there was hasan who was -- who did the shooting at fort hood. and up until now, we felt that we really -- that we didn't have a problem with our muslim community. but we may. chris: is that what the president was trying to address when he was talking about really trying to work against this recruitment of people that are just agitated, unhappy in their lives, that al qaeda's working on and grabbing? >> i think he was speaking on two fronts. he was trying to do that. he was also trying to not discount the impact of that extraordinary cairo speech that he gave. he does fundamentally want to reach out to the larger muslim community to the islamic world. in a way that george w. bush did not. so he does not want our response to this terror incident, this threat, and others, to discount the larger foreign policy appeal, the engagement that he is trying to pursue. at the same time, he needs to project domestically and internationally the strength, the firmness about our defenses. the problem that joe and david have outlined here is that al qaeda is out

major hasan have been an individual actor in the ft.hood shootings but the radicalization of an officer took an oath to support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic and to bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution should send shockwaves through all americans as to the power and reach of an enemy like al qaeda in yemen to generate such radicalism among other u.s. citizens. al qaeda and yemen declared war on the united states with the attack on the uss cole in 2000. while the u.s. has taken actions to curb their power and influence as an external threat, this nation and its allies seemingly have also taken action to assist in the organization. for example, in 2006, the escape of 23 members of the al qaeda from a maximum-security yemeni prison including several who attacked the coal lead to the formation of al qaeda on the arabian peninsula. the 2007 release from guantanamo bay of said al-zawahiri one of the first 18 at that prison allowed him to join the al qaeda in yemen and t

the koran we visited the same east end neighborhood where our journey began, to talk to imam usama hasanuoted justify this kind of violence. what's going on? >> those verses are nearly always taken totally out of context and nearly always ignoring the spiritual aspect, the aspect which talks about forgiveness and repentance. >> reporter: few people here have studied the koran as closely as imam hasan. he had memorized it by the time he was 11, and at 19, he briefly fought in the jihad against communists in afghanistan. but he says there is no justification for violent jihad here in britain. >> if you have the wrong intention, you could justify your criminal actions from any text, whether it's a koran or bible or shakespeare. there are passages in the new testament where jesus christ is alleged to say think not that i have come to bring peace. i have come to bring the sword. that's a famous quote in the new testament. but clearly, most christians don't misunderstand that to justify terrorism and wanton violence. >> reporter: what is your reaction when you hear this book, the koran, and th

should everyone have picked up on the clues in major hasan's behavior?at merits they look, but at the same time, i am skeptical about these clues that are so obvious in the rearview mirror. an army of reporters go explores every detail of his life and comes back with profiles. of course, that never did is already set. when they interview someone who knew nidal hasan or the call- up, -- would colombes -- abdulmutallab, the story is already there. did you know him, did he look at you weird, did he voiced strong opinions? however, if you reverse that, everyone who strikes you as odd, who has tried in views about an issue -- strident views about an issue -- that is not something that we try to do. host: next phone call. caller: i am thankful for c- span. i would quickly -- first, i would like to ask a question -- and then i will add a comment. i tried to pay attention, but is it not a fundamental military weapons and will that there is no victory with a strictly defensive action? guest: you are right. certainly, as a former soldier, i would say you have to t

including with major hasan. it's not just those dots which in my view would have made folks what his potential was. there's dot thes that go in the other direction. what his patients thought of him. which was very high. you got to throw those dots into the mix too for people who are going to be judging him. you have a record here of a number of his assessments. they were not just negative that should have been included in the record by the way. i happen to degree with you to -- totally. there's also some highly positive, not politically correct, positive assessment of his capability. i think it's important since we're trying to take a jr. -- general view of this while it's politically important to connect the dots that we also recognize in terms of the task in front of us that there are some dots that are going to be in the mix which make it very unclear as to what you do with the dots that seem to point in one direction. because there's dots that point in the other direction. even with him, they are not being f

but it only takes a handful to create dv station. >> that is why imam hasan's message to his flock aty prayers is so urgent. >> many people are terrified of muslims. they are terrified of a brother walking down the road with his eastern dress and hat because they have seen these images associated with suicide bombers. it is up to us to dispel the fear, to smile at people, to

including with major hasan. it's not just those dots which in my view would have made folks what his potential was. there's dot thes that go in the other direction. what his patients thought of him. which was very high. you got to throw those dots into the mix too for people who are going to be judging him. you have a record here of a number of his assessments. they were not just negative that should have been included in the record by the way. i happen to degree with you to -- totally. there's also some highly positive, not politically correct, positive assessment of his capability. i think it's important since we're trying to take a jr. -- general view of this while it's politically important to connect the dots that we also recognize in terms of the task in front of us that there are some dots that are going to be in the mix which make it very unclear as to what you do with the dots that seem to point in one direction. because there's dots that point in the other direction. even with him, they are not being f

osama hasan was once a radical himself. he met al awaki and heard him spoke, telling the congregation police had mistreated people of islam. >> if they don't know how to chann channel, the anger will take over. >> reporter: hassan later walked away from extremism. >> he conducted closed studies justifying suicide bombing, including in the west. >> justifying suicide bombings? >> justifying suicide bombings. >> reporter: al awaki was eventually banned from visiting the u.k. even though he can't come back into britain, he's still getting his message out. his books are selling for about $100 each. the store keeper says they're among his hottest selling items, because most people buying them believe al awaki is mainstream. weather on dvd's the internet or behind closed doors, he's inspired people to terrorism. in london court transcripts reveal that at least some of the group that conspired to blow up passenger jets enroute to the u.s. in 2006 were al devotes, so too, terrorists in toronto, planning to blow up targets in canada

after the hasan ft. hood shootings, as fran has said, the intel jns community should have been going back and looking at absolutely everything having everything to do with this guy, every communication. if he, indeed, had had contact as officials are now saying with this young man, that's another thing that you sort of can't believe wasn't flagged along the way. >> jessica, we should talk about this for a moment, john brennan said there was no smoking gun. and i actually think if this turns out to be accurate, this may be, if it's not the smoking gun, it's the smell of gunpowder. >> the connection with the cleric. >> yeah. let's talk about it. the sberp september related to abdulmutallab, came in we're told sometime? august. maybe they missed connecting the dots in august. on november 5th when we have the tragic ft. hood shooting where we lose 13 soldiers, as we go back and look at that case in ft. hood, we understand nadal hasan, the ft. hood shooter had contact with this yemeni cleric. certainly on nov

in my mind major hasan carried out this attack. it was inspired, i think, by system of the rantings and rhetoric of individuals like awlaki and so they're looking at this right. >> so it was? >> certainly an act of murder. waupten murder, wanton slaughter of u.s. military officers. >> let's talk about guantanamo, then, for a moment, too. there are reports one prisoner released from guantanamo in 2006 is now called the theological guy, if you will, to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he was involved in the christmas day plot. does it make you rethink your decision to release six prisoners back into yemen last month from guantanamo? >> no, it doesn't. that was result of meticulous, rigorous process we've had in place since the beginning of the administration. last administration released 532 detainees it. during this administration we have transferred five of these individuals overseas. i've been in dialogue with the yeme yemenis. several of those were put into custody as soon as they returned to yemen. we're making sure we're not

hasan at ft. hood and now abdulmutallab in detroit in the airplane, every one of those three is connected in some way to yemen. >> let's turn to abdulmutallab and the christmas day attempt and the administration's response. let me ask you straight up. do you have confidence that the secretary of the department of homeland security is up for the job? can do this job? >> i do. but i will say that her initial comments were bizarre and inappropriate. it baffled me that she said the system worked very, very smoothly when clearly it did not. it also surprised me when she implied that there was not information to indicate that this individual posed a threat when there was information. nevertheless, i believe that secretary napolitano is working very hard and that she will cooperate with our efforts to ensure that these eaches in our defenses cannot happen again. >> is she is right person for the job? >> she is. she came to the job with tremendous experience. federal prosecutor, state attorney general. i

. >> reporter: nadya hasan is a frequent flier.gine her surprise when she arrived at the security checkpoint at washington's dulles international airport tuesday. >> racial, religious profiles, i'm being sdel singled out, as a security threat. >> reporter: the 40-year-old michigan-born muslim-american headed to los angeles, says she was singled out from what she called a humiliating full body search. when she asked why this was happening. >> the gentleman working there specifically told me that the reason why i'm being put through this type of search is because i'm wearing a headscarf. he actually told me that that's the reason why you are being targeted. >> reporter: she's not alone. on monday, a muslim canadian woman says she was made it feel like a terrorist, because she was wearing a headscarf. berated and banned from boarding a flight to the united states, all because of her faith. the council on american islamic relations calls these textbook cases of profiling. >> it is against the law, unconstitutional and un-american to si

department that will allow them to be preemptive in dealing with threats. >> if you had been major hasan'save stepped across there? >> can you answer that within -- >> it makes us refer to what we have learned, right? >> you probably could say that you would have been alarm bid certain things. you could probably say that. >> let me tell you what we did say. we said that we thought that several officers responsible for applying the army's policies to him did not do so and we think that should be referred to the secretary of army for considerations of accountability. i think that is as far as you want us to go. >> but is there a positive thing you could say of what you would have done had you been in that situati situation, like the wording you would say that you were concerned about this, this and that? >> let me take this in a direction that might be helpful without speaking to this specific case. this morning the question was asked about information moving from base to base and with an individual. one of the things that leaders do and good officers -- and at the heart of the united states

hood case with hasan and this latest connected with umar, the christmas day bomber.ot sure if it's operational connection or trained them or tell them what to do but he's advising these guys. we know the christmas day bomber met with him face to face, visited one of his houses, a strong influence. u.s. officials wish they would have gotten him years ago and held on to him and looking for him now. >> what about the najibullah zazi incident, where they arrested two guys trying to blow up two subways? >> interesting case. a couple guys gone to school with zazi, had gone to pakistan and undergone the same training and now this sudden surge of interest in these associates authorities think were tied up in the same general operation. they're very interested talking with him and gathering information and collecting cell phones and computer records. it again illustrates this problem we're seeing more and more of, this homegrown terrorism connection. i talked to counter terrorism people who say this is very alarming assumption for a long time this is not homegrown problem and

hasan's professional skills, is far removed from his religious beliefs and his discussions. just his simple confidence, his ability to work with others, those things that are fundamental for being an officer in the military. and yet he was sort of moved along and i know this question has come up and in these critical areas, where there are not a surplus of individuals such as mental health professionals, psychiatrists, etc., is there a double standard in terms of had he been a line officer or an infantry officer or artillery office. his radicalization but a simple performance with that have been-- gotten him kicked out? >> we are prepared to discuss that with the but we would ask you to do that in a restricted session. >> i appreciate that. >> certainly the part of what we have to say is an annex. we used the word officership in the open report. officership was intended to mean more than just leadership and it was our view that there were officers ship deficiencies, and in the closed session we can talk in great detail about the specifics of that. >> just one final question.

army psychologist nidal hasan opens fire on military personnel in fort hood texas killing 14.nd the coverage that january on january 20th when barack obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the united states. jim, you're chomping at the bit. >> i would connect two of those, obama and fort hood. i think that the obama administration's response or lack of response to the fort hood shooting and all the discoveries we've made about muslim jihadist infiltration into the united states is going to prove to be the biggest story of 2009 and frankly, obama's term in office. >> jon: judy. >> i think that the phenomenon of home grown radicalization will be certainly the national security story of 2009. i have to agree with you, jim. >> jon: all right. you're jumping a little bit ahead of us because we're going to get into that. ellis, your take on president obama and his year just completed. >> well, it reminds you that a really huge story one year can produce an almost as huge story the second year. you know, we're finding this out. it's too soon to have real perspective on it, but y

last november, major nidal hasan allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 43 at the texas military base. it turned out he had a history of erratic behavior and making troubling statements. former army secretary togo west and retired admiral vernon clark investigated. west said today commanders should have been more aware of problems with hasan. >> do we want commanders in the mosques? no. do we want anybody there? no. what we want is commanders' awareness of what's happening in their units and what's happening to their people. >> sreenivasan: at a separate briefing, defense secretary robert gates said the military must confront the wider issue of threats within its own ranks. >> we have not done enough to adapt to the evolving domestic internal security threat to american troops and military facilities that has emerged over the past decade. in this area, as in so many others, this department is burdened by 20th-century processes and attitudes, mostly rooted in the cold war. >> sreenivasan: as many as eight army officers could face disciplinary action as a result of the findings. the man

including with major hasan. it's not just those dots which in my view would have made folks what his potential was. there's dot thes that go in the other direction. what his patients thought of him. which was very high. you got to throw those dots into the mix too for people who are going to be judging him. you have a record here of a number of his assessments. they were not just negative that should have been included in the record by the way. i happen to degree with you to -- totally. there's also some highly positive, not politically correct, positive assessment of his capability. i think it's important since we're trying to take a jr. -- general view of this while it's politically important to connect the dots that we also recognize in terms of the task in front of us that there are some dots that are going to be in the mix which make it very unclear as to what you do with the dots that seem to point in one direction. because there's dots that point in the other direction. even with him, they are not being f

should everyone have picked up on the clues in major hasan's behavior?possibly so, and that merits they look, but at the same time, i am skeptical about these clues that are so obvious in the rearview mirror. an army of reporters go off and explores every detail of his life and comes back with profiles. of course, that never did is already set. when they interview someone who knew nidal hasan or the call- up, -- would colombes -- abdulmutallab, the story is already there. did you know him, did he look at you weird, did he voiced strong opinions? however, if you reverse that, everyone who strikes you as odd, who has tried in views about an issue -- strident views about an issue -- that is not something that we try to do. host: next phone call. caller: i am thankful for c- span. i would quickly -- first, i would like to ask a question -- and then i will add a comment. i tried to pay attention, but is it not a fundamental military weapons and will that there is no victory with a strictly defensive action? guest: you are right. certainly, as a former soldier

for failing to intensify its hunt for terror ties in yemen after the fort hood massacre, and major hasan's collection to cleric lawmak al-awlaki implicated in the abdulmutallab plot. >> one, two, three, four five bits of information that are hidden among mountains of data. and you have to be able to select those out, analyze them quickly and act on them. >> top obama advisors argue they did step up their efforts after fort hood. >> on the issue of will al-awlaki we stepped up o efforts wondering what he might be doing here. >> we have not had the kind of intense priority and urgency that is needed. maybe the speech of the president yesterday will change that. i hope it will. we'll see. >> this morning the director of national intelligence denny blair sent a letter to his colleagues saying the agency would "take a fresh and penetrating look" at the human and technical performance going forward. moments ago the same director of national intelligence said he was asking john mclaughlin who served briefly under president bush as acting director of the c.i.a. to gather group of intelligence effo

include accountability recommendations involving army personnel responsible for supervising major hasanake appropriate action. considering the scope of this report it will take some time to assess the scope of the relative policies. that said, i have a review of the findings. the report concludes that the initial response to the incident was prompt and effective. leaders had anticipated mass casualty events in their emergency response plans and exercises and base personnel were prepared to take appropriate and decisive actions to secure the situation. the first responders deserve recognition for the efforts that prevented an awful situation from becoming even worse. however, the report raises serious questions about the degree to which the entire department of defense is prepared for similar incidents in the future. especially multiple simultaneous incidents. it also reveals shortcomings in the way that the department is prepared to defend against threats proposed by an external influences by those in our community. it is clear that as a department we have not done enough to adapt to th

and hasan, the subject of a federal inquiry. and abdulmutallab was under the attention of the security community. what is happening here? a fail to your connect the dots? or is it just time that we have to face the fact that maybe we won't be able to stop every potential attack? >> i think it's a reality that is very difficult to stop every single attack. doesn't mean we should stop trying to improve the mechanisms we put in place. the four of us worked together to put together the intelligence reform bill in 2004. it allowed us to make great strides. al qaeda continues to morph and change. the striking difference now is the emergence of more americans as part of the process in al qaeda. they have a higher priority of the attacking the united states. they have note sent us any idea that they intend something as big as 9/11. they're satisfied with things like ft. hood and what could have happened on christmas day. in 2004, we focused on collecting all the information we needed to collect, we wanted to make sure that that informat

second, what they are may not have been best with major hasan and how we connect those dots with what is adequate and what we can expect from the commanders moving forward. those are what the people want to know. if i could clean up a few things because i have one minute left. mr. west, absolutely a terrorist act. could happen one of the charges referred whether it is or is not i don't know. premeditated murder and attempted murder charges but within the scope of the law it is centered. i will not question why it was our was not charged. >> we're not there yet. it maybe. >> i want to close with the idea that has been raised a few times with political correctness first is good order and discipline i disagree with what is said to record all these guys wearing the uniform behind you understand their sacrificing a lot of constitutional rights, that is part of the sacrifice and service. we know that when we signed our name on the dotted line and getting into formation. fact is parts of the deal. it needs to be remembered the supreme court has upheld time and again for the sake of good orde

of course, nidal malik hasan had relations, e-mail and otherwise with a radical cleric in yemen with al-qaeda and the arabian peninsula and al lackey. those connections were not linked in any way, at least in an action orientd way with the abdulmutallab suspect in the christmas day bombing. now the director of national intelligence wants to find out why. >> major, a prominent obama supporter and co-chair of the 9-11 commission says yemen should have been higher on the radar screen from the beginning. >> reporter: who is that? lee hamilton? from indiana sordorser. i was told today there was a number of pieces of evidence that this administration, intelligence community should have seized upon and that would have helped out a great deal. let's take quick listen. >> it seems to me that we have known for some time that al-qaeda is recruiting and training, improving their skills in yemen. >> reporter: he went on to tell me he understands the intelligence community can't get everything right, but he said there was plenty to chew over and it didn't happen. >> major garrett, live at the whit

individuals apprehended don't forget the veries in great britain this reason detroit terrorist, major hasan, that doesn't fit. it is an ideological war some have embraced it. they may be rich, poor, but poverty isn't driving it. >> sean: is america less safe because barack obama is our president? >> no. listen one of the things we have to remind ourselves to continue president bush's policy in iraq, more troops in afghanistan. where the president, i think needs to reassert his leadership, is after math of this incident to make sure that people are as vigilant today, tomorrow and for all times in the future as they would have been on september 12th, 2001. there's a lot of complacency. time has eroded that sense of mission. it is the president's job to get people back oriented around it. >> sean: i general disagree with you, but i do appreciate your views. much more in this hour of hannity. here's a sneak peek. >> good talking to you. >> for the sake of our jobs, will you tell down from your post? >> i don't think she should have been fired, i thought she should never had been hired. >> i agr

terrorist anwr al walky, the american-born imam that has been linked to internet contacts with the accused hasan. where does the u.s. go from here? let's bring in military analyst ken robinson. he's joining us live from los angeles. we appreciate you joining us. let's talk about general petraeus, his meeting today. is this a step in the right direction? >> i think it is, don. it's really a pri cursor to putting the president of yemen's fingerprints on the bombings that are sure to come, as ed henry talked about in the last interview, the strategy of the united states government is to prevent the president from being overthrown. there's a secessionist movement going on there. internally there's a huge urban youth goal and on top of it, people don't have jobs. yemen is feared to become a failed state like somalia. when you see ohio it's gene graphically positioned between somalia and yemen, it's a vice that the united states just can't let happen. >> all right, so listen, is this a precursor to anything that we should be concerned about, especially as americans? >> i think it is, because what we h

in my mind, major hasan carried out this attack. it was inspired, i think, by some of the ranting and rhett rick of some individuals like al awlaki. so they're looking at this right now. >> it is? so it was? >> it's certainly an act of murder. it was wanton slaughter of u.s. military officers. >> let's talk about guantanamo then, too. because there are reports that at least one prisoner released from guantanamo, in 2006, al rubash is called the theological guide, if you will, to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he was involved in the christmas day plot. does it make you rethink your decision to release six prisoners back into yemen last month from guantanamo? >> no it doesn't. that was the result of a rigorous action because that was the result of very meticulous and rigorous process that we've had in place since the beginning of the administration. last administration released 532 detainees from guantanamo. during this administration we have transferred in fact 42 of these individuals overseas. i have been in constant dialogue wi

my mind, major hasan carried out this attack. it was inspired by some of the rhetoric of individuals like al awlaki. . so they're looking at this right now. >> so it was? >> it's certainly an act of murder. it was want on slaughter of u.s. military officers. >> let's talk about gone tan kn guantanamo then, too. because there are reports that at least one released in 2006 is now called the theological guide, if you will, to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he was involved in the christmas day plot. does it make you rethink your decision to release six prisoners back into yemen last month? >> no, it doesn't action because that was the result of very meticulous and rigorous process that we've had in place since the beginning of the administration. last administration released 532 detainees froms from guantanamo. during this administration we have transferred 42 overseas. i have been in constant dialogue with the yemenis about the arrangements. several put into custody as soon as they returned to yemen. so we're making sure that we

for all these reasons this imam had connections to hasan, the ft. hood shooter.ll these reasons for a number of years yemen ought to have been on radar screens of the american people. it's been on radar screens of the united states government for coo quite some time and that's question the another reason these dots ought to have been connected before this christmas day plot. >> thanks very much for joining us this morning. >> thank you, david. >>> for more on the investigation into the christmas day plot, including more on how al qaeda has flourished in yemen, head to msnbc.com. if you have questions for myself or guests like clark, twitter them to me, twitter.com/davidschuster. >>> now, to the economy and a look ahead to the week on wall street. on tuesday, we're going to see the final numbers on u.s. you a sew tal -- u.s. auto sales for december and the whole year. they'll be watching for the nation's retail chains report on thursday, reporting sales figures for the month. that's a good indicator of how things are going. on friday we'll see the december employm

and that is, of course, e fthood shootings, major hasan, nothing wasone about him. anthen this terrible incident in afghantan in the last week,he death of seven cia agents. where -- where -- wh fell apart what didn'work in ose instances? >> well, let me just, looking as an observer w has read the newstories on it and would with noxtra information, srt with the cond of those two first. obviously there s too grt a degree of trust on the part of someonthere in afghistan about this man because presumly he had given us some decent intelligence in the past and so he t in to that building andn among those seven or more people without being checked out at a. nothat -- i think that was just a failuren following their own policies. it was a terrible and a tragic failure but i can't imagine that this is something that we allow to happen on an evy day basis. on the first one it los to me like ere was a certain degree of political correctness involved. a lot ofeople in the serve itself felt great suspicion about what doctor but they were afra to say anything aboutt. they were af

. >> i give my condolences to the iraqi people on the martyrdom of ali hasan al-majid who was assassinated by traitors. >> reporter: today's explosion shows that iraq is still volatile. maybe more so since the predominantly shi'a government barred many sunni candidates from standing in the coming elections. the contrasting reacts to today's execution shows how divided iraq remains. as it struggles to overcome the legacy of dictatorship, invasion and war >> sreenivasan: there was new talk today of reconciling afghanistan's government with taliban fighters. president hamid karzai said he wants to let militants lay down their weapons and go home, so long as they are not affiliated with al qaeda. karzai spoke in istanbul, turkey, three days before an international conference on afghanistan in london. he said gathering international support was key. >> in the past, this effort by the afghan government did not have the backing or the support of our international partners. this current effort, this renewed effort, i should say, has the backing of our partners, in particular the united states and

. >> the missed signals on hasan are similar to the detroit bomber. >> chuck, before you go, harry reidready facing a really tough re-election in 2010. now as we referred to early on in the program, has some apologizing to do and is doing it. >> he does. if he weren't senate majority leader we would be talking about what kind of pressure is going on, what whisper campaign is going on to get harry reid to do the right thing and retire. the problem is he's the majority leader. that would send such a crazy signal to a party that is on the brink of looking like it's in disarray politically so they couldn't afford to have. harry reid has been a gaffe machine in the past but you do wonder, if he somehow win re-election, he would be doing something that an incumbent senator i don't think has done in 50 years which is recover from a double digit deficit. >> does it hurt his relationship with the president? >> not getting health care done would hurt his relationship. harry reid has said dumb things to the president in the past. the president is pretty forgiving. >> thanks to both of you for comi

. >> i give condolences to the iraqpeople on the martyrdom of ali hasan al-mid who was sassinated by traitors. >> reporter: today's explosion shows that iraq is still volati. maybe more so since e predominantly shi'a government barred ny sunni candidat from standing in the cong elections. the contrasting acts to day's execution shows how divided iraq remains. as it struggleto overcome the legacy of diatorship, invasion and war >> sreenivasan: there was w talk today of reconciling afghanistan's governnt with taliban fighte. president hamid rzai said he wantto let militants lay down their weapons and goome, so long as ey are not affiliated with al qaed karzai ske in istanbul, turkey, three da before an internional conference on afghanisn in london. said gathering internationa support was key. in the past, this effort by the afghan government did t have the backi or the support of ournternational partners. th current effort, this renewed effort, i shou say, has the backing of o partners, in parcular the united states and eupe. >> sreenivasan: at t same time, the natoommander in afghanis

host: specifically on major hasan, there is a headline.uld the army have done a better job seeing some of the signs? guest: i have been in the army since 1982. there has not been anything we have done where we did not look back and say let us see how we could have done it better. that is how we have become the army that we are today. that is how we will be the army we are going to be in 2050, is looking at everything we do and say, we could have done that better. as we look back and say secretary -- the commission figures out exactly what happens, as a learning organization, and the army is going to say, we can do better. we can do everything better. in this case, we are going to find things that we should have, could have done better and in the future we are going to do better because that is the kind of organization america's army is. it's a learning organization that looks at every event as an opportunity to get better. host: michigan, gerald on our independent line. caller: i would like to s may be three questions. how, a al qaeda, the

host: specifically on major hasan, there is a headline.hould the army have done a better job seeing some of the signs? guest: i have been in the army since 1982. there has not been anything we have done where we did not look back and say let us see how we could have done it better. that is how we have become the army that we are today. that is how we will be the army we are going to be in 2050, is looking at everything we do and say, we could have done that better. as we look back and say secretary -- the commission figures out exactly what happens, as a learning organization, and the army is going to say, we can do better. we can do everything better. in this case, we are going to find things that we should have, could have done better and in the future we are going to do better because that is the kind of organization america's army is. it's a learning organization that looks at every event as an opportunity to get better. host: michigan, gerald on our independent line. caller: i would like to s may be three questions. how, a al qaeda, t

major hasan at fort hood, and then the attempt on christmas day.anted to ask either or both of you to step back a little bit and give us your best judgment about what is going on out there? what happened to increase the pace of attacks? is it just a loss of the sense of urgency? it's something different going on that we need -- is something different going on the way to respond to? >> senator, the immediate thought i have in response to your question is that al qaeda has changed. the 9/11 attack, as we all know, was a highly sophisticated effort. it took a lot of planning and a lot of people. it did not take a lot of money. it really was impressive from the standpoint of planning and execution. i think the attacks you referred to in 2009 have been kind of solo performances. in some respects, that probably indicates progress, and it means that our aggressive actions with regard to al qaeda have been çsuccessful, at least in part. and is more difficult for al qaeda to organize the complicated attacks. but their intent remains. perhaps their capabili

and major hasan came from washington, d.c. thank you very much.ding] [inaudible conversations] >> peter has to leave at 11:00, so he should take the first few questions. there is a microphone in the back of the room for anyone who would like to ask a question. [inaudible conversations] >> my name is mustafa malik. i work some 30 years as a journalist in the united states. i retired two years ago. my question is for peter bergen specifically. what i hear now in this seminar and the last few is exactly what i was hearing before the last war. and the premise was that we will be able to. we will have democracy. now it is an islamic system. there is -- have you really tested the hypothesis somewhere that we are not the soviets, afghan people love us. and one last point i want to make. i am told that the other speaker was comparing afghanistan, our presence in afghanistan to soviet presence in afghanistan. they were doing is exact same thing that we are trying to do. i would just mention that i was born in india. the british were doing the same thing. b

major hasan at fort hood, and then the attempt on christmas day.wanted to ask either or both of you to step back a little bit and give us your best judgment about what is going on out there? what happened to increase the pace of attacks? is it just a loss of the sense of urgency? it's something different going on that we need -- is something different going on the way to respond to? >> senator, the immediate thought i have in response to your question is that al qaeda has changed. the 9/11 attack, as we all know, was a highly sophisticated effort. it took a lot of planning and a lot of people. it did not take a lot of money. it really was impressive from the standpoint of planning and execution. i think the attacks you referred to in 2009 have been kind of solo performances. in some respects, that probably indicates progress, and it means that our aggressive actions with regard to al qaeda have been çsuccessful, at least in part. and is more difficult for al qaeda to organize the complicated attacks. but their intent remains. perhaps their capabil

chairman we stopped zazai and we also stopped fenton, smarty but hasan, bledsoe, we did not stop.and as you said we were lucky with abdulmutallab. so we have to improve our intelligence system further so that we can identify and stop these lone contacts with a minimum of communication and, frankly, with a lot more knowledge of how our system works due to the public discussion of it that has taken place. and as secretary napolitano will tell you we have to improve the intelligence component of it but the active defenses which we have, some of which depend on intelligence but some of which cannot depend on intelligence. so what are the improvements that we're making based on this incident and the other things that we've learned over the course of recent years? they really fall into four categories. they're currently underway but we will continue to refine them and work on them both short term and certainly over the long term. number one is changing the way we apply these no-fly critearias so that they're less restrictive, more flexible. while at the same time they continue to protec

the only one that is really going through military channels his major hasan, you remember, the army officerho shot the people in fort hood. that is because he was an officer and the targets for officers. other than that if there was a charge the obama administration, eric holder, wants to -- trace: he could have set up through military, get the intelligence, and then at some point send him through civilian court. there was a gold mine of intelligence. we could be months down the road the. >> the important thing is to stop an attack. afterward how they're handled is secondary. the most important thing is beginning out how it was that somebody like a young 23-year-old nigerian gets on a plane and comes here. you can see that heads will roll for that, even though a man who was responsible for stitching all of this information together was a bush appointee and so far the white house stands behind him. trace: welcome back from dubai. >> everyone was searched. martha: breaking news on two stories. first, reports of a shooting at a suburban indianapolis walmart are some false. >> really good news.

and hasan came from washington, d.c. thank you very much. >> peter has to leave at 11:00, so he should take the first few questions. there is a microphone in the back of the room. >> i worked some 30 years as a journalist in the united states. i retired two years ago. my question is for peter, specifically. what i hear now in this seminar in the last -- and the last few, exactly what i was hearing before the iraq war. and the premise was that we will be hailed as liberators because saddam hussein was on popular. -- unpopular. that we will have a secular democracy. now it is an islamic system. have you really tested the have practices somewhere -- hypothsiesis somewhere that we are not the soviets? that afghan people love us? i am told that the other speaker was comparing afghanistan, our presence in afghanistan to the soviet presence in afghanistan. they were doing exactly the same thing that we are trying to do. i would just mentioned i was born in india. the british were doing the same thing in india. they develop, bui

. >> if you had been one of major hasan's command officers, what would you have done based on what you we may have stepped across. this refers to what we have learned? >> no,Ñi you probably would say you have been alarmed by certain things. >> let me tell you what we said. we said that we thought that several officers responsible for applying the army's policy is to him did not do so, and we think that should be referred to the secretary of the army for consideration of accountability. i think that is as far as you want to go. >> can you say what you would have done, had you been in that situation? >> let me take this and a direction that might be helpful, without speaking to this specific case. this morning, the question was asked about information moving from base to base and with individuals. one of the things leaders do, and good officers, at the heart of the united states military is we grow and develop people. the growth and development process sometimes takes counseling and sometimes takes instruction. and so part of what we are suggesting here, and it has to do with sharing inf

major hasan at fort hood, and then the attempt on christmas day.d to ask either or both of you to step back a little bit and give us your best judgment about what is going on out there? what happened to increase the pace of attacks? is it just a loss of the sense of urgency? it's something different going on that we need -- is something different going on the way to respond to? >> senator, the immediate thought i have in response to your question is that al qaeda has changed. the 9/11 attack, as we all know, was a highly sophisticated effort. it took a lot of planning and a lot of people. it did not take a lot of money. it really was impressive from the standpoint of planning and execution. i think the attacks you referred to in 2009 have been kind of solo performances. in some respects, that probably indicates progress, and it means that our aggressive actions with regard to al qaeda have been çsuccessful, at least in part. and is more difficult for al qaeda to organize the complicated attacks. but their intent remains. perhaps their capabilities