and continues to have in iraq. i'd like to talk about that in the end. but to turn to al qaeda, you talk about the book that a map was found south of baghdad that detailed the handwritten note that detailed their strategy. and you talked about it twofold. first that it informed what it gave us the intelligence we needed to sort of create an informed plan to squeeze al qaeda, and not only in the city but also in the surrounding baghdad. another interesting piece. you talked about it. you referenced it was media coverage. and as someone who dealt a great deal of sort of talking about this. it was always difficult to education plain what's happening, why is it happening, what is the violence? is it sectarian, what type of violence is it? and you mention that it's been tough to cover this war. not because of bias, necessarily, or because of spin, just because how do you measure an inventional war where there is not a front. where you can't talk about, advancing on the enemies. you can't -- and we didn't use body counts

the shock and all attack on iraq -- -- the shock and awe attack on iraq was exported by the bush team. -- exploited by the bush team. one man said that what paul bremer tried to do was more of an extreme method. i happened to be in iraq when the first quarter scandals broke -- torture scandals broke. i try to understand what these different forms of shock -- i tried to understand what these different forms of shock meant. these non metaphorical shot -- these non-metaphorical shocks. being in the news. bodies and torture. so i started reading. i read the declassified documents. the cia manuals. this is about tried to talk to people who do not want to talk to you. the manuals talk about the need -- about trying to talk to people who do not want to talk to you. the manuals talk about the need to put a prisoner into a state of shock. they become compliant and a regress. they go into a childlike state and they are more likely to cooperate with their interrogator. when i read that, i felt it was a description of what i have witnessed in iraq. the idea was that the war strategy was that iraq

let me finish, when it comes to iraq, when it comes to iraq, i can't seeing sending an 18-year-old boyover to kill people conceivably for oil, or be killed, it's an unfair choice, an i think, don't join, even though i respect our armed forces, we need a national defense, but my god, i'm going to send my girlfriend's 18-year-old boy to fight a corrupt war or be killed himself, no. so here's my question. why is that nancy pelosi, an i'm not saying the answer, but you know it better than i do, why do you think speaker pelosi would not hold up the finding for the iraq war. why do you think president obama let's this terrible president be set where any of your children join the armed forces they may be sent to a bad war, to either kill or be killed? why do you think they do nothing, or they don't do enough? >> well, i'm not going to talk about a bad war, because i'm not going to suggest there are good wars, but in january of 2007 -- [applause] >> in january of 2007, rahm emanuel gave an interview to the "washington post" where he essentially said, we're not going to mess with anything, we'r

iraq would be this perfect free- market economy. the first summer, it was all about economic reform. it allowed foreign investors to come in. donald rumsfeld said it had the most enlightened of tax policies in the world. they were bent to the will of their interrogator. this was a country that was put into a state of shock and they attempted to bend it to the will of their occupiers. that is why i start the book with a woman who underwent extreme electric shock treatment as part of these horrible cia experiments in the 1950's. >> do you and your family ever sat around and say that the americans are getting what they "deserve?" >> my parents consider themselves american as well as canadian. they do maintain their dual citizenship. >> do canadians feel this way? >> if you look at how much people want to believe in american redemption, look at the excitement around the world about obama's election. there is a tremendous feeling of goodwill. obama mania hit canada pretty hard. >> what is your take on the obama administration bringing th

part of something greater than himself. >> he goes to the army, goes to iraq. you're hardened for the worst. but you never expect him to die at his base. >> i want to say that, you know, because it didn't happen overseas or didn't happen in a combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero because my brother was the kind of person to jump in front of a bullet for somebody. and i feel like, you know, i don't know the details. i know my brother, i know he was brave in this situation. >> last night the bodies of the 13 people kill in ft. hood were flown to the military mortuary. the flag-covered coffins of the 12 soldiers and army civilian employee were transported to a ramp ceremony. the deputy commander for ft. hood called the ceremony truly moving. >>> some of the harshest

i've got to tell you, this is not like any part of iraq i've ever seen before. >> alwash: right?an, you... when you say "iraq," it's a desert, right? it's... it's burning oil. it's magical is what it is. this is magic. >> pelley: it's been more than 30 years since he pushed through the reeds with his father, who ran the irrigation office here. >> alwash: so i have very warm memories of this place. >> pelley: in 1978, alwash left to study in america, and became a partner in an engineering firm. >> alwash: i achieved the american dream, scott. >> pelley: you'd been living in the united states for 25 years. you're an american citizen, you married an american woman. your children are as american as they can be. >> alwash: and i'm as american as can be. >> pelley: why did you imagine going back to iraq after the life you had built? >> alwash: i realized, at some point in time, that money and success and the american dream is not everything. working on passion, on something that drives you is everything. >> pelley: his passion is a world where mother nature meets father time. it's the

the united states had been supporting iraq to the extent they did during the iran/iraq war. it became much more -- for many people, particularly us, who knew the character of the sitcom hussein's regime to believe that this regime was so infinitely evil that it had to be removed by force in 2003. well the united states, and full noted of what had been used during the 1980's, was willing to support it as a practical measure in its war against iraq. these things matter in terms of the eminent international context. likewise with regard to afghanistan. and they go through this in some length in my paper. i have no problem with the u.s. aberrations in afghanistan in 2001. let me say that afghanistan is an area not fairly -- and lived in pakistan for years in the 1980's, and they speak the language. i was very surprised though after the inferred mentioned took place the degree to which the united states was willing to step and the pakistan military came to the rescue and some of the remnants of the taliban, transferring them over to pakistan. and then basically doing nothing. and

if while sadam was relatively new in his job as dictator of iraq. the reaganed a man stat adminis cooperated with him are you suggesting in some way the u'ited states is somehow stopped from complaining for decades there after despite the intervening history. i worked through whe)e that argument lead use and how you think united states policy should be restrained by the knowlq"ge of what the reagan administration had done. by the way that policy even in the 80's was already changed significantly by 80 whq' i began to see it. the united sáates did not turn a blind eye example. and the second example i thought was interesting is you were (jjtá$u'ited states was inhibited the afghan war in the winter of 2001 and 2002 in iraq and pakistan remnants in taking stronger action for see support of the remnants in the taliban which is a valid concern because of the old linkages that went back to the 1980's. what is your evidence for that having bqq' an influential constraint during in those particular decisions and morally b, tell me how that would have worked

the seriousness of the accountability challenges reflected in disturbing war stories from iraq. they were over 300 reported cases of contacting the stakes or abuses from iraq from 2003 to 2007. yet, they're has not been a single instance to date of anyone being fired or denied promotion in connection with those cases. the pentagon in "the new york times" has publicly acknowledged that $8.2 billion, $8.2 billion of taxpayer money flowed through contracts into iraq, and stacks and pallets of cash without appropriate record-keeping or oversight. just to give you an example, and this is again, you know, confirmed, 68.2 million went to the united kingdom, $45.3 million to poland, and $21.3 million to correa, yet pentagon auditors were unable to determine why the payments were made. second negative consequence of laissez-faire outsourcing is what i would describe broadly as an overly ambitious international agenda. this is something we've only just begun to start talking about but it deserves enunciation that contractors facilitate overextension. they allow us to throw money at proble

federal inspectors say a military contractor in iraq does. and as brian todd reports, if someone's being ripped off, your money is paying for it. >> reporter: $196.50 for a box of washers that's supposed to cost $1.22. that's how much the inspector general for iraq's reconstruction says american taxpayers have been overbilled by a contractor that supplies vehicle parts for the iraqi army. >> we are going to work with the army material command, the army contractor command to make sure this money is recouped and the taxpayers' interests are protected. >> reporter: he deals with a company called aecom which provides logistics support. they looked at four invoices and found that a, ecom could have overbilled the government about $4 million when it sought repayment for parts and services. try an 846% markup for a jug of coolant and antifreeze. contacted by cnn, a senior vice president from aecom sent a statement. "as the report notes, this is an issue that we self-identified and corrected, making an immediate repayment over but i also read a lette

fourth, the decision that we are going to take the issue of iraq and come to grips with it and settle it during 2002. i don't think it is a decision for war but many price you have to be ready for war. it had a long history that even though many that write about it don't know the history, everyone in the government working on the issue knew the history. so the story is one to understand the decisions they made have to understand the history in their heads. they basically looked at the iraq issue right away in 2001, they ran in the same stalemate that bedevilled the clinton administration and did nothing conclusive about it for a year, then after 9/11 they decided they can no longer tolerate the risk of going much further. i think the key atmosphere in the year of 2001-2002 after 9/11 how much risk are you prepared to tolerate. 10%? 15%? what is the lesson for you of 9/11 about how well you tolerate risk and what you are willing to do before the risk materializes to head it off. two, a belief in the capacity of our government to address this because of the startling positive surprising

more than 100 gave their lives in iraq and another 15 died in afghanistan. the article says the no combat policy pretends women can't take such risks without harming overall military performance. earlier we asked people on one of our cnn tours today their thoughts on this. >> i think the policy is right. women are in many situations that are not physically capable of combat military task. i think women should be allowed. those women with the capacity and willingness to serve in a combat, they should be given the chance to but policy serves for majority of situations so i think it should stay as it is. >> it should stay as it is let's go to the phones and say hello to sandy in california. what do you think? >> caller: first off, i would like to say thank you to all of the men and women. this is veterans day serving this country and protecting this country as we have today. and second of all, behind every great man is great woman. i think that says it all. we should let them serve in combat if they need to. >> no reservations? >> caller: no reservations whatso

number one, i knew most of the exiles have left iraq 10 years or more before 2002. second, i knew those would come back who wanted to resume a position of power and influence and smart enough to understand the only way they would get into power is from following a u.s. tank into baghdad. they had a tremendous conflict of interest. the second question was who did be have on the ground that was responsible directly to the united states of america to verify this information? if we remove street addresses and have pictures, somebody should look in the window are not on the door to see what is on the other side. the answer was how many people did united states have been a country of 30 million people to verify the 550 identified places? o. we were on this group of higher the conflicted exiles. that is all i needed to hear to have serious doubts or validity of this information on which we ultimately went to war with disastrous consequences. one of which is we still today are having a hard time convincing much of the rest of the world when we say something, that it is to b

i was in iraq for the invasion as a private and my last tour overseas was to sadr city, iraq, last year as a platoon sergeant. i've seen every aspect. i've seen from the ground, you know, from kicking in the doors to sending troops out to kick in doors. and you know, when i cam back ever have i wanted to walk into a crowd of people and start shooting people. that's just -- i'm floored. it's incredible. >> you have seen the absolute worse and you're saying that no matter what you see, what you go through, you can't possibly understand that being a factor in doing something like this under any circumstances. >> absolutely. like i said, i was a private. i used to surf in florida and then i'm in baghdad, iraq, in 2003 kicking down doors and i came back after losing friends after each deployment i lost somebody and never did i come back -- i know different strokes for different folks. people deal with it different. got it. understand. but that's just -- what happened at hood is unbelievable. >> let me ask you this before i let you go. i did the math quick. that was five deployments you were

a military contractor in iraq does. and as brian todd reports, if someone's being ripped off your money is paying for it. >> reporter: $196.50 for a box of washers that's supposed to cost $1.22. $237 for a vehicle side mirror that you and i should pay less than $15 for. that's how much the inspector-general for iraq's reconstruction says american taxpayers have been overbilled by a contractor that supplies vehicle parts for the iraqi army. >> we are going to work with the army material command, the army contracting command to make sure the money is recouped and that taxpayer interests are cared for. >> reporter: he deals with a company called aecom which provides equipment and logistics reports. four invoices were reviewed a tiny fraction of the total, and the company could have overbilled $4 million. there was an 800% mark-up on a bottle of anti-freeze. there was a statement, quote as the report notes, this is an issue that we self-identified and corrected -- making an immediate repayment over two years ago to the clie

the iraq's interior ministry says he grabbed a gun from a guard and shot an investigator. investigator wrestled the gun back and shot the suspect. both died from their injuries. the suspect also wounded the guard he took the gun from. the investigators were questioning him in last sunday's bombing in baghdad that killed at least 160 people. that was iraq's deadliest bombing since 2007. >>> the bids are really stacking up for a motorized recliner a man drove while drunk. >> then about five minutes later, they call me, 20,000! i'm, like, are you kidding me? >> with just a couple of days left in the auction, the price is going up.

truth about the decisions leading up to the invasion of iraq. so could the prime minister confirm that sir john chill kotte and his colleagues will be able to publish all information available to them with the seoul exception of information essential to national security? >> i have set out a remit, and brought it to this house of commons. he is given the freedom to conduct this investigation how he choose chooses. it is a matter for the inquiry. >> as he knows, it is not just a matter for inyeary. i have it here. goveraging the publication of material in the final report. this prote doll, if he reads it, includes nine operate reasons why information can be spreffed, most chf have nothing to do with national security. and outrageously gives departments, individual rights of veto over information in the report. why did the prime minister not tell bus this before? how on earth are we and the whole country going to hear the whole truth about the decision leading up to the invision of iraq if the inquiry is being suffocate f.d.r. day one by his gover

that if you attack the banking system in iraq -- iraq you could of a spillover or collateral damage to an allied country. that is always a big risk living in the background when planners are talking about and all outside attack, is how can you guarantee you gun-control its effects and how can you know it will not get out of control and potentially harm an ally or come back at you. why the u.n. does military in particular has shown a lot of restraint and hesitation deploying these things without really a lot of clear thinking into what the effect is you want to achieve and without giving high level authorization. in the case of 2007 in iraq, that authorization came from the present itself. host: dennis on the independent line from massachusetts. caller: thank you for having me on. i am truly baffled about this cyber attack that happened here in the united states. there was an electronic ron on the bank. -- run of the bank. u.s. treasury, september 11, 2008, the morning of september 11, 2008, there was a run on our treasury and record amounts of money was withdrawn from the treasury and

she's being deployed to iraq december 7, and i thought i was more worried about her going over to iraq than here just doing training in texas. she just got there yesterday. >> the names of the victims have not been released yet. a hotline has been set up for those who may have loved ones in ft. hood. and do remember this number is for families only. >>> a bill that extends jobless benefits will give businesses a break as well. so it's a two-part story here. melissa long is in for jennifer westhoven. we talked about already for some people it would extend their jobless benefits up to weeks here. 79 weeks plus. what would it do for businesses? >> there are many layers of this bill, because not only does it help people out of work or people worried about losing their jobs, it also helps potential homebuyers and businesses. it helps businesses turn losses into cold cash. it would let businesses apply losses from either 2008 or 2009 to any years prior to 2008. does that make sense? the relief funds from the government are eligible for the tax break, and any funds in the fifth year would be

it seems pretty clear that congress and the american people have been misled going into iraq.he more i've researched it, the more it gets clearer. if you look at the article of impeachment, and all of the evidence that is out there -- why was nothing done? if bill clinton 10 be impeached for lead about having an affair is it that absolutely nothing seems to have been done? thankç guest: i think the way it was done is the way that we do it in general, that is, we vote against people that we think it's the wrong thing. >> washington talk this morning with the afl-cio president. they discussed a unemployment and underemployment. this is about 30 minutes. , joining us to talk about jobs and unemployment rates. the most recent one, 10.2%. how many are union members? guest: probably 20%. we have a lot in some areas where the unemployment rate is higher tree in@@@@ we haven't a rate nationwide of about 10.2%. if you take those the aren't working, or those that would like to work more, the numbers are much higher. in the way host: of those numbers, the afl-cio has developed a five. pl

she is being deployed to iraq and i thought i was more worried about her going over to iraq than here just doing training. she just got there yesterday. >>> right, you don't think about your loved one being injured during training. the names have not been released yet. a hotline has been set up. these are the numbers on your screen. please keep in mind this hotline is set up for family members only. >>> i will just tell you right now we're not going to do a traditional salute to the troops today because our thoughts are going out to our troops and family members affected by what's going on, the tragedy at ft. hood. so go ahead if you feel so moved to put your thoughts for them on our facebook page and we'll make that the salute to the troops today. that is cnn.com/robin if you don't know how to get to face book there's a little link right there. i don't think you have to sign up to the facebook or anything if you go to our wage. i'd be happy to read your -- i'd be honored to read your salutes all morning. >>> a bill today that extends jobless benefits will give businesses a break as w

in iraq, morale is up, fighting has tapered off there. but in afghanistan, morale is dropping as the u.s. has intense fied its push against the taliban. the surveys also show the army's overall suicide rate has jumped. the army said it's working to get more mental health workers to help soldiers cope. and that report comes as president obama considers sending more troops into afghanistan. >>> president obama is now in singapore. the second stop on his asia tour. he's meeting with leaders of apec, the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum. before he left japan, the president said the u.s. needs to work more closely with asia, because it could create jobs back home. he also said there are other tough things to deal with. >> this is a place where the risk of a nuclear arms race threatens the security of the wider world. and where extremists who defile a great religion plan attacks on both our continents. and there can be no solution to our energy security and our climate challenge without the rising powers of developing nations of the asia

he not only applauded the invasion of iraq but thinks the war was a success.fact, he doesn't even think it was a war, nearly one front in a new world war against the force he refers to as islamofa c islamofascio islamofasciosm. he is now common for us to bomb iran. the liberals control everything. have i gotten past gilligan's island yet? where was i? he is calling for us to bomb iran. and soon. if you think the question and answer period is getting too tepid ask him if water boarding is torture. through his long political march to the right he has been puzzled that other jews did not come to the same conclusions he did about liberalism in general and the democratic party in particular. what liberals mainly see when they look at this country is in justice and oppression of every kind, economic, social and political, podhoretz wrote. by contrast conservatives see a nation shaped my complex of traditions, principles and institutions that has afforded more freedom and factoring in periodic economic downturns, more prosperity to more of its citizens than in any so

>> my husband is deploying to north iraq in the next two weeks.-- and we have a brand-new, 2008 truck that has a very high interest rate in the near 20's. 20%. >> you don't. what were you thinking? >> we were young when we got it and just we haven't refinanced yet. >> well you have two options because under the soldier and sailors relief act while you're deployed that will go down to 6%, you have to petition for it. the other thing is your credit is good? >> uh-huh. >> why don't you refi. >> we're looking at refi. >> ask them. they may require that you do some down payment, reduction in the loan balance in order for them to do it. but they'll mark it down if your credit's good. >> and i have one more question for you. i have two credit cards but i've been very leery with them if i put anything on by the time i get the statement, as soon as i get the statement i pay it off. how is that affecting my credit score. >> making it great. >> that's the right thing to do. >> okay. >> learn from her. >> yes, sir. >> next on "clark howard" -- >> your e an ex

following that, shame harris on and how cyber attacks were used to the war on iraq. and then we will look at how the economy is affecting the city of youngstown, ohio. >> tomorrow, on c-span, a look at the hiv aids policy. we will hear from secretary of state phil reif clinton -- secretary of state hillary clinton. >> the prime minister has said that we are in afghanistan to protect british people against terrorism and yet in the same breath, they threatened to pull out of the country if president karzai cannot clean up his corrupt government. now, from london, prime minister's questions. this week, prime minister gordon brown answered questions on military strategy in afghanistan. according to the associated press, mr. brown announced that canada nations agreed to send about 30,000 more troops to afghanistan. the prime minister also discussed how the government was responding to recent floods in the uk. >> questions to the prime minister. >> mr. speaker, before i begin, i am sure the whole house would like to join me to pay tribute to sgt dixon from the second regim

one, i knew that most of the exiles had left iraq ten or more years before 2002. and second i knew that those who had come back and who wanted to resume a position of power and influence were smart enough to understand the only way they were going to get into power was on the following in a u.s. tank into baghdad. so they had a tremendous conflict of interest. so the second question asked mr. tennant was, who did we have on the ground that was responsible directly to the united states of america to verify this information? if we knew the street addresses and have pictures and prices somebody ought to be able to go and look in the window are not on the door and see what is on the other side. how many people did the united states have been a country of about 30 million people to verify these 550 places, the answer was zero. so we were totally reliant on this group of highly conflicted exiles. that was all i needed to hear to have serious doubts at the validity of this information upon which we ultimately went to war with, i think, disaster consequence. .. >> if peop

the question that was asked about iraq for so long was there's no military solution to the war in iraq is what many told us in 2007 andweight. what this book does, i think, is an opening cell in the larger path of history to say to the contrary. there's an very important military component. if you want to bring her out the political and economic change. i for one hope they will take a read at this as they look at afghanistan. they have temptations to say they need more soft power or trainers or we need more advisers. you know, intelligence. that's all very important ingredients. but i think what this book underscores that ultimately at the end of the day you need boots and rifles pointed out to protect the population. : >> coming up next, book tv presents "after words," an hour-long discussion between a guest host and the author of a new book. this week nicholas schmidle, fell at the new america foundation, talks about his book, "to live or to perish forever." it is an account of the two years he lived in pakistan beginning in 2006. he discusses his book with new york post columnist an

invasion of iraq. we're not experts on foreign policy or military policy, but from the point of view of hundred people we could see it would cause a lot of hundred there. and also that it would be a mouse lived use of resources that could be focused instead on reducing hunger and poverty. helping people to be more productive and take care of themselves from under/poverty perspective we tried to slow down the mission. it is not where we focus, but your point is right. if there is any way to get out of these wars, peace is just basic to progress. caller: if you do not raise kids, who will this for the country? they better wake up and start thinking about god. you know, it is a shame that kids cannot afford to go to a ball game anymore because sports cost so much. i would give a thousand buyers my social security back. i did not start to get it until 65. host: what did you do for a living? caller: right now i am retired. i was over a community service, the kids to get picked up for all kinds of stuff. hos

part of something greater than himself. >> leila, you can expect someone to go to the army, goes to iraq, okay, you're hardened for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i just want to say that, you know, because it didn't happen overseas or it didn't happen in the combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero because my brother was the kind of person to jump in front of a bullet for somebody. and i really feel like, you know, i don't know the details, but i know my brother and i know he was -- he was very brave in this situation. >> last night the bodies of the 13 people killed in ft. hood were flown to the military mortuary at dover air force base. the flag-covered coffins of the 12 soldiers and army sillian employee were transported through a ramp ceremony. the deputy commander for ft. hood called the ceremony truly moving. >>> some of the harshest criticism of the alleged ft. hood gunman is coming from other muslims. some not only condemned the crime, they say they're okay of having extensive background checks of muslims in the military. >> i don't

it seems pretty clear that congress and the american people have been misled going into iraq. the more i've researched it, the more it gets clearer. if you look at the article of impeachment, and all of the evidence that is out there -- why was nothing done? if bill clinton 10 be impeached for lead about having an affair is it that absolutely nothing seems to have been done? thank you. >guest: one of the things you sw was the last election. we vote against people who we think did the wrong thing. host: walter pincus, thank you for joining us. guest: thank you. host: in just a moment, we will hear from ruth goldway, postal regulatory commission chair. first, a news update from c-span radio. >> president obama speaks about government initiatives on education this morning, followed by meetings with advisers and the full cabinet. later, the president presents a human rights award to a group that has been challenging the regime of president mugabe. as the president continues to consider strategy at in afghanistan, four u.s. service members have been killed in the last 24 hours. nat

he was set to be deployed out to iraq and this was going to be his first deployment. it talks a lot about his mindset. although we don't know exactly what triggered this tragic shooting at ft. hood. we do know, sort of, what was going on in his mind when he pulled two handguns and started firing wildly into this crowd which is here at this readiness facility here at ft. hood. >> i was told they were m-16s, is that true? >> no, it's handguns. the m-16s is what the infantrymen would use. sipts he's major, he's a army officer, they were two handguns. >> so they were not m-16s. >> michael, how many dead? >> a total of 12 dead, including major hasan. that death toll is probably going to rise later this evening. there were two of the people who were wounded who are in very critical condition. one woman who was apparently shot in the face. >> oh. >> reports that she might have already passed. we're trying to confirm that, but nancy, expect the death toll to rise tonight. >> and let me ask you this, did hasan have a family he was leaving behind, if he were to deploy to iraq?

the war in iraq that he was so very just wanted to go into iraq. maybe it has something to do with a personal vendetta that he had with saddam hussein, involving his father. guest: it is true, probably, that the president -- president will be criticized on the left and right for anything that he says. it is the nature of the presidency and politics. in terms of what he inherited, it is what he signed up for. he ran for president, he was elected president, now he is president. the nature of that is that you pick up the ball and you run with it. sure, he has got big problems to solve, but they are his to solve. host: one of the papers this morning talks about the afghan situation, do you agree with that? guest: i do. i also think that afghanistan is very different. in terms of domestic politics, it became johnson's more, then it became nixon's war -- johnson's war and then it became nixon's war. once he lays out a strategy that leads to a victory or not, it becomes his. i think of the caller is correct in saying that there is nothing he can do that w

i'm talking about iraq and iran during the 1980's.obviously, within the reach, it had a tremendous impact. that united states has been supporting roque the way it did, to the extent it did during the iran-iraq war. it became much more dell for many people, particularly arabs who knew the character of the saddam hussein regime, to believe that it was so infinal easel that it had to be removed by force in 2003, while the united states in full knowledge, for instance, of the gas leak that had been used during the 1980's was willing to support it in its war against iraq. these things matter. that he matter in terms of international context. likewise with regard to afghanistan, and i go through some in some length in my paper , i have no idea with the u.s. operation in afghanistan in 2001. let me just say that afghanistan is not fairly well. i was working with refugees in the 1980's. i speak the language. i was very surprised, though, after the intervention took place the degree to which united states was willing to accept that the pakista

that if you attack the banking system in iraq -- iraq you could of a spillover or collateral damage to an allied country. that is always a big risk living in the background when planners are talking about and all outside attack, is how can you guarantee you gun-control its effects and how can you know it will not get out of control and potentially harm an ally or come back at you. why the u.n. does military in particular has shown a lot of restraint and hesitation deploying these things without really a lot of clear thinking into what the effect is you want to achieve and without giving high level authorization. in the case of 2007 in iraq, that authorization came from the preseftiá,# but the 911 terrorist had rather than crash and buildings into a crashing airplanes into buildings in new york, had gained access to its financial institution and corrupted the data so that it could not do business and essentially had to close down, that the economic consequences of the cyber attack would have been greater than the economic consequences of the actual attack, which we all know where actual

caller: it is time to get out of afghanistan and iraq. doing a war on terrorism with our mighty military might, with tanks and planes this kind of like trying to exterminate cockroaches with a sledgehammer. it is absolutely pointless. what happened on 9/11 was more of a crime that it was an act of war. >> how do you generally fill about the use of u.s. troops. are you almost always against it, or is of the circumstances here? guest: it is the circumstances here. after 9/11, i was almost in support of what bush wanted to do in going in iraq. after the anger fades, you have to look reality end use reason. that is why i like obama. he goes with his gut. host: thank you. scott, independent. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: president obama, watching him taking his time making this decision and then complain how much the war cost -- it bothers me a little bit. when hillary was in there with her husband, they bombed tanzania. they said we're al-qaeda and we are coming for you. they did nothing about it. they just wanted to get o

it is a bigger challenge than was the case in iraq. >> in iraq, we had a staging base. we do not have that in afghanistan. we do not have the infrastructure in afghanistan. i want to give a plug to a bunch of on some here as though we often times focus on the front and, the war fighters and combat troops but everybody on the ground i believe it is in combat. those who don't get credit for the logistic support. they have been magnificent. we face the potential afghanistan challenge for weeks and we think we have a way ahead. it will not be five brigades. lobby one brigade per month for the infrastructure -- the ability to receive it and other moving parts that are moving in and out. >> we will have the decision when we have it. >> deep you have a proven record of demanding accountability. is one of the roles of this review to determine if, in fact, there was any kind of negligence and in turn would you demand accountability? >> part of what the army, as i indicated, the army is going into this particular at fort hood in great depth. i would assume that if there are quest

[laughter] well, he was talking about iraq. i think iran that probably applies three or four, three or four times. and we've seen it. we've seen it. all the way back to 1979, we had the javits resolution, we had the axis of evil speech, we had rhetoric about the holocaust, we had this fishy election and, and its aftermath. so there are going to be diversions, there are going to be, there are going to be setbacks, and when i say patience, that's where you're going to need patience. now, on the demanding side here's where you have to keep your expectations high. otherwise you fall victim to your own low expectations, to your own negative, own negative preconceptions. if you go into an encounter and i don't care whether you're dealing with iran or anyone else assuming that you will, that you will fail because of the failures of the other side and the shortcomings of the other side, then you will fail. it's certain. however, if you assume that success -- however modestly you define it, that thing not said, that change of, that chan

with that came deployment to iraq as well as deployment to iraq as a u.s.epartment of defense civilian who was with a state department team that was imbedded with a u.s. army division. host: you resigned from your station on september 10678 was that significant? guest: no. that was actually just the way the timing worked out. if there is one thing that pushed me over the edge with the resignation it was the afghan elections. those were august 20. so after a week and a half, two weeks of watching those events unfold, i spoke to my boss beginning september, said i'm really thinking of resigning. i've reached the point in my conscious where i can't participate in this mission any longer. so i turned out by the time i got down to see my boss in canada -- kandahar, it was september 11. host: as always, we welcome your phone calls and e-mails. you can log on to twitter.com /c-spanwj. the democrats line, good morning. caller: good morning. i have a comment first and then a question. my comment first is that where i stand at, i don't want either war, iraq or afghan

and specialist jason hunt was recently married and about to he to iraq for the second time. his sister says hunt wanted to serve other people and live for something greater than himself. she was proud of her brother's bravery. >> you can expect someone who goes in the army, goes to iraq, you are hard rned for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i want to say that because it didn't happen overseas or in a combat situation doesn't make him any less a hero. my brother was the kind of person to jump in front of a bullet for somebody. i don't know the details but i know my brother and he was very brave in this situation. >>> president obama says people should be patient and not jump to conclusions about what promplted the attack at ft. hood. he said with the veterans' day holiday next week the country should take time to remember exactly who makes up the armed forces. >> they are americans of ever race, faith, and station. christians, muslims, jewss and non-believers. they are descendents of immigrants and immigrants themselves. what they share is

they won the war in iraq.soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen and marine in the united states of america won that war. and yet you would not know that from the media, because as soon as the war turned around they stopped covering it. and today all the bad news is coming out of afghanistan. i would like to remind young people who didn't have that blessing that i did growing up with. in the greatest generation, that in world war ii, and i went back and check because i knew i was going to be here tonight. i went back and checked on this day and 1942, the operation, the first american offensive both world war ii, remember, pearl harbor had been bombed seven months before. america lost every single battle it was in, up until june, the battle of midway. every single battle was a disaster. by june when the new way is one at a naval air power, by june, tens of thousands of americans were dead, not just in pearl harbor but all across the pacific ocean. they were americans died on the beaches of tea at who landed with t

over iraq. controversial interviews with british officers "emblazoned across the front page of "the daily telegraph." the views suggested that the strain between the british and u.s. allies, known to some degree at the time, were more severe." you can read more in "the new york times." democratic line, good morning. soaking america's rich? caller: so your callers have made statements that these taxes need to be reduced. what they need to spend time with is the historical time of the highest income tax rate paid by the richest of the ridge. there are a couple of things that are very interesting about it. 35% is the highest marginal rate. looking at world war ii one, it goes from single digits, where they were looking for a 70%, it dropped down into the 1920's. then they find themselves in world war ii with a top marginal rate for most of the war years. basically it has settled into the 1990's and 1970's for ronald reagan, where it was 60% higher for those terms. to talk about raising taxes to und

fixing to fly into iraq and kuwait. i love you you, mom! >> so sweet.tly to them now. >> i can look at those videos, every one of them, and say, that's my kid. >> lance corporal billy spencer was posthumously awarded the silver star of. >>> an atlanta woman went to work and found a note on the door. her job of 12 years and her company were kaput. she was shocked to learn that the country's largest publisher of gay and lesbian newspapers shut down yesterday. no comment from the parent companies which filed for bankruptcy. >>> you may be passing some fake 20s and not know it. the secret service says they're seeing a spike in counterfeiting meaning some innocent people are getting duped. >> here i'm thinking, i've never done anything to put in jail for. >> agents say the recession may be a factor but it's really something that happens during the holiday shopping season every year. the counterfeiters count on the clerks dealing with the long lines, getting distracted and feeling rushed. >>> last night on "the joy behar show," joy welcomed texas politici pol

the recent ones were iraq and afghanistan. regardless of what they do, the american people want that kind of support. the military and the pentagon know that we will pro side everything. and we constantly do to prod us. what can we do with the lack of, the deal with time, the time periods between de ployments. how can we reduce the stress in our family. that is a constant question. and we do everything we can to support our military and our veterans. >> i don't see how that's possible. i think that's one of the many mrks questions which the president is struggling with. >> the don't ask don't tell policy, president obama has said that he would like to repeople the ban. and i was wondering that 2 the 2011 defensive association will be enough. >> i was opposed to the don't ask don't tell. if it's a repeople, it can only happen after a very careful, had a very clear review of the policy by the people affected by the policy, obviously, but in the midtary we've got -- i believe show the military that we are going to take their view

the iraq issue, as a point out in my paper, had a long history that even though many people who write about it don't know that history, everybody in the government working on this issue new that history so historians who want to understand why they made the decisions they made at understand history that was in their heads. they basically looked at the iraq issue right away in 2001, they ran to the same stalemate that bedeviled the clinton administration for years and basically did nothing conclusive about it for a year and then after 9/11 decided they could no longer tolerate the risk of going much further. i think the key atmosphere in the winter of 2001 and 2002 -- after 9/11, how much risk are you prepared to tolerate? 10%, 15%? what is the lesson of you from 9/11 on how well you tell right risk and what you are willing to do before the risk materializes to head it off? two, a belief in the capacity of our government to address this because of the startling and positive surprising success of afghanistan. and since that decisive action was decisively rewarded, decisive action is bei