probably going to happen and what should happen is those unique things that are unique to joint forces command should be preserved we just willy nilly said let's kill join forces come out well wait a minute excuse me but. i want to do reductions in all of the commands why not particularly start at the biggest bloaters bureaucracy in the world the office of secretary of defense and make some cuts there because what's happened is you know that you've heard the expression tooth the tail the animal that's that's duty to tail teeth over here the fighting part and the huge tail we've got a big tail when it comes to foreign policy you've said that you would work with congressional leaders to win the wars in iraq and afghanistan what does that even mean well the war as far as i'm concerned you know iraq has already won yesterday the last stryker battalion left even with all the violence we've seen lately the violence is nowhere near the levels that it used to be there are still going to be violence they'll always be evolves from member they live right next door to the most insidious country in the wor

order to keep it standing up in order to keep its flag and then we transitioned into the quote joint forces command unquote which is a gravy boat for contractors that's all it is joint forces command could go away tomorrow and the effectiveness of the united states military would be improved not diminished but if this is where the supposed grave you bowl for contractors as you say is that possible to really cut it out of the map because it's a good question how many contractors do we have in afghanistan in iran look at the government's pay and look at the congressman from the norfolk area the soft kerry and elsewhere in virginia who are going to fight this tooth and i don't see you happy around the buddies who are going to help them on the armed services committees in particular because they see this is. and we're in a very job deficient environment right now with no signs of improving so they're going to be very reluctant to cut something out that creates thousands of jobs in a very serious area well something i found interesting is the fact that he wants to reduce the number of generals and admir

probably going to happen and what should happen is those unique things that are unique to joint forces command should be preserved we just willy nilly said let's kill join forces karl excuse me but why not do reductions in all of the commands why not particularly start at the biggest bloaters bureaucracy in the world the office of secretary of defense and make some cuts there because what's happened is you know that you've heard the expression to tail the animal that's the beauty to the tail teeth over here the fighting part and. we've got a big tail. and i can watch the full interview in less than twenty minutes. now with the growth of globalization that features of the american way of life have spread to other countries and it's not just movies and pop culture it's also food along with hamburgers and coca-cola one of america's major health problems obesity has been exported may find some images in this report disturbing. among all developed countries americans are the fattest in the world that's according to the world health organization where over sixty percent of the general population in

. >> warner: first on the chopping block, the joint forces command based in norfolk, virginia. its mission? to help unify the services with 2800 military and civilian employees and 3,000 contractors. >> training joint forces, jeb rating joint forces, creating joint doctrine and experimenting with that doctrine are all valuable. however, they do not necessarily require a separate four star combatant command. >> warner: gates also vowed to eliminate at least 50 general and admiral posts, 5% of the total, and 150 senior civilian ones. he plans to cut spending on outside contractors by 10% a year for the next three years. but gates said that would not apply to war zones where contractors are vital. >> there are a lot of things contractors do that soldiers used to do. peel potatos, do the dishes . i think contractors ought to do that stuff. if i've got a highly trained combat infantryman, i don't want him spending his time doing that stuff. >> warner: the pentagon didn't specific how much these cuts would amount to. gates's overall goal is to save $100 billion over five years. the an

command. >> training joint forces, generating joint forces, creating joint docket rin and experimenting with that docket rin are all valuable tasks. however they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combat ant command. gwen: secretary gates and president obama pour trade this announcement as responsible and accountable spending. how real is all of that? >> in the face of it looks like a big deal. cutting one of 10 military commands. but joint forces command does a lot of important tasks that will be sent off to other commands like strat-com or north com, some of the other combined commands. how many jobs will be eliminated in it doesn't seem like it's going to be that big -- eliminated? it doesn't seem like it's going to be that big. and the secretary also suggested that the defense budget needs to remain high. and it is as high as it's ever been. usually the defense budget falls after major conflict but the secretary suggested that that needs to stop and that defense spending needs to continue. gwen: sounds like a conflict here. on one hand saying, and the president came out with

also on the hit list, the joint forces command in norfolk, virginia, which in fact commands no forcesut employs nearly 6,000 people and spends $240 million a year. beyond the specific cuts, gates is out to end the decades old pattern of sharp wartime increases and steep peace time declines. >> if you were to graph the defense budget going back the last 40 or 50 years, it would look like the ekg of a defibrillated heart. >> reporter: he plans to spend it instead on things like ship building. >> this is not about cutting the defense budget. this is about a reallocation internally. >> reporter: in other words, he wants to take the money the pentagon spends on bureaucrats and spend it on weapons instead. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> a british man survived a journey of a lifetime. he became the first known man to walk the entire length of the amazon river. 34-year-old ed stafford began his trek in 2008 and on monday, finished walking all 4,000 miles of the amazon, the world's longest river. >> it's just phenomenal to be here at the end of the journey after 2 1/2 years. i never

also on the hit list, the joint forces command in norfolk, virginia, which, in fact, commands no forces but employs nearly 6,000 people and spends $240 million a year. beyond the specific cuts, gates is out to end the decades-old pattern of sharp wartime increases and steep peacetime declines. >> if you were to graph the defense budget going back the last 40 or 50 years, it would look like the e.k.g. of a fibrillating heart. >> reporter: he plans to cut $100 billion worth of fat over five years and spend it instead on things like shipbuilding. >> this is not about cutting the defense budget. this is about a reallocation internally. >> reporter: in other words, katie, he wants to take the money the pentagon spends on bureaucrats and spend it on weapons instead. >> couric: david, i know secretary gates said he plans to stay until the end of this year. how can he get all this done between now and then? >> reporter: well, he can't and he knows it. he's already talking about staying well into next year which also means he'll be around when the obama administration makes its first decisions o

announce a number of spending cutbacks including a plan to close a major military command, the joint forces command in norfolk, virginia, with a budget of $240 million. in addition, the number of generals and admirals as well as private contractors will be reduced. >>> former vice president dick cheney was released today from a suburban washington hospital after heart surgery last month. cheney had a pump installed to help his heart work. he will continue his recovery at home. >>> when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, millions of mortgages going bad and taxpayers are on the hook in the bailout that never seems to end. >>> and later, the birds in a box that has the internet all aflutter. en, a busy man. his day starts with his arthritis pain. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on -- just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain reli

to save a little bit of cash gates announced that with announce that within the next year joint forces command will close one of the departments ten major combat commands and the twenty eight hundred member organization has a budget of three hundred forty million dollars and is based in virginia so gates announced a series of cuts and other phrases designed to reduce the number of senior military officers civilians and contractors he said he would even cut his own staff and he took specific aim at the wasteful spending on reports in the defense department says his department is awash in taskings for reports and studies in one thousand saturday the pentagon produced acadia thirty seven reports from the congress a number that more than seven hundred reports in last year cycle. consider that as of two thousand and nine the department had nearly a thousand contractors working in some capacity or losing reports from the congress . wow a lot of people out there are making big bucks making reports you just gotta love bureaucracy now gates went on to say that the defense department needs to find enoug

. >>> gates said he plans to close the joint forces command center in norfolk virginia where some 5,000 people work. the plan is already meeting with resistant by lawmakers in congress who are from virginia. gates announcement is the first step in cutting $100 billion over the next five years to help make up for the costs of two wars and to prepare for the next one. >>> we're learning more tonight about a change of venue motion filed by the attorneys representing yuseff bay the ii and two defendants. the motion filed last week was made public today. it seeks to move the case out of the bay country. bay is the leader of the muslim bakery. alameda county prosecutors today called the motion premature. >> in sacramento, a bill banning the possession of cell phones by prison inmates is heading to the governor's desk. violators would face a $5,000 fine. all prisons have cracked down on cell phone possessions, it is not currently illegal. >>> a campaign to make the pinnacle's national monument the new landmark is in session. it would convert the area into a national park. the pinnacles are loc

. >>> gates said he plans to close the joint forces command center in norfolk virginia where some 5,000 people work. the plan is already meeting with resistant by lawmakers in congress who are from virginia. gates announcement is the first step in cutting $100 billion over the next five years to help make up for the costs of two wars and to prepare for the next one. >>> we're learning more tonight about a change of venue motion filed by the attorneys representing yuseff bay the ii and two defendants. the motion filed last week was made public today. it seeks to move the case out of the bay country. bay is the leader of the muslim bakery. alameda county prosecutors today called the motion premature. >> in sacramento, a bill banning the possession of cell phones by prison inmates is heading to the governor's desk. violators would face a $5,000 fine. all prisons have cracked down on cell phone possessions, it is not currently illegal. >>> a campaign to make the pinnacle's national monument the new landmark is in session. it would convert the area into a national park. the pinnacles are loc

gates said cutting the joint forces command is necessary so the built has enough money to restock itself after several years have war. the american surpart of a broader effort to trim $100 billion from the military's budget in the next five years. the house ethics committee has formally charged maxine waters with three counts of ethics wrongdoing. that includes charges that she accepted special favors for a fmly member. today's announcement of these charges opens the way for a trial this fall before eight members of the ethics committee. congressman swaerts a ten-term representative from los angeles. she holds a senior position on the financial services committee and she has denied these charges. >>> former vice president dick cheney was released from the hospital after spending nearly a month there. cheney was ad noticed the hospital in july so co-get a new pump installed to help his damaged heart. his daughter said he got out of intendive care just last week. cheney has been suffering from heart attacks for decades. his most recent attack was back in february. he is now 69 years old. >

defense secretary robert gates announce she closing the joint forces command in norfolk, virginia. it has 5,000 workers. they are cutting use of outside contractors next year. the goal so shave $100 million over the next five years. >>> congress is called back from vacation to push through economic legislation. craig boswell explains. >> it is a white house visit for super bowl 44 champs the new orleans saints. it follows a busy birthday weekend for president obama including basketball and a cookout featuring seafood from the gulf. >> several saints players will teach their favorite gulf seafood recipes. who's cooking? you back there. >> back in the campaign game for president obama headlining a fund-raiser many in austin, texas. as the president kicks in to campaign mode they may be counting on him to score a vote on tuesday in pennsylvania. >> i think bill clinton is an norrous asset for democrats, particularly moderate conservative democrats who have tough races this time. >> reporter: republicans need to 40 seats to take control of the house. >> it is sad for the democrats who

. >>> virginia lawmakers are lashing out on plans to close the joint forces command center.y it would eliminate 5,000 jobs in the area. defense secretary robert gates says he wants the closure to eliminate overspending and proposes slashing the pentagon's budget for military contractors. but virginia lawmakers say many of the contractors are modeling and simulation researchers and are critical to national security and global competitiveness. >>> the pat tillman story is one that touches a special nerve in the bay area, now his story is being hold through the eyes of his family in a documentary that accuses the military of a high-level cover-up. last night an advanced screening of the film opened at the museum of modern art in new york city. tillman was a football star at leland high school before playing in the nfl. he walked away from millions to fight for his country in afghanistan where he was killed by friendly fire. the film hits theaters august 20th. >>> tim lincecum will take the mound against the cubs at at&t park tonight. last night, the giants had to put in overtim

and that is, of course, what the joint forces command will do in virginia.ou would have a significant loss. one thing you've got to bear in mind is that the secretary is seeking to strengthen our ability to have the finest equipment for our armed forces. shipbuilding, for example. it is in norfolk, and if we are able to do more bare it may well have an offsetting effect. i cannot say exactly where he wants to take the resources he is seeking to garner, but remember, a lot of this is a reallocation so we can modernize and make sure we are supporting the men and women out there. that does not necessarily mean in the long run there is a net loss. host: an endorsement from "the washington post." predictably has announced that reduced the produced a chorus of opposition from the virginia delegation. the savings may be recycled through golden and navy ships at the shipyard. we're with you about the announcement. the next telephone call is from california. rachel, democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i am totally behind cutting back anywhere the gove

agencies such as our network integration agency and one of our major unified commands, the joint forces commands. so we now have people working on specifics and looking at how to freeze and then reduce our growth in civilian and our growth of employees, especially at the top as well as looking at contracting. the rational for this is pately as described. regularring the budget has grown substantially giving us a little better -- than if we had ever had any growth. the feed to sustain structure while the military is at war and leads us to believe that if you don't make the four smaller that the cost of operating it with new technology and other things is doing to grow a little bit above inflation. we've seen that pattern persist no matter who is in charge over a 50-year period. so we have a reason to believe it's there and real. we also have some savings from the procurement of -- things like the secretary decided we would stop doing. the way we're moving now, in particular, is what -- for lack of a better word, and i think we have to -- there ha to be a better word. overhead. i think it was the

gates targeted the joint forces command in norfolk, virginia, with nearly 5,000 workers. its mission is to improve cooperation among the services. a dispute over so-called "blood diamonds" dominated the war crimes trial of charles taylor again today. the former ruler of liberia is accused of using diamonds to finance rebels in sierra leone. actress mia farrow testified today at the trial in the netherlands. she recalled talking to british model naomi campbell in 1997 after a charity dinner that taylor also attended. >> as i recall, she was quite excited and said in effect, oh, my god, in the middle of the night last night or last night i was awakened by knocking at the door. it was men sent by charles taylor, and he sent me, as i recall, a huge diamond. >> sreenivasan: in her own testimony last week, campbell said she received several "dirty-looking stones." she denied knowing who sent them. prosecutors are hoping to link taylor directly to at least one blood diamond. honda recalled more than 380,000 vehicles today for a chronic ignition problem. the key can sometimes be

not just cutting the pent he gone contractor force but the joint forces command down in norfolk which has job losses in our economy. there are knee jerk reactions. "new york times" reported this week that the general officer cuts are 50. causing the most pain in the pent he gone. other than that. focussed on a place where they need to find more resources. >> this is what he said do you find common at with those thoughts? guest: generally speaking, reducing common at is good for those things what we have seen is swinging back. i can't say there is more cost saveings they are more highly skilled he is skam inning the way of current war far. he mentioned this in the press briefing. you have a company command er n concerns about the knowledge base leading the pent he gone. we are talking 50 in total. the u.s. invests a lot of money. we train up people that get promoted through the ranks to become a four star or even a one star. it is expensive. all those in the military become more joint making officers purple where you have relationship and experience to help designate forces for differe

training joint forces, generating joint forces, creating a joint forces and experimenting with that doctrine are all important tasks. they do not require a separate command, which entails about 2800 positions and 3000 contractors. i am recommending the closure of this organization. the remaining responsibilities will be evaluated and those determined to be essential and still necessary to protect joining us will be reassigned to other agencies. as a result of closing are consolidating these three organizations, a substantial number of full-time employees will have to find other positions were no longer work for this department. like millions of americans affected by this tough economic climate, i know these changes will likely mean real hardship for displaced employees and their families. i have vast the secretary of defense for personnel and readiness to work with the leaders of the affected organizations to do everything possible to assist their employees and what may be difficult transition. i do so with great appreciation and admiration for the services employees have rendered. the ultimate success of these initiatives, as well as -- in the end, it w

and that is, of course, what the joint forces command will do in virginia.ou would have a significant loss. one thing you've got to bear in mind is that the secretary is seeking to strengthen our ability to have the finest equipment for our armed forces. shipbuilding, for example. it is in norfolk, and if we are able to do more bare it may well have an offsetting effect. i cannot say exactly where he wants to take the resources he is seeking to garner, but remember, a lot of this is a reallocation so we can modernize and make sure we are supporting the men and women out there. that does not necessarily mean in the long run there is a net loss. host: an endorsement from "the washington post." predictably has announced that reduced the produced a chorus of opposition from the virginia delegation. the savings may be recycled through golden and navy ships at the shipyard. we're with you about the announcement. the next telephone call is from california. rachel, democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i am totally behind cutting back anywhere the gove

gates says he needs to do away with one of the country's major military components, virginia's joint forces commandsands of jobs. the virginia governor calls the plan extremely short-sighted. >>> voters in four states head to the polls today and the results of today's primary should provide a good measurement of voter discontent ahead of the midterm elections coming this november. george stephanopoulos has a preview. >> in colorado there's a bipartisan backlash against the establishment. both senate nominations are up for grabs with party leaders lined up behind republican jane norton, and democratic senator michael bennett. on the gop side, ken buck is the latest tea party favorite to catch fire. though bennett has the support of president obama, challenger andrew romanoff is backed by a president of his own, bill clinton. >> hi, this is bill clinton. i'm supporting andrew romanoff for the u.s. senate. and i hope you'll vote for him in tuesday's democratic primary. because he's not really good ideas on the economy. >> reporter: in georgia, the latest display of palin power. sarah palin is lined up

finally, the joint forces command was originally established and compelled to everything the it military does. it was understood at the time that it created an extra layer in the management process. the benefits of improving this out with the resulting bureaucracy. since then, compelled by decades of operational experience, the u.s. military has embraced it as a matter of culture and practice, although we must also remain vigilant. training joined forces, creating joint forces and experiment with that doctrine, they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combat command, which entails a about 28,000 military positions. i am recommending the closure of this department. the remaining responsibilities will be evaluated and those determined to be essential and still necessary to protect will be reassigned to other agencies. all told, as a result of closing or consolidating these three organizations over the next six months to a year, a substantial number of full-time employees will have to find other positions or no longer work for this department. like millions of americans affected

afghanistan sellon was working in afghanistan on the staff of the international security assistance forces joint command an organization that was formed to oversee the wars day to day operations and yet according salan the organization has grown into a stove pipe and bloated one top heavy in rank and a scathing op ed he wrote he claimed that for headquarters staff war consists largely of the endless tinkering with powerpoint slides to conform with the idiosyncrasies of cognitively challenge generals in order to spoon feed them information those are all his words so since that off it colonel sellon has been fired citing his failure to comply with the nato directive which is that he had to clear written or oral presentations to the media through a designated public affairs officer but the funny thing is that cell and had been writing opinion pieces for the entire two months he was in afghanistan so why was it this one got him fired where earlier i caught up with u.s. army reserve colonel lawrence ellen from afghanistan and i first asked him what compelled him to write this specific piece. there are there

finally, the joint forces command was originally established and compelled to everything the it military does. it was understood at the time that it created an extra lay in the management process. the benefits of improving this out with the resulting bureaucracy. since then, compelled by decades of operational experience, the u.s. military has embraced it as a matter of culture and practice, although we must also remain vigilant. training joined forces, creating joint forces and periment with that doctrine, they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combat command, whi entails a about 28,000 military positions. i am recommending the closure of this department. theemaining responsibilities will be evaluated and those determined to be essential and still necessary to protect will be reassigned to other agencies. all told, as a result of closing or consolidating these three organizations over the next six months to a year, a substantial number of full-time employees will have to find other positions or no longer work for this department. like millions of americans affected by this

. >> you mentioned the joint forces command. what will happen to general odierno? >> i talked to general odierno about this. he supports the decision to eliminate jfcom. as i indicated in my remarks, i expect it will take about a year to carry out this change. and i have told ray that is -- his assigment in jfcom -- his assignment in jfcom was the same as his assignment in iraq -- to work himself out of the job. >> he did not mention medical costs. how much longer can we see these growing costs before those costs have to be passed on in terms of increased premiums for coverage? >> yesterday. health care reform is on my agenda, as are -- some of these efforts are part of the third track i was talking about that grew out of the qdr and the other reviews. we have studies going on now, as i said, that will help shape our fy 2012 submissions. they involve logistics, health care and personnel policy, more restructuring and organizational changes, continued acquisition reform. i think it is safe to say that, as far as i'm concerned in this effort, there are no sacred cows

in afghanistan in november of last year and his task force assumed command oversight and responsibility for u.s. detainee operations in january. jointsk force 435 is also responsible for biometrics efforts in afghanistan. this is admiral harward's first time joining us in this format and he joins us today from kabul where his headquarters is locate. the admiral is joined today by ambassador hans klemm, recently appointed director of rule of law and law enforcement. believl harward will take questions and then turn over to ambassador klemm. >> good morning. but we clarify a couple things you said. we assume the mission in january. we just stood up a new detention facility. we are just transferred all the detainees in the old fee eckert and we have closed the locker room facility. our first focus was to ensure the perception of the u.s. detention operations were in line with the reality of what we did. during that we meet all of our operations open, transparent and and close if. that was through the whole cycle when any individual was contained in afghanistan we noted by the government of afghanistan families, district leaders detaine

commander of the task force. he assumes his duties -- assumed his duties last year. the joint task force for 35 is responsible for rule of law efforts in afghanistan. the admiral is joined today by the ambassador who was recently appointed coordinating director of law enforcement. at this point, you make some very brief comments. and then the ambassador will take your questions. with that, admiral, i sent it over to you. >> good morning. but he clarify a couple of things he said. when we assumed the mission in january, we just set up the new detention facility. we had just transferred all of closedainee's, and we the facility. our first focus was to ensure that the perception of u.s. detention operations was in line with the reality of what we did. during that, we made all of our operations open and transparent. through keyholes cycle, and even -- if any individual detained, their families and district leaders. and our review boards, we opened up to the afghan public. we now have citizens testifying at the military tribunal. the release process is completely run by the governm

forces are engaged in black operations. in pakistan, every week, they're using predator drones and reaper drones. some of this is done by the military through the joint operations command, some of the cia. many people believed this administration would take on the issue of a radicalized private owar. very little in u.s. military policy has changed. blackwater got a new contract last month. this firm is so closely linked to the bush administration that they probably share a straw with dick cheney in other milkshake. milkshake.ere milkshain their this is a country that has been involved in our right killing -- a company that has been involved in outright killing. five people directly under the owner of a that the company are being investigated by practically everybody of the yet thisovernment', and administration continues to give blackwater these contracts. secretary of state hillary clinton, when she was running for president, became the second sponsor in the senate of legislation to ban these companies. when she was running, she said she would ben blackwater. now, as secretary of state, she is asking for a doubling of the blackwater work force in iraq. if you read the

forces are engaged in black operations. in pakistan, every week, they're using predator drones and reaper drones. some of this is done by the military through the joint operations command, some of the cia. many people believed this administration would take on the issue of a radicalized private owar. very little in u.s. military policy has changed. blackwater got a new contract last month. this firm is so closely linked to the bush administration that they probably share a straw with dick cheney in other milkshake. milkshake.ere milkshain their this is a country that has been involved in our right killing -- a company that has been involved in outright killing. five people directly under the owner of a that the company are being investigated by practically everybody of the yet thisovernment', and administration continues to give blackwater these contracts. secretary of state hillary clinton, when she was running for president, became the second sponsor in the senate of legislation to ban these companies. when she was running, she said she would ben blackwater. now, as secretary of state, she is asking for a doubling of the blackwater work force in iraq. if you read the