it's very fitting that we start this panel on the wall with two presentations on east germany since not only was it an east german initiative leadership to close the border, but it was of course the east germans who suffered the most for 28 years behind that wall. lou mentioned -- [ speaking german ] -- i always have two suitcases because i'm there so often working in the archives and interviewing people. most people in the united states and who grew up during the cold war assume that this berlin wall, the icon of the cold war period, was a product of moscow, that it was the long arm of moscow, it was the kremlin who had the initiative to build this wall. what's been so fascinating as lou referred to in my extensive research in the archives in moscow and berlin was to find out that in fact the soviets resisted this for eight years. the east german leader asked to seal off the border in berlin just as the border between east germany and west germany had been closed in 1952. that meant the only place left for free movement in germany was in berlin and he did not like this loophole and wan

also he pointed out the wall is well within the boundaries of east germany. they are careful not to violent the borders. i think, though, that this was a fateful decision to build a wall for the east germans, but also i think the disappointment, and here again i will emphasize this is my opinion, my interpretation. i feel that with the mayor of west berlin, he shared this anger and he was incredulous that the allies did nothing. it's my opinion that the seeds for detente were planted at that moment. that he saw, yes, we had to maintain a strong alliance, but the germans would also have to take initiative to address their own interests and they couldn't sit back and leave everything to big brother uncle sam. and so when he became chancellor, he began the policy which he referred to as politics in small steps. first and foremost aimed at recognizing some things cannot be changed, but within the framework that the communist system imposed, there could be certain humanitarian things that could be taken. families were divided. people couldn't attend funerals. all t

the managers of the east german manufacturers supplying ikea new, of course, that the work force included political prisoners. >> in every jail in germany, whether in the east or the west, prisoners can work. so that they can find their way back into society. >> if they got something out of it. they were paid. >> paid? a pittance. a profitable business for the respective bosses. and the inmates had to meet work quotas, so there was a lot of pressure on them. there were severe punishments for refusing to work. >> according to the united nations, it is not illegal for inmates to work, but that does not apply to political prisoners. but in east germany, opponents% of the regime were treated like common criminals, as a warden recalls. >> people tend to assume that the people breaking the law in east germany were criminals, but looking at it today, obviously, some were politically motivated offenses, such as trying to escape the country. the prisoners we had were mixed together. >> the dirty little secret was actually far from secret. in 1984, a fire broke out at ikea's west german headquarters. the media and the west were quick to bring up

i grew up understanding that there was always an east germany and a west germany and an east berlin and a west berlin up until 1989, 1990. you guys weren't even born then, so this is really difficult for you to comprehend, but back in the end of world war ii the soviet red army moved into and controlled much of east germany and surrounded berlin. the americans, the british, and the french are going to have a presence there simply because we have to wind up the war, we have to have negotiations, we have to have a demilitarization. we're going to have a presence in berlin. as a response to containment, as a response to everything that truman was doing, what joseph stalin did was to try to drive us out of berlin in the summer of 1948. what he's going to do is to cut off all ground access in to and out of west berlin. up until this point you could freely and easily move from one sector to the other without much of a problem or much of an issue. you show proper identification, you can simply cross from the american sector to the soviet sector, back and forth into different sectors. in june o

i grew up understanding there was an east and a west germany and an east and a west berlin until 1989, 1990. you guys were not even born. this is difficult for to you comprehend. back in the end of the world war ii, the soviet red army moved into and controlled much of east germany and surrounded berlin. the americans, the british and the french are going to have a presence there because we have to wind up the war and we have to have negotiations and have to have a demille tearization and have a presence in berlin. as a response to containment and as a response to everything truman was doing, what joseph stalin did was drive us out in the summer of 1948. what he is go going to do is cutoff all ground access into and out of west berlin. up until this point, you could freely and easily move from one sector to the other much of a problem or an issue. you show proper identification, you can cross from the american sector to the soviet seccor or back and forth. in june of 1948, stalin puts a stop to that. we are not building a wall yet. that comes later. what stalin will do is to put up a

our penetration of east germany -- i hope my cia colleague doesn't mind me saying this. our penetration of east germany was not as good as, for this kind of purpose, it should have been. >> i may comment on this issue about what was reported or not. i know the cia is sometimes criticized for not predicting events before they happen. the interesting thing about the wall, and its coming down, we were criticized. didn't the cia see this coming? didn't they know it was going to happen? the rejoinder to that is not even the east germans knew it. the government itself did not know that wall was going to open up on 9 november. what happened was there was the meeting of the politburo. the representative of east berlin was at this meeting, and then he was told to go to speak to the journalists waiting in the other room and just tell them that they were working on easing travel restrictions. he went out, whether purposely or by accident and said, guess what. we are removing all travel restrictions. and the jo

east german authorities while still maintaining their refusal to recognize the regime. united states, its allies and the soviet union then entered into a new round of negotiations, considering the future of germany. slowly at first, but with increasing clarity. they began to recognize that if western access to berlin was a vital interest to the united states, open access to east berlin, while crucial, was not important enough to justify the use of force and risk escalation to a wider conflict. thank you. [ applause ] >> we'll now go to the floor for questions. there are microphones on either side of the room. please go to one of those microphones to ask your question. please identify yourself. if you wish to ask a question to a particular panelist, identify that panelist. otherwise, you may address the panel as a whole.

kennedy, bush understood the conflict over berlin and east germany had been the most important european flash point in the cold war. it reunified germany would eliminate that flash point forever. it would allow the continent to heal like nothing else. the management of the gulf war was the last hurrah of the world war ii generation. in 1944 the british pressured roosevelt through eisenhower to raise the soviets to berlin. the race was for prestige and ensure a greater hand over the division of european spoils. but the u.s. government in 1944 and '45 rejected this political strategy, preferring to maintain commitments to the allies even if one was the murderous joseph stalin. george marshal and dwight eisenhower understood if there was any hope of a more peaceful world, it would involve establishing the rules of the road for states. the united nations was the embodiment of that. well, isn't that what george bush did by not invading bagdad? the oral histories and president bush's diary entries make clear that he very much wanted saddam hussein's regime to collapse. he hated saddam hussein

well, i was in east germany shortly after the wall opened. and i was visiting lutheran churches which played a very important role in terms of the civil society that such as it could exist in the former german democratic public but what i could seep is that this was not going to be a merger. it was going to be a takeover because people wanted what west germany had, okay? so it was an understanding then the whole momentum of the next 11 months was driven by the fact that east germans were going to come one way or the other. so understanding societies can, understanding the messaging, you know, so even if you're a diplomat in the state department, it's critically important and certainly if in the world of trade or others. so i underscore this because to me, you know, now this is -- it's like so normal it's obvious, okay? how people engage. and then of course, and you've all been part of this, how civil societies engage and one has to recognize, you know, some of them will be advocates. some of them will be participants. some of them, you know,

germany. >> look at east and west germany. you had basically two countries starting at the end of world war ii essentially from scratch. same language, same culture, same history. and they grew up obviously when the berlin wall came down productivity level in east germany was 1/3 that of west germany. when the merger occurred there was the recognition that it was going to take a significant transfer of funds to maintain the system. that flow is still going on. it hasn't fully come together. in europe it's even a broader more difficult problem. i did a piece for the financial times maybe six months ago. and i also done an analysis which i published several different places which really takes the issue of observing that when as i recall and i used to sit in on the meetings which formed the european central bank, i was part of the g-7 and i would be trying to keep my mouth shut. >> were you successful? >> no. the problem basically is that there was a general expectation within the group before the euro began, a recognition that t

they thought i meant east germany. no, i said. west germany. they were surprised and asked why. i said "for pc." i wanted to talk to gorbachev. >> what was not mentioned was out the country felt air defense failed to stop the plane. control officers were confused. he was sentenced to four years in a labor camp, but released after one year in prison in moscow. >> i am not a spy or a businessman or an adventurer. i came here for my own motives. >> the episode gave the soviet leader mikhail dobe for java -- gorbachev our reason to crack down on hard-liners in the military to oppose his reforms. hundreds were sacked. this is just what he wanted. >> that was my motivation. i wanted to support the overtop -- gorbachev. i was worried his enemies would try to get him out of office as soon as possible. and of course, if that had happened, germany would never have been reunited. >> that may sound diluted, but historians agree gorbachev managed to push forward with perestroika, even if mathias rust 's flight was not a turning point in history. he has had more precious with the police -- br

the greek left had strong ties to communist east germany, and the greek government had good relations with west germany, and the greeks themselves tended to feel a strong alliance with like-minded germans than they did with greeks on the other side of the political divide. >> few greeks think now's the time to demand reparations for nazi atrocities, but many of the voters are critical of the german government. >> the germans -- they are just out for their own interests. >> the germans are not going to help us, and neither will anyone else. we should not get our hopes up. we need to help ourselves. >> still, populists carry-on painting a picture of greece as the victim of a conspiracy. >> i'm still hopeful that undecided voters will come to their senses and reject this dangerous radicalism. i hope they will put aside their frustration with the previous government and cast a vote for the moderates. >> but he is sticking to his message. he knows there are plenty of voters who want their leaders to take a tougher stance. >> singing is an important part of culture in many balkan countries,

berlin was 110 miles inside east germany so that they controlled all the land routes between the western world and berlin and closed them. the train lines and canals and highways and they had five million troops surrounding berlin and east germany and we had 1500. and a cabinet meeting harry truman pull his cabinet, chief of staff, whether it could be done and they all said no. it was impossible to carry that much food in the air particularly since we demobilize totally at the end of world war ii and truman said i will thank you very much in stood in the doorway and turnaround and said do it. and we did. >> i know the genesis of your eisenhower book. spend so much time doing earl warren. one day you are sitting in the office say i am not busy enough at the newspaper. i have written a book on earl warren. i will take autobiography of eisenhower. what happened one day? >> let me say how delighted i am that richard was excited about the berlin airlift. i got a call from an editor in new york that scott and i work with and she was convinced there was an important eisenhower presidency book a

that was done in germany, it was done in east germany under is the soviet occupation when people wantedve, they were told you have to pay for your wonderful education, it was an exit tax. it's a way that the east germans raised money. row deeshia and south africa didn't want their wealth producers to leave their countries so they had onerous exit taxes. this is not a new idea. >> so you're saying effectively you're not really trying to recall the specter of nazi germany policies in making a statement like that? >> no, we could go with the row deeshians, that's a pretty good example. >> i want to follow this line of thought which is to say the depart it your of the moderates, the club for growth which endorses many of the same policy proposals you put forward has been active this season. a lot of people credit club for growth with giving richard murdoch a victory over richard lugar. a lot of moderates saying it's becoming more difficult to stomach the climate there. -they say your tax proposals pose the republican's party shift to the right institute matt and ornstein talked about how co

they've had the tab to bring in east germany. they've only forgotten the cost of that just recently. >> here's the guy causing the sell-off, alexis sipras over in greece. he's saying all these crazy things, he wants to governmentalize the banks and not make the payoff, et cetera. he still thinks he can do these things and keep greece in the eurozone, take a listen. >> translator: i don't think it would be wise to leave the eurozone because greece is a member of the eurozone, and that is our competitive advantage. >> he is convinced that he can convince the european central bank they should lend directly to greece. stop laughing. he's only 37. >> we're talking about a baby here who has not been through anything yet. to take him terribly seriously, i think, is a great leap of faith i'm not ready to make yet. he is a leftist. let's not forget that fact. >> not a communist. he refuses to call himself a communist because he's not pro soviet union. >> you've been over in europe enough to know, i wish it was just greece. but it's not. s

germany. >> well just look at east end west germany. you have basically essentially two countries starting at the end of world war ii essentially from scratch. and the same language, the same culture, the same history and they grew up obviously when the berlin wall came down. the productivity level in east germany was one third that of west germany and then when the merger occurred, there was recognition that it was going to take a significant transfer of funds from west germany to east germany. to maintain the system. that flow is still going on. it hasn't fully come together. in europe, even a broader more difficult problem. i did an op-ed piece for the financial times maybe six months ago and i had also gotten and analysis which i have put in several distant -- different places which takes the issue of observing that when, as i recall, the meetings which formed the european central central bank, i was sort of part of the g7 and i would be sitting between all of these europeans trying to keep my mouth shut. >> were you successful? >>

germany. >> look at east and west germany. you have basically, essentially, to countries starting at the end of world war ii, essentially from scratch. the same language, culture, same history. they grew up and when the wall came down, the productivity in east germany was one-third of western. and when the merger occurred, there was the recognition that it was going to take a significant transfer of funds from west germany to east germany to maintain the system. that flow is still going on. it has not fully come together. in europe, it is in been at a broader, more to the cold problem. i had a piece for the financial times may be six months ago. and also done an analysis that has been shown in several different places that really takes the issue of observing -- one i recall sitting in on the meetings with the european central bank, i would be sitting between all of these europeans and trying to keep my mouth shut. >> were you successful? >> no. [laughter] i never have been. at least my wife tells me i've never been successful.

germany. >> well, look at east and west germany. you had, basically, essentially two countries starting at the end of world war ii, essentially, from scratch. and same language, same culture, same history. and they grew up, obviously, when the berlin wall came down, the productivity level in if east germany was one-third that of west germany. and then when the merger occurred, there was the recognition that it was going to take a significant transfer of funds from west germany to east germany to maintain the system. that flow is still going on. it hasn't fully come together. in europe it's even a broader, more difficult problem. i did an op-ed piece for the "financial times," oh, maybe six months ago, and i've also done an analysis which i've published several different places which really takes the issue of observing that when, as i recall -- and i used to sit in on the meetings which formed the european central bank, i was sort of a g7 and trying to keep my mouth shut -- >> were you successful? >> no. [laughter] .. tenure note was

when the law came down, east germany was 1/3 of west germany. when the merger occurred, there's a recognition that it would take a significant transfer of funds from east germany to west germany to change the system. that is still going on. it has not fully come together. in the europe and is a more difficult problem. i did this and the financial times. i've also done an analysis. it takes the issue of observing that. . assigned to keep my mouth shut. were you successful? >> no. . the problem is the conventional wisdom was when the euro was implemented, led the italians will be hit by germans. it yielded 500 basis points. this was before the euro went there. by the time it action moved into the euro, it had gotten down to 20 or 30 basis points. the markets believe that culture would be in force. they were mistaken. >> what we have found is that it kept the euro system together. once it went down, and culture re-emerged in a massive way. >> >> we could talk on this for hours. because the time, we want to move on. you enter non-retirement have bee

i was in east germany shortly after the wall opened, and i was in lute ran churches -- lutheran churches who played an important role in the civil society in such it could exist with the democratic republic, but what i could see was this was not going to be a merger. it was going to be a takeover because people wanted what west germany had. okay? it was an understanding of the whole momentum of the next 11 months that east germans were going to come one way or another. understanding societies, understanding the messaging, you know, even if you're a diplomat in the state department, it's critically important, and certainly in the world of development or trade or others, and so i underscore this because, to me, you know -- now, this is like so normal it's obvious, okay? >> right. >> in that how people engage, and then, of course, and you've all been part of this, is that how civil societies engage, and one has to recognize, you know, some of them will be advocates. some of them will be participants. some of them, you know, will be, you know, a -- opponents, but the world needs room for all

what our initial read of the situation in late 1989, was said the people of east germany wanted what the west germans had. there was a school of thought called the third way that said we are going to create our separate state. i was in eastern germany after the wall opened and i was visit whichutheran churches had an important role in the civil society, but what i could see was that this was not going to be a merger, it was going to be a taken over -- takeover. the whole momentum of the next 11 months was driven by the fact betti eastern germans were going to come one way or another. -- that the east germans were going to, one way or another. certainly in the world of trade, i underscore this because, to me, it is like so normal it is obvious. how peopling gauge and of course, you have been part of this, -- people engaged, of course you have been part of this, some of thiem will be advocates. some will be the participants or opponents. the world needs room for all of that. you will have to decide how to engage and come back to this for the bank. this is interesting because the other l

we talk about how the germans spend enormous amounts of money to bring back east germany. was germany. it's a different construct to ask them to say the same thing about greece or spain or italy. they don't speak the same language. >> we're surrounded by some mad professors down here. >> you want to know what branding looks like. it's really a pharmaceutical company well-known here. and they're doing something today. peter, you look like the mad professor today. >> i am the mad professor. >> congratulations, guys. everybody is wearing these mad scientist lab coats. i am so glad i came back for this. let's call it the euro summer part ii? new highs in the dollar index. we're here for a low in the year and copper disappointing. yields on the spanish tenure at 6.7%. two things strike my eye. number one, did you see the greek polls here? which poll do you want? there's a poll out that says the pro-bail out forces are winning. and then there's another poll out that says the anti-bail-out forces are winning. so whatever poll you want, you can have it. >> one can be ahead and sti

if they became unified, the thing china had problems absorbing what was then east germany into their economy? this was since 1945 a country that had no principles of capitalism, free enterprise, of democracy. the challenge would be -- and to integrate north and south korea, it would take years and years. it would not be a threat to china. how does a unified career really pose a threat to a world superpower? it is foolishness. all countries develop reputations in the world. i want us to have the closest and most progressive relations with china possible. but when they veto sanctions, join russia in vetoing sanctions on syria, and and this resent. -- this recent activities such as mr. chen having to come to the embassy, the murder of a british citizen, they have to understand that as a world superpower, there's a certain level of conduct that the world expects them to maintain. make the judgment that they are not measuring up to those standards that a major making. >> two more. i am vietnamese american. i thank you for all of the tonya -- time you of served in vietnam, and now as well.

germany. it kick started the hungarian revolt. very active in southeast asia. now in the middle eastwe are all over africa with medical programs, resettlement programs, getting these ofs from people who need to get here. highly congressional staff that operates around the world. one of many. doctors without borders is another one. save the children. no other country in the world is as generous or proactive in advancing human rights. >> host: wendy haze radius in your achene watcher international development and i would like to know what you think about the changes in burma. >> guest: it is very heartening and a perfect example of what happens if you keep the pressure on for a long time. a new country in a global economy completely can completely isolate itself. i went to south africa when we had sanctions against south africa and nelson mandela was still in jail and the argument would be you are only hurting the people at the lower end of the food chain in this country because they can't get the job they might have gotten otherwise but it did work. it really forced the south african

i would say person that turkey is more influential in the middle east than germany or france or britainer the leadership of the president and prime minister urged want over the last many years. and the willingness of turkey to lead and to be active in the toughest problems. and so our report calls for turkey to be treated like a leader at nato. turkey join the alliance in 1952. it's never been given leadership opportunity to is an informal group of four countries. the u.s., france, britain and germany that has led the alliance over the last five decades. turkey ought to join that group. we believe a. should be considered to be the next secretary-general of nato. we believe a turkish general should be given leadership opportunities of our military operation in peacetime and in wartime. we believe in turkish leadership is essential. this will require an attitudinal change by all of us. ever require americans to be more open to this, and i suspect i will not be an issue given the close relationship between the obama administration and turkey. but in particular, it will require europeans to

one of them made arrangements for me to interview propaganda cheap for east germany on a wednesday night. are they to say i was operating out of the eastern sector. that was pretty unique. what was happening in those days is that ger was sending people outside to the normal northern borders near czechoslovakia. they were not letting people comment. the checks were not happy about that. there was a fair amount of chaos going on. at the end of tuesday, we put on an interesting program. this situation is very interesting here. gorbachev was remaining neutral. he wasn't sending tanks or russian signals or even anonymous signals. on wednesday i went out to work again. late in the afternoon i went to a news conference. with the propaganda cheap in the east. it was a hot and crowded room. for this first time, east german journalists, who had been controlled by the state come up felt unleashed. and they are asking very tough questions of source data. he was dismissing of them. someone handed him a piece of paper and he read it, all citizens of the ger, based on the decision of the bureau, can no

if korea became unified you think that germany had problems in absorbing what was then east germany into their economy? my god, this is, this is, since 1945 a country that knows no principles of capitalism, of free enterprise, of democracy. the challenge that would be to meet to integrate north and south korea would take years and years and years. it wouldn't be a threat to china. how, how does a unified korea really pose a threat to the world's superpower? it is just foolishness. and so, again, you know we all, all countries develop reputations in the world and i want us to have the closest and most progressive relations with china possible but when they veto sanctions, joint russian veto sanctions on syria, when they, when these recent activities such as mr. chen having to come to the embassy, the murder of the british citizen, the chinese have to understand that as a world superpower that there's a certain level of conduct that the world expects them to maintain. and think a lot of people would make a judgement they are not measuring up to those standards that a, a major contributor t

angela her tell, who was pretty skeptical of the european union, she was brought up and raised in east germany, did not have much contact with the european union, had to learn what that all meant and was pretty distant to what that body actually means. but she has become a strong advocate for further i want fwration and for the federalist leap. but on which federalist -- but on which basis would this federalist leap take place? what is the economic, the philosophical and political foundation of this leap? austerity or growth? i think this is -- antagonism -- this is a false antagonism. the germans, angela her tell as chancellor have still, they have not lived through it but they know germany is still very much afraid of hyper inflation due to what happened before world war ii. but germany is not against stimulus. germany has used stimulus itself through the its history after the second world war many, many times. even cre lently. when the financial collapse happened on wall street. there is a -- everyone says save in good times, spend in dire types. this is a true sentence but there is a preco

if korea became unified, do you think germany had problems observing what was then east germany intoheir economy? since 1945, this is a country that knows no principles of capitalism, free enterprise, democracy -- the challenge to integrate north and south korea would take years and years and years. it would not be a threat to china. how is a unified korea pose a threat to the world's superpower? it's foolishness. all countries develop reputations in the world. i want us to have the closest and most progressive relations with china possible. when they vetoed sanctions on syria, when these recent activities like having to come to the embassy -- the murder of the british citizen, the chinese have to understand as a world superpower that there is a certain level of conduct the world expects them to maintain and i think a lot people would make the judgment they are not measuring up to those standards a major contributor to peace and progress in the world should be making. >> thank you. i'm with the voice of vietnamese americans. thank you for all of the time that you have served in vietn

and sylmar of who was pretty skeptical of the european union, she was brought up and raced in east germany did not have much contact with the european union and had to learn what that all meant to. and i was predestined to what that body actually means. she has become a strong advocate for further integration and for the federalist leap. which -- but on which basis will this federalist league take place, what is the economic, the philosophical and political foundation of this? austerity or growth. i think this is a false antagonism. sure. the germans and angela merkle as chancellor have still not live through it but now that germany is still very much afraid of hyperinflation due to what happened before world war ii. germany is not against. germany has used stimuluses of through a history. after second world war many, many times. even recently when the financial collapse on wall street, there is -- everyone says in good times, spend in dire times. this is a true sentence, but they're is a precondition which leads to my think, to the core of german thinking. you can't say that's if you talk

i would say personally that turkey is more influential in the middle east than germany or france or britain. we have seen a remarkable rise of turkey under the leadership of the president and the prime minister over the last many years. and a willingness of turkey to lead and to be active in the toughest problems. so our report calls for turkey to be treated like a leader at nato. turkey joined the alliance in 1952. it's never been given leadership opportunities. there is an informal group of four countries. the u.s., france, britain, germany that have led the alliance over the last five decades. turkey ought to join that group. we believe a turning should be considered to be the next secretary-general of nato. we believe that turkish generals should be given leadership opportunities of our military operations in peacetime and wartime. we believe that turkish leadership is essential. this will rirl an attitudinal change by all of us. require americans to be more open to this, i suspect that will not be an issue given the close relationship between the obama administration and turkey, but in

pressure continues to spin, gradually working its way to the east, bringing some rainfall to turkey over the weekend. central europe, and germany, you saw some snow yesterday, now sunny skies prevail as high pressure is dominating. wet and windy conditions prevail in the west. actually out here in the british isles, a low pressure area is moving through and going torn the iberian peninsula on friday, bringing widespread rainy conditions and even some thunderstorms. and then as it continues to push towards the east, it will be bringing cooler temperatures behind it. london today, looking at a high of 15. for your friday, madrid at 28. but then going into saturday, that could be getting down to about the midteens, off to the west, warsaw at 16 for your high and moscow at 23. accompanied by sunny skies. here is a look at your extended outlook. >>> we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. .

will be bringing yet more rainfall there towards germany and even over towards poland as that whole system continues to push eastd it, cooler weather, london, looking at a high of 18. going into sunday this could be dropping down to only 11. now, here is a look at your extended outlook. >>> we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

east uncertainty. remain unpredictable. even if. it may be time to rein in. germany. and a gram of financial forecast for from yet another region entrepreneurs in the photo uprising leaders have credited the revolution of the nation to the verge of economic collapse that is a bit later on the program. nato has reaffirmed its drive to pull out from a deeply unpopular war in afghanistan in two thousand and fourteen this is all being decided upon of the biggest summit yet taking place in chicago but there are fears that the alliance will still have a significant presence in the country long after the departure deadline a diplomatic ground also continues between the u.s. and pakistan over vital transit routes in the country as artie's guy can explain. as far as the war in afghanistan supply routes have been a big concern on the summit there vital for nato operations there as well as for the upcoming troops withdrawal the route through pakistan still remains closed it was shut down around six months ago after a u.s. airstrike killed two dozen pakistani soldiers five mistak

east uncertainty. remain unpredictable. even if. it may be high time to rename the. germany. there's always much more news stories on our website. here's what's in store for you there right now the third day of trading for the world's most popular social network. so is facebook just a marketing bubble. protests. and much more. gridlock. to build a new. mission to teach me. why you should care only. twenty. tensions remain high in the capital of lebanon after two people were killed in clashes on monday and this is the latest in a series of violent confrontations in the country between opponents and supporters of the assad regime in neighboring syria shero a middle east blogger told us. that he thinks the future prospects optimistic. primarily the balance of military power in lebanon is nowhere near equal at the moment to what we've been witnessing actually are clashes there between members of the sunni community and ilo a community in the north or yesterday what happened last night where clashes between members of the sunni community that are brought to the syrian regime in be

germany. we will hear from the former middle east advisor to president clinton. that begins at 10:00 a.m.astern. and we will have live coverage of the former undersecretary for political affairs and the u.s. ambassador to it is ahead of the two day summit. on friday, president obama concluded his two day trip to the west coast with a visit to reno, nev. where he highlighted his home under the financing initiative. as part of his to do this, he is urging lawmakers to pass a bill that would reduce barriers for home owners to refinance at a lower rate. it has increased 50% nationwide. [applause] >> he did not have to stand back. that is your shot. good afternoon. thank you for a range in a beautiful day. this is just spectacular afternoon. i am thrilled it is going to take by. they're plenty of steps we can take to speed up the recovery there things we can do right now to help create jobs and help restore some of the financial security that some many families have lost. i have to say that there are few too many republicans to do not seem to be as optimistic as we are. they think that all we