obviously al qaeda some the islamic maghreb seems to be on the march.they're spread and the al qaeda arabian peninsula, operating out of yemen, and one of these more or less undergoverned spaces. lots of opportunity but lots of concern. whether it's narcostates in the south, to huge challenges we're seeing in morning maui, through to the southern -- the horn of africa, with respect so somalia. show to threat is still with and is so are some of the best people and most dedicated and devoted people address the threat. now i have the opportunity to introduce our chairman, who will in turn introduce general ham. chairman russ ramsey is a highly successful businessman and i don't think the university can ask for a better leader in terms of the trajectory george washington university is facing. so, mr. chairman, the floor is yours. thank you all for joining us. >> thank you, frank. good morning, everyone. on behalf of the entire board of trustees, it is my pleasure to welcome everyone to gw today and it's a particular pleasure to welcome general carter ham. a

one group they are concerned about is al qaeda in the islamic maghreb.t's the group the international community has been trying to oust in that region. mark schroeder tells us that aqim is actually consolidating and getting stronger in the region. without international military intervention, mali's military won't be able to push them out. he told me he doesn't even have enough guns for his soldiers. >>> it's been 484 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing get it back? incomes and consumer spending fell in october. experts we spoke to said sandy had a significant impact on the numbers. >>> and new problems for susan rice. this is different than what you think i'm about to say. after weeks of criticism from republicans, she now faces scrutiny over her personal investments. stock holdings listed in her financial disclosure report raise a potential conflict of interest if she were to become a top diplomat. a conflict of interest, it's something democrats don't like. mary snow is "outfront." >> reporter: the latest controversy surro

as of today islamic maghreb commonly know as q. i m.ffiliated groups controlled a majority of northern mali in an area roughly the size of the u.s. state of texas make ying at the largest territory controlled by islamic extremists in the world. i am concerned that the current u.s. approach toward mali may not be comprehensive and forward-leaning enough to address all three of these difficult complex and interconnected crises, security and political. today we will examine u.s. policy in the three areas with the goal of providing recommendations forward. we will assess evolving plans were originally led multilateral military intervention in mali and consider the complementary goals encouraging elections and restoring security by reclaiming the north. the growing ties between extremist terrorist groups in mali nigeria, libya, somalia and beyond, there is growing concern aqim will leverage its new safe haven in mali to carry out training and advanced plans for regional and national terrorist attacks making mali in the words of secretary cli

however johnny carson told a senate committee today that any attempt to oust al qaeda in islamic maghrebfrican led, and that is isn't going to happen until 2013. that may be too far away to make the difference needed. >>> >>> it is been 489 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. a report says businesses added 118,000 private sector jobs in november. >>> and now, hillary for president. 57% of americans say they would support a clinton candidacy in 2016. 66% of all women. even 23% of republicans give another clinton run the nod. now, she say said she isn't doing to run, but her actions may speak louder than those words. liberal columnist maureen dowd quotes, clinton is energetically rounding up the usual suspects, making speeches, solidifying relationships with democrats in washington. tonight, donna brazil and david frum, former speech writer for george w. bush. donna, you know hillary clinton and you know her so well. you worked on both of her husband's political campaign. the poll numbers look pretty stunning, but you know, it's easy to talk about something in the hypothetical,

>> well it poses the threat, al qaeda in the islamic maghreb, the al qaeda affiliate sort of spearheadinghis has been linked to the attacks by some on the consulate in benghazi. it was involved in attacks and planned attacks in europe. a lot of people forget they tried, actually in the 1990s to fly a plane in the eiffel tower much like what happened in new york on 9/11. so it's a very, virulent group that certainly threatens us and our allies. jenna: your expertise on this, peter, what do you think about our military intervention? we'll explain what that means in a moment. what do you think about us getting involved here? is this a good decision now with the tiling? what your thoughts? >> we need to recognize the threat and we need to prepare to do something but we need to really prepare the terrain. i'm very concerned that we're rushing into something that's very half-baked. the african force that is talked about is a little over 3300 men. which is a laughable amount when you're talking about an area the size of texas. it is not a serious force. so they need our help. they need some trai

that is the islamic maghreb which harbors long-term ambition to do what all al qaeda affiliate's do which is tracking the remains of their identity and a splinter group from al qaeda run by former eqim commander. there also two other tuarge groups -- tuareg groups. emerging from discussions in new york over the international community's approach to mali and the region. there is a strong feeling those tribes live there and will be there for a long time. did not have an ideology of wanting to strike the united states. they have a set of grievances, some that has an bound up with bad actors. it is in our interest to pry them away as best we can, that is why establishing a dialogue with the north is a part of the resolutions on mali. in general, it is wise to limit the number of enemies you have and not create new ones. at the same time, all those of taken on the aq affiliates that is to have that thought. in our treatment of al shabaab, we try to distinguish between those sort east africa, and al qaeda, recognizing that lots of al shabaab is only concerned with what goes on in somalia. simil

extremist militias, from terrorist organizations ,-com,-com ma for example al qaeda and the islamic maghrebwhich is trying to expand its role and the threats that it produces across north africa including in libya. ambassador larry pope is very well aware and stays in close touch with the department, the intelligence community about those kinds of threats. >> let's hope that we would pursue whoever is responsible, that we track them down and hold them accountable. i hope we hear that news as soon as possible. the other issue i want to talk about is weapons. guns and other weapons, rifles that are in the possession of different groups in libya. there have been reports and i don't know if they are accurate or inaccurate and that is why i'm asking you all. there may be a situation where the united states gave tacit approval a wink and nod or look the other way while guns were smuggled from qatar, qatar guesses the correct enunciation now, qatar to libya used by libyan rebels. what about that? is that true, not sure we true or we don't know? >> there are a lot of home arms that flow into variou

concern for the united states of america, if it spreads across boundaries and al qaeda of the islamic maghrebill be a continuing problem throughout africa. thank you very much. >> senator isakson i'm always thankful for your partnership and the way our staffs work together for these hearings. forgive us, it is past left vending our appointed hour. all your testimony, your written testimony will be submitted for the record. there were several or the senators who expressed real interest in this hearing today but due to their sqed us were unable to join us. i will leave the record open for a week which will allow senators to address questions to any of our witnesses and take some actions going forward. i'm grateful for the support of efforts that made it possible for us to get a grateful discussion of many challenging issues facing the united states in the region and in mali. thanks for joining us. dr. dr. fomunyoh and miss dufka and thank you for your testimony today. we're grateful for your testimony and with that this hearing is adjourned. >> the labor department today reports employers added