in baghdad, they want to develop the resources in a national way in which baghdad government has a say. and under the constitutions as they read it, they have a right to. what we need to do is find a compromise within the constitutional framework. my hope is that as iraq's oil production is increasing and is one of the good news stories in iraq right now, they are producing around three million barrels a day for the first time really in nearly 30 years. iraq's own estimates, they want to get up to about ten million barrels a day by 2017. we don't think they'll meet that, probably may plateau at about five. but still, as the resources are being developed, there is a new sense that something has to be done with the consensus for how the resources can be managed and the profits and the revenues shared. it is one of the most central issues on the domestic political agenda. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator udall? >> go ahead. >> okay, thank you. you with senator risch discussed this whole issue of hydrocarbons. and it's been reported that iraq has the goal of doubling its oil output o

my last trip in baghdad. in the midst of a political crisis, i found a new urgency to return to the table on the issue. if i'm confirmed, it will be a central priority to do everything we possibly can. we can do shuttling and figure out where is there areas of agreement? without consensus on how to manage the national hydro carbon resources, the forforces can accelerate, and i'm deeply concerned about that. >> you think the parties are amenable to that resolution? >> some of them are, and some of them aren't. there's a lot of division in baghdad among all the many parties. one of the key things to do is to try to find the leaders in a compromising frame of mind to work sometimes behind closed doors to build compromise. and it can be very difficult. i can't underestimate the challenges of this issue. the kurds want to develop their resources in their region and under the constitution, they have a right to. in baghdad they want to develop the resources in a national way in which the baghdad government has a say

ok and when they brought you to baghdad did they take you straight to jail. and taking us from one precinct to another if you don't have to the station as it was already eleven pm they brought us to a prison term or a real prison with bars and on every a prison for the lock you up together or in separate cells were placed in a single cell. did they give you any explanations they had initially told you it was for your own convenience but what did they see once they locked you often. marcellus netter we spoke to the head warden and he told this guys this is for your own safety and i stopped sorry for the tight security sorry for the handcuffs and the head bags. you had that i did yes and we walk around the courtyard single file so it's all for your own safety and you only have to spend a few days with us we were given no option for no thanks. were you allowed to keep your mobile phones in the meantime. and we usually carry several cell phones each so when they asked us to him they mean that we saw in it one phone each. of the three. after a series of bad downs

the baghdad government is having difficulties with the kurds. the real rivalry is massoud and maliki. i would just leave it at there is a constitutional system in place now. this is the third iraqi government. this is the second parliament. the iraqis are going to fight through their politics under the constitutional rules that they themselves have devised. we cannot direct outcomes through that process. when we try to do that the unintended consequences are quite enormous. but we can help bridge differences. we can mediate back and forth and be constantly actively engaged. and that's what i will intend to do if i'm confirmed. >> thank you for a very comprehensive and thoughtful answers. i appreciate it. >> thank you, senator lugar. senator udall? >> thank you, chairman casey and ranking members that are here. good to see you. and thank you for the panel being here, and very much appreciate all of your service to our country. in april of 2012, special inspector general for iraq reconstruction found in his report that there was a record low amoun

one, what is my judgment about istanbul and baghdad. and secondly, what is my view about the process ahead. i'll do that against the backdrop of a third issue, the question of the overall situations i see it at the present time. i used to frequently tell the story about the man jumping out of the umpire state building going past the 25th floor, everything was simply splendid. i have to modify that a little bit, take to it the west coast. the guy jumps off the golden gate bridge. he survives in the water and the currents sweep him away. we're sort of more in that mode at the moment than we are on the empire state building where even with the new york police holding the safety net, the chances are 99.9% death. we have struggled very hard, and so have the parties to get us to the negotiating table. and it's very important obviously that maximum use be made of this. against that backdrop, it is extremely hard to see how and in what way this process will move ahead. there are 32 years of mistrust between the united states and iran supplement

the baghdad government is having difficulty with the kurds. the real rivalry is between with the prime minister. we have to play an important role in mediating that effort. i would just leave it as there's a constitutional system in place now. this is the third iraqi government. this is the second parliament. the iraqis are going to fight through their politics under the constitutional rules that they themselves have devised. we cannot direct outcomes through the process. we can help build bridges. we can be constantly engaged. that's what i intend to do if i'm confirmed. >> thank you for thoughtful and comprehensive answers. i appreciate it. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you, chairman casey and ranking members that are here. good to see you. and thank you for the panel being here and very much appreciate all of your service to our country. in april of 2012, special general found in his report there was a record low amount of casualties for the month of march, and a drop in violence overall in the last few months. and specifically reported t

at the embassy in baghdad? so why not sending dozens of people home? >> iceni time is way expired. i guess recognize the gentleman from massachusetts would give him six minutes. >> you're very kind. thank you, mr. chairman. i've been to iraq 13 or 14 times found in a couple of things in the testimony raised some concerns for me. mr. trained for, with usaid come i understand the situation there is very, very difficult, but it seems to me that it's probably the worst situation you have, where instead juries can't get out to to review the projects the american taxpayer is paying for it. that is just a very tense situation and i'm very uncomfortable with that. i know we've been out many times with mr. bowen and has in fact very on-site in iraq. there is a certain value and u.s. personnel there, engineers to review some of these projects. we had widespread corruption has been an experience whether these projects are being to proper standards and whether some of our money is being diverted. is there any hope here? is

what is my judgment about baghdad and my view about the process ahead? i have done that against the backdrop of a third issue, the question of the overall situation i see at the present time. i used frequently tell this story about a man jumping out of the empire state building. going to the twenty-fifth for everything was simply splendid. i have to modify that taken to the west coast. a guy jumps of the golden gate bridge. he survives in the water and the currents sweep him away. we are more in that mode at the moment that we are on the empire state building where even with the new york police holding the safety net the chances are 99.9% death. we struggle very hard to get to the negotiating table and it is important obviously the maximum use be made of this. against that backdrop, it is extremely hard to see how and in what way this process will move ahead. there are 32 years of mistrust between the united states and iran supplemented by galloping misunderstanding and lack of communication has been a thoroughly and i think completely deleterious experi

embassy in baghdad is the biggest u.s. presence in the world with approximately 16,000 staff and contractors. questions remain about the state department's ability to operate in this still precarious security environment, and handle the significant work load associated with the processing of billions of dollars worth of arms sales to the iraqi government. a diplomatic presence of this size requires sustained oversight from congress, and i look forward to continued engagement with our nominee upon confirmation to ensure our footprint in iraq is the right size and that we have the right amount of resources to pursue our interests. the president has nominated brett mcgurk to represent our interests against the myriad of significant challenges in iraq. mr. mcgurk, perhaps due to his great upbringing in pittsburgh, pennsylvania is imen enthely capable to assume this position. of course, there are other reasons for his preparation, but it doesn't hurt that you have roots in pittsburgh. he's been engaged in u.s. policy in iraq si

. >> on march 5th, 2007, a car bomb was exploded on mutanabbi street in baghdad. mutanabbi street is a mixed shia-suni area. more than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. this locale is the historic center of baghdad book selling, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls. named after the famous 10th century classic poet, al-mutanabbi, this is an old and established street for book selling and has been for hundreds of years. mutanabbi street also holds cafes, stationary shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. it has been the heart and soul of the baghdad literary and intellectual community. this tragedy is part of a wider and continuing tragedy, but one that we want to isolate and address, not only for the loss of lives but also for the implications underlying the destruction of a street where books were sold. book selling on mutanabbi street is no different from book selling here. we traffic in memory, ideas and dreams. in that sense, we feel that mutanabbi street starts at the front door of all of our book shops. mutanabbi

iraq recently hosted a meeting of the arab league in baghdad, a symbol that it is a key player in the region after years of isolation under sudhussain. while i understand the violence over the past year perpetrated by assad's forces is inexcusable. iraq should join with others and use its position in the arab being to bring increased diplomatic pressure to bear on mr. assad. i also continue to have significant concerns about iran's efforts to exert influence in iraq. i look forward to hearing the nominee's thoughts on this issue and an assessment of the u.s.'s ability to diplomatically mitigate the negative effects of iranian influence in iraq. despite the continuing challenges there is positive news to build upon. this was reflected in a recent public opinion survey by the national democrat institute. found that 48% of iraqys believed that iraq was headed into right direction. oil exports have increased by 20% this year to nearly 2.5 million barrels a day. american companies have increased their presence in iraq and as mentioned violence levels have, in fact, decreased. we are seeing

we will look at this round of talks with optimism when the agreements reached in istanbul and baghdad will be respected if we do see this kind of respect we will then be able to view the negotiations in a positive light. how would you describe the main points of contention at this point of time. i believe that what should be discussed in detail is a number of proposals we put forward and the big talks with we identified five main areas four of them are related to nuclear energy while the fifth one concerns are the areas. meanwhile the other side came up with a proposal to to advance the talks we need consensus on two major issues firstly we are strongly against weapons of mass destruction today the republic of iran has the capacity to cooperate in disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation so these capacities should be used by the international community and secondly we expect that iran's right to nuclear technologies including uranium enrichment as will be recognized and respected this is something that is clearly defined by the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and i think that addressi

the attacks happened in baghdad and the city of hillah about 80 miles away. right now about 56 people are dead and dozens of others injured. officials say the bombings targeted religious processions for shia muslims. >>> right now the top of the 6:00 hour. 68 degrees and the sun making an appearance today, which is a welcome sight after all the rain we had yesterday. >> look at that. big appearance, too. meteorologist tom kierein things warming up? >> the eastern sky flooded with brass and gold on this wednesday morning and this is what our satellite radar map looked like 12 hours ago late yesterday afternoon it was covered with scattered showers and thundershowers. it was welcome rain, we needed it and did come on through and didn't produce much damage other than tree damage with some of the gustier winds. right now clear over the mountains and areas in dark green in the 50s. closer to washington, though, much of virginia, much of maryland, it's in the 60s. very beautiful morning. we do have some lower humidity beginning to move in on a northernly wind and t

in iraq today, a suicide car bomb in central baghdad killed at least 23 people. it targeted the main shiite religious affairs office, detonating right outside the building. nearly 200 people were wounded in the explosion that shattered nearby windows and damaged cars. security officials said the bombing appeared to be the work of al qaeda's iraq wing. officials in pakistan condemned a suspected u.s. drone strike that killed at least 15 people today. the attack targeted a militant

of iraq but the money is flowing in washington upgrades worth one hundred million dollars to its baghdad embassy despite cutting a third of its diplomatic staff. screen international news and comment live from our new center here in moscow with the twenty four hours a day the world's main power making desperate diplomatic attempts to break the impasse in syria which has seen no let up in sixteen months of violence despite deep divisions at the crisis conference in geneva moscow has expressed little hope that the talks may get things moving. for us. this could very well be one of the last remaining chances for the international community to help fix this problem before the violence in syria schools out into the entire region and un special envoy kofi annan has warned that any further deaths in syria will be the responsibility of world powers if they feel here a little progress has been made and there are complications for instance even though some of the key global powers are taking part in this conference i mean the permanent five members of the u.n. security council some countries who c

in iraq, a pair of bombs exploded in a crowded market in baghdad. at least 14 people died and more than 100 others were wounded. the bombs went off within minutes of each other in a largely shiite muslim neighborhood in the northeastern part of the capital. so far this month, attacks in iraq have killed more than 160 people, mostly shiites and iraqi security forces.

iraq but the money is still flowing in washington plans a hundred million dollars worth of grades to baghdad embassy despite causing a surge of with diplomatic star. hello and welcome to all t twenty following news live from moscow. a story now the world's major powers have agreed on a transitional road map for syria which they say will allow syrians to determine their own future without outside interference following a crisis meeting in geneva russia's foreign minister said the document contains no ultimatums and includes representatives from all sides of the political divide and that's exactly what russia was pushing for. they didn't manage to agree on a new plan of the transition plan as it's called the powers which do include the that it states and russia wish that in principle we consider it of the utmost importance that this document does not seek to dictate to the syrian side how the transitional process should happen politically how exactly this process will take place is up to the syrian people this document is very precise and. there are no more preconditions and no all too many ti

iraq but the money is flowing in washington plans upgrades worth one hundred million dollars towards baghdad embassy despite cutting a third of its diplomatic staff. one line on the screen international news and comment live from our new center here moscow within twenty four hours a day the world's main powers are making desperate diplomatic attempts to break the impasse in syria which is seen no letup in sixteen months of violence but we can now go live to geneva the dish a special envoy that is getting a statement following a major international meeting on how to end the syrian crisis let's have a listen to what he has a commitment to accountability and national reconciliation if it is for the people of syria to come to a political agreement but time is running out we need his steps to richard dream the conflict must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiation a load conditions conducive to a political settlement must now be put in place. the bloodshed must end. and the purchase must be prepared to put forward effective interlocutors to work with me toward a syrian led settlement

the west meanwhile is holding tight to its position that it came to in the last months meeting in baghdad where they're demanding the arrhenius halt or rhenium enrichment above twenty or at twenty percent which is close to weapons grade which again iran insists is for civilian purposes only and also ship some of that stockpile out of the country and exchange the west would give iran some supplies for its reach research reactor as well as spare parts for its airliner commercial fleet

compound in baghdad it's already the most expensive american embassy in the world why spend another one hundred million dollars if asked washington has said iraq is now enjoying peace and prosperity since the civilian presence transition in iraq well i think you may have noticed the report in the washington post by walter pincus and it's interesting to give you a little bit of insider baseball in washington it's interesting that walter pincus wrote this he's he's sort of one of the grand old men of the washington post who specialized in. in reporting scandals he's an investigative reporter former counterintelligence in the government and he's uncovered a great many scandals so just the fact that he's reporting on this and not some other regular foreign correspondent for the post gives a hint at least that there may be. something worth looking into about where all this money go it's approaching a billion or maybe over a billion dollars now that was spent on this compound in baghdad for no evident purpose other than perhaps to enrich the contractors. and the politicians who are being paid

compound in baghdad former u.s. diplomat george kennedy says this kind of spending damages america's national image while feeding taxpayer money to greedy contractors. it's approaching the billion or maybe over a billion dollars now that was spent on this compound in baghdad for no evident purpose other than perhaps to enrich the contractors. and the politicians who are being paid off but. if someone asked me what is the purpose of this facility i'd have to say well that there really isn't one it's a symbol more of american decline than it is of american power but it's not just about iraq it's about projecting power in the region and you have to ask in the old days american embassies were relatively modest affairs they were open they tried to project a sense of american idealism of democracy and so forth now we're building these enormous fortresses that ultimately of course will be abandoned and looked looked back upon as a bad joke. and you can find this in other stories online and on t. don't come also available f

on may 23, 24 in baghdad the bodies discussed specific proposals. the six powers called for iran to end its enrichment of uranium to 20% and shift its stockpile out of the country in exchange for providing 20% enriched uranium in the form of fuel plates for the tehran research reactor nuclear security assistance and critical spare parts for civilian erik. the iranians presented their own five-point plan offering greater international access to its nuclear facilities in exchange for easing of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium. iran's chief anything slator voice t disappointment about the lack of sanctions released and complained that their proposal was unbalanced. the head of the six power delegation was more positive hoping for a tangible progress at the next round of talks in moscow on june 18 and 19th. meanwhile, the head of the international agency went to tehran to discuss a framwork or structural approach for addressing specific concerns about past iranian activities. by the end of june, the united states was scheduled to

they are used a lot in baghdad. they don't cause big casualty is. they may kill one person in the car, but usually people are wounded. there are not huge explosions. that seemed to be consistent with the pictures on syrian state tv which show a lot of flames and smoke and cars on fire, but not the kind of huge damage that you get from really big bombs. >> thanks very much. russia is denying comments by a u.s. official that it has endorsed the syrian transition plan that includes a call for president assad to give up power in favor of a national unity government. the russian for ministers said they will not support any of external meddling in syria. for more on russia oppose position on the syrian prices i'm joined by a commentator on russian politics. thanks for being here. i have just been speaking to our correspondent in beirut. another bomb has gone off in damascus. this kind of escalating violence must make it so much more difficult for the diplomats who are meeting on saturday to find a solution. >> it depends how you see it. these explosions w

had the great privilege - the great privilege -- of standing before our commanders and troops in baghdad on the eve of their departure. and as i told them that day: "in the finest american tradition, having carried out your mission, you're leaving. taking nothing with you but your experiences, your achievements, and the pride associated with a hard job well done." that's what america does. in afghanistan, president obama laid out a clear strategy. our commanders refocused and redoubled their efforts on disrupting, dismantling and ultimately destroying -- defeating al qaeda, reversing the taliban's momentum and training the afghan security forces to prevent extremists from gaining ground. since then, we've taken out -- you have taken out more than half of al qaeda's senior leadership. and in a mission that will go down in the annals of intelligence and special operations, some of america's most gifted security professionals tracked down osama bin laden -- after the trail had gone cold. and in one of the most incredibly daring raids, they delivered justice to the architect of a harmful ide

latest sectarian violence -- in the capital of baghdad, four car bombs were timed to hit shia pilgrims as they gathered to commemorate one of their saints. >> the people were killed right here. this car belonged to a man who worked for a living. another one -- they could not find his body. >> shi'ites were victims of attacks, too. sunni groups feeling sidelined by a shia president. to the south, in the city of hilla, it was the police who were the targets. two car bombs exploded outside restaurants. as the wounded were treated in hospital, observers say this is turning into one of the bloodiest days in a country that has known years of religious and ethnic strife. in the north, explosions hit the headquarters of the kurdish democratic party, causing the death and destruction. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i want to ask the government why they put their party headquarters in residential areas and among civilians. bombs are still going off, killing innocent people. >> political tensions in sectarian attacks have been growing since the last american troops left iraq. the government is

people in iraq, most of the victims were shia muslim pilgrims. 11 bombs exploded early wednesday in baghdad. the targets included police checkpoints and worshippers at the shia festival. the attackers took aim at the central city. a car bomb killed four people 80 km north of the capitol. terror attacks intensified in iraq since u.s. forces withdrew last december. opponents are saying the administration is targeting the minority muslims. investigators in japan are trying to figure out officials broke international rules designed to keep north korea from building up its military. they've got documents proving a ship transporting special vehicles from china. they say the vehicles could be used as launch pads for ballistic missiles. the coast guard police and custom officials say they found export documents of the cambodian register ship during a search in october in osaka port. the firm has been designated for an asset freeze for violating sanctions violating weapons to north korea. they say the paperwork shows a ship transported four large special vehicles from shanghai to the north korean ci

the first piece of baghdad which didn't result was a small agreement. answer the trr for 20% enrichment cessation, and the third piece was perhaps some endorsement of what amano had worked out in iran over transparency, but it was clear that was not going to work because in many ways the iranians felt they should receive something more in return for it. the third point i want to make is looking ahead. here i believe an estimate of the situation has to very much take into account some of the domestic imperatives that influence both sides. in that regard, my summation is that for the united states smaller is better, particularly to begin with, and for iran bigger is better, and that's certainly where the two sides are coming at this. smaller is better for the united states, because in an election year -- i speak quite frankly -- the president takes great risks in making big compromises because the points of attack are multiplied and, indeed, explaining why he went so far particularly very early in the game is a very difficult situation. on the other hand,

a government-backed consultancy set up an opening in baghdad. the jccme office will provide information for japanese companies looking to invest or promote their businesses in iraq. the country is a promising market as it looks to develop its oil industry and rebuild infrastructure. the japanese businesses are lagging behind those of the u.s. and south korea. security concerns as well as a lack of information have slowed their entry. >> translator: we will provide information about iraq directly to japanese companies. we will facilitate their business activities. >> tokyo markets starting off tuesday in the negative. i'll leave you with a check on markets. >>> greece's new democracy party is poised to force a coalition with the partner to save the country from bankruptcy. the two parties are to form a coalition government on tuesday. the pro-austerity camp won in sunday's re-election but failed to reach a simple majority. the leader of new democracy samaras met first with the head of the radical left on monday. he came in in second in the electi