the conclusion was arrived at because of the extraordinary statements of general petraeus and general odierno about the effect of the release of these photographs. and how they might endanger the lives of servicemen and women. the language of those two commanding officers was filed by president obama in his brief in the second circuit court of appeals in new york in support of his position that these shouldn't be released. the words that general petraeus used were further endanger the lives of soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors, civilians and contractors serving there. general odierno used similar words, it will put u.s. forces, civilians and iraqi partners at risk of being severely injured, killed or kidnapped that got the attention of democratic senators and republican senators. these generals spoke to secretary gates who i understand had a different position at first, changed his mind, talked to the president and what we were told was that if we did not enact this legislation in this bill, that the risk of those pictures being released before we could do anything else was very grea

it was stated earlier that general petraeus made a statement that afghanistan has been known over the years as a graveyard of empires. we cannot take that history lightly. that was part of the speech that he made. i'd like to say some other things that he mention approximated in that same speech. we have a hugely important interest in ensuring that afghanistan does not once again become a sanctuary for transnational terrorists. and to compliment and capitalized on the increased military resources, more civilian assets, adequate financi resources, close civil military cooperation and comprehensive approach that encompasses regional states will be necessary. our objectives are of enormous importance. we all need to summon the will and the resources necessary to make the most of it. it was just a couple of years ago when we were having a similar debate when we were being told by some that we needed to get out of iraq, that we were losing, that there was no way we could win, and general petraeus was called to lead the surge. and now he's telling us how we can win in afghanistan. mr. chair

general petraeus recently said, and i quote, afghanistan has been known over the years as the graveyard of empires. we cannot take that history lightly, end ever quote. another voice who brings credibility to this position is a retired army colonel nell, vietnam and gulf war veteran, military historian, and father after son who died in iraq in 2007. he has written that embarking on a protracted war with no foreseeable end to the u.s. commitment, lacking clearly defined and achievable objectives, risks forfeiting public support. thereby courting disaster. this amendment does not set a date for leaving afghanistan. it simply asks the secretary of defense to present a plan for success to congress by the end of the year. i would hope that the members of congress will look at this and let's not repeat vietnam. our men and women in uniform vice president given and given and given. and it's time now to say we have a definition of victory. that's all a mr. mcgovern's amendment is asking. with that, mr. speaker, i will yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: i y

general petraeus is correct. we should stand with our troops in the field and prohibit release of these photos. we should not leave it in the hands of aclu lawyers or at the mercy of activist judges. i urge my colleagues to reject this package and insist that it is brought back immediately with senator lieberman's and graham's language to prohibit release of of these photos. finally, the senate-passed troop bill included language prohibiting release or transfer of guantanamo bay detainees to u.s. soil. unfortunately this conference report does not prohibit the transfer or release of detainees after october 1 of this year. this is a huge mistake. i fear we are already beginning to open pandora's box. we have already begun importing terrorists. these guantanamo detainees are trained to foment dissent among americans and we should do everything possible to keep them away from our local military bases and our prisons. again i urge my colleagues to vote no on this rule and the conference report so we can quickly make

i will be looking forward for much to general mcchrystal's expertise, and talking to general petraeus, who has excellent experience on the iraq side. between the three of us, we need to find ways to generate combat effect if we cannot have big standing confirmations. >> general " -- general mcchrystal, how you propose to utilize john rodriguez -- how do you propose to general rodriguez? -- propose to utilize general rodriguez? >> what i would like to aspire to is that he be an operational command of the regional commands, the five regional commands. that would allow me to the to the strategic level and he would do the maneuvering. that requires nato to agree to that. that is not yet done. i don't want to get ahead of reality. that would be my aspiration. >> there is another aspect to the question. shifting away from the geographical base of operations to functional. that is, if nato takes the training mission, if nato takes the logistical missions, the the geography of the fight could be up to those combat units. they are not all exclusively american, but mostly american. >> i have ju

and others put together and gave general petraeus that led to the change in strategy that we call the surge. we will talk in a minute about how durable the process is bought take us back in time and explain how the strategy was put together. >> i don't want to overstate my role here and i was just one of a group. and i think that some of the key leaders are here in the room. but let me give you some numbers. the worst months of the war for civilian casualties were september to december of 2006. in those periods about 100 to 125 iraqi civilians are being killed in baghdad city alone every night night after night after night. several thousand per week in the worst months of the war. what had happened was that we had moved into the society, we had done an about of damage to iraqi society the first year of the war. the enemy exploited that and turned what was basically resistance against occupation in 04 into a completely catastrophic secretary and civil war by 2006. we were repeatedly about six months to lead in coming up with strategies to deal with the situation. in 2005 it was an insu

same statement from general petraeus. same statement from defense secretary gates.ame statement from rear admiral mark busby and others. we have a situation here with guantanamo where it is not making us safer. the president has made the right decision, a hard decision, to deal with the 240 detainees that he inherited, and i think we should do this in a calm and rational and not a fearful way. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: let me just say that senator mccain and senator graham can speak for themselves, but neither of them have ever been in favor of closing guantanamo without a plan to do something. they want to see what the plan is to deal with these terroris terrorists. and beyond that, they can speak for themselves. but they're not in favor of closing guantanamo without a plan. with regard to the suggestion that we should bring these prisoners to the united states and try them, my good friend from illinois has suggested that there's no downside to that. that, you know, w

as opposed to giving general petraeus, as the president asked for, funding to help out in pakistan and afghanistan, we're going to send diplomats. so they can talk to taliban and talk to al qaeda, they can talk to the madmen who cut off people's heads, that's what the state department's going to do. this is the wrong move. the republicans have it right this time. give the president full authority, let him come up with a plan and let general petraeus implement that, this substitute the republican substitute is the right way to go. we need to make sure that pakistan is fighting for pakistan and that pakistan doesn't think it's only fighting for american dollars. that's what we need to do. as once more a united states marine that saw state department ineptness and cowardice, while i was in afghanistan, it's almost personally insummitting we're going to pull the money and fund from general the reus and give it to state department cronies. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida has 1 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from california has

the president of the united states has said listening to his field commanders and general petraeus that the release of these photographs would work and be used as a recruiting tool and used by president ahmadinejad to turn the pro-democracy protests in his country away from protests against ahmadinejad and towards america. there is a body of photographs taken between september 1, 2001 and january 2, 2009 and have no business being released in the public arena. we need a legislative fix that would prevent the release of these photographs and my amendment mirrored up with an exact replica in the senate would allow these photographs to be protected properly. the amendment would have protected for three years on a rolling three-year basis these photographs certified by the secretary of defense that they would, in fact, be used as recruiting tools and could be used to incite violence against american troops. there is no good reason to release these photographs. i wish the rules committee would have allowed this debate as our colleagues from massachusetts said last night, the way the rules co

i don't know what issues secretary gates or general david petraeus had. >> host: houston, your question for general myers? >> caller: my son is going to afghanistan and i'd think his brother is the biggest heroin dealer in the country. and not only does dick cheney sent this country to war but he has the nerve to make profit on the debt of american soldiers, a pre-emptive for cashing out the treasury. halliburton, 17 americans are dead, 53 raped, they got rich on activist unity, banana republic -- i hope the democrats never go through, we have retroactive immunity so have a ball. let's have a gay pride parade. >> guest: i don't think there was a question but thank you, and thank your son for his service, we wish him luck in iraq and pray that he comes of safely. >> host: what about observation about the government? >> guest: it appears the government has become a little less effective in satisfying its citizens. my interaction with president cars i beat me to believe he is involved in the drug business or any of this activity, he has another life, he was drafted to be the president of a

in the court documents general petraeus and general owe owed o. it will insight violence against men and women serving overseas and american civilians in theater. there is nothing new to be learned according to the president. this is more of the same. the people involved in abu ghraib and other detainee abuse allegations have been dealt with. and the effect of releasing these photos would be empowering our enemies. every photo would become a bullet or i.e.d. i want to applaud the president for saying that he opposes their release. there is a stay on the second circuit order that would allow the photos to be released until the supreme court hears the petition filed by the supreme court. i have been promised two things important to me to remove my holds and let the supplemental go without objection. that there will be a freestanding vote on the lieberman-graham vote. the senate has previously allowed this legislation to become part of the supplemental war funding bill. it would prevent the disclosure of these photos for a three-year period if the se

it's one of our leading military commanders including general petraeus and ray odierno. both have stated the release of the images could endanger the lives of u.s. soldiers. and make our counterinsurgency efforts in iraq and afghanistan more difficult. that's why i commend the leadership demonstrated by senators lieberman and graham, beth of whom have steadfastly demanded this crucial provision be addressed now by congress. the efforts culminated in the passage by unanimous consent of stand-alone legislation to help prevent the release of the damaging images. so there's other troubling aspects of detainee policy included in this supplemental bill. provisions in this bill attempt to address detainee policy in a piecemeal way that fails to constitute a comprehensive plan for what to do with detainees at guantanamo and those suspects capture off the battlefield and afghanistan and does not include $80 million requested by president obama to close guantanamo. this is a serious rebuke by congress. and reflects a bipartisan backlash against the idea of announcing a date for gu

. >>> david kilcullen, former senior counterinsurgency adviser to general petraeus in iraq, talks about the relationship between the war on terror and smaller guerrilla nabors mack being fought around the world. he also discusses president obama plans for afghanistan. mr. kilcullen is interviewed by "the washington post" david ignatius. the event hosted by the center for a new american security in washington, d.c. is one hour and 15 minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> good evening, everyone. i'm john, the president for the center of new american security and it's a great honor to welcome all of you to what promises to be exported during evening of discussion about the most important issues facing america today. the counter insurgency campaigns in iraq, afghanistan and the global counter insurgency against al qaeda. and we couldn't have a better pair of thinkers to light to guide us through these minefields. david ignatius is a columnist and associate at the "washington post" where he writes on global politics, economics and international affairs. his award winning column appears on th

we know that the president, general petraeus and general odierno all feel the release of the photographs would endanger our troops. in the senate -- in the senate, senator lieberman and senator graham offered an amendment. i believe it was accepted without dissent. there is an overwhelming view in the senate that these photographs should not be released. consequently, i'm perplexed that it appears as if there's some sentiment on the other side of the capitol, maybe even majority sentiment, given the nature of the markup to this point, that the amendment be deleted. i would like for you to have the opportunity to hear from the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, who also happens to be a member of this committee, and is sitting right down the table, to further underscore the bipartisan nature of support for the amendment guaranteing that our troops not be endangered by this sort of gratuitous act of releasing detainee photographs that none of the people leading our troops feel would do anything other than endanger the lives of our soldiers. i don't know if i have the ability to

forces afghanistan through general petraeus u.s. central command and to coordinate between the military and civilian components for the effort in afghanistan. the next commander will confront a myriad of challenges, including a resurgent taliban, effectively open the border in the area between canada hard and pakistan, over which border extremists return to afghanistan and return to safe havens in pakistan. there is on a checked narcotics trafficking, all u.s. and coalition power, not just military force, also diplomatic and legal tools needed to turn the situation in afghanistan around. general mcchrystal, i also invite you this morning to clarify your understanding of u.s. standards for the treatment of detainees and to comment on allegations for detainee mistreatment units under your command during your tenure as commander of the joint special operations command in 2003-2008. you may want to address both that issue and the tillman matter in your statement. both subjects were discussed yesterday and connection to your nomination t

i believe that the communication and the friendship between myself, general mcchrystal, general petraeus, we will all be very effective. and then we will turn in war with our allies to create a pallet on which we can paint are different pictures and then have it come out as a picture we want. >> a vote has begun after this. we will then identify this. excuse the interruption. >> in your efforts, as she strengthened and build relationships, this issue of caveat is problematic. if you talk to troops are commanders it continually comes up, and it really does undermine our ability to be affected. i understand there are limitations when you are dealing with a coalition effort like this, but i really hope you can hone in on that and see if we can perhaps provide some relief for some of our allies. >> we spoke earlier about the importance of these teams that we are going to bring together and that is at the very top of the priority list and i would say the caveat would be the next. i read every one of the 69 caveat that applied to the various nations involved in this. it is complicated. it is w

the fact that we have general petraeus and sent tom has been so important and influential and the decision to surge troops into iraq. it also gives me comfort, i think he understands what is necessary, although obviously the situations are very different. it is a larger challenge, and i suspect and i hope that you will continue to see the current administration recognize the importance of going after bad guys in south pakistan. >> thank you. >> thanks. [applause] thank you. >> tomorrow on "washington journal," michael ettlinger and john lott discuss the obama administration's spending policies. then it nathan guttman looks at u.s.-israeli relations. and we also have the latest on the iranian election. washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. this week on c-span's "newsmakers," jon kyl talks about what is on the senate's agenda. >> there's a lot of reading involved here, and i was reading some very troubling things last night about her views toward international law, in effect saying that you could interpret united states's constitution by looking to see what public opinion

that is why in 2004, we put general david petraeus in terms of training of iraqi security forces. we had some ups and downs and did not put enough resources in the training of security forces thinking this would come easier. it was harder because in away, you are trying to change the culture in terms of serving, and did is problematic to develop security forces when there is no connectivity to the minister of defense for the armed forces. there was not that leadership in the early years. there were people working the problem but there wasn't a continuity of government that the people in the trenches understand who they're working for and what their objectives were. it was a nation without a government. with these interim governments, until the prime minister was elected in 2006. for a long time there were interim governments. we changed our standard a couple times and finally got it right, general david petraeus did it right. >> host: what is your biggest regret with regard to iraq policy? >> guest: unable to focus on national power on the problem. often in the media in particular

general petraeus and others have made it clear the release of these photos would endanger our troops. i believe it will also crippled the ability of our intelligence officials to do their job, and while it was supported in the house last week with another broad bipartisan vote, the language is not in the bill. the demands of the french left, so i would hope that -- i would suggest to my colleagues this is not until i can support. i am going to do everything i can to help our troops. they are doing a marvelous job in helping to keep americans save, but not to make this bill with so many political gamesmanship is not what americans expect of their congress, so i would ask to stand up and say no to this bill and bring the bipartisan majority the past the first bill and take care of our troops the right way. this is not the answer. i yield back. >> the gentleman from california has four minutes remaining. the gentleman from wisconsin has 28 minutes remaining. >> mr. speaker, i believe that the chairman plans to close. he will be the last speaker on the side, so i yield back the balance of

say he's my favorite author who wrote "fiasco" has a new book titled "the gamble" which is general petraeus'sfforts in iraq between 2006 and 2008. and several others here, "fox in the der" which is the story of the german african corps. three victories and the defeat that is the rise and the fall of the first british empire. the defeat being the american revolution and one that i just completed, malcolm gladwe'll book the "outliers" and why some people are successful and why some who are large iq's are moderately successful. i find it to be quite revealing and it explains a lot of people's history as to how well they can do and as well as they will do. but i'm always reading several books. mostly history. a great deal of military history. that's what i do. i'm chairman of the arms services committee and i think it's important that people involved with the military understand history, where we've been 'cause it helps us determine where we're going. >> to see more summer reading lists and other program information, visit our website at booktv.org. >> da capo is one of the imprints of the perseu

as secretary clinton and secretary gates, general petraeus execute the president's new strategy for afghanistan and pakistan, we should do everything we can to develop a complete picture of where the al qaeda and taliban leadership is hiding. this amendment provides our key state department intelligence officials with every possible tool that they could have to make sure they can offer a reward, even if that person, for example, works for the pakistan i.b. bureau. in the past congress, the house overwhelmingly passed this amendment 419-1 but did not pass the senate. and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. berman: i ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition to this amendment, although i am not opposed. the chair: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: as the gentleman said and i agree with every word that he said in support of his amendment. i'm not sure i could have pronounced every word as well as he did, but this is simply a discretionary authorization that the secretary of state, usually i

the military leadership, general petraeus, both oppose the release of these photos. they persuaded president obama to change and they oppose the release of these photos. it will serve no good purpose. and i'm disappointed that the conferees did not include the instructions that we gave them to protect these photos from disclosure and i urge my colleagues to oppose this supplemental and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. lewis: i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the the gentleman from virginia, the finest that virginia has ever produced. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for three minutes. mr. cantor:. i rise in opposition to this bill. america has the best military in the world. i think all of us who have traveled and have seen the commitment of our armed forces are overwhelmed by their patriotism. the success of our military has much to do with the character and the courage of the men and women in unifor

madam president, i had a conversation with general petraeus just the day before yesterday and i believe those conversations are confidential and i asked his -- his agreement to -- quote -- "if these photos are released, it will harm the ability of the united states military to pursue our national security interests and could put american lives in danger. " now that's a serious statement from the most respected military leader that this nation has. and i want to point out something very important. today the president of the united states could issue an executive order classifying those photos and not allowing them to be released. he could do it today. it's time for the president of the united states to stand up to the left wing of his party for the good of the national security of this nation. so, madam president, i join others that if -- if that supplemental comes over without the provision, which was adopted unanimously by the united states senate to make sure that those photos are not released, because of the harm it would do to america's effort in combating radical islamic extremists

it was written about in his book and general petraeus talked about it. will that stand structure where we will have black prayings? >> obviously we don't talk about such operations here, but i will say this. obviously with this milestone date approaching of june 30, it's significant on many levels but it does not mean, however, an end to counterterrorism operations in iraq. in fact even when we get finally to the end of august of next year, when all combat brigades are to leave iraq, there will still be a residual force that stays behind and one of the mandatory dates will be to conduct counterterrorism operations, so that we believe is still a fundamental role for us to play, however, this is not done unilaterally but done in close with the iraqi forces and going after agreed-upon targets, warranty operations with shared intel and so forth. so those will continue. yes? >> just for the record, what are the city that is we might see some compliments staying there? like in the north, you mean? >> i defer you to mnfi as far as where, specifically, the bulk

the fact that we have got general petraeus at centcom who is so important and influential in the decision to surge in the troops into iraq also gives me comfort. i think he understands what's necessary even though the situations are very different ones but it is a huge challenge and i suspect -- i hope he will continue to see the current administration recognize the importance of going after bad guys inside pakistan. >> thank you. >> thanks. [applause] thank you. >>> how is c-span funded? >> private donations. >> tax payers. >> i don't really know. >> public television. >> donations. >> i don't know where the money comes from. >> federally. >> contributions from donors. >> 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, private business initiative, no government mandate, no government money. >>> here's a look at the separation of powers between executive and legislative branches of government. you will hear from a panel of authors and journalists who cover the white house and capitol hill. this is one hour and 45 minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> i hope you

without first making progress in pakistan, which was a question that several senators asked general petraeus this morning. and can we make progress in pakistan if the pakistani army continues to really reject the idea of a counterinsurgency doctrine and change its strategy and its tactics thereby going in and flattening villages, creating new refuge flows, et cetera. >> well, a couple of points on that. firstly, i think the pakistanis have changed their approach over the last few years and we've seen a pretty significant improvement. the campaign this year while, you know, they had some problems were certainly nothing like some of the previous campaigns they've conducted so i think they're getting better and we should give them credit for that but i think the fundamental problem in pakistan is not one of capacity. we could always work with the pakistanis to help them do things better. but first there has to be a change in some of the motivation of certain elements within the pakistani security development. i'm not suggesting the whole pakistani army, or the whole of isi or any of the rest of

general petraeus has said in his judgment that the release of these photographs will help recruit additional terrorists, additional jihadists to the team and they will be used to spur actions against our military, against our troops in the field that might not otherwise be there. and so i don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that the release of these photographs in all likelihood will result in additional deaths and injuries to american troops that don't have to occur. the senate language would restrict acksess to these photographs which is the right thing. the white house said these photographs should not be released. i encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support our motion to instruct because it does make sense to not release these photographs. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. lewis: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. gohmert: thank you, madam spea

general petraeus and odierno and others said that the release of these photos will endanger our troops. i believe it will cripple the ability of our intelligence officials to do their job. and yet while it was supported in this house last week with another broad bipartisan vote, the language isn't in the bill. it's been taken out at the demands of the fringe left. and so i would suggest to my colleagues that this is not a bill that i can support. i want to do everything i can to help our troops. they're doing a marvelous job on our behalf in helping keep americans safe. but to load this bill up with this kind of political gamesmanship is not what the american people expect of their congress. and so i would ask my colleagues, stand up and say no to this bill, let's bring back the broad bipartisan majority that passed the first bill and take care of our troops the right way. this is not the answer, though. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the minority leader yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california has four minutes remaining. the gentleman from wisconsin h

>> i looked from the statements of general petraeus, senator mccain. i looked at a couple of statements that you made. >> and i'm just echoing what they're saying. people on the ground in different regions of the world indicate that gitmo has hurt our side. and starting over with detainee policy would be a good idea. do you share that view? >> yeah, i do. as i look at and have spoken with members of the military about the impact that guantanamo has had as a recruiting tool and as a thing that has alienated us from people, nations that should be our allies, i think the closure of guantanamo, the decision to close guantanamo by the president is a good one. >> i think secretary clinton shares the view that it would help us abroad that if we have a startover regard rg detainee policy. >> yes. >> and in every war detainee policy can hurt the war effort or help the war effort. the way you treat people in your capture does matter. the german people housed in the united states were i think well taken care of and it made us -- it easier to win over the german a

the fact that we've got general petraeus at centcom who was so important and influential in the decision to surge our troops into iraq also gives me comfort. i think he understands, you know, what's necessary although, obviously, the situations are very, very different ones. but it is a huge challenge. and i suspect that -- i hope -- i hope that you'll continue to see the current administration recognize the importance of going after bad guys inside pakistan. >> thank you. >> thanks. [applause] >> thank you. >> our coverage of the conservative leadership ends with remarks from syndicated columnist rebecca hagelin. this is 30 minutes. >> hello, my i attend amherst college and i i'm a intern with the clare boothe luce policy institute. our next speaker is a political commentator and acclaimed author. she's been married for almost 25 years and is a proud mother of three children. she's served as the heritage foundation vice president of communications and marketing and is currently their senior communications fellow. she's worked in public relations for center of conservative studies for co

general david petraeus said guantanamo is -- quote -- "a symbol that is used by our enemies to our disadvantage who beat around the head and shoulders with it." defense secretary robert gates said closing guantanamo is essential to national security. it has become a rallying cry and recruitment tool for our enemies. of course skaoeul is entitled to his -- of course senator kyl is entitled to his opinion and i respect him very much and count him as a friend, but we don't hear evidence to support his opinion, certainly not evidence that compares with those that i've quoted here, starting with general colin powell. not only is guantanamo a recruiting tool, there is evidence that the al qaeda is recruiting terrorists within guantanamo. the mckhra which i newspapers did an -- the mcclatchey newspaper says guantanamo often produces more terrorists by rounding up low-level foot soldiers and men with no allegiance to radical islam. this newspaper found that -- quote -- "guantanamo became a school for jihad and an american madras. rear admiral mark bugsby said i must make the assumption there is a fully

all this in a place where even general petraeus says we should remember that this has been the graveyard of empires. this comes on top of approximately $800 billion on the war in iraq and hundreds of billions more in indirect costs for these two cars. then in the supplemental bill that we will take up later today we have $5 billion for the international monetary fund, and in this bill there is a guarantee for $100 billion in loans made by the i.m.f., loans being made to other countries. all this money will have to be borrowed because we are so many trillions in debt already that it is not even humanly comprehensible. the bill also contains $7.7 billion, $7,700,000,000 for swine flu vaccines. i heard a speech our colleague of the gentleman from texas, dr. paul, made recently in which he said during his first stay in the house in -- i think it was 1976 that there was another swine flu scare and that only he and one other person, probably the only other medical doctor in the house at that time voted against the money for the swine flu scare and one person died from swine flu that year and m

his new book, entitled the gamble, which is general petraeus' efforts in iraq between 2006 and 2008, and several others here. clocks-- fox this desert, three victories and a defeat is the rise and fall of the first british empire, the defeat of course being the american revolution. and one that i have just completed, malcolm gladwell's book, the al liars, which tells about why some people are successful and why some people with fantastically high iq is are just moderately successful and i find it to be quite revealing and explains a lot of people's history as to how well, how they will do. but i am always reading several books, mostly history, a great deal of military history. that is what i do. i am chairman of the armed services committee and i think it is important that people involved with the military understand where we have been because it helps us determine where we are going. >> to see more summer reading lists and other program information visit our web site at booktv.org. >> up next, the william least heat-moon postal its malton america in his first road trip books since "

. >> i would like to introduce into the record the statements of general petraeus filed by the government as part of their declaration as part of the lawsuit indicating the danger to our troops if they were released to back up what you're saying. >> without objection. >> thank you, mr. chairman. military commissions act, i'm amazed we are eight years into this war, basically, since 9/11, september will be the eight-year anniversary. we are still talking about how to deal this. it's very complicated. most of your questioning today has been about matters, legal matters surrounding the war. i'll continue to call it war. you call it anything you'd like. the military commission act the administration would like to make some changes. i agree with that. i'm working with senator levin and mccain in the armed services committee to make some changes in the next few weeks for the defense authorization bill. i would urge you to get with us soon. will you do that? >> yes, we will. we have been discussing this internally. we have some thoughts and i think it's time for us to share those. >> i would lik

you have written a report that " general david petraeus that asks how this will end. are we at the point? guest: we are not. i would like to think, listening jane who says that conditions are better now -- i would like to think that we have seen real progress and are moving toward a condition where we can have a normal relationship with iraq and where the iraqi people can have an increasingly normal life. host: much concern expressed by the former was president. are they valid? guest: i think they are del. the security situation in iraq is far improved, but still tenuous. where handing more responsibility over to the iraqi security forces enough we have tried to do that before. i think they are more ready this time than last. we're keeping a substantial presence there now and for years to come to buttress them. the situation on the ground i think has changed permanently. but it does not mean that there will not still be car bombs. that is why i wrote this people to encourage the west remain engaged in understand that this progress still relies greatly on american supp

in is when a leading military commanders including generals david petraeus and ray odierno.h of these distinguished military leaders have stated that the release of these images could endanger the lives of u.s. soldiers and make our counterinsurgency efforts in iraq and afghanistan are difficult. that's why i commend the leadership demonstrated by senators lieberman and gramm both of whom have steadfastly demanded that this crucial provision be addressed now by the congress. their efforts culminated in the passage by unanimous consent of stand-alone legislation that will help prevent release of these damaging images. so there is other troubling aspects of detainee policy included in the supplemental bill from the provisions in this bill attempts to address the detainee policy in a piecemeal without pills to constitute a compress a plan for what to do with the detainees at guantanamo and those terrorist suspects captured off the battlefield in afghanistan, doesn't include any million dollars or press and by president of, to close guantanamo. this is a serious review by congre

admiral michael mullen, chairman of joint chiefs of staff and general david petraeus. so for senator kafeel to come to the floor and suggest this notion of closing guantanamo isn't one shared by military and security leaders isn't accurate. the list i've given isn't complete. many others agree with the president's position. according to the experts, guantanamo has become a recruiting tool for al qaeda that's actually hurting america's security. in his remarks this afternoon senator carl challenged the notion singing and by quote an idea that's been floated by the president, senator durbin and others, and of quote, of closing guantanamo. senator kyl didn't mention who these nameless others who agree with closing guantanamo or agree it is a recruiting tool for terrorists might be. let's take one for example. chairman of joint chiefs of staff mike mahlon and i quote. the consort had about guantanamo is that it's been a recruiting for those extremists and jihadists who would like us. that's part of the concern for guantanamo's continued existence. that was a quote from the

looking at it, reading it, listening to the people who it actually is going to affect, like general david petraeus, who i met at sent come last week and had -- at sent come last week and -- at centcom last week, he said it was it's going to tie our hands and not allow us to do what the military needs to do to train and assist in this issue. nobody has any qualms or quarrels with the majority side saying this is something that needs to be done. the issue is a jurisdictional problem with troords whether state or d.o.d. has input or actually controls what goes on in this program. look, i've been to pakistan and afghanistan three times in the last year. i understand what's going on there. i know how hard the pakistanis are fighting to control what's going on. we need to do what we can do to help with the counterinsurgency problem. even our own president, it's my understanding the president does not support this particular piece of legislation and it has already been said on the floor today that senator kerry does not support this particular piece of legislation sornings those are the facts. others may

. >> i would like to introduce into the record the statement of general odierno and petraeus indicating the danger to our troops of the photos were released to back up what you are saying. military commissions act -- i am amazed. we are eight years into this war, since 9/11. september will be the eighth anniversary. we are still talking about how to do it. it is complicated. most of your questioning today has been about legal matters surrounding the war. i will continue to call it the war. the military commission act the administration would like to make some changes. i agree with that. i am working with senator levin and mccain in the armed services committee to make some changes in the next few weeks for the defense authorization bill. i urge you to get with us soon. will you do that? >> we have been discussing this internally. we think it is time for us to share those. >> i would like to do more than amend the military commissions act. i would like to deal with the third bucket, the people that are too dangerous to let go. we are losing -- whatever damage we are trying to repair with

he is introduced by general david patras --. trieste. petraeus. having had the privilege of meeting him i realized from the outset that this was a leader who got it. this was hours before he left to go to iraq. i have been privileged to work closely with him in iraq and then of course and the central command position. we have all seen the qualities that he has brought to the job. above all very impressive judgment, extraordinary calm, during pressure-packed. it's. something i think is unique in the histories of our secretaries of defense, and that is, he is about to do something that someone else has not done. to develop concepts and ideas, policies, but then to turn those into budgetary reality in a way that has been quite skillful and very determined. it will have an imprint on our department in a way that i believe is very positive for all of us. beyond that, i would offer to this group the chief of defence staff from the central command region that he is one that places a high premium on partnerships and on working with allies and coalition me

general stanley mccrystal is taking charge. he's kind of a wild-eyed special forces assassin. he's been put in charge of heading the operations. petraeus'sown counterinsurgency advisor in work, he described the obama/petraeus/mccrystal policies is a fundamental strategic error which may lead to the collapse of pakistan. he says it's a calamity that would dwarf all other current issues given the country's size, strategic location and nuclear stockpile. it's also not too encouraging that pakistan and india are now rapidly expanding their nuclear arsenals. pakistan's nuclear arsenals were developed with reagan's crucial aid and india's nuclear weapons program has got

and the kerry-lugar bill, according to him and general petraeus, would be the most important thing the congress could do to aid the pakistan government and the pakistan military that the crucial time. i'm glad to say in a bipartisan fashion we responded to that call from our general and from our ambassador, and hopefully this will become law soon. and to the american taxpayer, i know times are tough. i know money is in short supply, but, quite frankly, this is an investment that we have to make. we've got soldiers serving in afghanistan. if we can make pakistan more secure and less of a safe haven for -- for terrorists who are attacking our troops, that mix their lives -- that makes their lives better and if we can stabilize pakistan and puts them in a pattern of moderation our nation will prosper and future jernses will be able to prosper. it's impossible for us as a nation to have a strong, vibrant economy and to enjoy freedom we enjoy today and pass on to our kids and grandkids without confronting the problems head-on. when you ignore these problems it comes back to bite you. this i