joint chiefs of staff chairman general martin dempsey along with britain's foreign minister today said an attack on iran would have grave consequences for the entire region. israel fears iran is close to building a nuclear weapon. still, the u.s. wants israel to give economic sanctions more time to work. iran, meantime, was demonstrating its own resolve today. we have two reports beginning in tehran with nbc's ali aruzi. >> reporter: lester, iran remains defiant in the face of international pressure. the oil ministry announced that that it was cutting off oil supplies to britain and france after the european union imposed sanctions on iran's fuel exports. there are few signs that iran intends to back down from its nuclear path. western diplomats say iran is moving to expand its production of enriched uranium at an underground facility but lacks some of the key equipment. the international atomic agency has not commented but is due to start a three-day visit tomorrow in its latest attempt to assess the scope of iran's nuclear program. meanwhile iran flexed its military muscle again toda

leon panetta, the defense secretary and martin dempsey testifying on capitol hill. on the first of three days in congressional hearings. it essentially shifts the focus from the long wars to future challenges. in asia, the middle east and also concerns about cyberspace. >>> news from capitol hill about another senator, rand paul, republican from kentucky he's delaying a senate debate to make a statement on egypt. after unsuccessfully trying to block a judicial nominee, he refused to offer consent to move ahead on the transportation bill which the president offered his support for last week. the move is expected to delay consideration on the plan until later this week. according to politico, the reason, an amendment to cut off aid to egypt if workers are detained in the country. unless the senator decides to offer consent to move forward for the transportation bill the senate would stuck in a 36-hour holding pattern. as senator paul trying to make a point about egypt. here's more from his comments earlier on the floor. >> mr. president, some senators are concerned th

secretary leon panetta and army general martin dempsey testifying on capitol hill before the senate armed services committee and essentially defending the blueprint to slash the size of the army and marine corps and cut back on ship building and fighter jets as well as weapon systems. it would add up to $125 billion in spending for military operations and pentagon. another $88.5 billion for the wars in iraq and afghanistan. some more numbers for you. the total is $32 billion less than this year's budget, which is a reflection of the drawdown in the two conflicts as well as what we've seen in september 11th with the terrorism attacks and the clamor to reduce the deficit to the associated press. general dempsey acknowledging the inherent risks of a smaller budget and the impact on national security, which is one of the questions joe lieberman brought up. he's an independent from connecticut. >> there is risks here, and i appreciate general dempsey in response to senator mccain's question, you would make a risk assessment first. the guidance that the department did, issued in january is real

the chairman of the joints chief, general martin dempsey visited israel last month.terview said, "we think it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack iran. i think it would be premature to exclusively decide that the time for military option was upon us." this comes after the top national security advisor wrapped up three days of meeting with israeli officials. the head of a march 5 meeting between president obama and prime minister benjamin netanyahu. back with the panel. steve, it seems like the administration is sending this publicly and privately to israel. >> i cannot imagine a dumber course of action than what the administration is doing right now. if, in fact, you want to avoid war with iran you need to be doing the opposite of what the administration is doing. get your military official to say we don't want anything to do with a war, we think it's a bad idea. you are positioning yourself in a way you make the possibility of war more likely in the minds of the iranians. especially if you believe as martin dempsey claims that iran is a rational actor wh

general martin e. dempsey, united states army, chairman, joint chiefs of staff. the honorable robert, if i heal, tunds secretary of defense, and controller of the department. thank you for being here. mr. secretary, the time is yours. >> thank you very much, members of this committee, always nice to be able to return to the house i'll ask that my statement be made part of the record. >> no objection, so ordered. >> i appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the president's budget request for fiscal year 2013 for the department of defense. these brave men and women, and they are, for anybody that's gone to the battlefield and talked to those in uniform, they are without question, the next greatest generation of individuals. along with the department easy vilian professionals who support them, they've done everything that's been asked of them and more during more than a decade of war and, again, i thank you for the support you provided to them. if fy 13 budget request for the department of defense was, indeed, a product of a very intensive strateg

martin dempsey -- general martin dempsey, chairman of the u.s.ian regime is a rational actor and it is for that reason i think that we think the current path we are on is the most prudent path at this point. a strike at this time would be destabilizing and wouldn't achieve their long-term objectives, but i mean i also understand that israel has national interests that are unique to them and, of course, they consider iran to be an existential threat in a way that we have not concluded that irvan an existential threat. >> great britain's foreign minister echoing those remarks, saying "none of us want iran to have nuclear weapon bus i don't think it would be wise that the moment for israel to launch a nuclear attack on iran." andrea you have been reporting extensively on this story. where are we this morn? >> it was extraordinary that the chairman of the joint chiefs, martin dempsey, plus william haig, the foreign secretary in the uk would both come out and say what they said. this is the strongest signal, tom donelan, the national security adviser

from we heard from martin dempsey over the weekend.nuclear assets in iran would destabilize the region. >> stephanie, on paper, this sounds tense. what's the sense on the ground from what you're hearing there? the sense of tension that's happening now. the latest developments from today's nuclear talks? >> reporter: it's interesting, richard. here on the ground, israelis have a high tolerance when it comes to being on the precipice of war. it's the state they live in most of the time. you don't feel a lot of anxiety on the streets. we ask everyone we come in contact with, we ask them this question. they are going about life as normal. there has been an increase in tension in what leaders have been saying to each other and what we have seen in tehran. but it's not something that you feel on the streets here. >> it's just not there. do the people of israel hold hope for these talks? as you say, it's a matter of a course of events. they are accustomed to these issues. >> reporter: well, they don't hold a lot of hope for what's going on in

let's get started. >>> general martin dempsey has had a storied career in the u.s. army. he commanded the first armored division, old ironsides, in the iraq war. he ran centcom. overseeing operations in the middle east. he's been the army chief of staff and he's now the nation's highest ranking military officer and the president's top military adviser, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. general dempsey, thank you for joining us. >> thanks. i'm glad to be here. >> what would you say to those who argue that the united states should arm the opposition movement in syria? >> i think it's premature to take a decision to arm the opposition movement in syria because i would challenge anyone to clearly identify for me the opposition movement in syria at this point. and let me broaden the conversation a bit. syria is -- it's an arena right now for all the various interests to play out. what i mean by that is you have great power involvement. turkey clearly has an interest, a very important interest. russia has a very important interest. iran has an interest. what we see pla

let's listen before we talking to martin dempsey. here's what he told fareed zakaria over the weekend. >> we think that it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack iran. i mean, that's been our counsel to our allies, the israelis, well-known, well documented. >> barbara, is that a message to israel, stand down? >> oh, very much so, john. good evening. martinen dempsey is basically saying what the pentagon thinks, what the obama administration thinks, which is it would like israel to take a deep breath. here's where the debate stands tonight. israel fundamentally believes that iran has made a decision to go for a nuclear weapons program. the u.s. isn't so sure. they don't think that iran has crossed that line just yet. but the question for israel is now, do they strike. that's what martin dempsey is trying to say, that's what the administration is trying to say so drai to israel. let sanctions work. they're beginning to have some bite on iran's financial and economic sanctions. let the inspectors do their jobs. let some of thes

then leon panetta and general martin dempsey will testify on the defense department's 2013 budget. it calls for $525.4 billion in discretionary spending. that gets under way at 9:30 eastern. >>> the annual conservative political action conference concluded over the weekend in washington. we will show you some of the highlights from the final day, including remarks from 2008 republican nominee sarah palin and americans for tax reform president grover norquist. first up, the tea party and occupy wall street. we have amy kramer and kevin jackson. >> i'm going to start talking about our panelists. the first is a good friend of mine. i spent long hours in the back of buses. she is one of the original founders of the atlanta tea party. [ applause ] >> thank you, dustin. >> join the tea party express pac as director of grass roots and coalitions. now she is one of the most recognizable faces of the tea party movement. she does an unbelievable job. amy kramer. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> our next panelist is kevin jackson s jackson. he is author of "the big black lie." [ applause ] >> an

general martin dempsey told a hearing today, he wasn't telling the israelis to try to take the militaryption off the table. he seemed to walk back his assertion iran is a rationale player. >> i didn't -- we have had a conversation about the issue of time with israel. that will require a much longer conversation. but on the issue of rationality, i agree that iran is a regime that is dangerously misguided. >> secretary leon panetta if they don't reach a budget agreement, across the board defense spending cuts, that could hurt america's ability to deal with iran militarily. >> shep: shear mystery we're following, a firefighter rents a car and drives from maine to florida and then disappears thaesmt person of interest but so far no arrest. our legal panel weighs in on this one. 17-year-old accused of killing three kids and wounding two others at his school in ohio is about to make his first court appearance moments from now. live coverage coming up on fox news channel. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap

but in an interview broadcast today, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey said that the u.s. is a against a military strike. >> we think that it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack iran. i mean, that's been our counsel to our allies, the israelis, well-known, well-documented. >> last week iran's president said again that iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. few western politicians believe that. but for the moment they argue that bombing iran's many nuclear installations would only slow the program. businesses in iran have a hard time getting international financing and the price of food and essential goods is rising fast. the price of meat, say tehran shoppers, has doubled in three months. iran is also wrestling with restrictions to it oil sales. restrictions brought about by sanctions. tonight, there are signs the pressure may just may be working. even as the war games got under way, iran's leaders offered to reopen negotiations on their nuclear program and to meet in tehran with inspectors from the international atomic energy

when joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey tried to convince israeli leaders it's too soon for military force, he came away admitting he had not changed any minds. israel recently canceled a missile defense exercise scheduled with the u.s. for the spring, a move some defense officials interpret as evidence israel is focusing all its efforts on preparing for an attack. as panetta explained in an interview with "60 minutes," an israeli strike would almost certainly have consequences for the u.s. >> the united states could be targeted as a result of that. we would get blamed, whether they like it or not. we would get blamed. >> reporter: nobody, including the israelies, thinks a strike with all its unforeseen consequences is a good option, but if sanctions don't work and work soon, the israelis could decide it's the only option. >> pelley: and secretary panetta told us iran could have a bomb as early as this year if it decided to go ahead. david, thanks very much. short of war, the united states and europe are pressuring iran to give up the nuclear program. they have frozen many of iran's

capitol hill, defense secretary leon panetta, as well as the nation's top general, army general martin dempsey, both saying the nation can withstand the president's trimmer budget saying it will ensure the u.s. has a presence world wide the blue jay blueprint is about $525 billion for military spending and another $88.5 billion for the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the president today assuring the chinese vice president that the u.s. welcomes beijing's rise in the world, offering a warm welcome at the white house today, despite sharp policy differences on issues like syria, iran and economic issues. let's begin with the exchange before the senate budget committee as senator jeff sessions taking aim at the spending plan that will increase the budget by according to the congressional budget office by $1 trillion this year. and for the foreseeable future, more with today's session from the white house budget director jeffrey zients. >> isn't it true that based that the current law, which included the budget control act, the legislation that passed as part of raising the debt limit that your budge

joint chief of staff, martin dempsey, told cnn over the weekend it would destabilize the region and would not be prudent. >> an independent country can have an opinion from time different from us. >> reporter: today on the ground national security adviser will be meeting with ehud barak, the latest u.s. official to conduct high-level meetings with israelis on the iran issue. evidence that this growing tension is affecting the global economy the price of oil today shot up to a nine-month high. stephanie gosk, nbc news. >>> compelling video out of iran shows a dramatic rescue by a tv crew that happened to be in the right place at the right time about you can see men jumping from a ship that has caught fire. literally swimming for their lives. this is off the coast in iran. they're swimming toward an iranian film crew that happened to be nearby shooting a documentary when they found the ship on fire. it took almost two hours to put out flames. no word on injuries or deaths. >>> american stock markets closed today, though scott mcgrew says not exactly because it's presidents' day. >> well goo

when martin dempsey tried to convince israeli leaders it's too soon for military force, he came away admitting he had not changed any minds. israel recently canceled a missile defense exercise scheduled with the u.s. for the spring. a move some defense officials interpret as evidence israel is focusing all its efforts on preparing for an attack. as panetta explained in an interview with "60 minutes," an israeli strike would almost certainly have consequences for the u.s. >> the united states could be targeted as a result of that. we would get blamed whether they like it or not, we would get blamed. >> nobody, including the israelis, thinks a strike with all its unforeseen consequences is a good opg. but if sanks don't work and work soon, the israelis could decide it's the only option. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> in egypt, demonstrations over that soccer riot turned deadly this morning. two protesters were killed in clashes with police. in cairo yesterday, police fired tear gas at demonstrators who were chanting down with military rule. thousands took to the streets blam

invite our vital part of this discussion being such a close ally with the united states general martin dempsey chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff said over the weekend that you know it was not prudent at this point to attack iran and a strike at this time would be stabilizing but he also admitted that you know israel might not be convinced of the same notion talk about you know the role of israel and. you know why there is such a huge tug of war going on right now will the u.s. government right up to the president cannot continue to give israel billions of dollars worth of weapons promised israel to veto all measures of accountability for its abuses and crimes at the united nations and pretend. to be trying to persuade israel not to strike iran the united states has the obvious capability to influence influence israel and is choosing not to use it while continuing including through the president's own mouth to push the same propaganda that makes the war more likely it would not be prudent to start the war today it would also not be prudent to continue down this path that allows the mom

in a little less than two and a half hours, defense secretary leon panetta and general martin dempseyustify about the pentagon's 2013 budget request. then another view of the 2013 budget from the acting director of the white house budget office testifying on capitol hill. >>> on washington journal tomorrow morning, barney frank of massachusetts will take your calls about the president's 2013 budget request. we'll be joins by mark meckler and jenny beth martin. and we'll discuss u.s./china relations and the chinese visit to washington with joseph schatz. >>> there's been honest contention, spirited disagreement, and i believe considerable heart arguments. but don't let anybody be misled by that. you have given here in this hall a moving and dramatic proof of how americans who honestly differ close ranks and move forward for the nation's well being shoulder to shoulder. >> as candidates campaign for president this year, we look back at 14 men who ran for the office and lost. go to our website c-span.org/thecontenders to see who had a lasting impact on politics. >> what about you? are yo

something that america's top soldier, general martin dempsey, has warned against. iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is peaceful. this was president ahmadinejad last week, showing off the use of locally made nuclear fuel in a reactor. but despite iran's claims, the international pressure on the country shows no sign of easing. >> boxers fighting each other, that's what they do, isn't it? >> well, it is, generally inside the ring rather than in a hotel where there's a press conference being staged. it was very ugly and unseemly in munich after a vitali klitschko fight. klitschko won it on points. they were having a press conference afterwards. david haye arrive and had started baiting both of the boxers. dereck chisora took the bait, and from that point on, look at this, turned into a brawl. it's like a barroom brawl. both boxers will face penalties. >> quite difficult to get in the way of that. >> you'd want to get out of the way of that, because they are very big men. when they move quickly, without that much control, you want to be out of the way.

but in an interview broadcast today the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general martin dempsey said that the u.s. is against a military strike. >> we think that it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack iran. i means that's been our counsel to our allies, the israelis, well-known, well-documented. >> reporter: last week iran's president said, again, that iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. few western politicians believe that. but for the moment they argue that bombing iran's many nuclear installation was only slow the program. britain's foreign secretary william hague supports, instead, further tough diplomacy. >> i think israel like everybody else in the world should be giving a real chance to the approach we've adopted. a very serious economic sanction and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate. >> reporter: sanctions lead by the united states are starting to bite. businesses in iran have a hard time getting international financing. and the price of food and essential goods is rising fast. the price of meat say tehran shoppers has doub

the hill newspaper is reporting on testimony that took place yesterday, martin dempsey, and following up on an interview he conducted on gps program. from the hill newspaper the chairman of the joint chiefs telling the senate panel that he did not counsel israel against attacking iran over the nux lar program. general dempsey told lawmakers we had conversations about from timt. general derchcy is defending his xhoent that eran is a rational ablgtor which has been criticized by many reps. mung those aacting for clarification today, a member of the question questioning chairman dempsey. >> chairman dempsey. i have great respect for you and your service to the country and the important role that you play. but i have to ask you about the interview you gave with cnn, because i need to understand it. when you were asked by farid about what we were counseling with our israeli partners with respect to to iran and you said you were counseling not to attack iran, and then you also said that you believed that the administration believes, i assume, that the iranian regime is a national actor. can

and over on c-span, defense secretary leon panetta and joint chiefs of staff chairman general martin dempsey will testify before the senate armed services committee on the defense department's budget. it calls for $525 billion in discretionary spending, which is a 1% decrease from last year. that gets under way at 9:30 eastern. former mississippi governor haley barbour spoke monday at a weeklong conference hosted by general electric on u.s. manufacturing and competitiveness. during his 30-minute remarks, governor barbour discussed the need for an educated workforce and mississippi's effort to attract more manufacturing jobs in the wakes of hurricanes katrina and rita seven years ago. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome chairman and ceo of ge, jeff immelt. >> thank you. thank you very much. it's my distinct pleasure to introduce today's luncheon speaker and that's governor haley barbour. all of you know haley was a two-term governor of mississippi. as i mentioned earlier this morning has been a great partner in attracting business and really has been focused on workforce training as a way

and then we'll reair defense secretary leon panetta and joint chiefs of staff chairman general martin dempsey testifying about the pentagon's 2013 budget request. several live events to tell you about tomorrow. energy secretary steven chu will take questions about his department's budget request from members of the senate energy committee. that's on c-span 3 at 3:30 a.m. eastern. also on c-span 3 at 2:00 p.m. eastern, treasury secretary tim geithner will return to capitol hill to testify about the president's 2013 budget. he's before the house budget committee. >> booktv is live saturday from the savannah book festival. coverage starts at 9:30 eastern with tom clavin on the last hours of the vietnam war followed by karl marlantes on what it's like to go to war and scotty smiley at noon. at 1:30 eastern, the changing israeli/palestinian conflict and irshad manji and toure on "who's afraid of blackness" and the rice and fall of the comanches on c-span 2's become tv. >> c-span radio's "washington today." over the next 90 minutes a look at today's top stories including the president's trip to mil

capitol hill, defense secretary leon panetta as well as the nation's top general, army general martin dempsey, both saying that the military can can withstand the present tremor $614 billion saying it will ensure that the u.s. does have an advantage worldwide with acceptable risks to forces and missions over the next 12 months. overall it's about $525 billion for military spending, another $88.5 billion for the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the president today assuring the chinese vice president that the u.s. welcomes beijing's rise in the worm offering aa warm welcome at the white house today, despite sharp policy differences over issues like syria, iran and economic issues. we'll have more on this later in the program. let's begin with that exchange before the senate budget committee as senator jeff sessions takes aim at the present spending plan that will increase the deficit according to the congressional budget office by a trillion dollars this year and for the foreseeable future. here's more from today's session with the white house budget direct director, jeffrey zions. >> isn't it tru

intelligence david petraeus the director of the cia leon panetta the secretary of defense the general martin dempsey the chairman of the joints chief of staff i mean among the sixteen intelligence agencies these people in a high profile positions have come out and said in the media we don't think that iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb in the run up to the iraq war you know our politicians and our media failed us they were constantly parroting talking points with no basis in reality the same thing is happening today years small basis in reality and huge amount of exaggeration and fear and she let's make some more money for the military industrial complex we desperately need the voices of peace to be speaking up and speaking out and say wait a minute let's look at peace rather than. coming up after the break conservatives like rick santorum and marco rubio will tell you americans becoming america's becoming a nation of conservatives is really the case are they sorely mistaken. if we just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old to tell the truth. i have a confession i am a total get a f

doing nothing but urging caution in regards to beating these workshops heard it from general martin dempsey the head of the joint chiefs who said last month that a war with iran would quote be. really destabilize he said i personally believe that we should be in the business of deterring war as a first priority air force major general charles dunlop it said almost any use of force carries a great risk of unintended quantic consequences so many of those who serve and command in iraq have also given several similar warnings reminding everyone that engaging in a military conflict is a massive endeavor that involves danger risk the loss of life and it's not by any means something that we should rush into and so you think of the population which is war weary from iraq and afghanistan from ten years of constant war would be cautious as well but as we discussed with glenn yesterday a recent poll shows that more than fifty percent of respondents so they thought the u.s. should use military force to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon that's despite the fact that our secretary of defense an

. >> defense secretary leon panetta and joint chiefs martin dempsey returned to capitol hill to talk about the 2013 defense budget. watch live coverage of the armeds services committee on our website, c-span.org t begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. . . >> now online at the c-span video libraries, speeches from last weekend's conservative last weekend conservative political action conference. >> we must outsmart the liberals. we must outsmart the stupid people that are trying to ruin america. >> it's about one country united under god. we are not read americans. we are not blue americans. we are red, white and blue, and president obama, we are through with you. >> around the last table, they can get along and come at our throat as long as we're foolish enough to raise taxes and throw money in the center of the table and they can get along like a scene in the movie after the bank robbery, one for you, one for you and they're all happy. >> you can click videos and share them at c-span.org/videolibrary. >> canadian air force general charles bouchard was commander of nato operations in li

martin dempsey of the u.s. chiefs of staff said an israeli attack on iran would have grave consequences for the entire region. >> i think it would be premature to exclusively decide that the time for military action was upon us. i think economic sanctions, international cooperation we have been able to gather is having to -- starting to have an effect. our preparedness, fundamentally, we have to be prepared. that includes being prepared defensively. >> his comments come as the obama administration and israel government engage in tense talks over iran. thomas donilon arrived in israel on saturday. james clapper will travel to israel later this week. on sunday, and the iran oil ministry announced it would be halting shipments to britain and france. syrian activists have called for a day of silence after some were fired on during a funeral. here in the u.s., senators john mccain and lindsey graham called on the u.s. to begin arming syrian rebels in an effort to topple assad. among those detained was media benjamin

have integrity right that not every single person that's involved there is corrupt he mentions martin dempsey how about you do you have any people that you think really stand out. well i know a number of generals who are very honest i deal with routinely i don't go into all the names you go by they don't know what's going to get upset with me or you know other people upset with them dempsey i do believe i mentioned dempsey i think he's an honest man i think he's been given a very difficult set of circumstances you know what i believe there's other honest members of the u.s. marine corps i know several generals of record or painfully honest but i do believe that there's a little self deception by general mattis and the current commander in afghanistan general allen so we've got to get past that we've got to figure out what is real what is not real and focused all the reality of it and frankly if the authors say if any davis report can prove that officers lied those officers should be held accountable as much as the u.s. marines are going to be held accountable for your knitting on the telly bu