someone who is not on our panel, but who has recently published on this, fred kempe, his book, "berlin 1961" is, in fact, very critical of president kennedy and it's something that has not come up at all this morning. fred basically puts together what some people have felt for a long time. but he puts it together in a really wonderful way in his book, in which he really says president kennedy wrote the script, quote/unquote, for ulbricht and khrushchev to be able to build the wall because kennedy, again and again -- this is the what if president kennedy had had a harder line with khrushchev? particularly at vienna, the most important time but before and afterwards really focused on west berlin. don't touch west berlin. don't touch our access to west berlin. don't touch the freedom of how people live in west berlin. but he didn't say anything about east berlin and four power control of berlin and he didn't say anything about free access back and forth between east and west berlin. so fred kempe's thesis is that if kennedy had had a firmer line and hadn't sort of given khrushchev an easy

, please join me in welcoming atlantic council president, ceo, and national best-selling author, fred kemp. [ applause ] >> thanks. the check is in the mail. this is the fourth year joe and mica have done this and it's because you in the audience demanded. in fact, let me read an e-mail i received from one atlantic council international advisory board member when i announced that this year that perhaps they would not be emcees. please give all the time to mica. don't worry about joe. seriously, tv doesn't offer a lot of bipartisan, smart, must-watched programs of your sort. mica and joe, you're really doing us a service. it's a great match for the bipartisan compelling work we try to do in the national transatlantic and global interest. we have a great line up for you this evening and truly global. so what do you get when you take a british royal soldier and philanthropist, a dutch visionary, and a south korean global leader? you get the 2012 transatlantic dinner. we're also here to recognize the 1.5 million active men and women of the u.s. formed forces for their sacrifices, dedication an

i want to also on behalf of the board of directors and this institution recognize fred kemp and his marvelous staff and all who work so hard on behalf of this institution and what it stands for and what it believes in and how it affects our world. too oech of you, thank you. last comment -- [ applause ] >> not unlike anyone or any other institution in the world we are all playing for the future, that means our young people. that means helping shape and frame their future. their understanding and helping them anchor that to the transatlantic alliance is part of that. but that importance of the transatlantic alliance at this time in the world is not at the exclusion. cannot be at the exclusion of our other partners all over the world. the transatlantic alieps is special. it has a special role to play. but that too is in partnership with other nations and other peoples. ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the evening. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> so i'm told that my republican brother ian is here somewhere off this way and my parents are in the middle at one of the central tables. mom and dad, c

done near ly enough to deserve it, but i'm immensely grateful to the council, senator check hagen, fred kempnd the board of the atlantic council for affording me this great honor. if i may, i would like to accept the award on behalf of my brother, william, our foundation, all those on both sides of the atlantic who work so tirelessly to support our wounded veterans, but particularparticular ly for the guys because this is their award. it would be rude of me to speak for this heroes, but not presupgs of me to pay tribute to them. so many of our servicemen and women have made the ultimate sacrifice. so many lives have been lost and so many changed forever by the wounds that they have suffered. they have paid a terrible price and keep us safe and free. the very least we owe them is to make sure that they and their brave families have everything they need through the darkest days and in time, regain the hope and confidence to flourish again. for these self-less people, it is off to the guns of fallen silent, the dinner battle quietened, that the real fight begins. a fight that may last for the r

, please join me in welcoming atlantic council president, ceo and national best-selling author, fred kempe [applause] >> thanks, mika and joe, the check's in the mail. this is the fourth year joe and mika have done this, and it's because, it's because you in the audience demand it. in fact, let me read an e-mail i received from one atlantic council international advisory board member when i announced that this year, perhaps, they would not be emcees. quote: dear fred, could you, please, cede all of your time to mika this year; don't worry about joe, unquote. signed, dr. brzezinski. [laughter] seriously, tv doesn't offer a lot of bipartisan, smart, must-watch programs of your sort, mika and joe. you really are doing us a service, and it's a great match for the bipartisan, compelling work we try to do in the national, transatlantic and global interests. we have a great lineup for you this evening and truly global. so what do you get when you take a british royal soldier and philanthropist, a dutch business visionary, a german violin virtuoso and be a south korean global leader? you get the a

i'm fred kempe, ceo of the atlantic council. we approach the nato summit, and the heads of state and government gathering in chicago for the first nato summit in the u.s. since 1999. the council has been active all year, even a little bit beyond that, ever since the lisbon summit. the forefront of thought leadership on all the issues that will be addressed in chicago including but not limited to the issues of afghanistan, of defense capabilities, and of global partnerships and, of course, missile defense. and those will dominate the discussion. however, as important as those issues are, it was our feeling that something underlies all of this. and the most important thing in the alliance from the beginning of the alliance has been the question of lead ership and all those baskets of issues will be influenced by the kind of leaders who influence them as we go forward. secretary robert gates made that clear in his farewell remarks in brussels last june where he talked about the alliance facing a dim and dismal future if we didn't g

and fred kempe. >> you have to say hi first. >> keep it right here on "morning joe." >> hi, fred.urance companies look at you and just see a policy. at aviva, we do things differently. we're bringing humanity back to life insurance. that's why only aviva rewards you with savings for getting a check-up. it's our wellness for life program, with online access to mayo clinic. see the difference at avivausa.com. high schools in six states enrolled in the national math and science initiative... ...which helped students and teachers get better results in ap courses. together, they raised ap test scores 138%. just imagine our potential... ...if the other states joined them. let's raise our scores. let's invest in our teachers and inspire our students. let's solve this. >>> joining us now, dr. zbigniew brzezinski, author of "strategic vision: america and the crisis of global power." bestseller. dad, welcome back. also with us, the president of the atlanta council and columnist for reuters fred kempe. great to be here with you. and we are honored to be a part of your event tonight. >> as al

joining me to explain more about the award, fred kemp the president and ceo of the atlantic council good morning to you thanks for coming in. >> good morning. >> so first of alltel us what the atlantic council is i did not know until recently what it was. >> it is our 50th anniversary we have been around a half century for all of that time we have looked after the trans atlantic relationships biggest economic community in the world and now focussing on the global call will benings -- challenges we have to tackle together whether it is afghanistan, global instability that is what we do >> you support and encourage ongoing dialogue between the u.s. and europe and other nations. >> we convene, advocate, write we are a think tank and do convene the real whose who tonight's dinner we are honouring harry we will have henry kissingger and colin powell and the whose who of the establishment and 50 ambassadors. >> tell us why prince harry is receiving this award? we have kind of said in one line but a lot of folks don't know about the work he does. >> prince harry impresses us for two reasons fir

i am fred kempe, and we are approaching the nato summit, the gathering in chicago for the first natoummit in the u.s. since 1999. the council has been active all year. but ever since the lisbon summit and remaining at the forefront of thought leadership on all of the issues that will be addressed in chicago, including but not limited to the issues of afghanistan and defense capabilities and of global partnerships and, of course, missile defense, and those will dominate the discussion. however, as important as those issues are, it was our feeling that something underlies all of this, and the most important thing of the alliance, from the beginning of the alliance, has been the leadership question. all of these will be influenced by the kinds of leaders into influence them as we go forward. secretary robert gates made that clear in his farewell remarks in brussels last june, where he talked about the alliance is facing a dismal future. if we did not get our act together, he pointed out, some of those challenges lie with american allies in europe and canada, whose lack of defense spendi

and thank you to the board of the atlantic council, chairman senator hagel and president fred kempe,dinary honor. i take it as an eloquent symbol of partnership, united states and the united nations, and, therefore, all the staff and peacekeeping operations staff, and i humbly accept this honor. seldom, if ever, have our principles and shared -- [inaudible] seldom if ever has this partnership been more vital than at this moment. ladies and gentlemen, our world is rough place. they were just celebrated and commented listed men and women of armed forces. as secretary-general of the united nations, my thought, with more than 120,000 u.s. peacekeeping operations staff, from more than 120 countries, who are walking day and night on the very difficult and dangerous continents. my deepest admiration's to all of them, and to all the people who are walking tirelessly for peace and stability around the world. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, let us cast our eyes across the globe, political landscape. in syria, the violence still continues. we are in race against time to present full scale c

fred kemp, who runs the atlantic council said to me before the event went on, he said, you know, we havee have had everybody at these events. they have. they have been since 1927. they have had big people there. yet he said there was no reaction like the reaction they got last night with prince harry. of course, we collectively roll our eyes then you see the young man get up and talk about his service in the military. he's a guy, he could have stayed home hunting. instead, he decided to serve his country and -- >> there's a large part of his mother in him. those of us who met her and saw her evolution, despite all the troubles, these are the two boys she took to africa when she cradled the aids baby. they are memorable moments. obviously imprinted in their dna. >> she did a good job with them. we are going to turn to the news. today president obama is set to turn up the pressure on congress. >> no, he's not. did you not like that we were reporting on the president's evolution? i'm moved. >> yeah. >> that the president can evolve. >> yes, you ought to learn something about evolving. >> wh

i am fred kempe, and we are approaching the nato summit, the gathering in chicago for the first natoummit in the u.s. since 1999. the council has been active all year. but ever since the lisbon summit and remaining at the forefront of thought leadership on all of the issues that will be addressed in chicago, including but not limited to the issues of afghanistan and defense capabilities and of global partnerships and, of course, missile defense, and those will dominate the discussion. however, as important as those issues are, it was our feeling that something underlies all of this, and the most important thing of the alliance, from the beginning of the alliance, has been the leadership question. all of these will be influenced by the kinds of leaders into influence them as we go forward. secretary robert gates made that clear in his farewell remarks in brussels last june, where he talked about the alliance is facing a dismal future. if we did not get our act together, he pointed out, some of those challenges lie with american allies in europe and canada, whose lack of defense spendi

fred lynn 1975, june, tigers stadium. >> that was not in the teleprompter, he just knew that. the dodgers matt kempinishing up an incredible season. he goes the other way. major league leading 12 home run of the year. later he strikes out with the bases loaded. but, enough damage had been done. dodgers lead, 6-2. 12 home runs riting .417, 25 rbis. they tell us he's the third player since 1920 to hit four home runs in the month of april joining -- >> first of all -- >> not that good. >> larry walker, 1997. >> oh, my gosh. that's good. >> today is the first day of the magic johnson -- >> really? >> it begins with the best record of the national league. >>> coming up next, mika's must read opinion pages. ♪ ♪ [ lauer ] this is our team. and unlike other countries, it's built by your donations, not government funding. and now, to support our athletes, you can donate a stitch in america's flag for the 2012 olympic games in london. help raise our flag, add your stitch at teamusa.org. highway maintenance is underfunded, costing drivers $67 billion a year, and countless tires. which drivers never actually c