i am michael o'hanlon. i welcome you here to u.s. defense strategy and the defense budget. we are honored to have robert hale here to give the keynote address to begin things. just a quick note on the agenda, after bob has spoken, i will come up and we can have some questions again, thank you all for being here. let me say a brief word about bob

michael o'hanlon and dana milbank. gentlemen, thank you so much.tay with us, our "top line" week in review is coming up. >> he has long severed his ties with the republican party. this is an in-your-face nomination to the president to all of us who were supportive of israel. >> yes, yes, in his face! in his face! >> yes, in the face! [ male announcer ] when ziggy the cat appeared at their door, he opened up jake's very private world. at first, jake's family thought they saved ziggy, but his connection with jake has been a lifesaver. for a love this strong, his family only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein... ...to help keep ziggy's body as strong as a love that reaches further than anyone's words. iams. keep love strong. >>> stay with us. this week's "top lines" are coming up. >> i don't quite understand why everybody would be afraid that we determine what is happening. >> i'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms! this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch

with us from washington is msnbc political analyst karen finney and michael o'hanlon of the brookings institution. good afternoon to both of you. karen, senator kerry put great emphasis today on fiscal matters as relates to u.s. foreign policy. he said, and i'm quoting him, more than ever foreign policy is economic policy. is that an answer to republicans who criticize security lapses while simultaneously slashing the state department's budget? people like rand paul who would have slashed the state department by 71%? >> right. well, let's remember rand paul also wouldn't have voted for the 1964 voting rights act before we give anything he'd say any credence. absolutely. the other point john kerry was trying to make is when we talk about spending cuts, there are implications to those cuts, real consequences. but also we can't just retreat inside our own borders because -- particularly think about the conversation we've been having about the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling. the american economy somebody very important to the global economy. we cannot have the kind of nonsense we've ha

. >> jennifer: so joining me now to discuss all of the president's cabinet appoints is michael o'hanlonthe brookings institute. welcome back inside "the war room." really appreciate it. >> thank you governor nice to be with you. >> jennifer: great to be with you too. brookings institution is a very respected organization. do you think hague sell a good pick? >> yeah, i tend to think he is. although i will say right up front is i think tough questioning of the type that mitch mcconnell talked about is entirely appropriate for a confirmation process, and i would be interested to see how senator hagel's views have changed or modified over the years. on iran i share some senator hagel's concerns about the distinct possibility of war, but i also think he was a little bit too optimistic about diplomacy at that time just like senator obama was too optimistic. president obama has become much more forceful and firm in dealing with iran and tightened the sanctions. i think it is fair to learn how senator hagel would have handled the same resolution. but i like the fact that he creates these kinds

back to michael o'hanlon's op-ed this morning in "usa today." "the u.s.efense budget is the biggest issue of all for hagel. if confirmed, he will step into a situation where, failing new congressional budget under the automatic spending cuts due march 1. hagel has said that the defense in many ways has been bloated. i think the pentagon needs to be pared down.' yet one round of defense cuts has already been agreed upon. the cuts are somewhere between $350 billion and $487 billion over the next 10 years. but on march 1, if no further action happens, another $500 billion will be taken out of its 10-year plan. some have noted that annual defense spending would still exceed the cold war average even after such reductions. but the automatic cuts are not wise, and i hope hagel will say no." again, this op-ed is in "usa today." back to live pictures from the senate armisticearmed services e room. colorado, independent line. you are on "washington journal." what are your thoughts on the secretary of defense nomination? caller:i like it. i think him of being a vet

michael o'hanlon, you're already met, senior fellow and director of research and foreign policy here a brookings where he specializes in defense strategy. one of the most important prolific voices and defense issues, rich and literally hundreds of op-eds, columns, and articles, including one to point to you up on foreign policy but said right now looking at defense budgets . we are joined by richard -- richard betts, one of the top thicker -- thinkers and teachers, professor and director of war and peace studies at columbia university. numerous books have garnered critical success including it was an award from the american science association for the best book of political science. also a key facilitator of a summer security studies workshop that probably somewhere around 75 percent of all the security studies professors in the nation have attended. also a great deal of experience in the policy field, a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations where he served as director of national security studies, former staff member of the church committee and worked in the national sec

i am michael o'hanlon from the 21st century defense initiatives. we are delighted to welcome you here. after bob has spoken, i will come up and we can ask some questions. that will be your chance to intercede and pose questions on your mind. he will pose questions for about half an hour. then we will go straight to a panel discussion. again, thank you to all of you for being here. let me say a brief word about a pale, for whom i had the great pleasure of working 20 years ago at the congressional budget office. a fantastic career in national security, as noted, the comptroller of the pentagon today. one of the top officials. the key adviser to the secretary of defense on all matters financial. trying to figure out how to save money and execute efficiencies and reforms within the defense budget. he has a long career in national security. he was a navy officer at the beginning of this career. work for the logistics management institute. he was my boss at the congressional budget office for a number of years. including during the. when the berlin wall