strategy and we saw in the situation we showed earlier james clapper you know kind of grouping russia and china together we remember we have this strategic arms reduction treaty with russia we don't have it with china do you think that's going to play a role in like you said making china the next target well i think so but i think actually it's reversed i think the arms reduction treaty was a result of the improvement in russian relations and i think that the reason for that is because u.s. is you know encircling china we're improving relations with india which we were a traditional folk during the cold war and we're strengthening the alliances in the east around china as well so i think you're seeing in and circumvent of china and us russian relations the improvement of those are designed to. complete the circuit and that was ivan eland thing your fellow at the independent institute. well moving on now to a different kind of tension that exists between the old guard and the new i'm talking about journalism and what is often a tug of war between the older more established press like s

russia a threat well then we have somebody in this in ministration a top intelligence advisor james clapper saying the two largest mortal threat i think he said china and russia clapper later backtracked and said he was simply talking about capability when referring to russia and china as a mortal threat i want to talk about this and to do so i'm joined by ivan eland senior fellow at the independent institute. i mean is this simply a statement of you know weapons versus will where do you think this was irresponsible for our top intelligence official to say well i think the problem that we have here is or cold war thinking and you can talk about bill these intent and we can do that except that we have a double standard in the this country there are other nuclear powers that can hit the united states as well as india and france and britain right and israel those countries could all conceivable in some way get a weapon here in north korea can't yet but let's just take those countries we don't think of them they have the capability to do it but we don't call them mortal threats whereas china an

only two percent but it appears that the top intelligence official in this country james clapper who you saw there might be part of that two percent of course he did later backtrack he said he was simply talking about capability when referring to russia and china as a quote mortal threat earlier i talked to ivan eland senior fellow at the independent institute as part of our conversation. well i think the problem that we have here is the or cold war thinking and you can talk about capabilities and intent and we can do that except that we have a double standard in the country there are other nuclear powers that can hit the united states as well as in the eye pakistan france and britain and israel are those countries could all conceivably in some way get a weapon here in north korea can't yet but let's just take those countries we don't think of them they have the capability to do it but we don't call them mortal threats whereas china and russia have the capabilities but we call them moral threats and i think this is left over from the cold war we think that all those other countries c

i have to tell you first of all if i were president james clapper would be out. this is not the first time that he has said things in public which first i don't think are true and he should have said as director of intelligence number one number two. i think. that there were whole the civilized world is united against gadhafi but i'm afraid is that before we get our you know what to go there. if he's going to wipe out the opposition now we've moved fast but i don't think we move fast enough i don't want to see is the. start of third war and i'm sure we can afford it in many ways but. in concert with our allies i think we are that we should have been there already with the no fly zone well two things i think it's a difficult situation i think it very least we should be providing intelligence on the ground of cannot use forces where they are in providing weapons to the no fly zone brings in difficult situations but the one thing i can't stand this idea with the international committee we have you know what it is it's america that's going to provide all the any powe

house floor next wednesday along with defense secretary gates, the national intelligence director, james clapper, and michael mullen. when congress reconvenes next week. we are expecting shortly hillary clinton on the latest on libya. >> we are expecting to hear from secretary clinton at about 6:15. obviously delayed a little bit. in the meantime we will take you to the pentagon to a briefing held this afternoon by vice admiral william gorfy -- gortney. this is about 25 minutes. >> good afternoon, everyone. thank you for being with me. let's get to it. on the slide to my left, you will see a quick snapshot of what we've been doing the last day or so. i would like to point out, ships at sea have launched another 14 tomahawk missiles. and scud missile garrisons near tripoli. we had a total of 140, 49 of which were strike-related. meaning they were designed to hit a designated target. of those totals, roughly have were flown by partner nations, and nearly all or 75% of those in support of the no-fly zone are being passed by coalition partners. next slide, please. this is a good depiction of what th

james clapper said that, given qaddafi's military power, "in the longer term, the regime will prevail." mr. obama said clapper was giving a "hard-headed assessment about military capability", not a statement of u.s. policy. police in saudi arabia apparently kept the lid on attempts at mass protest today. hundreds of security officers were on the streets in riyadh. several hundred people did demonstrate in the heavily shiite eastern part of the country. in yemen, record crowds-- up to 40,000 people-- turned out in sanaa. they demanded again that president saleh step down. witnesses in southern yemen reported police fired on protesters near aden. at least nine were wounded. and in bahrain, security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to drive off crowds. defense secretary robert gates warned nato defense ministers today against a quick exit from afghanistan. the first withdrawals are set to begin as early as july. gates said the strategy should reflect conditions on the ground and not political considerations. at the same time, the ministers, meeting in brussels, endorsed a list of

. >> our washington correspondent andrew north and james clapper had embarrassed president obama with his gleek assessment for a rebel victory in libya. >> he certainly has. it's making it very difficult for the administration. but this evening, senior administration officials have let it be known that president obama does not agree with his director of national intelligence. he does not believe that colonel gaddafi will prevail. but while things are obviously not looking too good for the future career prospects of the director of national intelligence, this incident does expose the obama administration and its policy on libya, because if indeed colonel gaddafi does survive, there will be many who will say, well, why didn't you do more to make sure that he went? now, the administration's concerns about going unilateral, about taking direct action there are now quite well-known. but as colonel gaddafi's forces appear to be gaining the momentum, time is certainly running out for the administration to take action. it will ensure that colonel gaddafi should go. >> hillary clinton has conf

intelligence chief james clapper told congress today that qaddafi has the firepower to win the fight. meanwhile, secretary of state hillary clinton said she will meet with libyan opposition leaders next week when she visits neighboring egypt and tunisia. and france today became the first major power to officially recognize the rebels' governing council. tonight qaddafi forces control most of western libya, including tripoli. battles continue, though, in zawiyah, just outside the capital. rebels have the upper hand in the east, but today they were driven out of ras lanuf after several days of attacks from the air, qaddafi's ground forces moved in. and cbs news correspondent mandy clark was in the thick of it. ( gunshots ) >> reporter: this is the moment the rebel position in ras lanuf collapsed. ( explosion ) with shells crashing down all around them, the fighters run into their vehicles and head out of town. ( gunshots ) we had just a few minutes to join them or be left behind. >> we're good. we're good. >> reporter: some of the men don't get all the way into their trucks before they

. >>> in a statement that embarrassed the white house, the director of national intelligence, james clapper, told congress thursday that he thinks gadhafi's well-equipped military will defeat the rebels. >> from the standpoint of attrition, that over time, i mean, this is kind of a stalemate back and forth, but i think over the longer-term, that the regime will prevail. >> the white house later distanced itself from clapper's statement, saying the president does not think gadhafi will win. >>> libya will be among the topics president obama will address when he holds a press conference later this morning at the white house. susan mcginnis is in washington with much more on this. susan, what do you expect to hear from the president? >> hi, well, good morning, betty. the president will undoubtedly address the tragedy in japan, and the effect on hawaii, and the western united states this morning. no telling yet just how much that might disrupt his agenda. but, yes, as of now, libya and the increasing turmoil there, is on his agenda to speak this morning at 11:15 eastern time. libya is africa's

president obama's top intelligence adviser, james clapper, is taking heat after he seemed to tell congress that gadhafi would win this war. >> this kind of a stalemate back and forth but i think in the longer term, that the regime will prevail. >> jake tapper joins us from the white house now. and jake, this caused some real awkwardness in the white house because the president and his national security advisers have been calling for gadhafi to go. >> reporter: that's exactly right. two republican senators called for clapper to step down, saying that what he said undercuts the mission of the libyan opposition, undercuts the u.s. goal there. and one senior administration official called me to make sure i knew that, quote, the president does not think that gadhafi will prevail. distancing himself from clapper's comments. >> and another point, clapper dug himself in deeper. he was asked which countries pose a mortal threat to the united states and the first ones he mentioned were russia and china. but the president has been trying to build alliances with these countries. >> reporter: that's ri

at the hearing and intelligence assessment about the future from national intelligence director james clapper i think. the concern. is. after that and the ability of the afghan government to. pick up their their responsibility for government over the last few weeks there has been additional hardship in the mission and an increase in anger after nine afghan children were killed in a nato led attack here's secretary gates last week like to begin by joining general petraeus and offering my personal apology. for the accidental killing that nine afghan boys by coalition forces and here's president karzai talking about incidents like this and civilian casualties as a whole they want it stopped. they want it both reduced they want to stop president karzai said he actually wanted foreign troops out of afghanistan so not only are they losing the u.s. supported president of afghanistan now new evidence that the war is losing support from the general public as well this washington post a.b.c. news poll just out shows sixty four percent of americans do not think the war has been worth fighting and a much

james clapper the director of national intelligence was testifying before the senate armed services committee and he said this certainly the right of the russians have you know still have a very formal nuclear arsenal even with which does pose you know potentially a mortal threat to us i don't think they have the intent to do that certainly china is. growing in its military capabilities as the full array of whether conventional or simply g. forces that. they are building so they can pose a from a capability standpoint. the threat to us as a more threat. he was to say clapper statement has raised a lot of eyebrows so is he just speaking for himself or for the entire intelligence and military community in the us joining me to discuss this dr thomas pm barnett the chief atmosphere we came out a contributing editor to esquire thomas thank you so much for joining us tonight now i want to first to echo what apparently senator carl levin said. in surprise after hearing it clobbers statement here which was wait a minute i thought that iran or north korea were our mortal threats or how to even out rus

was visiting with russian heads of state and talking about recess national intelligence director james clapper claim that russia and china are mortal threats to the united states so which one is it and we would like to toast our friday with a dose of happy hour or discuss the latest dating sites and there's even one school in florida who is redefining the term hot for teacher details on all that and more in tonight's show but first let's move on to our top story. a catastrophic eight point nine earthquake struck off the coast of japan today followed by a devastating tsunami that battered many regions of the country and officials estimate the thousands are dead and thousands more are missing and throughout the day we've seen devastating pictures of cars being swept off highways by powerful water and people literally running for their lives the biggest damage was to the port city of sendai the northeastern part of the country and the closest major city to the epicenter japan has also issued a state of emergency over radiation leak in a nuclear plant and it's not only a tragedy for those whose li

the director of national intelligence james clapper told a senate hearing: "we believe that qaddafi is in this for the long haul." he went on to say that libya's large arsenal means that the regime will prevail. asked about the comments later, national security advisor tom donilon said, "that's a one- dimensional view." police in saudi arabia opened fire today on a rally in the eastern city of qatif. several hundred shiite protesters demonstrated for political reforms. witnesses said police broke up the rally with shots and stun grenades. at least, four people were hurt. saudi authorities have warned of strong action against any attempt to mount large protests. in yemen, thousands of demonstrators turned out again for major protests. once more they demanded that president ali abdullah saleh step down. and, they rejected saleh's call for a new constitution that guarantees the independence of the parliament and the courts. meanwhile, in cairo, egypt, crowds were gone from tahrir square after clashes yesterday between rival groups. the egyptian army cleared everyone out, along with their

to respond to a los angeles times story this morning which says national intelligence director james clapperold congress last week, i think the issue the concern the intelligence community has is after that and the ability of the afghan government to pick up their responsibility for governance. general ronald burgess, head of defense intelligence agency offered a sobering view, one that is shared by the cia. officials say it contrasted sharply with the optimism expressed in recent days by petraeus. quote from general burgess. the taliban in the south has shown resilience, still influences much of the population, particularly outside urban areas. burgess said u.s. led coalition has been killing taliban militants by the hundreds he said, but there have been no apparent reductions in their capacity to fight. would you respond to general burgess's statements? >> first of all, with respect, i have tried to avoid what might be labeled optimism or pessimism and have tried to provide realism. and i think that the opening statement speaks for itself in terms of expressing what we believe is reality o

as you know, these are the descriptions of james clapper, the director of national intelligence providedto the congress recently delighted that he's ronald all accounts but i always attend these with an open mind. >> this briefing is part of a series here at fdd to have a productive, thoughtful and yet civil conversation about the pressing international development and challenges and crises that we face. we are honored to have with us today representatives from the u.s. government from the diplomatic corps with and tanks in town and other people from the policy community. most viewed farda shah for the defense of democracy created just after 9/11 to do research on terrorism and the ideologies and the regime and movements of organizations that drive terrorism and help develop policies to defend america and the west than those who have declared themselves as enemies those who support do not agree on everything. they do agree on at least three fundamental principles no one should be denied basic rights including minority rights, women's rights and religious freedom. free and space nations h

to respond to a los angeles times story this morning which says national intelligence director james clapperold congress last week, i think the issue the concern the intelligence community has is after that and the ability of the afghan government to pick up their responsibility for governance. tame general ronald burgess, head of defense intelligence agency offered a sobering view, one that is shared by the cia. uchlt officials say it contrasted sharply with the optimism expressed in recent days by petraeus. quote from general burgess. the taliban in the south has shown resilience, still influences much of the population, particularly outside urban areas. burgess said u.s. led coalition has been killing taliban militants by the hundreds he said, but there have been no apparent delegate rad agency in their capacity to fight. would you respond to general clap errand general burgess's statements? >> first of all, with respect, i have tried to avoid what might be labeled optimism or pessimism and have tried to provide realism. and i think that the opening statement speaks for itself in terms of

to respond to a los angeles times story this morning which says national intelligence director james clapperold congress last week, i think the issue the concern the intelligence community has is after that and the ability of the afghan government to pick up their responsibility for governance. tame general ronald burgess, head of defense intelligence agency offered a sobering view, one that is shared by the cia. uchlt officials say it contrasted sharply with the optimism expressed in recent days by petraeus. quote from general burgess. the taliban in the south has shown resilience, still influences much of the population, particularly outside urban areas. burgess said u.s. led coalition has been killing taliban militants by the hundreds he said, but there have been no apparent delegate rad agency in their capacity to fight. would you respond to general clap errand general burgess's statements? >> first of all, with respect, i have tried to avoid what might be labeled optimism or pessimism and have tried to provide realism. and i think that the opening statement speaks for itself in terms of

as you know, these are the descriptions of james clapper, the director of national intelligence provided to the congress recently delighted that he's ronald all accounts but i always attend these with an open mind. >> this briefing is part of a series here at fdd to have a productive, thoughtful and yet civil conversation about the pressing international development and challenges and crises that we face. we are honored to have with us today representatives from the u.s. government from the diplomatic corps with and tanks in town and other people from the policy community. most viewed farda shah for the defense of democracy created just after 9/11 to do research on terrorism and the ideologies and the regime and movements of organizations that drive terrorism and help develop policies to defend america and the west than those who have declared themselves as enemies those who support do not agree on everything. they do agree on at least three fundamental principles no one should be denied basic rights including minority rights, women's rights and religious freedom. free and space nations