look who is 80 years old next week, and james baker. dinner and dancing, you are invited for $1,000. money from the tickets will benefit his policy institute. we have a title for president george w. bush's book. decision points. ladies first. the former first lady has her memoir, spoken from the heart. mrs. bush with her daughters will be on all brother day before publication, not a bad way to launch a book. have a good weekend, and we will have another look next week. >> and northern virginia nonprofit organization has two new programs to help children in the area. i was privileged to emcee the luncheon. they provide take-home food on the weekends for low-income children and new clothing for elementary school children. >> i know they appreciate you being there. >> of being out there, especially on such a gorgeous day. >> it will be wonderful the rest of the weekend -- the west of the evening. the weekend will go down hill. looking back across the city, temperatures around 70, the low 70's in many areas. we will continue for several hou

. >> but james baker. >> except in europe. >> james baker told the foreign minister of iraq if they use chemical or biological weapons on our troops and "desert storm" we would retaliate with nuclear weapons about. he took him out of the meeting -- >> how about the cyber attack part of this? >> to have a cyber attack you need a nuclear weapon in the other side because the cyber attack -- i mean on the top -- >> she said if what he get hit with this cyber attack get struck by nuclear. >> the attack in the atmosphere? >> no, no, she's talking about cyber attack? >> if they hack into your computer. >> if somebody hacks into your computers would strike with nuclear weapons. >> i don't think i would strike with nuclear weapons if they hacked into my computer, no. >> i guess i don't get this, ron. there's an urgency in her voice that isn't matched by the strategic thinking here, i don't think. >> no. >> but anyway. >> nuclear weapons have been used twice in all of history and we're not eager to use them again. and no, we're not going to nuke somebody just because they hacked into our computer

before the iraq war, "desert storm," james baker called outta reek aziz and says if you use biological or chemical weapons on our troops, we will use everything on you, and they didn't use those particular weapons. secondly, eisenhower, 1953 sent word to the chinese, you stop the war in korea or we take the lid off the weapons we use. we got a truce in six months. third, 1958, war in the taiwan strait, eisenhower says shut it down or it's gonna go up the stairs. in other words, threatening the possible use of atomic weapons, and he made peace all three times. these subtle or hidden threats worked, and he's given up our ambiguity. >> you get the point about ambiguity? he surrendered ambiguity and that's a strategic ambiguity. >> we live in a different world. we don't live in a bipolar world where we worry about some soviet general launching a weapon from mining. we're waried about some terrorist group. what this president is looking for is more certainty, clearer rules, more engagement with countries around the world. that is what this posture review is telegraphing. the purpose of nucl

. >> reporter: james baker was treasury secretary under ronald reagan and secretary of state under george h.w. bush. >> we need to find the political will to live within our means and start reducing this tremendous debt that's out there. >> reporter: that debt has forced the u.s. to keep borrowing from foreign countries. >> can the world's greatest power remain the world's greatest power and also be the world's greatest borrower? >> reporter: can it? >> i don't think so. >> reporter: aaron david miller served as an adviser to six secretaries of state and has witnessed the decline in american dimlomattic power. >> we can't morally preach anymore about the virtues of american-style capitalism when we can't fix our own dysfunctional, broken house. >> reporter: and seemingly can't-- >> that's the worst place to be. >> we must rebuild our strength here at home. >> reporter: the solution is to accept many nations now have a seat at the table and can influence world outcomes. >> it was easier long ago to say, well you have a couple of big powers. now you have a lot of powers. >> james fallows is

james baker in 1991 on the eve of the persian gulf war went to iraqi foreign minister and said to himested to him, if they use chemical weapons against our troops, guess what we might use -- >> sean: and it worked. you leave the threat hanging. . >> while we don't want to use nuclear weapons there is a rule for the threat in keeping peace. >> the president is on a trajectory to keep his nobel prize he has to earn it. you can relay what your strategy is to the world -- it is probably one. most short-sided destructive things that i've seen in a while. >> sean: deeper analysis, why? why would he do it? i have my theory. >> this only makes sense if you believe united states is the primary threat to the world and to worm peace. >> sean: thank you. >> what they are saying is, when we get rid of our nuclear weapons, america's -- nuclear weapons the world will be safer. we are the primary peacekeeper for 60 years. the president doesn't believe that they believe the rest of the world will be safer if we are less armed. >> this builds in the narrative that he has created that we need to apologi

with events and with a wonderfully named -- colorful supporting cast full of such mcentee names as james baker henry cruise, george law, fernando wood, frank work, simon chase, daniel drew, big jim fisk, jake gold, emily thorne, curtis peck, tennessee class on, vettori woodhall, erastus korn, chauncey debut, horace greeley, augusta show, john green, or and that more and. am i pronouncing that right? and horace clarke, to name just a few. in short, is a is a terrific read. -- is a terrific read. so james once wrote of the young thomas jefferson, that along with his command, five foreign-language is, he could catch a late and eclipse, survey and the state, tie an artery, plan an edifice, try a cause, break a horse, dancy menu at and play the violin. in the same thing one could say that cornelius vanderbilt could design a steamship, sale it over open ocean and jungle rapids, racy champion horse, run a shipping line, consolidate a railroad, short a stock, rader corporation to lobby president, build a rail depot, found a university and raise an army, and all before lunch time. [laughter] >> justice

baker institute at rice. i'm teaching -- >> that's james a. baker, iii? >> yes. and i do three classes. i do history of the cold war, history of the presidency and conservation history. rice is one of the best schools in america. i love teaching there. we're one of the top 20 universities by "us news." we haven't been hit as badly as some places by the great recession, so i think things are going well. >> what are you writing? >> right now i'm working on two books. one comes out this year called "the quiet world: saving alaska's wilderness kingdom from 1909 to 2010." at the end of it it's about the arctic refuge anwr, but it's really a fight to save wild alaska following up on my theodore roosevelt book. so i'm looking at charles sheldon's efforts to save mount mckinley, bob marshall who created the wilderness society's efforts to save what's today gates of the arctic national park. the whole group of people that lived with wolves and things up in the arctic that ended up getting this great arctic refuge where the coastal plain is where our polar bear den, the great caribou herd of amer