said don't botherr rying tt kill vice president biden, sec. oo defense robbrt gates or admiral mike mullen guys. "the iiformation gleaned from bin ladee's personal terrorism trove,,can help he u-s goveenment etterr prepare troops on the ground anticipate threaas dirrcted at corridan reporring.eth - -----end-----cnn.scrrpt----- an airline is hikin g up it's f. fees.how much spirit airliies is charging for yoo bring a carry onnbaa on the flight... and hoo youucan avoid paying it. it.and latee...yeardley love's mother is filing a civii suit against the coaches of the u-v-a men's lacrosse team.the amount she's suing for. ((break 3)) some places i go really aggravate my allergies. so i get claritin clear. ♪ i can see clearly now the rain is gone ♪ look! see that? this is all bayberry, and bayberry pollen is very allergenic. non-drowsy claritin relieves my worst symptoms for 24 hours... you guys doing good? ... including itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing. and only claritin is proven to keep me as alert and focused as someone without allergies. ♪ it's gonna be bright bright sunshiny day ♪ live

one-year anniversary of the raid is a question we raised in our interview with retired admiral mike mullen, one of those in the picture we heard from earlier who back then was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. >> well, i worried about it just because it's a political season. and from my perspective, the president's support, the decision he made, and obviously, the result stand alone in terms of the kind of call presidents have to make, and he made it. i do worry a great deal that this time of year that somehow this gets spun into election politics. i can assure you that those individuals who risked their lives, the last thing in the world they want is to be spun into that. so i'm hoping that that doesn't happen. >> the former chairman of the joint chiefs went on to say the special operations forces that night were not thinking about politics. they were thinking about just the mission. >>> now to another milestone where it all started, the new world trade center building. the tower has taken a decade to rise from ground level at ground zero. today, it officially became the tallest buil

pentagon both secretaries of defense bob gates and leon panetta and chairs of the joint chiefs mike mullen and now marty dempsey have really been advocates for the idea that diplomacy and development could help prevent conflicts and rebuild shattered societies that would in turn lighten the load on our military. so together we're making sure our shoulders, diplomats and development experts are working more closely together. are listening to each other. are contributing to being part of a all hands on deck whole of government approach. and we're also trying to make sure we get our bureaucracies in washington trying to do the same. you know by next january when i will have traveled i guess a million miles or more, i will look back on this period as one that has been a great privilege and honor to serve. but i will also know that we have a lot of work to do. when i came into this office i knew that we were going to have to confront a lot of difficult problems. i'll just quickly mention a few, one, iran's nuclear activities. how are we going to confront what was a clear threat? how could we un

. >> mike mullen who was in the situation room the night bin laden was killed, the famous photograph you see to the left. tells nbc's brian williams that he is concerned about politicizing last year's raid. >> from my perspective, the president's support, decision that he made, obviously the result, stand alone in terms of the kind of call presidents have to make and he made it. i do worry a great deal this time that he either somehow gets spun into election politics. i can assure you that those individuals who risk their lives, the last thing in the world that they want is to be spun into that. so i'm hoping that that doesn't happen. >> you can watch brian's exclusive look inside the situation room, in a very special edition of "rock center" tomorrow night at 9:00 on nbc. brian talks to all the players in the room about what actually happened. >>> meanwhile, the obama administration opening up for the first time about the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists in a speech to foreign policy experts yesterday in washington, the president's top counterterrorism adviser, john

out of this campaign, and the rhetoric on, on the campaign trail its the question of what admiral mike mullen called overmilitarization, and lack o f diplomatic solutions we need. the discussion has baeen about the real power that requires diplomat uk solutiic solutions. is it just that on the campaign trail they speak to domestic politic thaerz n polit polit politics? or is there any hope that -- that a next -- presidency, whether it is obama, or, romney, can help shift that balance and get out of this overmilitarization cycle of u.s. foreign policy which relates to the congressional question that was raised as well given the budgeting challenges and where the congress goes? and just a final question about, a relate add summd assumption, no light between the two sides, its about the question of u.s. exceptionalism. and i think until we can get out of what i think is an outdated idea for today's world of u.s. exceptionalism, you know being the grounding for our u.s. foreign policy. we are going to be stuck in not having the right solution to the world's problems. its there any hope for gettin

of this campaign and the rhetoric on the campaign trail itself is this question of what admiral mike mullen has called overmilitarization of u.s. policy and lack of ability to really invest in and muster the diplomatic solutions that we need. the discussion here has been about the real problems that require diplomatic solutions that the world is facing. so part of that is it just that on the campaign trail they speak to domestic politics? they're not speaking to the realities of implementing u.s. foreign policy? or is there any hope that a next presidency whether it's obama or romney can help shift that balance and get out of this overmilitarization cycle of u.s. foreign policy which relates to the congressional question that was raised as well, given the budgeting challenges and where this congress goes. just a final question about a related assumption, one of the core assumptions that's -- you know, there's no light between the two sides. is about this question of u.s. exceptionalism. i think until we can get out of what i think is now an outdated idea for today's world of u.s. exceptiona

according to the admiral mike mullen, former chairman of the joint chiefs, using 300,000 barrels of oil every day, energy use per soldier creeps up every year. no one know the better than the department energy supplies are critical to combat troops and our national security. the defense sector to adopt domestically produced fuels for the security of our troops without these. secretary mavis outlined several goals to lead the navy towards a nor energy secure fleet. by 2015, reduce petroleum in the commercial fleet by 50%. by 2020 the navy produces 50% of the shore base energy requirements from alternative sources and 50% of total energy consumption will come from alternative sources. to ultimate realize the goal wes must scale up biofuel protection in the united states. one way to help, allow the department to engage in longer term contracts with biofuel producers. companies developed technologies meaning no new infrastructure or modifications are needed. the navy demonstrated that advanced biofuel, dropped and ready for fighter jets. in states lie mine in washington, north carolina, cal

former chairman of the chief of staff, admiral mike mullen, sen mary landrieu, lamar alexander and tom brokaw are also going to be with us. mike allen has a look at politico's top stories of the morning. he's in goth am to talk to willie about it. here is bill karins with a check on the forecast. what is it looking like? >> rainy in new england. first things first, we know how hot spring was. we are getting a break as we go into the second week of may. the jet stream dipped to the south and took with it the air to the gulf. instead of being hot, just mild conditions through the middle of the country. the problem weather, we are watching a good deal of rain this morning. buffalo, syracuse, albany. it's not going to cause too many issues. it makes for a gloomy tuesday. d.c. to philly to new york. heavy rain northward. we are dealing with wet weather this morning in ohio and west virginia. the southeast, a nice start to your day. afternoon thunderstorms. the heat is confined in areas of florida and south texas. it looks to stay cool around the country through the upcoming weekend. it shou

>> well, admiral mike mullen was extremely close tht previous administration with the bush team. powell was a trusted figure as a chairman by both bush 41 and then clinton. we've had a number of remarkable people as the chairman and marty dempsey continues in that line. however, the difference is this guy's been out there on the front fighting these wars. literally, since he was a colonel. a lot of these guys start to remember peace keeping operations in the balkans. >> again, following general dempsey will be the secretary of defense, leon panetta. your observations. >> i've known leon for a long time. he was the white house chief of staff. i worked with a clinton administration and the omb director. he's an absolute world class public servant. an army veteran himself. and probably has less enemies than anyone i every met in public life. so he's able to provide reasonable arguments in the political spirit. he's going to be a great help in defense because of that. of course, he was the cia director prior to this job. >> let's join this ceremony live. ♪ ♪ gave proof through the ni

one of those advisors retired mike mullen. had thoughts on the way the politics are playing out in this issue and shared them with brian williams. >> i do worry a great deal that this time of year that somehow this gets spun into election politics. i can assure you that those individuals who risked their lives, the last thing in the world they would want is to be spun into that. i am hoping that that doesn't happen. >> you can see more of that interview tomorrow in our hour long special documentary inside the situation room at 9:00 eastern on your local nbc station. >>> for all the grief the obama campaign is getting for whether they are politicizing the issue. the campaign is up with an ad that they are calling swift bank account which is going to run beginning today in ohio, iowa and virginia. according to nbc's ad trackers the campaign has over $500,000 in ohio and iowa and also bought time in richmond. it's the third ad that is both a response ad and an attack which seems to tie romney to an outside group. in this case it'

and by april 21st of last year, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff at the time, admiral mike mullen, attend address rehearsal with a team of navy s.e.a.l.s at a mock compound they'd set up in the nevada desert. >> i met that night, every single member, on the night of the rehearsal, every single member that was on that mission, and i got to look each of them in the eye. they showed me in their execution of rehearsal and also in that steely eyed glare that they give you that they were ready to go. >> did they suspect anything when the chairman of the joint chiefs came to watch them practice and drill? >> i never asked that question. i certainly suspect that they did. >> when did they learn, exactly, what their mission was and who their target was? >> actually, you'd have to ask bill mccraven that. but they're not idiots. i mean, they knew, certainly, how critical this was. they knew who they were and who they were working with. >> reporter: one week after the rehearsal, the launch window opened up, a favorable forecast and a moonless night, essential for an attack by air. they knew i

planning picked up speed and by april 21st of last year, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mike mullen attended a dress rehearsal at a mock compound they set up in the nevada desert. >> i met that night every single member the night of the rehearsal. every member that was on that mission. i got to look each of them in the eye. they showed me in their execution of rehearsal and also in that steely-eyed glare that they give you that they were ready to go. >> did they suspect anything when the chairman of joint chiefs came to watch this practice and drill? >> i never asked that question. i certainly suspect that they did. >> when did they learn exactly what their mission was and who their target was? >> actually, you'd have to ask bill mccraven that. but they're not idiots. i mean, they knew certainly how critical this was. they knew who they were and who they were working with. >> one week after the rehearsal, the launch window opened up. a favorable forecast and a moonless night, essential for an attack by air. they knew it could be months before the next opportunity. on thursday, april

. >> and mike mullen sad down, of course he was head of the joint chiefs at time, he sat down with brian williams for rock center, for special in the situation room program tomorrow night, and this is what he had to say about the political debate over this anniversary. >> from my perspective, the president's support, the decision that he made and obviously the result, stand alone in terms of the kind of call presidents have to make, and he made it. i do worry a great deal that this time of year that somehow this gets spun into election politics. i can assure you that those individuals who risked those lives, the last thing in the world that they want is to be spun into that. so i'm hoping that that doesn't happen. >> you've worked for george w. bush, you've worked under the obama administration. are you uncomfortable with some of the campaign ads and the campaign rhetoric coming from the white house on this? >> well, andrea, as you said, i was no nominated by president bush, i served president obama and i will tell you neither president ever asked me who i voted for, neither president as

what we also learned talking to mike mullen, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, when he called, his equivalent in the pakistani military, what he said was, we used a special chopper on this mission. it's a stealth black hawk. we'd like to get those pieces back as well because we tried to destroy it. we didn't destroy it all. so this was fraught as you point out, these phone calls, necessa necessary evils in their business are still kind of paying negative dividend denieds. >> i was very touched, there is the human side to all of this. let's play a clip from your special strok" tonight where the president talks about telling his children, his doctors. >> and then it came time to explain it to two young daughters. >> yeah. well, malia and sasha i think were tool young to fully absorb 9/11. on the other hand, they've grown like all our children have grown up in the shadow of 9/11 and terrorism. and understood who osama bin laden was. and so, you know, i think not only did they appreciate what had happened, but they were also hearing by that time crowds starting to gather ou

if you look at don't ask don't tell, it wasn't until admiral mike mullen, the chairman of the joint staff and the president, and and the second of defense said look, we have to lift the ban now on don't ask don't tell that any action was taken. that issue remained dormant for years. this one, however, in terms of women serving in combat roles is already being actively pursued by the military. unlike don't ask don't tell which is, as i said, no steps were taken for a couple of decades. >> all right. greatly appreciate your report. >>> smoke and noxious fumes are being vented off a nuclear powered submarine in maine that caught fire overnight the fire broke out aboard the uss miami while it was docked for maintenance at a shipyard. seven firefighters and crew members were injured. no one seriously hurt. the fire started in the front of the sub and the disabled reactionor was never threatened. the cause of that fire still not known. it is day five of deliberations in the john edwards trial. what the jury asked today. plus, what some legal experts are saying this could mean for edwards. and l

coming out of this campaign and the rhetoric on the campaign trail is this question of what admiral mike mullen has caused over-militarization and lack of ability to invest in and muster the diplomatic solutions that we need. this discussion has been about the real problems that require a diplomatic solution. is it just that on the campaign trail they speak to domestic politics and are not speaking to the realities of implementing u.s. foreign policy? is there any hope that a next presidency can help shift that balance and get out of this over-militarization cycle of u.s. foreign policy. that relates to the congressional question given the budgeting challenges. a final question about a related assumption -- there is no light between the two sides -- exceptionalism is the granite for u.s. policy, we will be stuck in not having the right solution to the world's problems. is there any hopes to get into a different approach how we see our place in the world? >> let's talk about militarization and foreign policy. >> this is the central argument of my paper that either the president has to invest mor

we celebrated all night long, presented a life-time achievement award to admiral mike mullen and his wife. we were absolutely blessed with fantastic music of the four troops who themselves have served in the military, and we had a special honorie that helped us to present guests. it was a fantastic evening. >> quite a bash. >> yes, yes it was. >> your basic mission has been tied to the military. you worked in that area for much of your career. tell us about that. >> our line of business was actually born out of the founding mission which was to provide care and comfort to the wounded on the battlefield when clara barton rendered aid to union soldiers during the civil war. >> while we know you do that work and we know the red cross collects and provides blood supplies and we know you respond on the ground when there is a disaster, but do most people understand what you do and how do you it? >> they see the red cross and the red cross means so many different things to so many different people. you see the symbol and you might think of disaster relief to first aid to clara barton. and o

he said don't bother trying to kill vice president biden, secretary of defense gates or admiral mike mullen. we should focus on these two guys. killing president obama or general david petraeus was easy to say that. quite another thing to implement. some of the senior administration officials i spoke to said that he was getting pushback from a number of his leaders in the organization saying we need to focus on things we can get done like killing american soldiers in afghanistan. >> you're going to be monitoring this website as those documents are released to the public. the government decided to do this because in the spirit of transparency. we'll get back to you later, peter bergen. thank you so much. we have nic robertson monitoring those documents as well and we'll hear from nic at the bottom of the hour in about 25 minutes. >>> we're also hearing from another al qaeda leader from beyond the grave. al qaeda in yemen publishing the most detailed advice yet from the american born cleric anwr al-awlaki. followers are urged to ignite wildfires in the united states and there are instructions

here is what admiral mike mullen says about this i do worry this time of year this gets spun into electionssure you that those individuals that risk their lives the last thing in the world that they want is it to be spun into that. and there has been some reaction out there. i'm sure the navy seals are also divided like most americans are on some of this but there has been some reaction they also are not happy. >> i can't speak for any of the seals, but i can say they're fighting for our country. they're not fighting for a political cause or political candidate. they're putting their lives on the line because they believe in america. they have answered the call. for a politician to try to benefit personally is wrong. martha: two things i want to get at here. one is mitt romney's reaction. he was working the crowd. said in offhanded comment yesterday, anybody would have done that because it was asked, would you have done that because the president has questioned that. he said, even jimmy carter would have done that. is that appropriate? >> i don't think you take shots at others but i do thi

general dempsey took up his position as chairman of the joint chiefs in october succeeding admiral mike mullenwhom we were very fortunate to host as a speaker in the his last week of his tenure. so it gives me special pleasure to welcome general dempsey near the beginning of his term of office and to offer him a chance to sum up when he's finished here in this same chair. every chairman faces a daunting array of challenges, but general dempsey, i think, has inherited tougher than most. there are the crises, iran, syria, sudan, but there are always crises. i'm thinking more of systemic challenges. under his watch a decade of war in iran, in iraq and afghanistan are drawing to an uncertain close, and there is the challenge of constructing an outcome there not that looks like conventional victory, but that looks as acceptable and positive as we can make it. second, the asia pacific region with its growing wealth and military power is taking on a new significance and has recently prompted a major shift in america strategy, the so-called asia pivot. there are no prior examples in history of a world

he picked up his position as chairman of the joint chiefs in october, succeeding adel mike mullen, whowe were very fortunate to host as a speaker during the last week of his tenure. it is a pleasure to welcome general dempsey near the beginning of his term in office and offered him a chance to sum up when he is finished in the same chair. general dempsey has inherited a tougher set than most. there are the crises, iran, syria, sudan. there are always crises. i'm thinking more of a systemic challenges. under his watch, a decade of war in iraq and afghanistan are drawing to an uncertain close, and there is the challenge of constructing an outcome there, not that looks like a conventional victory, but that looks like as acceptable as positive as we can make it. secondly, the pacific region, with its growing wealth and military power, is taking on a new significance, and as recently prompted a major shift in american strategy, the so- called asia pivot. there are prior example and history of trying to accommodate a greater power grid this challenge has to raise at the very top. third, the

levying us for this event for general dempsey taking up his position october succeed being admiral mike mullen that we've lourdes fortunate to host his last week of his tenure so it gives me pleasure to welcome general dempsey at the beginning of his term so he can some of in the same chair. general dempsey nine thinkpad this inherited a tougher situation than most. syria, sudan, i am thinking systemic a decade of for iraq afghanistan iran drawing to a close. there is an outcome there as positive as we can make it. also the region's growing wealth and military power, taking on a new significance prompting a shift in strategy. >> there are no examples of the world order to accommodate a great power. this laid behind the china peaceful rise. this hess to raise at the top. third, the coming wave of budget cuts to creating and is sustaining flexible and effective as the change of the security environment that the crystal ball is cloudy. asses but the military adviser and leader of men and women in a uniform, there are no easy decisions. and certainly true for this one. with his responsibilities, t

recalled to then admiral mike mullen opposed his before he ascends his chairmanship, a 1000 ship navy, envision a system in which the united states would remain the world preeminent military power with a never projections our second to none. and yet he also envisioned that other countries would have navy, would be capable of defending themselves and will contribute to global security and a measure that was consistent with their interests and their capabilities. our current plan seem to be having exactly the opposite direction. i would hope that it isn't too late to revisit that decision as well. thank you. >> all right. before we get to questions, which we will do before the hour, or at the hour, ben, you were very brief. do you want to say anything in response to all the other comments briefly before go to questions, or save it for them? we will save up for questions. >> been going to ask a couple of questions. number one, this is for bob work. alternatives to lcs were mentioned, mentioned if the navy were forced by congress to not buy lcs, if it was stopped prematurely, will be the

brought together people of various background including former chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mike mullen and housing and urban development secretary shaun donovan to talk about this important issue. what is very apparent is that there is momentum to build public-private partnerships. what also is apparent is there's a lot of room for improvement in this area. now i want to first make clear that a lot of companies across the country are far ahead of curve on this. in fact, many private-sector companies have already joined our efforts in addressing this critical issue. j.c. penney, one of america's largest retailers, joseph abboud, a clothing company partnered with iran and iraq to launch the welcome hoe joe, thanks a mill program, to prepare -- that thinks a million program. this program provides 5,000 veterans with certificates to purchase business attire. for the last decade we've expected our brave men and women in uniform to prepare for the battlefield. in the process they have become accustomed to wearing combat boots and battle-dress uniforms. now they're expected to wear a suit and

retired admiral mike mullen, class of of '68 fought a stratey in two wars to be ready for future challengesk bolton, class of ' 73 led special efforts to go after al-qaeda. general john allen, class of 1976 led in afghanistan with outstanding leadership. admiral sam lockhear, class of 1977 commands u.s.-pacific command and spearheaded nato's effort, a campaign that led to the fall of the nazis. the list goes on. the chief of naval operations, john and a number of other naval academy alumni who are influencing events around the entire globe. throughout my time in government, i've relied on a vision and the advice of the navy and marine corp. officers. as president clip -- president clinton's chief of staff, director of cia, and now director of defense, because of their efforts and sacrifices as brave men and women across our services, today the united states stands at a strategic turning point after a decade of war. our combat forces have come home from iraq. nato just approved a plan last week in chicago, a plan by general allen to fully transition the lead for security to afghan forces by

then ncno mike mullen proposed a 1,000 ship navy, a system in which the usn would remain the power second to none and he envisioned other countries had te go and could contribu to global security. our plans seem to be heading in the opposite direction and i hope it is thought to late. thank you. >> before we get to questions, you were very brief. do you want to say anything in response before we go to questions? it then i will. this one is for bob work. alternatives to lcs were mentioned. if the navy were forced by congress to not buy lcs, what would be the first choice as an alternative? >> if we were told to truncate, we would build the burk line until we could understand what we wanted to do. the national security cutter, i was writing that as "if you could afford it" as a presence ship, or the national fleet station ship. the national security cutter cannot operat the mission modules of an l. -- of an lcs. it would only be good for sailing around. the do not believe it is a viable option. there is really not one on the market that we could build up. we have talked about this a lot. i

retired admiral mike mullen, class of '68 fought a strategy in two wars to be ready for future challenges. erik bolton, class of '73 led special efforts to go after al- qaeda. general john allen, class of 1976 led in afghanistan with outstanding leadership. admiral sam lockhear, class of 1977 commands u.s.-pacific command and spearheaded nato's effort, a campaign that led to the fall of the nazis. -- fall of gaddafi. the list goes on. the chief of naval operations, john and a number of other naval academy alumni who are influencing events around the entire globe. throughout my time in government, i've relied on a vision and the advice of the officers. president clinton's chief of staff, director of cia, and now director of defense, because of their efforts and sacrifices as brave men and women across our services, today the united states stands at a strategic turning point after a decade of war. our combat forces have come home from iraq. nato just approved a plan last week in chicago, a plan by general allen to fully transition the lead for security to afghan forces by the end of 2014. w

he picked up his position as chairman of the joint chiefs in october, succeeding adel mike mullen, who we were very fortunate to host as a speaker during the last week of his tenure. it is a pleasure to welcome general dempsey near the beginning of his term in office and offered him a chance to sum up when he is finished in the same chair. general dempsey has inherited a tougher set than most. of challenges. there are the crises, iran, syria, sudan. there are always crises. i'm thinking more of a systemic challenges. under his watch, a decade of war in iraq and afghanistan are drawing to an uncertain close, and there is the challenge of constructing an outcome there, not that looks like a conventional victory, but that looks like as acceptable as positive as we can make it. secondly, the pacific region, with its growing wealth and military power, is taking on a new significance, and as recently prompted a major shift in american strategy, the so- called asia pivot. there are no prior examples in history of trying to accommodate a greater power grid. his challenge has to raise at the ve

mike mullen presented a briefing to about 200 special forces soldiers. at the end of the briefing during the question and answer time, a young chaplin, a captain by rank, asked admiral mullen, if this policy is repealed, will those of us who hold biblical views that homosexuality is a san still be protected to express those views? according to the witnesses at that briefing, admiral mullen pointed a finger at that chaplin and said, if you cannot get in line with this policy, reassign your commission. the the washington times reported a similar episode described by be debbie chief of staff of personnel. he was briefing several troops in germany. he said, unfortunately, we have a minority of servicemen who are still racist and bigoted. you will never be able to get rid of all of them. these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program. they cannot, they need to get out. i am not an attorney and i did not play one on tv. i believe there is a legal term i have heard called a chilling effect. these words by admiral mullen and by the gener

coming out of this campaign and the rhetoric on the campaign trail is this question of what admiral mike mullen has caused over- militarization and lack of ability to invest in and muster the diplomatic solutions that we need. this discussion has been about the real problems that require a diplomatic solution. is it just that on the campaign trail they speak to domestic politics and are not speaking to the realities of implementing u.s. foreign policy? is there any hope that a next presidency can help shift that balance and get out of this over-militarization cycle of four -- u.s. foreign policy. that relates to the congressional question given the budgeting challenges. a final question about a related assumption -- there is no light between the two sides -- it is about u.s. excessi optionalsm. until we can get -- exceptionalism is the granite for u.s. policy, we will be stuck in not having the right solution to the world's problems. is there any hopes to get into a different approach how we see our place in the world? >> let's talk about militarization and foreign policy. >> this is the centra

the nco mike mullen proposed a 1000-ship navy, envisioning a system in which the united states would remain the preeminent power second to none. he also envisioned that other countries would have navies that would be capable of defending themselves and would contribute to global security in a major consistent with their interests and capabilities. our current plan seems to be headed in exactly the same direction, and i hope it is not too late to revisit that situation as well. thank you. >> before we get to questions, ben, you were very brief. do you want to say anything in response to the other comments briefly? >> we will save it for questions. >> i will ask a couple questions. this is for bob work. alternatives to lcs were mentioned. if the navy were forced by the congress to not buy lcs, what would be the navy's first choice as an alternative? >> if we were told to truncate lcs, we would continue building the berk line until we can understand exactly what we wanted to do. the national security cutter, when i wrote that, i was writing it if you could afford it, you could do as a p

light and alternative approaches, coming out of this rhetoric, is this question of what admiral mike mullenet over militarization of u.s. foreign policy and a lack of ability to invest in and mustard the diplomatic solutions that we need, and the discussion here has been about the problems that require diplomatic solutions that the world is facing. part of that -- is it just that on the campaign trail this week domestic politics, not speaking to the realities of implementing u.s. foreign policy, or is there hope that a next presidency, whether obama or romney, can help shift that balance and get out of it over u.s. foreign policy, which relates to the congressional question that was raised, relating to budgetary challenges. a final comment about a related assumption, there is no light between the two sides. the question of u.s. exceptional listen. until we can get out of an outdated idea for today's world, u.s. exceptionalism, we're going to be stock and not have the right solutions to our problems very is there any hope to get to a different approach? >> this is one of the central argument