the war in iraq and what's happening in iraq. now we're with michael gordon of the "new york times". the phone lines are open. we'll go to mohammed from new york, new york on the democratic line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. the question is looking back ten years later, does michael feel any sense of responsibility, if not to say shame, for the iraq war, articles in the times with jew dit miller, does he owe an apology to the families of those killed? iraq? thank you. >> guest: well, you're referring to the wmd coverage, the coverage of the issue of weapons of mass destruction in the "new york times" prior to the war, and because you're familiar with it, you're aware that i reported the cia assessment that iraq was trying to acire materials to make nuclear weapons, but be aware i reported another assessment that was not the case, and the bureau of intelligence and research that this was not the case, and so i reported both sides of that debate before the war, and -- >> host: an issue you cover in the end game quite a bi

iraq hasn't set that milestone yet. so, what we had in december of 2011 was a relatively stable iraq, a lot of hopes, but i think unfortunately the situation in iraq was deteriorated politically over the last year and also iraq has been less aligned with american interests in that more aligned with the irony interest in so far as the search conflict is concerned. >> host: we are taking your calls and questions in this segment, so feel free. the phone lines are open now. republicans, 202-737-0002, democrats, 585-8882. if you served in iraq we want to have your thoughts on what's happening now. phone lines are open. we want to go back to the political situation in iraq talk about finding mr. nouri al-malahim and what his role is in iraq before this started you said that he's not saddam hussein. >> guest: right. he is not saddam hussein in the sense that he was an extremely brutal dictator who killed tens of thousands used chemical weapons against his own population to maintain his hold on power al-maliki isn't like that although she seems t

forces in northern iraq. in the wake of these arrests, dhs secretary janet napolitano and others have publicly acknowledged that security checks have been expanded to the more than 58,000 iraqi refugees who had already been settled in the united states. according to press reports this past february, intelligence indicates that the threat posed by refugees with ties to al qaeda is much broader than was previously believed. fbi director robert mueller stated last year during congressional testimony before the house intelligence committee that he continues to be concerned with "individuals who may have been resettled here in the united states that have some association with al qaeda in iraq." there are also reports that that immigration authorities have given the fbi roughly 300 names of iraqi refugees for further investigation. with the recent movement of aqi fighters into syria and reports just yesterday of chemical weapons being moved, i am increasingly worried that terrorists may try to exploit various refuge

played a key role in every major national security decision of my presidency from ending the war in iraq to winding down the war in afghanistan from our response to natural disasters around the world like haiti in the tsunami in japan to the repeal of don't ask don't tell to countless crises in between day and night. what president obama failed to address in that speech was the instrumental role mcdonough played in crafting legislation to authorize the use of force in iraq back when he was the top foreign policy aide to then senate majority leader tom daschle all the legislation mcdonough and others crafted essentially paved the way for the war in iraq what's more mcdonough personally called white house staffers including jason you on the night of september eleventh during those terrorist attacks to ask how the senate could help the white house deal with this tragedy in response a process that led to the authorization of use of force against terrorists which essentially gave president bush the power to launch the afghanistan war now this is a stark contrast to the antiwar stance presiden

house chief of staff but what do we really know about denis mcdonough we'll take a look at his time in the iraq war and how he helped push the u.s. into the conflict that story ahead. in cybersecurity the u.s. says cyber attacks are happening and that they need the resources to combat this growing problem we'll tell you how the pentagon is going to play a crucial role in fighting cyber warfare here at home and around the world. and will this finally be the year that republicans and democrats democrats agree on immigration reform the senate released a plan today and president obama is expected to outline his plans tomorrow so will it be enough to help the eleven million illegal immigrants in the u.s. . it's monday january twenty eighth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm meghan lopez and you're watching r.t. just one week after he was inaugurated president obama's second term cabinet is finally beginning to take shape perhaps the least surprising pick was that of denis mcdonough for a white house chief of staff in his statement president obama announced that called mcdonough one of his hardest worki

how many americans are in iraq as we speak? >> for no american troops are firm and a military function. there are 200 odd personnel were secunda to the embassy in the primary duty is to sell equipment to the iraqi government can perform the defensive tachÉ function. then as a fairly sizable american embassy, which is contracted by the state department khmer reduced by maybe 25%. but what she don't have in this account so it incurred a stand and a consulate outside of bozrah in southern iraq, but the united states has lost a lot of situational awareness of what's happening in iraq. it doesn't have anything like the footprint can be used

combat mission in iraq gets listed in the history books as september 2010. it was not the end of everything in iraq for the united states when we went through that transition, but it was really when what started in 2003 finally started to end. the page was turned. >> operation iraqi freedom is over, and the iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country. >> when president obama spoke that night, there were still 50,000 u.s. troops in iraq, and 50,000 americans stayed in iraq after that night for another 14 months until everyone finally left the following december, december 2011. but when the mission changed from a combat mission to the train, advise, assist mission, then it wasn't operation iraqi freedom anymore. it wasn't that same war. it was the way that war came to an end, and that's why it was worth interrupting "wipeout" and "ncis" that night and all the other 8:00 p.m. programing. and that's why it was worth -- at least for me i thought it was worth -- flying out to baghdad to be there for that historic ending as the comba

expressing doubts about the iraq war in john burns had the commanding general of iraq expressing gravets about the war and did not report it, and kc stating command for 18 more months. c-span: do you know that for sure? >> guest: he wrote it in "the new york times" and in another instance, burns was hanging out with petraeus and petraeus had actually quit, and i guess this was in baghdad. i think he had his own sort of values about why he didn't do it. c-span: you at. c-span: you at the same time talked about the white house correspondents' dinner and i want to run that clip and again talk about how you see journalists relating to people in power. >> "rolling stone" has -- in my view they have been doing great stuff with matt tiabbi and dickinson and a number of other journalists that i could list off in one of their functions is to not have to worry about things like that. we are able to go there, because we don't have a table at the white house correspondents' dinner. that i think also one of the things is that i talk to people and they talk to me not sometimes because they want to a

remember, 50,000 americans stayed on in iraq after the announcement in september 2010. and it wasn't like the danger level for those americans dropped to zero. just being there was still dangerous, and we did still have some americans and some americans wounded in that last year of being there after the change in mission. but this is what ending it looks like. president obama today saying today that it will still be a dangerous environment, that we will still need to do force protection. but the mission is going to change. this is how we start to leave. and it's going to happen as of this spring, which is a surprise, which is faster than anybody said it was going to happen. now, the justification for speeding up the way out, i have to admit, is a little holey, not holy as in ahh. president obama saying the acceleration was possible in part because of what has been made in terms of afghan security forces, their capacity to take the lead. i don't know anything about afghan security forces, and neither do you unless you're newly back from the war, and welcome home, but the

like you, i watched what happened in iraq up close. i saw it unfold i'm very, very, very worried now looking where the regime in baghdad is moving, i'm very worried and i ask myself the serious question, was it worth in blood and treasure that was lost? we can continue this conversation, congressman, down the road. congressman tom cotton. thanks, also, by the way, for your service in iraq and afghanistan. i know you had nothing to do with the policy, you went there as an honorable patriotic american and we welcome you to washington now as the united states congressman. >> thank you, wolf. i appreciate it. >> let's bring our national security contributor fran townsend who is joining us right now. fran, you're on the advisory board of the cia. what do you think of brennan becoming -- assuming he's confirmed -- the next cia director? >> you know, wolf, as you realize, when i was in the white house, john was not only serving in the cia, but he was instrumental in frankly sort of the founding director of what is now the national counterterro

deepening divisions in iraq. clamming discriminations by the shia-led government. ost a million remain homeless in the philippines. thousands of shark fins discovered on a rooftop in hong kong. controversial delicacy is booming. ♪ less than a week before he is due to be sworn in for a second term, the latest news on venezuelan president is not encouraging. the government says hugo chÁvez is suffering from complications from a severe lung infection after cancer surgery in cuba of. >> under pressure for more information on the state of the nation's leader, venezuelan officials have told us more about hugo chÁvez's cancer. >> falling the sensitive surgery on december 11, commander hugo chÁvez has faced complications as a consequence of a severe lung infection which has resulted in a respiratory deficiency that requires hugo chÁvez to remain in strict compliance with his medical treatment. >> chÁvez successor has been appearing regularly assuring people the president will return. sooner or later, we will see commander hugo chÁvez with us. >> chÁvez only named maduro the

anyone who says that is an insult to the 60 plus people who have been killed in iraq. >> when and if we start to see women come home in body bags, the obama administration and the bush and administration were wrong to not allow a single body to come in. hell, and we need to see the ugly. i do not like this idea of covering the evidence war gives us, but that is another issue. what do you think will happen when we start seeing women coming home in body bags at the same rate as men? >> i think people will be fine with it. if you have 30 women killed in a week or something like that, that is going to be a big story, and it is going to be tragic, but i think people will accept it. i think it is a done deal. we are in the starship troopers era. >> john kerry state department? >> better there than the president. tavis: ouch. >> i interviewed senator kerrey in baghdad during one of the worst times in the war in iraq, and i ask, you know there has been more suicide bombings in the last three years in iraq and the past 20 or 30 years, and he said, i warned them not to go in iraq, and i said, t

of general petraeus in the american military adventure in iraq. tom spent 17 years as a reporter covering the u.s. military for "wall street journal" and another aide on the same for "the washington post" and in the course of this work he reported on military activities in places as varied as somalia, bosnia and iraq and afghanistan afghanistan and is imparted to teams that won the pulitzer prize. as i've gotten -- i learned that he is the rarest rarest of find to disrupt the thinkers we like to say his energy and intellectual creativity combine in novel ways of thinking. he constantly pushes us to think differently in new ways, more nimbly and provocatively. that is a spirit that infuses tom's new book, "the generals." he explores generalship of good and bad in accountability and traces the history of generalship from george washoe and world war ii to chosin reservoir and vietnam. to colin powell and the gulf war and the generals who commanded the iraq from 2003 on. the general argues the military is change over its years in the way it rewards goo

the situation in afghanistan when i came out of iraq and came on the joint staff the summer of 2008, it was getting worse. we had elections coming in the united states and then ey had elecons fghanistan my predecessor in afghanistan general mckernen asked for some troops in 2008. it was decided not to act on that request on the last months of president bush's administration and there was some ongoing assessments. when president obama assumed office with his team in january of 2009, in fact that request was tabled in front of him. and now we have a new administration who has been in the campaign rhetoric supportive of the war in afghanistan. they're faced with a larger quest for troops, faster than they might have liked to be comfortable and time to die just that. they're also hit with a financial crises when it first took over. and so the first response i think is to say well give us time to assess this. but instead, the military department of defense appropriately says we've got afghan elections approaching in the summer and if these forces are going to van impact to help widen serit

entirely new pursuit. >>> when you hear some of the stories that people tell about their experiences in iraqnistan, the variety of things that affect people are unimaginable. >> first time i came under fire, it was in 2006 going up and down in iraq. your first reaction isn't feeling this instinct and you respond off of instinct. >> okay, so, putting on this head mounted display. >> oh, wow. feel the vibrations. >> that feels a lot more real. >> on the convoy that was injured, i wasn't with my unit, i was detached to do a separate mission to escort a specific general. and our mission was to place a security team. on the way back, there was an i.v. attack. our vehicle ran over. so the vehicle exploded. >> really try to draw on the feedback we get from patients going through this and the stories that they tell to make it a richer experience. >> you couldn't tell it was a struck any more. just like a big ball of metal. can't remember the person who saved my life. i don't remember the soldier who was lost, as well. i just remember waking up in germa germany. >> i think the key here is diversity.

more women have served and been wounded and killed in the iraq war by around 2005, two years into the war already, than all the american wars put together since world war ii including afghanistan. so it was a huge, huge difference. one in every ten troops in iraq was a woman. >> host: did they serve in different capacities than they have served in the past? >> guest: yes. payoff the nature of the war, which is -- because of the nature of the war which is, base chi, a guerrilla war, the nature of all wars these days, there isn't a front line in our old-fashioned sense of having an area where the soldiers and the enemy will meet up and fight. that just doesn't happen anymore. wars -- battles take place in roads, in hospitals each if you're drive -- even if you're driving a truck full of toilet paper, you can be attacked. so because there's no front line, even if you're a combat support or an engineer or a cook, you can get drawn into battle. and many, many women also were being used as gunners and working alongside with the infantry doing exactly the same jobs as the infantry because of

i remember that surge in iraq. there was a raging debate in this country as to how involved we would have to get to finish off what we started in iraq and senator hagel was against it at the time because he was thinking about the amount of resources and money we were going to spend that wasn't being accounted for. and so it's a complex answer. it's not a yes or no answer which, of course, mccain likes to put into a box. the other thing about syria, where is the march? where is the cry from the american peel right now to go get involved in somebody else's war? we don't have the resources right now. you can't put a number on death before we do get involved in something like this. and the american people aren't yearning to get into another conflict in syria. it's not our fight right now. and so i think hagel is taking a very pragmatic approach about that, but when you look at the history of john mccain, you look at the history of senator graham from south carolina, they're hawks. they can't get enough of confrontation,

i started in iraq in two thousand and four in two thousand and six i was in the second ballot. in november of two thousand and four as a human being and as a person who has a heart i can't lie to myself anybody else and say that we had a reason to be there that there's a reason for the million iraqis that go to five thousand troops said we say we're the greatest country in the world but we go and kill you know people in their country but we don't stop genocide in africa we don't help people that we can help that would be the greatest country in the world if we can save a million people instead of killing them and people if you're not convinced our foreign policy is morally bankrupt perhaps we should talk about money tax payers in the united states had need one point four trillion dollars for total war spending in iraq and afghanistan since two thousand and one never wondered what one point four trillion dollars would buy well it could be the annual energy costs for every household in america five years but i hear you saying that would not do very much to decrease our dependence

brendon morocco was injured while serving in iraq in 2009. he is the first quadruple amputee to survive his injuries. he received a double arm surgery recently. his story will be on 11 news at 5:00 p.m. i'm sure it will be a moving one. knew today as recover the nation, the senate foreign relations committee has approved john carey as the next secretary of state. he will replace hillary clinton. the senate panel approved his nomination with no opposition. a second vote will be taking place this afternoon by the full senate. for the past 28 years, he has served on the senate foreign relations panel and has been its leader for the past four years. there will be special election in late june to replace him. considering lifting its decades- long ban on gays, the boy scouts showed signs of areas to remove the band from the national organization roles. that would leave it up to the sponsoring organizations of local troops. if the national policy change is approved, it could be announced as early as next week. in washington, the senate joined the ho

. >> general stanley mcchrystal commanded special operation forces in iraq, and later was u.s. command in afghanistan until his resignation in 2010. he was at the brookings institution on monday where he discussed u.s. strategy in afghanistan and his newly published memoir. this is an hour and a half. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to brookings. thank you very much for coming out on this particular day. although it's an unusual treat with such an amazing events of general stan mcchrystal are today. i'm mike o'hanlon, one of the members of the 21st century center for security and intelligence. we are hosting this event with bruce riedel who runs the intelligence project within our center. and today's topic, as you know, is general mcchrystal's experience, particularly of the joint special operations command where, for five years, essentially lived in iraq most of the time and build an organization that was already an impressive organization into what was the state-of-the-art capability. it led not to our top of today but the tracking and ultimate killing of the al qaeda terro

serving in iraq in 2005.f mps against a very, very hot insurgent attack, flanked the enemy, assaulted two trench lines and at the end saved american lives. and it's stories like sergeant hester's and countless women who throw out every argument that the critics have said because it's real. these are patriots putting their lives on the line for our country, selflessly. they happen to be women. >> oh wow. thank you so much for making time. i know you're very busy. still acclimating yourself to the new town. >> it snowed today. >> well, you will get a lot of that over the years. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. >> by the way, coming up, talking with tammy duckworth, her thoughts and the role of women in combat holes. it is our "news nation" gut check. how you can weigh in if you agree with the decision and watch the interview in about 30 minutes. >>> senator john kerry just wrapped up the testimony at the confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of state. hillary clinton was there to introduce

i was just talking about this with them its guy who was one of the great experts in iraq in the world who is an insider during this period. we did very little to stop them especially in 2010 under the obama's administration when they took a very hands-off attitude, basic a saying we are not really going to get involved in the outcome of the iraqi political debate. all week care about is having free and fair elections. to my mind, that is a mistake and it has proven to be a mistaken practice visits allowed essentially elements to seize power in iraq. it was not a mistake made by our forebears in the early days of the cold war. the true administration in the eisenhower administration did not take the attitude we don't care if communists come to power in france or italy or japan as long as they have fair elections. that's all we care about. that was not there today and that you are willing to do things such as covert funds and to those political campaigns which on some level might be seen as prejudicial to the interest of free and fair elections but they understood directly to be in the

forces in northern iraq. n the wake of these arrests, dhs secretary janet napolitano and others have publicly acknowledged security screenings have been expanded to more than 58,000 iraqi refugees who have already been settled in the united states. and according to press reports this february, intelligence indicates that the threat posed by refugees with ties to al-qaeda is much broader than previously believed. fbi director robert mueller stated last year during congressional testimony before the house intelligence committee that he continues to be concerned with, quote, individuals who have been resettled here in the united states that have some association with al-qaeda in iraq. there are also reports that immigration authorities have given the fbi roughly 300 names of iraqi refugees for further investigation. with the emergence of al-qaeda affiliates across knot africa and the -- north africa and the middle east, the influx of aqi fighters into jordan where jordanian intelligence officials foiled a large-s

well they killed dozens of soldiers in iraq not with bullets but with poise at the u.s. military's largest contractor has been found guilty of negligence for using a deadly anti corrosion chemical in its water purification plant now they want taxpayers to pay the military families who lost their loved ones. and they promised they'd be back in two thousand and thirteen now the hacktivist group anonymous is making digital waves again this time they're petitioning to the white house to consider didio west's attacks as a form of protest. and swimming against the current al gore is selling his news network to al jazeera for a cool five hundred million and alternative energy lover such as himself can do a lot of good with that money if only the cash wasn't pumped from qatari oil profits we'll explain. it's thursday january tenth four pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our team. well starting off today with a defense contractor that wants taxpayers to foot the bill for its toxic mistakes k.b.r. was tasked with the rebuilding iraq's oil infrastructure aft

there have been more demonstrations by sunnis in iraq. hundreds of thousands gathered in several cities over the last few days. the protests are over alleged discrimination by the shia government. >> hundreds of thousands of people in provinces across iraq turned out to accuse the government of discriminating against him. in felucca, banners -- falujah, banners stood out. these people hope that the shia and other iraqis will join their protests in baghdad. in a coordinated prayer, clerics called for help. >> , meat -- do you see with your eyes these crowds? tell the world that we came out because of injustice. our uprising is peaceful. >> protestors denied government claims that the mass rallies were sectarian. >> he called the protests thinking. he sphinx. >> there are no sectarian slogans. the prime minister is trying to harm these protests and their organizers. >> the government released women who were being detained. >> the protesters are not satisfied with the government decision to release, 14 female prisoners. they say it is not eno

they killed dozens of soldiers in iraq not with bullets but with poison the u.s. military's largest contractor has been found guilty of negligence for using a deadly anti corrosion chemical its water purification plans now they want taxpayers to pay the military families who lost their loved ones. selling his news network to al-jazeera for a pool five hundred million dollars in alternative energy a lover of citizens helped him do a lot of good with that money if only the cash wasn't home from qatari oil profits will explain. it's thursday january tenth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our t.v. starting off today with a defense contractor that wants taxpayers to foot k.b.r. was tasked with the rebuilding iraq's oil infrastructure after the u.s. invasion the car modally water treatment center ran by the contractor was laced with a substance called sodium diet chromate k.b.r. told u.s. soldiers guarding the place that it was a mild irritant well turns out it's not my old but deadly the substances in extreme carcinogen and one of the s

the white house is essentially agnorfolk-- aggnostic of the value on maintaining a minimal force in iraq. in the end they were talking about a force of 3,000 to 5,000 including special operations. but i think the way they played the iraq end game didn't work out well from an american standpoint and it's one reason iran has been flying hundreds of tons of arms to the assad regime through iraqi airspace because there's basically a security vacuum in iraq right now from an international standpoint. >> rose: david what, do you think about the next four years? >> i think president obama made clear during the campaign that he wants to believe the president who ended the wars, including his own surge in afghanistan. the president was bringing the troops home. i think there's an understanding at the pentagon that the era of expeditionary wars a la iraq and afghanistan is over. the question is who is left behind as american military power pulls back? and the administration has signaled strongly that it-- it-- it is prepared to go to a zero number of troops in afghanistan post-2014 just as ended u

in iraq and afghanistan. male service members have faced the reality of combat, proven their willingness to fight, and, yes, to die to defend their fellow americans. however, many military positions, particularly in ground combat units still remain lossed to women because of the 1994 direct ground combat definition and assignment rule. military and civilian leaders of this department have been taking a hard look at that rule based on the experiences of the last decade. in early 2012 we announced a series of modifications to that rule which opened up more than 14,000 new positions to women, including positions that were co-located with ground combat units and certain positions in ground combat units below the battalion level. these changes have been implemented and the experience has been very positive. every time i visited the war zone, every time i've met with troops reviewed military operations and talked to wounded warriors i have been impressed with the fact that everyone, everyone, men and women alike eve

military to turn the war around and end the war in iraq for good in december of 2011. the president said that his views were shaped in vietnam. >> when his brother was injured by a mine, chuck risked his life to pull him to safety. to this day he bears the scars from battles he fought in our name. >> in 2008 he traveled to afghanistan, iraq, kuwait and jordan with then candidate obama and went toe to toe defending him against the presidential nominee john mccain. >> i think john is treading on very thin ground here. >> his views remain an open wound for this freshman congressman who served in iraq and afghanistan. >> he came out against the surge. he delayed emergency funding for the troops in 2007 even after the surge succeeded in 2008. he still said it wasn't because of the troops. >> former defense secretary robert gates urged him to confirm hagel swiftly zrig him as a man of patriotism. even though they disagreed over some issues sush such as the iraqi surge. >> bret: let's get some perspective. brit hume is here tonight with us. good evening. >> supporters of hage

but our failures in afghanistan and iraq in particular have underscored for the world and especially for middle eastern publics the limits, the limits of what american military might can accomplish. we argue in our book that these failures in middle east policy were not just idiosyncratic, ideologically-generated products of the george w. bush administration. as we describe in our book, these stem from a much deeper source that cuts across both democratic and republican administrations, and it's something we describe as the united states, essentially, giving in to a post-cold war temptation to act as an imperial power in the middle east. and it is this imperial turn in america's middle east policies pursued with very little regard for realities on the ground in the middle east that have proven not just quixotic, but deeply damaging to american interests. as a candidate back in twaipt, now-president obama then seemed to really understand this. he talked about it courageously during the campaign. he pledged to not just withdraw american troops from iraq, but to change what he called th

between a permissive environment in terms of air operations which is what we've been operating in afghanistan and iraq and permissive air environments in other regions of the world where we can fly the capabilities whether it's predators and reapers or u2s, whatever the case maybe be. you need those capabilities that can operate in more high treat environments. >> what kind of capabilities, when you mentioned more high threat in the pacific, the criticism is you need far greater rage and you're going to need greater amount offense stuff what is the specific responsibilities that the air force needs to be able to operate over the pacific the way we've been operating over iraq, afghanistan yemen and other places. >> we talk about moving to the all source capability. we focused on the airborne layer of intention over the last decade as we operate in iraq and afghanistan. when you look in the computer where do you gather all this data, the space capability, the airborne capability, human intelligence capabilities, cyber capability, all of these things have to be brought to bear in the threatening environm