i wanted to begin by asking you about your vision of a future in iraq. you were very eloquent and passionate about the missteps that have been taken and the implementation of this constitution and both the laws and politics that have followed the implementation of the constitution. i wanted to begin by asking you what your vision for iraq was, what your vision of iraq a democracy looks like and whether you felt that your vision of a future iraq was different from your sense of the prime minister's vision of a future iraq? >> of course i have a vision about iraq and iraq democracy. specificities. it is not similar to all democracies. we have our traditions, our legacy, our history. that should be respected. but we do also agree on many of the international criteria when it comes to democracy. i do believe that iraq is able modelome a very important the middle east. the constitution has many flaws as i said but at this point it guarantees liberty and freedom. it guarantees partnership and the building of a strong state. articles would need to be amended an

of iraq was somehow different from your sense of the prime minister's vision of a future iraq. >> of course i have a vision about iraq and iraq's democracy. of course it is -- it has its specificities. it is not similar to all democracies. we have our traditions, our legacy, our history, and also be respected. but we do also agree on many of the international criteria when it comes to democracy. and i do believe that iraq is able to become a very important model. the constitution has many flaws, as i said, but nonetheless at this point it guarantees liberty and freedom. it guarantees partnership and the building of a strong state. so, again, some articles would need to be amended and this is stipulated by article 142 that says that some of the articles should be amended. but at this point the constitution can bring iraq into a better iraq. now, i do not agree with the prime minister in the way he manages the country. and i believe that committing to constitution and applying the rule of law is not obvious in the policies of the government. as i said, it's a selective policy. s

the iraqi flash points to iraq's future. >> consider this. the news of the day, plus so much more. >> we begin with a government shutdown. sense for some people. >> you may want all these gadgets and want to take them home. it will be a while for a lot of them to be available to us. that great to have you on the show, good to see you, enjoy yourself out there in vegas. >> time now to see what's trending on aljazeera america's website. >> a new report out today by the american cancer society points to a 20% drop in can senior death rates, over a million lives saved in the last decades due in large part to a smoking decrease. not much attention is paid to lung cancer, but it accounts for more than one in every four cancer deaths. a big headline is progress among middle aged black men. from noon 91 to 2010 cancer death rates have declined 50% among black men in that age range. death rates are still higher among black men than white men >> tonight we look again to a well-known flash point in iraq, the city of fallujah. you may recall it as the sc

but at the local level future of iraq virtually any local television news network it comes to pass if it leads it leads. they cover car wreck samphire because it is flashing lights and visual santa looks good on television. but the other side is this year is some animosity fed phelpses representative of mainstream plays in to many people's narratives of evangelical christianity even the wood is not true. is what they want to believe so there will continue to cover like that cross burning pastor like down in florida. >> as a foot know how much of journalism i thought of it as partly a public service the debt now where is the profit line? we need to do the news if you look at william randolph hearst becoming would of the wealthiest man on the planet long before the era but allows jews segue the upcoming gatt of nonprofit organizations within the secular arena or the corporation for public broadcasting lot that because it is a different organization but like npr that receives funding. and public of the is a nonprofit center privately funded unfortunately from my point of view they tended

invasion and occupation of iraq is ongoing and continually destabilizing i hope that anyone who supports a future military occupations or even interventions all looks at iraq as kind of a symbol of why this doesn't work in fact makes things much much worse thank you so much for jean-pierre always amazing to hear your insight thank you so much for having me. if you like to see so far how do you are you tube channel dot com slash break in the say it be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode we also all of our interview segments as well as other segments tabbed out and pull a list there if you want to catch them separately i encourage everyone to check out my interview yesterday with our teens making no. because i was just on the ground at the west virginia chemical spill to talk about the implications that as the entire u.s. water supply so go to youtube dot com slash break on the set for all that and more now stick around to hear about two fourteen police officers who just got away with murder. got a code for years that's pretty tough. stay with substory. let's get this guy like you

iraq as well. as well as afghanistan. host: mike, what you think the u.s. future role in iraq should be? should there be resources?hat would you say? caller: i definitely think we should support them, not with ground troops but with technical and similarining regards to security. other want to give our technology to the iraqis, but we can help them out and succeeded in stabilizing that area. the united states is a stabilizing force and we need to continue that. that is what we have. -- as we have for the last hundred years. for: james on our line independents, also identified as an iraq veteran. caller: good morning. f fought in falluja and di. right now it should not be the same thing, we should not have a politician with no military experience making decisions whether or not troops should or should not go back to iraq. that thegusting mission of falluja has fallen again. that would be like the japanese taking back iwo jima after world war ii and taking off like down. what do think we should be doing are after these bombings? caller: if we send troops back, that is where dust is what we get paid to do. if we do,

. >>> back in 2010 the obama administration made this prediction about the future of iraq. >> i am verytic about iraq. i think it's going to be one of the great achievements of this administration. you're going to see a stable government in iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government. >> nearly four years later al qaeda is in control of key parts of the country. nearly all of fallujah, ramadi. our troops worked in the anbar province. 1300 americans gave their life. john kerry said the u.s. is concerned about the recent up risings and will help but won't send back troops. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is what the preds and others decided some time ago when we left iraq. we are not contemplating returning. we are not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight. we're going to help them in this fight. >> i want to stipulate there are people in this table, including bob, legitimate critics of the war who thought we should never go to war. that's legitimate but let's stay on this topic. i'm saying you have a legitimate point but i

back in 2010, the obama administration made this prediction about the future of iraq. >> i am very optimisticut iraq, i think it's going to be one of the great achievements of this administration. you're going to see a stable government in iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government. >> nearly four years later, al qaeda is in control of key parts of the country. nearly all of fallujah, parts of ramadi, and the town of car ma. our trooped works alongside iraqis to secure it in the war. 1,300 americans gave their lives. the u.s. is concern recent uprisings and will try to help but without sending back any troops. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that's exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago. when we left iraq. so we're not obviously contemplating returning. we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight, but we're going to help them in their fight. >> before we start this, i want to stipulate there are people at the table, including bob, legitimate critics of the war, who think we never should have gone there. t

plus a developing story we're following this morning, the battle for the future of iraq [ male announceris the story of the dusty basement at 1406 35th street the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. ...and the little room above the strip mall off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪ >>> coming up next, we're back with the roundtable. also the latest on the developing situation with al qaeda in iraq from nbc's richard as a business owner, i'm constantly putting out fires. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. i break my back around here. finally someone's recognizing me with unlimited rewards! meetings start at 11, cindy. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one. choose 2% cash back or double

plus a developing story we're following this morning, the battle for the future of iraq as al qaeda seizesontrol of the key city. all of that coming up. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. >>> coming up next, we're back with the roundtable. also the latest on the developing situation with al qaeda in iraq from nbc's richard engel. and will marijuana soon be legal in your state? we'll be back to break that down. nbc's richard [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] s

tonight, she talks with some of those who served and reminds us why this city is so critical to iraq's future. >> november, 2004, it was one of the defining battles of an unfinished war. the city of fallujah just 40 miles from downtown baghdad. it was known as the city of mosques, and it's from some of these mosques in this largely sunni area that al-qaeda declared an islamic state. here is the u.s. military realized just how hard a fight this would be and how little they understood the culture of the country they had invaded. >> very much a turning point general mark kimmet was spokesman for the u.s. military in iraq. >> this was in -- starting in about april of 2004. four american contractors had been killed and quite brutally dug through the streets, hung from the railroad bridge there and the images were quiet tough for what we thought was an operation side of iraq that was getting better, not worse. >> that's number 1. best. no. 2, it marked the first time we saw a large-scale sunni insurgency. not only in isolated areas but in a large city such as fallujah. number 3, we saw the presence

. >> what are iraqis on the ground saying to you, michael, about this uncertain future for iraq?ter: they're fearful, wolf. i think it's fair to say. i've spoken to a lot of iraqis who are. it is a possibility, it could go that way if some sort of compromise is not reached. nuri al maliki portrays this as a fight against terrorism, a fight against al qaeda in anbar province in particular and there are no elements there. there's no doubt about it. but the root cause of the dissatisfaction among sunnis is the fact that they feel disenfranchised, completely alienated by a sheer dominated government that when mr. maliki came to government promised to power share. they say they've seen none of it and they're fed up to the point where they are picking up guns. >> the u.s. is going to try to provide some weapons, maybe a little bit of training or whatever, to the iraqi government, but not send back u.s. troops. nobody here is ready to send back u.s. troops. so militarily speaking, can the iraqi military security forces alone get the job done? >> it depends where and how. if they got tha

future of. tribal groups in iraq set up to drive out radical islamist militants while the embattled government in baghdad has offered help by both america and iraq. air contamination high levels of radiation record companies that know hard hit sites are dead amid public anger over fracking in the u.s. a new report says there are many more complaints of contamination than authorities and drilling companies are willing to admit. nations deal with debt by joining the great european fire sale we look at whether it's actually helping patch up national budget.

and as a result air space used by eye rainians and others, ultimately whether it's afghanistan or iraq future of those countries is in the hands of their own people. the u.s. can't rescue them from themselves. and it poses a real challenge because if you start adding it up now, you have ungoverned states in iraq, uncover earned states in syria and in ales and innerve radio this is ultimate fertile territory for al qaeda and others to set up training camps and our interests around the world. >> schieffer: let me just ask you what show we do now? anything we can do now? >> i think that ideal provided assistance to iraqi government in terms of training and equipment to allow them to deal with the challenges. i would not underestimate the impact that these rebels al qaeda-linked forces in syria are having cross border in iraq that will be a growing factor. some asked me if i would support another invasion of iraq, of course not, i don't think that's a solution at this point. i think we'll be dealing with this for some time ultimately only problem through iraqi government to be able to solve it, t

very difficult as we look back at some of the sacrifices that were given. >> what sort of future do you see for iraq and besides the small staff left in the embassy, what sort of role do you see for the u.s. in that future? >> when i was over there and i used to have people come and visit me, i'd show a map of the middle east, and if you look at iraq, it is right in the center of the middle east. to the west is syria, jordan. to the east is iran. to the south is kuwait, saudi arabia. to the north is turkey. it was -- it's in a strategic location inside of the middle east. it's a very important location. so for us in my mind it's an important country in the middle east. we are still allies and partners with iraq. we have to build on that partnership. we have to make it a partnership that allows us to build security in that region. and i think that's what we have to do. right now it's not -- it's disappointing what's going on. nobody's going to deny that. but again there's still potential. there's economic potential. i believe there's political potential and we have to continually work hard to help th

iraq, the sectarian leaders of iraq who at that time in 2006, 2007, had failed to settle any of the fundamental issues between their communities in respect to the futureiraq which has been in my estimate utterly reckless about this issue. and now finds itself confronted with the possible return of a civil war. >> that's hard to hear. john, because overall, when we step back and look big picture here at the iraq war, can you give me some of the salient points here, the things that we can highlight that were achieved that are enduring? that are positive? >> i regret to say this because i was one of those who experienced saddam hussein's rule of iraq which was ghastly beyond words and hoped that something better would come from his down fall. i'm coming to the conclusion that the american military traces in iraq all that america set out to achieve and all that it spent so heavily for in terms of blood and treasure as president bush used to say is going to be washed away. much as in a much earlier period, british military intervention in iraq in the early years of the 20th century was literally covered by the sands. you would see when i was in iraq for si

. >> if there is an end game in syria, can iraq then also take a little time to figure out it's medium- and long-term future>> oh, certainly, if there were a resolution in syria, it would have a positive impact on iraq. really what is happening in iraq is that a group of sunni arabs has launched guerrilla war, an insurgency. this insurgency has been going on now for many years. and we know from the history of insurgencies. once they start, once they get going they have funding, they have training, they have arms, they stay for 0 20 years. we're still midway through this process. and the sunni arab guerrillas in iraq will join the he is lambic state of iraq and syria, fight on both sides of the borders. they appear to get funding from private billionaires in the gulf in places like kuwait and united emirates. and they're getting battlefield training. it is this extreme insurgency that is at the root of these violent incidents. to which i think the iraqi government has not reached out to the sunni population politically the way it needs to. >> we're going to take a short break. when we come back we'll talk ab

iraq's future will be in the hands of its people. esident's speech, the soldiers at ft. bragg in north carolina, the last u.s. troops left iraq, and crossed the border into kuwait. leaving behind a nearly nine-year war. a war that cost the u.s. more than 4,500 american lives and $800 billion. even for those who thought the war was won, debate on that very point continues to this day. according to u.s. intelligence officials, radical sunni forces that are linked with al qaeda raised their flag in the town of fallujah just after the new year. and fallujah is key, because it is the site of two of the bloodiest battles during the iraq war, in an area u.s. forces fought to shore up before leave iraq. reports of fallujah falling into the hands of al qaeda has left american soldiers who fought so hard for its liberation despondent, with one former army captain tweeting, could someone smart convince me mat black flag flying over fallujah isn't analogous with the fall of saigon? because, well, if there is anything that is quintessentially amer

to what is happening in serie of the syrian civil war spoon over to the beaumont into iraq and possibly in the future towards the turk in his role as well. spread the jam this thank you for joining is famous for that analysis. well as michelle i just mentioned as the more violent scenes serious made a lemon into a car bomb going off in the capital beirut is still mentioned killing four people reading about this cctv footage is your shows explosion as the suspected suicide bomber detonated a device in a busy commercial street in a predominantly shi'ite suburb. it's the latest in a series of bombings to target areas considered strongholds of the militant group hezbollah the on those restaurant which had links to al qaeda has claimed responsibility for the moment. turkish prime minister read it and no one has been in brussels today for the first time in five years to visit that was meant to give new momentum to his country's bid to join the european union wants the visit comes as the time of fresh controversy in both the neck or options scandal and the ones government has fined hundreds of police office

iraq is at stake, because here's a battle between the sects. as a result of some improved policies, feel more engaged with the whole future of iraq. go on and they'll be looking to sort of even possibly create such a state. >> but there are the sunni tribes and then there is this al-qaeda linked group. that's how we've been describing it. when americans hear al-qaeda, they think of 9/11, bin laden. does this group operating in iraq and syria have anything to do with the group that we knew as al-qaeda back in the 9/11 days? >> well, if you remember, the origins of al-qaeda in iraq, when you were reporting were very aware of the leader, killed in 2006. essentially transformed local frustration of what was happening in iraq into this sort of more global agenda that was presented by al-qaeda and the current isil are doing the same thing. the fight and community is local. >> the end game essentially is the same. that doesn't mean they are taking orders from a leader like him now. >> they had a active withal doeo zawahari. >> how big some group? >> the foreign minister estimated the other day that both in syria and iraq, they had 12,000

died in the an bar province in iraq, about a third of the war, and now al qaeda apparently controlled those cities. what does it mean and what does it mean for the future of the region? >> it is symbolic of american retreat from iraq and from the region as a whole. and i think it's ironic that it's the "new york times" that is now talking about a post american void in the middle east. unfortunately, it's accurate. i think it's correctable, but i think the reality we face is that we have had not just five years of this misguided policy, but really add in the last several years of the bush administration and three more to go. so that the decline in american influence that we see now, it's palpable from all across north africa and the middle east, is only going to get worse. >> what went wrong, and what can we do right if we can do anything? >> well, i think in both the end of the bush administration and throughout the entire obama administration, there's been an unwillingness to face the harsh reality that the war on terror that we saw really begin most visibly for americans on september 11th, 2001, isn't a war we can turn off at our pleasure. this is a

would like to see some accountability for that in the same ways we may get make in the iraq debate but what are the future for the country's security after ten years of training by nato just briefly why are the afghan forces in a position to take control. again it comes back much of this to their ramshackle. the regime. very few afghans support this government kleptocrats this is a major problem that the army and the security forces are fighting for that government and everybody knows what the government made up of. essentially thieves robbers war criminals from from the worst days of the one nine hundred ninety s. and overlaying nine you've got a very strong insurgency still remain strong and those afghan forces are taking savage casualties against the insurgency dishing out some countries to far far more than certainly been revealed in the western press so far frank thank you very much indeed frank ledwich barrister and former military officer who served in afghanistan and iraq thank you for your time live from london. the host city of the twenty fourteen winter games has launched the largest security o

iraq is a desert now. it was a warning to future generations. the point is 7000 years ago in iraq until 2002, or 2003, there has never, in the history of the country, neither can the 7000 years. older civilization on earth. never been so much despair that somebody figured out killed myself. and now of course it is happening almost every day. that's all another discussion, although another topic. jos back in february 2010, a fellow by the name of joe stack as a small business and in dallas with a laid-off and wasn't making it very well. he out money to the irs. he was a private pilot, so he got this underrated to the u.s. tax collection, where he killed three killed -- [inaudible] we should remember as a good guy. but chose back was her first suicide on her. and there it was. he left behind a screen. he said, his brother actually said just seems like we didn't realize he was paddling the various in the water. that's the story of a lot of americans. it looks to canvass surveys. all the houses look the same as the 1980s. what you don't know is what

very difficult as we look back at some of the sacrifices that were given. >> what sort of future do you see for iraq and besides the small staff left in the embassy, what sort of role do you see for the u.s. in that future? >> when i was over there and i used to have people come and visit me, i'd show a map of the middle east, and if you look at iraq, it is right in the center of the middle east. to the west is syria, jordan. to the east is iran. to the south is kuwait, saudi arabia. to the north is turkey. it was -- it's in a strategic location inside of the middle east. it's a very important location. so for us in my mind it's an important country in the middle east. we are still allies and partners with iraq. we have to build on that partnership. we have to make it a partnership that allows us to build security in that region. and i think that's what we have to do. right now it's not -- it's disappointing what's going on. nobody's going to deny that. but again there's still potential. there's economic potential. i believe there's political potential and we have to continually work hard to help th

two years after american troops pulled out of iraq, tonight, the country is tense and violent, and the futureooks uncertain. they called for residents of falluja to expel al qaeda militants that have taken control of the city center. the white house says it will assist by accelerating sales of guns and equipment, but it has ruled out sending in any american troops. >> the fighting in the province continues. clashes insporadic the provincial capital on monday, where they took control of the city last week. have beene troops trying to dislodge them since then. police broke up a sunni protest last week, and the deadly clashes erupted across the province. u.s.-led invasion of iraqi in 2003, which wrought shiite control to the country, it became the heartland of sunni insurgency. of the newocus fighting, the nearby city of falluja. and swear brandishing weapons on monday. al qaeda fighters and their supporters are in control of the city center, while government troops are surrounding the city. the commander of an antigovernment group, the falluja military council, vowed to punish tribesmen backing

future with those groups remember. it's quite clear. flexing its muscle. spanners over swaths of iraq while washington funnels arms forces for what is predicted to be a bloody counterattack. the first of syria's chemical weapons are shipped out for destruction as rebel groups turn on each other any merciless turf war with over five hundred fighters killed in clashes over just one week. with a month before the winter olympics starts the host city is putting a priority on security to make sure the games remain safe and undisturbed. plus confidence in the leaders has never been lower according to a new poll at least in the hard hit areas of europe where governments are scrambling for solutions to an entrenched.

iraq. his comments are part of an hour-long speech focusing on tho future of the uur.s. army. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >>> good afternoon, welcome to the national press club. my name is angela i'm a reporter for "bloomberg news" and the 106th president of thenatl press national press club. we are the world eats leadingref professional organization orforn e nrnalists committed to our wereession's future through our programming with events such as this while fostering a free press worldwide. programming with events such as this fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club please visit our web site at www.press.org. to donate to programs offered to the public through a national press club journalism institute please visit rest.org {/}{\}{^} institute. on behalf of our members worldwide and would like to welcome her speaker today and those of you in the audience. our head table includes guests table includes guest of her speaker as well as working journalists who are club members. if

future. the core issues that led to instability in iraq started in 2003 were never resolved by the united statesr nine years of occupation. primarily, the need to create a unity government. the united states to decide as the kurds to factor created a new nation and stood aside as the sunni-she arrest -- shia rift developed. maliki sought to have his sunni vice president arrested. he fled and is believed to be in turkey. maliki has continued his persecutions, prosecutions against the sunnis, and now has resorted to open warfare in falluja in attempt to tame them, to marginalize them, and to maintain his shia control power. >> what about the u.s. sending military aid to the iraqi government? >> during nine years of war and occupation, the u.s. expended a terminus number of hellfire missiles and other weaponry. none of that was effective against either side. this is not a war that can be one like a game of chess. there are not lines on the ground where one forces on one side trying to capture territory on the other side. this remains a war to settle political, ethnic, social, and other types of dif

host: we will leave it there. ,aria cardona >> the future role of the united states in iraq and afghanistantalk about health care spending in a lower income america. admiral defender talks about the program and the more the 50 year history of providing free legal counsel for poor people charged in federal cases. "washington journal" is a live with your calls. >> this week of the house will be debating a temporary spending bill because the measure covering the budget year is not ready. currently spending authority runs out on wednesday. next, eric cantor and house minority whip steny hoyer talking. this is 20 minutes. r, on monday the house will meet at neen for morning hour and 2:00 -- noon for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. votes will be postponed until 6:30. on tuesday and wednesday the house will meet at 10:00 a.m. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house will be in order. the members will please remove their conversations from the floor. he house will be in order. the gentleman is recognized. mr

iraq. gennaro odierno's comments were part of the hour-long speech on the future of the u.s. army. [inaudible conversations] >> welcome to the national press club. my name is angela greiling keane. i'm a reporter for "bloomberg news" in the 106 president of the national press club. we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists committed to our profession's future through programming with events such as this fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club please visit our web site at www.press.org. to donate to programs offered to the public through a national press club journalism institute please visit rest.org {/}{\}{^} institute. on behalf of our members worldwide and would like to welcome her speaker today and those of you in the audience. our head table includes guests table includes guest of her speaker as well as working journalists who are club members. if you hear applause in our audience i would note that members of the general public are also attending so the not necessarily evidence of objectivity. i would

amended, and this is that some that say at thise amended, but point the constitution can bring iraq into a better future. i do not agree with the prime minister. in the way that he manages the country, and i believe that permitting the constitution, and applying the rule of law is not in the policy of the government. it is a selective policy. sometimes the laws are in limited in certain circumstances, and in other circumstances they are not. accountasue of bility. the law says that people who in the partyvel should not be nominated at certain high levels in the government and so on. but when we moved to what is happening on the ground, many of the military commanders are in charge of many important units and operations command have in thenking positions police or ministry of the interior, where previously -- and also at that time, were of high standing position, were simply put aside and ignored. officersnterparts, and ither provinces -- have to say it from the congressional perspective, are being ignored, are being almostlized, and are pushed into the arms of the terrorists. there are double standards,

your son was the first who willingly sacrificed and laid down his life for this nation and future freedom in iraqyeah. it's heart wrenching. it's disgusting to know that our sons, our daughters laid down their life in that part of the country. but for me, it really was no surprise. when i heard the announcement that obama had made the choice to pull all of our troops out of iraq and not leave anybody there to provide stability to that country in the transition, to make the passover to continue the training, this is the consequences of those choices that were made. >> and part of the story of ramah dee and fallujah is the people of that area stood side by side with our soldiers and took their cities back. and when our troops were there, and just as they left, that area was quiet, settled. now little by little, al-qaeda is able to come back into that region and knowing that the president has called thisumb war when he was a candidate, how does that sit with the fact that you lost your son in ramadi in 2006? >> i've been over to iraq twice. i actually visited ramadi in 2007 and i went back in 2010,

a bilateral security agreement with the afghans is landing our ability to future counter-narcotics efforts . as we saw in iraq, the country descends into chaos. we should not forget why we are in afghanistan in the first place. we are dealing with a mix of corruption, organized crime, to leadity, that helped to the rise of the taliban. the taliban provided a safe haven for al qaeda during the september 11 attacks. the counter narcotics efforts in theynistan in short that cannot use the country as a base to threaten our country. we reduce the number of troops in afghanistan and we need to focus on our efforts to build .he capabilities we also need to ensure that law enforcement agencies will still be allowed to work alongside afghan personnel to conduct operations and investigations. we should also prioritize our efforts and combat the money laundering and narcotics that are exported from afghanistan. in 2012, the estimated value of almost $2s was billion. it is quite obvious that these ands support the insurgency criminal terrorist activities. critical that plans are in place to deal with how our counter narc

future. >> all right. let's move on to iraq3 more people were killed today in a couple of car bombings in the heart of baghdad. islamic extremists believed to be behind those. senator inhoff, on thursday you tweeted, quote, the issues in iraq are threatening to undo all that our men and women in uniform have fought for as al qaeda is resurgent, taking over fallujah and ramadi again. who's to blame here, senator inhoff? >> well, i'm not going to say who's to blame now. i'd rather look at how can we correct it? we tried very hard back when president obama pulled out to get him to leave such things as surveillance, intelligence, logistics, training. that's the type of thing that we can do. we've trained them already over that period of time. in oklahoma in my 45th, we're very much involved in that. so they're great warriors, but you can't just leave them and not have the intelligence and the logistics there with them. so that's what we're encouraging them to do now. if you look at anbar province, of the 4,486 mends and women who h

iraq is the second largest oil exporter in opec. and looking into the future expects that if oil prices will remain low it will require iraq to produce more and more oil. even though we may not want to have a lot to do with the middle east, even though we may look and think our oil is really guaranteed by our domestic production, because our economy is so intertwined with that of the rest of the world and the rest of the world relies on middle eastern oil, we have to be concerned about the middle east. it's not las vegas. what happens there doesn't stay there. >> that's absolutely true. also before we can really say that americans are having some middle eastern fatigue or don't care about the middle east anymore, we have to keep in mind that americans care deeply about what happens to israel and will react if they feel an actual threat rising against israel and from perspective of many arabs in the middle east, we have a totally israel centric perspective making it hard for us to be a fair broker and be seen as a fair broker from arab perspective there. if we

one of them iraq, where so many brave american troops fought to create a future. here's terry moran on the extremists rising. >> reporter: fierce fighting raged on the outskirts of fallujah today. iraqi troops blasting their way down the streets. after a decade of u.s.-led war to plant democracy in iraq, much of fallujah has now fallen to al qaeda. the terror group's infamous black flag flies openly there now. and its masked soldiers are everywhere, rpg launchers in hand. al qaeda's takeover of fallujah brings back bitter memories for americans. it was here in 2004 that u.s. marines fought a ferocious, house-to-house battle against iraqi insurgents. more than 100 marines gave their lives to pacify the city and hundreds more were injured. today, with american troops out of iraq, security has collapsed. and the civil war in next door syria, where al qaeda fighters are growing in strength and taking the lead among rebel forces, is now spilling over freely into iraq. the fear now is that al qaeda might actually form its own state, its own power base, within the chaos.