three right there thank you so much for your time phyllis bennis they director at the institute for policy studies talking to us. bulgaria's government does expect. two top block of the russian finals construction of a new nuclear power plant this comes after a national referendum voted in favor of the project the vote however was invalidated due to a low turnout while gary's allies in europe and the us feared the project would mean energy dependence on russia mr room in offshore officers authorities they did their best to bring the vote down. four hundred million dollars in debt and ukraine and such also russia for all time to pay find out online how we've managed to get so far into the red and how it hopes to get out of it. and craving for coal energy hungry china is burning as much of the black stuff as the rest of the world combined with levels of air pollution in the countries gone rocketing that's online for you. which is government has raised taxes twice as fast as cutting them according to a new report putting a damper on david cameron's pledge to grant a lower tax country for the show alm

three right there thank you so much for your time phyllis bennis they director at the institute for policy studiestalking to us. bulgaria's government does expect. two top block of the russian finals construction of a new nuclear power plant this comes after a national referendum voted in favor of the project the vote however was invalidated due to a low turnout will hear is allies in europe and the us fear the project would mean energy dependence on russia mr room in offshore officers authorities they did their best to bring the vote down. four hundred million dollars in debt and ukraine and such also russia for all time to play find out online how we've managed to get so far into the red and how it hopes to get out of it. and craving for coal energy hungry china is burning as much of the black stuff as the rest of the world combined with levels of air pollution in the countries gone rocketing that's online for you. which is government has raised taxes twice as fast as cutting them according to a new report putting a damper on david cameron's pledge to grant a lower tax country for the show almos

speak it phyllis bennis is on the launch director of the new internationalism project institute for policy studies on the line from the u.s. capitol i for listening to you both president said that ensuring the security of the country will fully lie in the hands of the afghan forces starting this spring to really think cobbles ready for. you know i think it's quite clear that afghanistan is going to remain a very unstable and dangerous place for its people for a long time to come the u.s. years of occupation as happened during the soviet occupation have thoroughly destabilize the country there is a great deal of violence it's going to be a very very difficult time but that's going to be true with the u.s. troops pulled out tomorrow or if they pulled out in one year or in two years or in ten years that is the reality and i don't think that the time frame is going to change it i wonder how the taliban are preparing for the spring how. well i think we have to be clear that the what is being talked about this idea of the spring transition in the spring of two thousand and thirteen just a few months awa

for drug policy at the washington and latin american group. then the director of the drug policy project at the institute for policy studies. that a new start with you. we have heard from those working in the region. they say this approach is effective. is it? >> the results are positive. it goes to many of the points that were raised. this model has much more to speak for sustainability that forced eradication model, which land -- landto replanting after replanting. this gives -- led to replanting after replanting. that was a recipe for un sustainability. this can sustain -- contain and reduce in a way that is politically viable. katherine did point out that there were some key aspects to this program. after the president kicked out the drug enforcement agency in 2009, the country implemented a system that permits the use of cocaine for traditional use. grow worse are registered and lemons are strictly enforced. -- and limits are strictly enforced. the government relies on growers policing each of the. multiple violations can lead to punishment by the entire -- the government relies on grow worse policing each other. multi

. >> for more on the situation, i enjoyed by someone from the institute for policy studies. so i would suspect that a year ago people had not even heard of mali, let alone the islamist threat. >> a year ago, nobody anticipated this would happen. mali has been a stable democracy for quite some time, since the early 1990's. this is a statute which and where people in the northern part of the country, essentially a long marginalized and feeling completely devoid of the economic opportunity or political access, they have an opportunity because of libya and the political turmoil in libya to actually access weapons. bring them over the border and launched what has been an unbelievable crisis for the malian people. >> you have been talking about this as an internal issue. how much of an international threat does this represent? the french has decided that this is an international threat. >> they have taken military action despite the fact that the community of west africa along with the african union has been pushing forward with a broader political plan of their own. you have to r

afghanistan will switch to a mainly subordinate role phyllis bennis from washington based institute for policy studies believes it's still a long way off before local forces will take full control. we're talking about an official acknowledgement by the two governments that now the afghan military is in control what that means is anybody's guess but what it does not mean is that the u.s. troops are going to be pulled out early there's a huge occupation force in the country that's not going to be brought out in twenty thirteen in the spring what we're talking about is a claim that as of that time the afghan people the afghan military the afghan government will officially be in charge they will be in charge of the military now the idea that the u.s. forces still there or the nato forces still there are going to take their orders from the afghan military i think is rather spurious that's certainly not going to happen i don't think the afghan government has the capacity to survive without massive u.s. support that means both economic support and crucially military support but his reliance on that support l

phyllis bennis director at the institute for policy studies things that a chuck hagel is standing firm by his beliefs hey go has never been outside the box he has not been one of those inside washington and hollywood for escalation against iran in fact he came out against unilateral sanctions in favor of diplomacy officially that is president obama's position as well there are enormous pressures coming from pro israel lobbies coming from the neo conservative. forces in the tanks and in the media calling for more escalation for war against iran he has resisted that and i don't think the fact that he said. the magic words if you will during his testimony today is a ship i believe just stands on the side of those insiders those washington insiders who are less so eager to go to war that doesn't mean there is no chance it just means that it's a very unlikely possibility. well there is governmental worries over energy independence a doing its best but the russian wine is duty of paul plant after invalidating a national referendum that back the construction plan story off the shelf break. th

institute for policy studies to be what north korea has to offer to investors. but u.s. officials care because they're trying to tighten the screws on the sanction regime against north korea but to be honest there aren't a lot sanctions they can levy against north korea at this point where the most heavily sanction countries in the world so what they're looking for basically is more a kind of atmosphere of condemnation and for a trip like this to go forward is to basically go against this overall atmosphere north korea positions itself as a leader in information technology i mean people may find that amusing but that's the case north korea's computer programmers are top notch they their animators are top notch they see themselves as as taking information technology as a vehicle into the twenty first century so having someone like google google's eric schmidt come for a visit is extraordinarily important for this i t kind of success of north korea it's got trained workforce highly educated and no trade unions i mean no trade unions are going to cause any strikes and that'

institute for policy studies yet line to be what north korea has to offer to investors it's got trained workforce highly educated and no trade unions and that's no trade unions are going to cause any strikes and that's a big plus for outside investors another thing is raw materials north korea has a normal amount of mineral wealth and at the moment china has pretty much locked up access to that but north korea i think is interested in getting a couple more bids maybe some more money there and then of course location north korea is in the middle of one of the top economic zones in the world so if you're going to open up a business in northeast asia why not think of north korea. changing direction is search of a better life. from venezuela the field which is becoming an appealing place partly for those who fail to find economic and social in more traditional eva. he. fell faster seen a fifth straight night of violence as police fired plastic bullets and water cannon hundreds of loyalist protesters the angry mobs held for some bricks of the authorities injuring three but sixty offices been

phyllis bennis director at the institute for policy studies things that a chuck hagel is standing firm by his beliefs hago has never been outside the box he has not been one of those inside washington and hollywood for escalation against iran in fact he came out against unilateral sanctions in favor of diplomacy officially that is president obama's position as well there are enormous pressures coming from pro israel lobbies coming from the neo conservative. forces in the tanks and in the media calling for more escalation for war against iran he has resisted that and i don't think the fact that he's. been the magic words if you will during his testimony today is a shift i think just stand on the side of those insiders those washington insiders who are less seger to go to war that doesn't mean there is no chance it just means that it's a very unlikely possibility. well there is governmental worries over energy independence say it's doing its best but the russian wine is due to have paul plant after invalidated a national referendum that backed the construction plan story off the shelf br

take full control of the war torn country says phyllis bennis from the washington based institute for policy studies. we're talking about an official acknowledgement by the two governments that now the afghan military is in control what that means is anybody's guess but what it does not mean is that the u.s. troops are going to be pulled out early there's a huge occupation force in the country that's not going to be brought out in twenty thirteen in the spring what we're talking about is a claim that as of that time the afghan people the afghan military the afghan government will officially be in charge they will be in charge of the military now the idea that the u.s. forces still there or the nato forces still there are going to take their orders from the afghan military. leaving will leave his government and his own position in a very in a very precarious moment and he may well not survive that politically for the spend his talk to be on the president's washington trips done and dusted the. people of new york what they think of the country's campaign you know. the reason. it's because they're wond

co-director of foreign policy and focus project at the institute for policy studies. direction is such a better life for a short break it tonight we report from venezuela for you which is becoming an appealing place for those who failed to find economic and social paradise in more traditional a. wealthy british style. market. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger or a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines kaiser reports. well again belfast has seen a fifth straight night of violence as police fought plastic bullets and water cannons and hundreds of loyalist protesters the angry mobs hurled bombs and bricks in your forty's injuring three about sixty officers been booted in bouts of violence over the last five weeks now since city always decision to only fly the union flag on special days there's been reports of loyalist paramilitary groups orchestrating the riots social justice academic peter shallow told us they might want to use the confusion as a base for more violent action there are several issues i think well f

to speak with emira woods, a co-director of foreign policy in focus at the institute for policy studies. welcome to "democracy now!" let's start off with the hostage situation in algeria. what do you understand at this point? >> first, i think we have to extend condolences to those families of those to a lost life. situation is fluid. hostages reportedly have been taken coming from at least eight different countries, including britain, japan, ireland. there are still reports that not only those that have been killed coming potentially from britain, france, japan and other countries, but also this is a crisis that is still under way. the algerian military is still seeing this as an ongoing incident. the information is scant t and fluid, changing very rapidly. it is coming out very slowly because of -- remember, algeria is essentially a military state. information is not flowing freely. there is a reluctance to share information with international actors, particularly former colonial powers, given the history of what has happened in algeria. >> the reports are coming out initially saying

i am from the institute for policy studies where i run the drug policy project. i was once asked to talk to a group of high school students and they look at your resume and background and came up with a topic and you had to stick to the topic. this being a high school audience they wanted to hear about sex, drugs and international relations. and i thought, going to tie these three things together and it didn't dawn on me until the last minute and i realized the way to tell that story was through the story of columbus who likens it to be the granddaddy of international drug traffickers. i used the word drugs because it is relative. how you see the world depends on where you said, where you stand, your perspective. i want to refrain this discussion in ways we may not think of very often. you know the story of columbus. after the spice route to asia looking for a shortcut he was interested in gold and spreading religion and stuff but primarily about speightss. y speightss? why were spices so valuable? it wasn't just the food was terrible and all these things in the

for more, we're joined by j. peter pham of the africa center at the atlantic council in washington, d.c. and emeera woods, co-director of foreign policy in focus at the institute for policy studies. let's start with you. before we get to the french intervention, i want you to help people understand the context here a bit. what makes mali important and what has made it so volatile? >> well, ma'amy is a country on the wt coast of africa that is really at the epicenter. it is on the sahara, the brink of the sahara and sub saharan africa. it is a country rich in resources from gold to uranium, vital minerals in mali. there are also explorations of oil, particularly in northern mali. so it is a country that is rich in resources, that has actually been really the center of a democratic process for quite some time. we have to remember it is mallian women and students that back in the 1990s let out a dictator and ushered in a democratic process that has helped since the 1990s. we have to also recognize the history of mali. remember timbuktu the ancient center of learning for islam. the oldest universities in timbuktu, older than oxford or harvard or cambridge. they're there in mali. mal

i am with the institute for policy studies, and just really want to applaud the center for hosting this event, bring us together the week of an incredible inauguration and celebration of martin luther king day, to be able to talk about foreign policy. so i thank you for your vision. commander hamm, there's so many areas as she spoke that i thought i want to quibble on and question. i guess at the core of it when you talk about the state department giving at the 9 billion the department of defense giving 500 million to africa, it seems a bit disingenuous. primarily because the state department covers funds for private military contractors, that many would think are covered by the department of defense. so it seems a bit disingenuous to put it in that way, to create a sense that the state department is actually dominated by many of us, are truly concerned that the department of defense is having way too much sway tensions of euros for foreign policy, not only in africa but especially in africa. the africa union met this week. top on the agenda is jobs. it's an economic livelihood for prim

and with the institute for policy studies. bunche to applaud the center for this event. thank you for your vision. commander ham, there are so many areas that i want to question. i guess at the center of it, when you talk about the state department giving aid of about $8 billion are $9 billion, it seems a bit disingenuous. the state department covers funds for private military contractors that many would think are covered by the department of defense. it seems disingenuous to put it in that way that the state department is dominating what many of us are truly concerned that the department of defense is having much too sway in terms of foreign policy, especially in africa. the topic on the agenda is jobs. it is the economic livelihood for young people who are graduating and do not see any prospects for jobs. there is concern for the u.s. and their foreign-policy issue thing to emphasize more military use as a means to security when many see jobs and a stable economy as a means to security and stability. i think the concerns are many. the concerns are around africa com in

for the wealthy. a new study from the institute of taxation and economic policy looks at the share of income paid in salesaxes and excise. taxes eat up 8.8% of the income for the top 1% of california, and that's before the recent rate hike. hawaii ranked second at 8% followed by vermont, new jersey and oregon. now, these numbers are lower than the official tax rate because state and property taxes are often deducted from federal taxes. nationwide the 1%ers paid 5.6% of their income in state taxes. the bottom 20%, they pay almost twice as much relative to their income. now, the report takes aim at states that are looking to reduce or eliminate income taxes saying it would be unfair and make an unfair system even worse while the bottom are paying more of their paycheck to taxes. the fact, however, remains, high earners pay the bulk of the income taxes in many states. can you read the full story at cnbc.com's inside wealth. back to you. >> so, california's the leading one, but new york is very close, right? new york is, what, you've got 9.8% state ant 3.6% city. >> actually, again, talking about what people

danielle pletka, vice president foreign policy and defense studies, defense policy studies, i should say, at the american enterprise institute. danielle, thanks foreing with us. you wrote a column this week in which your first words were it's hard to like john kerry? [laughter] >> well, i worked for ten years up at the senate foreign relations committee when senator kerry wasn't the chairman, he was one of the other members of the committee. he's just not that popular on capitol hill. he hasn't worked well with other members. that was one of the problems he had when he ran for president. he's perceived as being stand offish, as being uninterested in their issues and in being kind of doctrinaire on policy. jon: but bob corker, the new mexico senator -- we're going to be talking to him next hour -- had glowing words for senator kerry in the hearing this morning. >> every senator walks into a hearing with another senator who's been nominated for something thinking there but for the grace of god go i. it's a collegial institution, but the collegiality is about a millimeter deep, so they always say nice things to each other. senator kerry promised he

for each other. that is the beginning. >> i am with the institute of policy studies where i run the policy project. i was once asked to talk to a group of high school students and they look at your resume and background and came up with the topic and you had to speak to the topic and this being a high school audience they wanted to hear about sex, drugs and international relations. and i thought how my going to tie these things together. it didn't dawn on me until the last minute, and i realize the way to tell that story was the story of columbus to i consider the granddaddy of the international drug-traffickers. i use the word drugs, the we see the world depends on where you sit, where you stand, your perspective. i want to free for -- 3 frame the discussion in ways we may not think of. you know the story of columbus, after the spice route to asia,. he was interested in gold and religion. why spices. why were spices so valuable back then? it wasn't just that food was terrible in europe, it was. all the spices, each new exotic spice was thought to have certain properties, they might make you feel a

the middle class for decades because these issues are important to our members, people 50 plus, and their families. in august 2011, aarp is public policy institute launched a year-long study of the well being of america's middle class with a focus on prospects for a financially secure retirement. today we will share what we've learned from that study and the policy applications going forward, specifically these three aspects. one, how the decline of of the middle class over the last 30 years has affected real people. how future generations and retirees, 20, 30, 40 and 50-year-olds of the day will be affected if we don't turn this around. and three, what we need to do as a nation to restore prosperity to the middle-class, and keep the american dream allies. over the past generation more and more of the middle-class have fallen off the cliff into economic insecurity, and even poverty. old town by a lack of job opportunity, rising health care costs, inadequate savings, declining home values, a lack of consumer protection. stagnant wages that have not kept pace with the cost of meeting basic needs. the great recession and the ongoing financial crisis only tightens the squeeze

i'm danielle pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the american enterprise institute. welcome to the first in our annual series of state of the union policy event. every year, aei scholars come together. we look forward to the challenges of the year ahead and policy questions that have been raised, and are likely to come up, and try and look forward a little bit, think a little bit about what the right answers are to the questions that are being posed. one of the few events we do with only aei scholars, although i'm very happy to be together with them. i will lay out for you what the other events are at the end of the session but let me introduce the folks who are here with me at the table. first on the far left, so to speak, is -- sort. on the far left is a resident scholar at aei and asian studies, specializing in japan although he does a lot of work on pacific and air power as well. next to him is fred kagan, another resident scholar at the american enterprise institute, the christopher demuth chair, and the executive director of our critical threats project. and n

for foreign policy studies. she studies researches and writes on border security, counterterrorism, immigration reform, democratic institutions, and the rule of law. prior to joining us in 2009 she was assistant to heritage is visiting fellow matt mayer and helped him research for his book, homeland security and federalism, protecting america from outside the beltway. she received her masters of public administration with an emphasis in federal policy from george washington university. she holds a bachelor of arts degree in spanish and international relations from ohio state university. please join me in welcoming my college, jessica zuckerman. jessica. [applause] >> and two, john. and thank you all for joining us today. the real id program sprang from the recommendation of the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states, better known as the 9/11 commission. the commission found that 18 of the 9/11 hijackers had 30 ids between them, including six that were used on the morning of the attack. the commission called on the federal government to set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and secure id

for foreign defense studies at the american enterprise institute. welcome to the first in our annual series of state of the union policy events. every year, aei scholars come together and we look forward to the challenges of the year ahead and policy questions that have been raised and are likely to come up, and try and look forward a little bit, think a little bit about what the right answers are to the questions that are being posed. it is and as the events we do with only aei fellows. we are happy to be -- together with them. i will lay out what the other events are at the end of the session. let me introduce those who are here with me at the table. on the far left, so to speak, is a resident scholar at aei in asian studies. he specializes in japan. next to him is fred nagin and executive director of our critical brett project. next to me is tom donnelly, co- director of our center for security studies. we are going to try and have a bit of a conversation here, although because we have three microphones, apparently from the year 1974, that may be a little bit difficult. i know you will be patient with us as we try and go ba

policy institute of new york university law school the interplay of which he will present the justice system. and the next speaker will be donald kerwin, who is the director for the center for migration studies in new york and a nonresident fellow at the institute. he will be talking about detention and removal. the fourth is not a presenter, but she is sitting right there. i would like to thank clay claire very much for all of her efforts, as well as thank my colleagues for this extraordinary report that i know that we will all enjoy very much. thank you all very much. doris, if you could please come to the podium. >> good morning. thank you very much, dimitri. i wish you a very happy 2013 as well. we are talking this morning about immigration enforcement. dmitry has keyed the topic. it is often said that there is no agreement in the country on immigration policy. when that we are deeply divided and so forth. of course it is true and of course we are deeply divided. but in fact, there really has been one element of immigration policy. an element that has been a source of support across the board for a very long time. that has been strengthened enforcement. especially border enforcement and