chairman thank you very much. welcome. mr. secretary, senator cochran i think asked in his rhetorically in his opening statement about the supplemental. i think we were told earlier that the supplemental had to be completed by memorial day. it was of course not and the senate has completed it at what is the date by which you are not able to make the payments

of al-qaeda training camps, al-qaeda weapons training programs, the location of al-qaeda statehouses, locations a senior al-qaeda leaders, al-qaeda security protocols, operatives for planned attacks, and nformation about plots to attack u.s. interests. i think i can tell you, from my work with our intelligence community partners, and i have a good relationship with a lot of these guys, including the national counter-terrorism center for example, they believed the criminal justice system has provided useful information that has helped them to do their jobs. that is the basic outline of the affirmative arguments and some of the evidence for it. there is so much more is that i could say, but i kind of want to move through this so that you do not all just leave before i am done. i think what i would like to do is, having outlined the basic affirmative arguments, let me take up some of what i perceive to be the argument on the other side, that is argument against using law-enforcement as a the first argument that i heard is that there is some kind of inherent tension between national secu

a telephone numbers and e-mail adess by al qaeda. al qaeda recruiting financing and geographical. interest tradeaft to avoid detection in the wst. experience in the location of a qaeda traning camps al qaeda weapons programs and exploves training. location of al qada safe houses. residential locations of al qaeda figes. al qaeda communications methods and security protocols, identification of operatives involved in pstore planned attacks and infrmation about plans to attack u.s. intert. and i can tell you from y work with our intelligence cmmunity partners, and i have a pretty good relatnship with a lot of these guy including the national country veron center for ple, they believe the criminal justice system ha provided usefulinformation that helps them do their jobs. so, that's the basicutline of thfirmativearument. and some of the evence for it. and there is somuch more that i coulsay that kind of want to live throug this so tat you all don't leave before i'm done. andi think whai woulike do this sort of havinoutlined the basic rmat of argument let me take up some of what percei

network, establishing links with other al qaeda groups. he saw, as a chance -- he saw it as a chance to reduce the impact and the attractiveness of the radical islamic theology. he did it in the very step-by- step process. he spent lot of time. -- he and his associates spent a lot of time through the endowment organization. they inttrviewed these people and they found out what was at the core -- why they became radicals. systematically, they, in effect, kind of tore down the theology by having moderate shakes come in and talk about the real value of islam. -- sheiks come in and talk about the real volume of islam. he methodically went in to talk about the political tenets they seemed to espoused by arguing that the libya they had left several years ago and then come back to was a different place. this resulted in the first wave of releases last year and the most recent one of about 214 people, which was very highly publicized. i think several scholars from around the world ttended it. the question will be what will be the polyps -- the fol

abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al qaeda wherever it exists. it to buy, i have returned from a trip from the gulf coast to talk to about a battle that is assaulting our shores and our citizens. on april 20, an explosion ripped through the deep water horizon -- about 3,000 milee off the coast of louisiana. 17 others were injured. a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing in the water. because there has never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. that is why just after the rig sank, i assembled a team of our best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge, a team led by nobel prize-winning physicist and ourrnation's secretary of energy. experts from academia and from oil companies have provided ideas and advice. as a result of these efforts, we have directed bp to mobilize additional equippent and technology. in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90% of the oil leaking out of the well. this is until the company finishes growing a relief well t

you had the hard core al qaeda in iraq. very strands of insurgent elements. >> in the thousands >> certainly. our policy of withdrawing in july of 2011, as i under it, we're going to begin to withdraw in july of 2011. the only thing to question is the pace of the withdrawal, is that fair? >> indeed, senator, as i described it -- i want to get you a copy of the statement i made this morning because i tried to provide a very precise description. >> july 2011 begins a process, a responsible draw down of the surge force and includes the beginning of a process of transition of some tasks to afghan officials and forces based on conditions and, again, all of this based on conditions. >> i want to make sure i do understand because you told senator kauffman it doesn't matter if we leave just a matter of how quick we leave. is that not true? >> based on conditions. given current projections. again, senator, i want you to read the statement i gave at the outset. >> as of june 2012 do you anticipate us having more or less than 50,000 a

in other words, we believe the evidence suggests they are members of al qaeda. they have all gone before a habeas judge, and the judge agreed, but they are never going to be tried in a traditional fashion. is the administration's decision in your opinion consistent with power under the law of war to do that? >> well, as solicitor general, senator graham, i have argued the position, that this is fully legal. >> and i'm aware of that very well. you've argued that this president and all future presidents has the ability to detain an enemy combatant with sufficient process if the executive branch believes at they are dangerous and not require them to go through a normal criminal trial. and what we have to do is find out what that procs would be, this hybrid system. you argued against expanding habeas rights to baghram detainees held in afghanistan, is that correct? >> i did, senator graham. >> as a matter of fact, you won. >> in the -- >> in the d. circuit. >> initially. >> you probably won't be able to hear that case if it comes to the supreme court, will you? >> t

supports an afghan-lead process that will break ties with al qaeda and live under the afghan constitution in all of its requirements. let me conclude by underscoring -- underscoring that our overall assessment is that we're heading the right direction in afghanistan. of the 121 key districts identified last year, if you were assessed at that time to be sympathetic or neutral to the afghan government. by march of this year, that number had climbed to 73 districts. this and other indicators suggest that we are beginning to regain the initiative and the insurgency is beginning to lose momentum. that said, the outcome is far from determined and these are still earlier days. his only a matter of time since the president's announcement. and i briefed this committee in february, i said that we will face setbacks even as we achieve progress. none of what we're doing in afghanistan in false easy fixes. they are long-term solutions -- problems that require flexibility. we are making progress, sometimes slow but we believe steady. we're confident that general mcchrystal will show more progress by th

in other words,we believe the evidence suggests they are members of al qaeda. they have all gone before a habeas judge, and the judge agreed, but they are never going to be tried in a traditional fashion. is the administration's decision in your opinion consistent with power under the law of war to do that? >> well, as solicitor general, senator graham, i have argued the position, that this is fully legal. >> and i'm aware of that very well. you've argued that this president and all future presidents has the ability to detain an enemy combatant with sufficient process if the executive branch believes that they are dangerous and not require them to go through a normal criminal trial. and what we have to do is find out what that process would be, this hybrid system. you argued against expanding habeas rights to baghram detainees held in afghanistan, is that correct? >> i did, senator graham. >> as a matter of fact, you won. >> in the -- >> in the d.c. circuit. >> initially. >> you probably won't be able to hear that case if it comes to the supreme court, will you

has killed or captured hundreds of terrorist leaders, including much of the top leadership of al qaedaand the taliban. disrupting their ability to plot an attack on our country. the attempted christmas day bombing and the attempted bombing of times where reminded us all that our enemy is still intend to do as grave harm. those plots were foiled not by chance but by the vigilance of law enforcement and intelligence, first responders, and importantly, ordinary citizens. but even a foiled plot is a lesson in our own abilities and the ways in which terrorists attempt to exploit them. that is what president obama demanded that our intelligence community closely study and applied the lessons of those plots. president obama also demonstrated that he learned the lessons the bush administration's conduct in afghanistan, where frankly, years of neglect allowed for the taliban's resurgence. president obama listened closely to opposing views on the way forward in afghanistan. for the first time in years, we have a clear counterinsurgency strategy in afghanistan. drawing on the poor and cooperation

and lastly, i want to talk about his role in relationship with al qaeda, specifically al qaeda in thearabian peninsula and what if any role he had relationship with them. so, al-alwaki has been as intested me since 2004, 2005. he first popped up in an fbi investigation of he northern virginia feeble group, this is a group of 11 young men that were stying under someone called on we are a maniac who was originally iraqi but was born in washington d.c., spent his adolescence in saudi arabia and then returned. andy had been encouraging these gentlemeto go fight in afghanistan. and he started appear in ome of the investigation and on the case file. and what really struck me and a lot of people after that was his relationship with two of the 9/11 hijackers of the mosque here in fall stretch. and so, i is sort of started -- kept tabs on him from a distance and even until today, even having this event now, it's sort of hard to take down wife disguise significant? .. won over his head so even when they think he is torn between the two places divided between yemen and amerca, so he has this per

recently, when two of the top al qaeda leaders, al qaeda iraq leaders were killed, that is te iraqi security forces were very much iolved in that and every time i both either see or ask about this issue, they are in the lead, and there is a great confidence in them, particularly their ground forces. we are working through their naval capability and we are working to evolve their aviation capability but ty have been particularly strong. what general odierno will also speak to whats, he was taken back a little bit by they way they see this requirement. en we came out of the cities a year ago last june, their country, a lot of pride in what they doand they really have stepped up and made a difference. >> thank you. >> mr. chairman thank you very much. welcome. mr. secrety, senator cochran i think asked in his rhetorically in his opening statement about the supplemental. i think we were told earlier that the supplemental had to be completed by memorial day. it was of course not and the senate has completed it at what is t date by which you are not able to make the payments you need to make in te

. >> there are reports that the al qaeda #3 has been killed. >> in talking with -- obviously al qaeda has commented on loss of this individual. and we welcome his demise. in speaking with john brennan and others today, i did not ask specifically the question of in comparison. john was quite clear in saying this is the biggest target to be either killed or captured in five years. and it is somebody who enter a plea understood -- entered correctly understood and was on top of the financing of al qaeda. this is unquestionably a severe blow. >> when did the president learned of this or to market >> now believe the answer was yes today but i will the to the answer on that. >> any worries that this bill will consume everything until all this and the domestic agenda is hobbled? you are hoping it would be about jobs, jobs, jobs. >> i think we get economic figures in order to gauge where we are in the recovery. today the increase in manufacturing index above what had been expected and the largest spending increase in construction and 10 years aided by the recovery at, and we get a sense of whe

and they are also sympathetic to al qaeda. they gave them unfettered access to whatever they needed to hold their training and preparing to attack us. winning will mean taking that away from the taliban, al qaeda, so that they cannot have a land where they can freely prepare to attack us. we are not going to create a united states of america in afghanistan but we have to give them the ability to govern their country, to not have the safe havens for terrorists to attack us from. host: tony in california. democratic line. caller: republicans keep talking about government regulations. bp is the result of last government regulations. we see the same thing happening in the auto industry. the more we hear republicans talk about a less government, the more i feel unsafe and the more money we see spend on war, so that we can get the oil. the republican party just needs to say it. we are the gop, gas, oil, and petroleum. guest: i am probably not going to change his mind. i come from a small business background. i grew up in a family bu

>> al qaeda in iraq is about -- it has not changed. they want complete failure of the government in iraq. it is a tall task for them now, as compared to maybe 2005 or 2006. they still sustain that thought process. it has nothing to do with the united states. they continue to look for safe havens. they look for territory set are not governed. they want to form a territory inside of iraq that they can take it and to channel. that is what they will continue to look for. i believe that they will have a difficult time in an iraq, but they will certainly continue to try. trucks the counter-terrorism -- >> the counter-terrorism commission, what do you see as the u.s.'s role in that going forward? >> every counter-terrorism target that is executed inside of iraq, is approved by their government. we do independent -- we do know independent operations in our rock. every counter-terrorism mission we do is a combined mission to fix some, are iraqi-only. what we are helping them to develop between now and the end of 2011 is about how you go after a

he talked about defeating al qaeda. he said we are a nation at war.stion is, will he back up his military, as that deadline gets closer, and remain muscular if he's under a lot of pressure in his own party not to be that way. >> larry: michael, is general mcchrystal confident about an eventual victory there? >> general mcchrystal recently called his sort of centerpiece operation in marjah a bleezing ulcer so that doesn't reflect the sort of confidence one would expect from the commanding general. so -- as you look at his other -- the other public comments he makes, they're all cautiously optimistic. even calling them cautiously optimistic might be an optimistic way to characterize them. afghanistan being a long hard fight. so i think it's -- you know, i think there's definitely a question of how much -- how confident they believe they were in an eventual win. >> larry: peter is this a demotion for petraeus? peter beinart? >> well, on paper, but it also just adds to the myth of petraeus as, you know, the one guy who can really save us in this circumsta

in short, we cannot allow al qaeda or other transnational extremist elements to on again establish a sanctuary from which they can launch attacks upon our homeland or on our allies. achieving that objective requires that we not only counter the resurgent elements. we must also help our afghan partners develop their security forces and governance capacities so that they can overtimed take on the task securing their country and see to the needs of their people. united states is not alone in seeing this is as vital national interest. 46 countries including our on our providing forces to the isaf coalition, and others like japan provide vital economic assistance. earlier this year, our allies and partners committed well over 9000 additional troops to the average, approximately 60% are currently in place and when the rest are deployed, it will bring the number of non-u.s. forces to over 50,000. that expansion takes place as we are in the final months of deploying the 30,000 additional u. troops, a deployment slightly ahead of schedule that will bring the total number of u.s. service membe

every time that you do that it goes to charity in the hands of al qaeda.ost: john boehner last i said this, "i hope the the obama administration will not try used toocut -- a crisis for political points on the backs of americans living and working on the gulf coast." dennis, upper marlboro. your next. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for c-span. first i wanted to say that i appreciate the president's management style in a crisis like this. bush shooting from the head, looking in the eyes of vladimir putin, seeing his soul in all of that kind of crap. through his eight years of running this country, all of these problems were building up. now they are falling in the laugh of this great young president. i am an african-american male. 60 years old. one thing about this nation, they seem to think that african- american men are emotional. not as cool under pressure and in a crisis. here comes obama. he is cool, calm, obviously intellectual. when you have these 24-hour news cycles constantly attacking this man from the right, from the left, from t

. >> sreenivasan: al qaeda acknowledged today its number three leader has been killed. the group announced the death of mustaf a al yazid along with his wife and other relatives. it gave no details. u.s. and pakistani officials said it happened in north waziristan along the afghan- pakistani border. they said he was killed by a u.s. missile attack last month. iraq has moved one step closer today to a possible end of its election impasse. the country's supreme court ratified the results from last march. the secular alliance, led by former prime minister ayad allawi, won two more seats in parliament than the prime miles an hourster a.l. maliki and his coalition's total but no one claimed a majority and the parties remain at odds over how to form one. in afghanistan, elite government troops recaptured a remote district in the northeast, backed by u.s. helicopters. hundreds of taliban fighters had seized the district district in a week's worth of fighting. the afghan government also defended a national peace conference that opens tomorrow. a spokesman dismissed criticism of

most of the senior leaders of al qaeda in iraq have been captured or killed in the last three months. that word came from the u.s. commander, general ray odierno, in a washington briefing today. and "the washington post" reported the obama administration has greatly expanded special forces operations against al qaeda and other extremists. the account said units have been deployed to 75 countries, up from 60 a year ago. the president has made his choice for director of national intelligence. it was widely reported late today retired air force general james clapper will be nominated tomorrow. he's currently the top intelligence official at the pentagon. if the senate confirms him, clapper would replace dennis blair, who resigned as d.n.i. last month. a massive inferno in the capital of bangladesh killed at least 117 people overnight. police in dhaka said an electrical transformer exploded and started the blaze in narrow alleys of an old neighborhood. most of the dead were trapped in two or three residential buildings. one witness described the scene. >> what i saw here can only be descr

i think the taliban and al qaeda decided they wanted their own funding source.o they develop the opium trade in the late 1990's, and it is still surging. interestingly, the military has now targeted certain senior drug kingpins if you will, as legitimate targets for predator strikes and night raids and that kind of thing. i think we're working that problem, but it is a big problem. it is necessary to cut off their cash it at all possible. host: this piece parking conversation. -- sparking conversation. harold joining us on the democrats' line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. as far as afghanistan, i do not know where to start. please let me finish. i have quite a bit to say. i am a military guy, too. i am not a general or officer. one thing i know is that when you go into war, there are three things that you do. you make sure before you put your troops in jeopardy. you have an projected. you have a plan and you have an exit strategy. none of this was done. the objective was to get bin laden and bring him to justice. then it just kept changing

well, al qaeda has been weakened in part because they do not have the run of the territory. we would be less secure if you return to the situation that existed prior to 9/11, in which they had a government that was friendly to them and willing to house their operations, and i do not think anybody would dispute that, so, a, we have got a vital interest in the region. b, we do not expect because of our involvement in afghanistan that the country is going to completely transform itself in one year or two years or five years. president karzai does not expect that. the afghan people do not expect that. afghanistan has its own culture. it is a proud culture. it has a lot of work to do with respect to development, and it is going to have to find its own path. but i reject the notion that the afghan people do not want some of the basic things that everybody wants, basic rule of law, a voice and governance, economic opportunity, a basic physical security, electricity, roads. an ability to get a harvest to market and get a fair price for it without having to pay too many brides in bet

you need to make a judgment as to whether or not leaders of al qaeda, the taliban, or what ever terrorist group or faction that may be at issue here, whether taking them out with every measure possible to take them out discreetly, to target them discreetly, is worth the price. it is a difficult judgment that presidents have to make. ultimately, they make that decision. president obama has made it clear that if we are going to succeed, it will be because, in effect, we take away the leadership of al qaeda. i think there is evidence that we have done that. i think there's evidence that we had disrupted their abilities, and the price that we have paid is the price he pointed out. and frankly, some people have paid the ultimate price. say if we cannot take out simply an individual or individuals that we clearly know without doubt are those that are acting against us, that we their full -- that we therefore will not act i think will place us in a position of not being as effective as we need to be, if we're going to take this challenge on. >> [inaudible] >> thank you. i am the south asia direc

we're going to relentlessly applied pressure on al qaeda and its leadership, strengthening the ability of both afghanistan and pakistan to do the same. that is the strategy that we agreed to last fall. that is the policy that we are carrying out in afghanistan and pakistan. in that effort we are honored to be joined by our allies and partners who have stood by us and paid the ultimate price through the loss of their young people at war. they are with us because the interests and values that we share, and because this mission is fundamental to the ability of free people to live in peace and security in the 21st century. general patraeus and i were able to spend some time this morning discussing the way forward. i am extraordinarily grateful that he has agreed to serve in this new capacity. it should be clear to everybody that he does so at great personal sacrifice to himself and to his family. he is setting an extraordinary example of patriotism by assuming this difficult post. this is a change in personnel, but it is not a change in policy. general patraeus fully participated in our re

we're going to relentlessly apply pressure on al qaeda and its leadership, strengthening the ability of afghanistan and pakistan to do the samee that is the strategy that we agreed to last fall. that is the policy that we are carrying out in afghanistan and pakistan. in that effort, we are honored to be joined by allies and partners who have stood by us and paid the ultimate price through the loss of their young people at war. there with this because the interests and values that we share, and because this mission is fundamental to the ability of free people to live in peace and security in the 21st century. general petreaus and i were able discussing the way forward. i'm extraordinarily grateful that he has agreed to serve in this capacity. it should be clear to everybody he does so at great personal sacrifice to himself into his family. and he is setting an extraordinary example of service and patriotism by assuming this difficult post. let me say to the american people -- this is a change in personnel but not a change in policy. general petreaus fully but dissipated in our review

conducted an impressive campaign to defeat the taliban, al qaeda, and other associated extremist groups in afghanistan. in the years that followed, however, members of the taliban and other extremist elements graduully reconnected in the afghanistan-august on border regions and rebuild the structure is necessary to plan and execute in certain operations -- elements -- extremist elements gradually reconnected in afghanistan- pakistan. there has been demonstrations of symbiotic relationships, ambitions, and capabilities that pose threats not just afghanistan and the region but to countries throughout the world. in response to the threat posed by these extremists, forces and afghan partners are engaged in a campaign intended above all to prevent reestablishment of transnational extremist sanctuaries in afghanistan like the ones al qaeda enjoy it when the taliban ruled afghanistan prior to 9/11. to achieve our objectives, we're working with our partners to rest the initiative from the taliban another insurgent elements, to improve security for the afghan people, to increase the quantity and

instability in the world is the monster that is going to fill the ranks of al qaeda. that is the monster that will turnragitates and to collapsed stat. it is the monster that will drivinternational crime. we have to began about a -- think aboubeginning to get our financial house in order we have to think of that is a national security imperative. that is why people who are focused on defense issues are looking with interest at the deficit question. it looks as though there will be a drive to reduce the expenditures by as much as $250 billion and maybe more per year. to bring the deficit minimally down below on the growth rate of gdp. eventually, we grow ourselves out of that. $250 billion howuch might be theentagon portion? they spent aut 19 percent of all federal spending including medicare and social security. about 56% of discretionary spending and they are sponsibleor about 65% of the growth in discretionary spending since 2001. ose are all big chunks. some people might say do not touch fense. to not touch it. that weakens us. let us takehe $250 billion out of the

wasn't growing in strength as well -- that al qaeda was growing in strength as well, that the bush and ministration -- the bush administration was confronted with that, and this administration was confronted with an economic collapse. but we also have to focus on these two wars in iraq and afghanistan. i think the administration has made it clear, and i think secretary clinton has made it clear, that civilian -- that is, winning the civilian side of the equation is critically important. i believe that is what counterinsurgency is all about. i think we're in the process, and i think the ambassadors. was clear, that it is part -- i think that the ambassador's point was clear. going overseas takes away investment from the united states. i think that we will be involved in a vigorous debate about afghanistan generally, but i think part of that to be -- part of that debate will be about the civilian side. complicating that would be what i set about making sure the dollars that are spent overseas are spent in the way we intend them to be. the "washington post" has a story today about corrupt

al-qaeda by themselves. we have to get them working with other regional neighbors to continue this fight against extremism of all kinds. it is all around the world. we will become long-term partners with them and that could add significantly to the security of the united states. >> let me bring general austin in on this. i know this agreement moves us to essentially zero troops by the end of 2011. there has been a presumption that the democratically-elected government of iraq might ask as to maintain some presence in the future. as you look around the middle east, the truth is not, just about -- that every country, we have some military presence, training, prepositioning of our troops on the ground, our military alliances. i wanted to ask you your thoughts, going forward, as you take command. if the iraqis do ask us to stay in some way after 2011, are we prepared to continue to help them? >> senator, as you have pointed out, this region is important to the united states of america. the country of iraq is imp

the al qaeda, the christmas day bomber could not blow up his hands. he did not make gasoline explode. let's spend a trillion dollars and 2/3 of our military fighting these people. i do not understand that you of it. john kerry said it well in the 2004 election when he ran on this idea that terrorism is best what with law enforcement. with spy agencies. that is how you fight this. you do not fight it with an army. and has been disappointing that this president>> larry: why do you think he supports it so much? >> he feels he is pulling out of iraq and the democrats are seen as the party that is soft on war and soft on the macho stuff. he has to have some work going. to say we're going to double down on this but we are pulling out any yearpeerk these people and afghanistan, they have outlasted the invaders for hundreds of years, thousands of years. teacake alexander the great out of there. they defeated the british. the idea we are staying there one more year is instilling a fear in them? >> larry: he said it was russia's biggest mistake to ever get invo

among them, certainly al qaeda, the hakani network, the afghan taliban and a number of others that do have sanctuaries in various parts of the border region of afghanistan. in some cases, the pakistani military has dealt with them as part of securing lines of communication for us and for themselves in their fight against the extremists that are threatening their rit of governance. in some cases there is clearly more work that needs to be done. general mcchrystal, admiral mullen and i have met with general kiani in a recent meeting. we have shared information with him about links of the leadership of the hakani network located in north waziristan that had a -- that clearly commanded controlled the operation against bagram air base and the attack in kabul among others. and again, the challenge for the pakistani military, because i think it is important again to note what they have done over the course of the last year because it is significant, the challenge is a situation which they have a lot of short sticks and a lot of hornets nests and they have to figure out how to consolidate tho

interest perspectives, al qaeda. >> the u.s. is a good ally. the united states government should be able to talk to the pakistani government and talk them out of this perception of paranoia. they live in paranoi they ink everyone is out to get them. >> [inaudible] >> afghanistan is not out to get pakistan. it is not the other way around. in practice. definitely, the indian-pakistan relation is something that has to be discussed. pakistan's perfmance should not be based on its relation with india. india's relationship with pakistan, they should create a separate track. they could start cooperating in the fata region. that cooperation could become a foundation for regional cooperation. before we do that, pakistan has to pass through some litmus tests. the u.s. is spending billions of dollars in pakistan. pakistan has received = if not more money in the past 10 years from -- equal or not more money in the past 10 years. pakistan should become more sincere about its performance. pakistan should become one pakistan. not the pakistan of the military

i mean, al qaeda is not exactly playing the a-team here. remember the christmas day bomber, couldn't blow up his pants. this guy couldn't make gasoline explode. you know, let's spend, you know, a trillion dollars and two-thirds of our military fighting these people. i don't understand that view of it. i think john kerry said it well in the 2004 election when he ran on this idea that terrorism is best fought with law enforcement, with the spy agencies. that's how you fight this you don't fight it with an army. and you know, they have been very disappointing that this president -- >> why do you think he does support it so much? >> because i think he can't lose the right-wing that much, because i think he feels like he is pulling out of iraq and the democrats are already seen as a party that's soft on war, soft to on the macho stuff. so he has to have some war going. he can't just pull out. but i think it is kind of sin knackle to say, okay, we are going to double-down on this but we are pulling out in a year, because these people over there i

initial leash the israelis planned to hold 50 activists with alleged ties to al qaeda or similar groups, but today, government spokesman mark regev announced the change of plan. >> we have no desire whatsoever to see these activists lingering in an israeli detention center. and we're asking now for their immediate return to their countries of origin. >> woodruff: that decision came after days of mounting criminal , culminateing in an order from the israeli attorney general. it said of the detainees, keeping them here would do more damage to the country's vital interest than good. ( applause ) as the deportations proceeded, 120 of the detainees were bused to jordan and greated with applause and shoudz of "allahu akbar", god is great. one freed, they gave their own accounts of what happened during monday's raid. >> ( translated ): i saw four martyrs. i saw them all shot in the head. they used snipers to kill them. >> woodruff: others accuse of israelis of mistreatment. >> they shoot, they killed people, and they never give us medical aid. they brutally behaved. they handcuffed everybody.

supports an afghan-lead process that seeks to bring back into society those who break ties with al qaeda and live on the afghan constitution and all of its requirements. that me conclude that we are headed in the right direction in afghanistan. of the 121 he districts identified by isap in december of last year, 60 were assessed to be sympathetic or neutral to the afghan government. that number has climbed to 73%. . the uncertainty is beginning to lose momentum. the outcome is far from determine. these are still early days for the administration's new strategy. it is only a matter of months since the president's announcement. when i greet this committee in february, i said we would face setbacks, even as we achieve progress. none of what we are doing in afghanistan -- long-term progress will involve patients. we are confident that general mccrystal will be able to show more progress by the end of the year. we are grateful to this committee for continuing to support our efforts. particularly, we appreciate your support for full funding for the afghan security forces, for coalition support

would not just focus on defeating al qaeda. that was the suggestion of vice president biden. mcchrystal called such a strategy short sighted. president obama castigated mcchrystal for overstepping and called for a full strategy review before event ally approving an increase. i found that time painful mcchrystal told rolling stone. i was selling an unsellable position. the article also recounts aides to mcchrystal ridiculing the vice president and one aide calling national security advisor james jones a clown. the general himself had harsh words for u.s. ambassador to afghanistan carl ikeen berry who last year questioned mcchrystal's counterinsurgency strategy. here's one that covers his flange for the history books mcchrystal told rolling stone. now if we fail they can say i told you so. mcchrystal has spoken bluntly about the war effort in the past including just last month with the newshour's geoffrey brown. >> brown: as we sit here now, is the u.s., along with its allies winning the war in afghanistan? >> i think in the last year we've made a lot of progress. i think i'd b

responsibility there but helping inform and then work with the other agencies to address vulnerabilities at al qaeda and other terrorist groupsave dicated an interest in tryin to do bad things to. so those two parts obviously hazmat carriers, those, the over-the-road truckers and freights, heavy rail, light subway, l areas that fall within that umbrella of transportation security and so confirmed i look forward to working with you a the committee to assess those vulnerabilities and to figure out the best way to manage ris by allocating resource. >> thank u, mr.chairman. >> thank you, senat hutchison. senar demint. >> thank you, mr. chaian. mr. piole, the reason that some of us are makinguch a issuef collective bargaining it's kind of a signa to us. there is no doubt i my mind you have the qualifications to mak the transportatn security agency a better agency, continuing to improve it. you know how t manage people and focus on security. t if we s youieldg to political pressure, that would suggest to us that the priories have changed and that's why it's so important to us. i mean i've got a letter fro