this is what he said to admiral mullen, this is a father whose son died for this country. i repeat that. don't let him spin this crap. there is no indication that afghanistan has changed anywhere. our mission should be very, very simple. chase and kill the enemy. well, i just gave you two examples of where we are not really fighting the war in afghanistan because why in the world would those marines have been killed who were asking for cover and yet the army said no. we can't give you cover because of our policy. our policy is, we don't want to kill civilians. sergeant bernard said, he's right, i've never been to war. let me be honest about it. but he has been to war. he knows that war is ugly and mean. therefore we are saying to our troops, we are going to handcuff you. and we are going to do what we can to protect those in afghanistan, but you might have to give your life and you couldn't even fire a gun. that is not what we should be doing in afghanistan. last point. the brook that's called the $3 trillion war. it is a book written by the economist, joe stiglick, he say

i know secretary gates and general mullen will say more details. sure we adhere to the proverb president reagan employed. trust but verify. >> secretary of state hillary clinton talking about the agreement between the united states and russia to reduce nuclear arsenals. president obama spoke for a few minutes and said it will cut by one-third nuclear weapons deployed by each countries, will reduce the number of missiles and launchers. president obama said this has been a top national security priority and follows intense negotiations for a year and will leave behind the legacy of the 20th century and cold war and build a safer future for our children. secretary clinton is talking about the value of diplomacy and says it's an example of deep and substantive cooperation on a matter of vital importance. secretary of defense gates will speak as well. there will be a lot of reaction for this story throughout the day. that does it for me. i'm david shuster. i'll see you at 3:00 a.m. eastern time. sarah palin and john mccain will be stumping live in tucso

i further want to read, in october 13 letter to senator collins, mullen addressed -- admiral mullen addressed bernard ears concern by saying the new tactical derivative did not change the r.o.e. in afghanistan but rather provide more clarification and guidelines regarding this e-- regarding the use of force. we have refind our procedure in order to reduce civilian casualties but at no time have the r.o.e. been modified to place our troops at greater risk he wrote. our troops still operate under a celt of r.o.e. that allows them to protect themselves against enemy action in battles while protecting the afghan population. sergeant bernard, a retire mad rein, said the letter is smoke and mirrors and overlooks his consistent concern that a counterinsurgency strategy won't work as long as afghanistan is filled with warring tribes, about 126 of them but they have no empathy for the united states and its way of life, i further want to read down in his response in the marine times, i already talked to the office and said, don't let him spin this crap, bernard said. there's no indication afghanistan h

admiral mullen wouldn't give any more details about the shipment of weapons to kandahar.hem, he wouldn't tell us about them. he does say he was taken aback by the news. he is concerned that iran is trying to get even more involved in the conflict in afghanistan. our military officials searching for a missing crew member from a u.s. navy plane that went down earlier today in the north arabian sea. the military reports the plane was returning from support operations in afghanistan with 4 people on board when it experienced what the navy is calling a mishap around 10:00 this morning eastern time. we're told rescuers were able to reach three of the crew members. the plane is an e-2-c hockey. it is said to pack -- hawkeye. dangerous weather conditions are easy for it. we are told it was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier ussd dwight highway -- eisenhower. the top story as we go across america. >> iowa. students in norris springs gathering pennies for some of their counterparts in pakistan. teacher says the pennies can go a long way. >> a penny doesn't mean much to us. but a

reviews the impact of changing the don't ask don't tell policy defense secretary gates and admiral mullenounced changes making it harder to kick gay service members out of the military. >> i believe these changes represent an important improvement in the way the current law is put into practice. above all by providing a greater measure of common sense and common decency to a process for handling what are difficult and complex issues for all involved. >> reporter: the changes raise minimum officer ranks to open an investigation to a one star general, conduct an inquiry to lt. colonel and authorize dismissal to a one star general. outing information from third parties will be taken under oath. scrutinized to avoid a grudge, costing a service member's military career this includes those under investigation now. >> as of my signature right after this meeting, every case that is currently still open, will be dealt with under these new regulations. >> reporter: military leadership is also dealing with a three-star general after lt. general mixon wrote a blunt letter to stars and stripes which s

at his confirmation, mullen said -- the president said long before, the chairman said that the u.s. would probably need more troops. the president thought that it put him in a box. >> another report from you back in 2009. before we go to it, it is about reconstructive surgery. did your son help? >> my son was probably my most interested viewer. this was the kind of work that he does. his hospital does not have a program like that. it is a one-of-a-kind operation. >> you did this report. oit was for "cbs sunday morning." >> our cover story is recorded by national security correspondent david martin. >> it is his 21st birthday. how is that for a face that says "life is good?" no at 23 -- how is that for a face that has been through hell. we could show you much worse. they suffered these scars for us. this happened to him nearly two years ago in afghanistan. >> what him you? -- hit you. >> a mine. >> what were you in? humvee. >> so it was the blast and flames? >> hit the fuel tank. >> i burst into flames. >> in the head of reconstructive surgery is inspecting the results of his first a

as admiral michael mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said, quote, when i'm in afghanistan i get the same questioned asked as when i'm in pakistan which is, are you going to leave us again, because they remember very well that we have in the past. and so there's a trust issue here. there's uncertainty through afghanistan's eyes as to whether or not we will stay, end quote. in cooperating with us, in trusting us, they know they are risking their lives and those of their families. our troops are listening as well. this debate today reminds me of the many times that i have come down to the floor to speak against the force withdrawal in iraq and the need to support our mission there. mr. speaker, it is an illusion to believe that we can protect ourselves from our enemies by picking and choosing easy battles and turning away from those that require patience and sacrifice. this congress cannot, must not turn away from its responsibility to defend our country and our citizens simply because the task seems too difficult. the men and women in uniform who willingly risk their lives t

this is his response back through letters admiral mullen and his response back to susan collins. sergeant bernard said, the letter is smoke and mirrors. and overlooked his consistent concern counterinsurgency strategy won't work as long as afghanistan is filled with warring tribes and no empathy for the united states and its way of life. he further stated in his letter to senator collins, i have to senator collins, i have already spoken to your office, he said, did not let him say this. these are not my words. this is what he said to the admiral. his son died for this country, and i repeat that. do not let him say this. there is no indication that afghanistan has changed anywhere. the mission should be very simple, to kill the enemy. i just gave you a couple of examples of where we are not really fighting the war in afghanistan. why in the world with those marines have been killed, when the army said, we cannot give you cover. the policy is we cannot kill civilians. but i have never been there, he has been there and he knows that this is ugly and mean. we say to the soldiers, we

secretary gates, admiral mullen. we won't see the president because he's going to camp david after his day is done. >> we don't know what he might be reading m morning but here's a hint. he's at an iowa bookstore picking up books written by some republicans. picking them up. there it is, karl rove, mitt romney but not buying. he ended up spending about $37 on children's books. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. increase in 6 months. pete, back it up! ( marker squeaking ) when business travel leaves you drained, re-charge with comfort suites. spacious rooms, free hi-speed internet, and free hot breakfast. comfort suites. power up. now stay two separate times with comfort suites... or any choice hotel and earn a free night. book at choicehotels.com. vo:but at walmart? the same 10 a nidollars can buy so much more.l drug store. more easter. plus great new rollbacks. that's worth hopping in for. save money. live better. walmart. (announcer) not just sinus headache... ahhhh! but pressure... and congestion.

>> because as i said back then, that we need to have a careful examination and admiral mullen was as quote speaking personally, just this week commander of the marine corps said he did not want don't ask don't tell repealed. there are many in the military who do not want to. we're going to go through hopefully a year-long study that will hopefully also have the feelings of the men and women who are serving. but david, what also the chief of staff of the air force and of the army pointed out, we're in two wars. we have the highest trained, most professional, best military in history. the highest retention, highest recruitment in history. and they are all saying wait a minute, before we change this, let's make sure we go through a careful examination. ranging from what you heard admiral mullen say his, quote, personal opinion, to what the commander of the marine corps says he doesn't want to change. it's clear that we need to be very careful as to how we move forward on whether we change this policy. >> if the result is -- >> i believe it's worked. >> the result of that study is one i

admiral mike mullen claimed the goal of the operation was to have no civilian casualties. a brookings 2009 constitution report -- institution report estimates that 10 civilians doo you for every militant kill -- for every militant killed. an artist -- article published, called "america's secret presence reveals the seek rel detention facilities." i ask unanimous consent to submitt that. the bombings must stop, the alleged torture of afghans captured in such night raids and the slaughter of innocent civilians only serve to embolden -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. berman. mr. berman: thank you, madam chair. i would like to yield an additional two minutes of our time to the ranking member to be added on to herr time and subtracted from our time -- to her time and subtracted from our time and now i'd like to yield three minutes to the asia pacific and global environment subcommittee, the delegate from american samoa, mr. eni faleomavaega. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, and the ge

admiral mullen goes regularly. i just mentioned the fbi director mueller, don't underestimate a trip by a man of that statue gathering together ministers to previous to our efforts started about nine months ago had never even met. so there's a cumulative effect in my view of this effort. into me, the turning point trip with secretary clinton at the end of october, where she just -- she stayed much longer than she normally does. p.j. was with us and he can give you -- remind you the details. she did a very public series of meetings in a very intense private series of meetings. she answered every question, no matter how hostile they were and won over a lot of people. and this came right on the heels of the misunderstanding over the kerry/lugar bourbon legislation, which was an unfortunate misunderstanding in my view. so, this process has produced a gradual improvement in cooperation. simultaneous with that, the pakistani military has undertaken to major military offensive in s.w.a.t and in south waziristan. i want to

this is what he said to admiral mullen, this is a father whose son died for this country. repeat that. don't let him spin this crap. there is no indication that afghanistan has changed anywhere. our mission should be very, very simple. chase and kill the enemy. well, i just gave you two examples of where we are not really fighting the war in afghanistan because why in the world would those marines have been killed who were asking for cover and yet the army said no. we can't give you cover because of our policy. our policy is, we don't want to kill civilians. sergeant bernard said, he's right, i've never been to war. let me be honest about it. but he has been to war. he knows that war is ugly and mean. therefore we are saying to our troops, we are going to handcuff you. and we are going to do what we can to protect those in afghanistan, but you might have to give your life and you couldn't even fire a gun. that is not what we should be doing in afghanistan. last point. the brook that's called the $3 trillion war. it is a book written by the economist, joe stiglick, he says

secretary clinton, defense secretary robert gates, homeland security secretary janet napolitano, admiral mullen, dennis blair and john brennan white house counter terrorism adviser. the u.s. says sending such a delegation shows the level of commitment to work with the mexican government to help them combat the threat which can spill over the border. some of the priorities for u.s. side creating 21st century security, socio-economic development in border towns. americans are hoping to support the effort against drug cartels. today's meeting took on added sense of urgency after traffickers kill three linked to the american consulate 10 days ago across the border from el paso, texas. juarez known as the murder capital of mexico the violence has been more widespread. cartels are blamed for the murders of almost 18,000 people since calderon took office in late 2006. secretary clinton spoke about the problem a short time ago. >> we are working in our two governments together, to solve the problem posed by the criminal cartels. that stalk the streets of your cities and ours. that kill and injure innoc

clinton, the secretary of defense, robert gates, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, robert mullen >> thank you very much. has president obama reiterated, that is one of the highest per these of the obama administration to pursue an agenda to reduce the threats posed by the deadliest weapons the world has ever known. president obama said the fourth in his speech in prague last year and today he and president medvedev reached an agreement to make significant and verifiable reductions in our nuclear arsenal. long after the end of the cold war, the u.s. and russia still possess more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons. we do not need such a large arsenals to protect our nation and our allies against the two greatest dangers we face today. nuclear proliferation and terrorism. this treaty represents a significant step forward in our cooperation with russia. we recommended to reset our relationship because we saw this as essential to making progress on counter-terrorism, nuclear security and non-proliferation. we will continue to have disagreements with our russian friends but this t

guest: admiral mullen -- telos -- tell us more.st: admiral moylan recently arrived -- admiral mullen recently arrived, the president of afghanistan's brother is the head of the council there. this is extremely controversial. there are many allegations of ties to corruption. to the north and west of the province there are areas in complete taliban control. given the population in the greater area, the fact that the united states went in next door to secure those areas, it is the big place to go right now. host: one more passage from the story. "officials have pressed local leaders and tribal elders over the past several weeks to begin holding shuras, conferences, in the city and outlying districts." john, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i was going to ask, i am sure there has been an increase in afghanistan as far as security needs. my description of afghanistan, it would be american during the 1930's -- america during the 1930's. do they have any intention of ever falling everyone out? having -- ever polling ev

secretary hillary clinton, janet napolitano and admiral mike mullens will be talking to their mexicanounterparts about the escalating drug wars and the battle to help battle the drug car tells. discussions in the situation in juarez, mexico across the border, there is more evidence of the human toll. they have discovered more mass graves. the local paper in el paso says there are as many as 100 bodies buried there. the next hour, we will talk to a journalist in the line of fire in mexico. he is dealing with death threats and flying bullets to bring the inside story of the drug violence. >>> bill clinton has a plan to help haiti's economic recovery after january's devastating earthquake. clinton joined george bush for a tour of haiti yesterday. they are heading up a u.s. fundraising effort in haiti. clinton says that the u.s. should extend trade preferences for haiti. that would allow haiti to export more tex tiles creating tens of thousands of jobs. >> i think that the haitians and the international community have done a good job of distributing food and water. i think they've done a

. >> reporter: mary ann mullen has a 4.0 gpa. she is accomplished dancer.he came to montgomery college. >> i thought it would be a quick stepping stone to a four- year institution. i fell in love with the school and the teachers, the small class sizes, diversity and that's what got me to stay and i had amazing experience. >> reporter: but the college's interim president fears the experience mary ann had may not be available to future students. that is because of money. >> this is the most devastating cut we have ever experienced. >> reporter: look closely and you will see half of the college's funding comes from montgomery county. but the proposed budget gives the school $14 million less than what was requested. >> it takes us about $14 million to operate our germantown campus. so, we are talking about cuts severe enough to shut down one of our campuses. >> report: this comes at a bad time. as funding is going down, enrollment is up, way up. >> we just experienced record enrollment this past fall with over 26,000 students. that is 400 students less than the

jon: admiral mullen going on to say there is a trust that is building between the u.s. military and the pakistani military, working both sides of that border, jon. jon: i know officials from both countries have been working on building a better strategic relationship between america and pakistan. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: well, that's right. there are meetings going on at the state department today, and among the things that they're looking at is broadening the relationship from just a security relationship to education, agriculture, and civilian energy. so really looking to take the u.s.-pakistani relationship to the next level, which is something that the u.s. is very happy to do, as long as the pakistanis are cooperative in terms of fighting terrorism on their side of the border, jon. jon: what's the bottom line at the pentagon from where you are, from the u.s. military perspective? >> reporter: as general mcchrystal was surging the additional troops on the afghan side of the border, if the pakistanis keep their pressure on their side of the borde

have been very unhappy with the comments by american military leaders secretary gates and admiral mullen and by the way this is not a criticism of the obama administration but the american military because this happened in 2008 as well program have been very critical of their saying what a catastrophe would be of military force were used against iran. i don't understand that as a negotiating tactic. i don't understand why they would say it and thereby reduce the pressure for a negotiated settlement with the people running iran would logically feel. more recently, a general petraeus made a counter banning statement in which he said we have plans for everything and we can carry out those plans. that i think is a much more sensible message to be sending to the ayatollah. third, syria and lebanon a subject very close to our hearts, and the book is not 100% clear to me on the outside there is a great deal of continuity but it is not meant to be a heartwarming remark because the bush and administration policy became too soft or was too soft on syria and i think the obama administration policy

defense secretary robert gates and the joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen.the money being spent on the wars in iraq and afghanistan. as you can see she was escorted out, yelling all the way. secretary gates is also facing a confrontation from a bipartisan group of house members questioning whether the pentagon is in effect cooking the books when it comes to a looming shortage of fighter planes. two democratic and two republican members of the house armed services committee have sent a letter to secretary gates questioning what they call his optimistic assumptions about the jet shortfall. they claim the defense secretary isn't counting the billions of dollars it will take to extend the current fleet of f-18 fighter jets until the next generation is ready. secretary gates, though, insists that his estimations are accurate. >>> frustrations have been mounting on capitol hill over what democrats see as stall tactics by republicans when it comes to the health care reform reconciliation bill or the effort to try to make improvements in what the house just passed.

joint chiefs mike mullen says successful in killing terrorists in the past few months. the deaths of at least three babies now forcing the government to recall more than one million slings. take a look at this year the consumer products safety commission warns parents of infants under four months old to stop using slings made by the company infantino and stop now. this comes on the heels of a previous warning about these slings. a warning that did not include a specific type or maker. we're told babies could suffocate in the slings. in this kind they wrap around a parent's chest. infantino says it it's working to develop a sling that's standard. for more information on what specific types and what to do if you have one. can you head over to our web site fox news.com/shep and click the link under the wires session. it's all there for you. cops say the urban terrorists targeting police officers here in the united states have apparently struck again. first came the warning, and then this. we're live with details. and it's already legalized medical marijuana. now one state

and i was at a public meeting with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mullen, in january, where he said, and i quote, iran has the strategic intent to have nuclear weapons. iran to date has paid no price for lying about its nuclear program, for disregarding u.n. success you have u.n. security council resolution and mocking the express concerns of the international communities. for almost 20 years the europeans have pursued what they call a constructive dialogue with the iranians on the subject. it has been neither constructive nor a dialogue. all negotiations have been fruitless as was the case in north korea. in the past year, president obama has given iran several deadlines by which time they should comply with their u.n. security council and iaea demands only to move the line in the sand he has drawn successfulively as iranians have not met those deadlines, indeed after iran recently and brazenly announced, two weeks ago, that it had enriched uranium to 20% which is a very significant step towards getting weapons-grade uranium, even after that announcement, the america

defense secretary robert gates, admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs, and secretary of homeland security janet napolitano. the gathering came two weeks after an american consulate worker and her husband were gunned down in the mexican border town of juarez. the sexual abuse scandal that's plagued the roman catholic church in the u.s. may be easing. the u.s. conference of catholic bishops reported today there were 398 allegations of abuse involving clergy last year. that's down 36% from the year before. most of the cases were decades old. the number of alleged offenders dropped 32%. most are dead, no longer in the priesthood, or have been removed from the ministry. a wave of new abuse allegations has come to light across europe in recent weeks. wall street had a good day after sales of existing homes fell less than expected last month. the dow jones industrial average gained nearly 103 points to finish well over 10,888. the nasdaq rose more than 19 points to close at 2,415. those are some of the day's main stories. i'll be back at the end of the program with a preview of what you

troops in afghanistan than in iraq this summer according to mike mullen.00 forces in iraq down from 150,000 at the height of the surge and 83,000 now in afghanistan. for an update on both wars and reaction to some intriguing statements out of the kremlin today about the nuclear weapons agreement reached between the united states and russia we are pleased to be joined by jeff morrell, pentagon spokesman and press secretary. jeff, good to have you here. >> thanks for having me. >> we have election results in from iraq. it looks like a split. what role now for the united states? >> we really have no role other than to be there in an over watch capacity assisting iraqi security forces. we did not have a candidate obviously in this election. our interests were in providing or helping the iraqis provide a safe, secure, free, and fair election. by all accounts they had that. 12 million iraqis went to the polls this month, 62% of the population, relatively free of violence. it's taken a while to count the votes. we now have the outcome t's a very close margin betw

that includes the leaders with me today -- secretary clinton, secretary gates, and admiral mullen. it also includes a tireless negotiating team. it took patience and perseverance but we never gave up. as a result, the united states will be more secure and the american people will be safe. finally, i look forward to continuing to work closely with congress in the months ahead. there is a long tradition of bipartisan leadership on arms control. presidents of both parties have recognized the necessities of securing and reducing these weapons. statement like henry kissinger have been outspoken in their support of more assertive action. earlier this week, i met with john kerry and dick lugar to discuss this treaty. threat the morning, my administration will be consulting senators from both parties as we prepare for what i hope will be a strong bipartisan support to rectify the new treaty. . . . >> thank you very much. has president obama reiterated, that is one of the highest per these of the obama administration to pursue an agenda to reduce the threats posed by the deadliest weapons t

guest: admiral mullen -- telos -- tell us more. guest: admiral moylan recently arrived -- admiral mullen recently arrived, the president of afghanistan's brother is the head of the council there. this is extremely controversial. there are many allegations of ties to corruption. to the north and west of the province there are areas in complete taliban control. given the population in the greater area, the fact that the united states went in next door to secure those areas, it is the big place to go right now. host: one more passage from the story. "officials have pressed local leaders and tribal elders over the past several weeks to begin holding shuras, conferences, in the city and outlying districts." john, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i was going to ask, i am sure there has been an increase in afghanistan as far as security needs. my description of afghanistan, it would be american during the 1930's -- america during the 1930's. do they have any intention of ever falling everyone out? it seems like it is a

admiral mullen goes regularly. i just mentioned to f.b.i. director muller, don't underestimate the importance of a trip by a man of that stature gathering together two interior ministers who previous to our efforts starting about nine months ago had never even met. so there's a cumulative effect. and to me the turning point for secretary clinton was the end of october. she stayed much longer than she normally does. p.j. was with us. she did a very public series of meetings and very intense private series of meetings. she answered every question t no matter how hostile they were. and won over a lot of people. this came right on the heels of the misunderstanding tft legislation which was an unfortunate misunderstanding in my view. so this process has produced a gradual improvement in cooperation. simultaneous with that, the pakistani military has undertaken two major military offenses. i went to solat on the previous trip, not this one. and met with the leaders there. finally some very bad people had been eliminated. high ranking members of th

cameras caught the entire episode on tape pft individual skro shows the two men going through mcyou mullen'snd stealing a television right off the wall. they're seen driving away with a laundry basket filled with the stolen goods. after posting images of the suspects on facebook, mclullen realized one of them had friended her about six months ago. she says he grew up across the street from her and she hasn't seen him in more than 20 years. keri and kurt are here exclusively this morning. good morning to you both. with friends like these, who needs enemies, huh ? >> exactly. >> did you even give it a second thought about posting where you were going for the night? >> no i do it every day. >> and now in heeindsight in. >> i haven't been on there since. >> so then you get home, you watch the surveillance video and you take matters in to your own hands posting the images online. what kind of response do you get? >> of course people were saying they were sorry. i had one person say that they thought it was particular person, that the person's thought been i.d.ed by the cops yet, so we're not 100%

hillary clinton, as you mentioned and defense second robert gates and janet neapolitan o admiral mike mullenchairman of the joint chiefs of staff and dennis blare. clinton met with pat rhysia espinoza and later with mexican president felipe calderon. the meeting was to expand and improve programs under what's called the merida initiative. it's a $1.4 billion multi-year aid program to fight drug crime. this includes also modernizing border crossings, better inspection of vehicles and people crossing the border, but one of the really main strategy expansions here is to do more on the social economic front, helping poor communities where instability is so bad that young people have fallen into crime. so when you talk about security it's not just the obvious security presence, but also the social and economic security that many mexicans have been lacking. one of the cities that's been a reference point as far as the mexican drug violence is juarez with more than 400 drug-related deaths there since january. >> okay. let's do this. ines, if you would, stay with us. we'll talk to nick, and i know y

homeland security issues, john brennan and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullenetary napolitano briefed reporters on the way down today and she said it's a strong delegation to the u.s. commitment to work with mexico to enhance anti-drug operations. in her words, she said, quote, this is a real deal, she says. we want to be working together, she says. in part today, the secretary of state will be leading a discussion on the ongoing efforts as well as the evolution, really, of the work by u.s. and mexican officials to break the power of drug trafficking organizations. the goal is really to lay out the shared security concerns and what the two governments can do about it. and that's a very big question to tackle. ahead of today's trip, the state department said the focus of the meetings was cooperation and coordination with the heavy emphasis on co-responsibility that the two-countries share in the fight against drug-related violence. you talked about it, ali, it's worth talking about. the recent killings in this month of the u.s. consulate in mexico and her husban

homeland security secretary janet napolitano, robert jaits and joint staff chairman admiral mike mullen were some of the power brokers led by secretary of state clinton to address issues like you see here, the mission, shore up u.s. support for mexico in its fight against drug cartels. as you likely know, mexico's drug wars grow increasingly deadly. just recently, three members of the u.s. consulate in mexico were gunned down in broad daylight, which drew a lot of attention to that story. martha: blowing in, old man winter, a powerful early spring snowstorm is no joke in colorado, they got pounded, as much as 2 feet in the dn ver area before the storm begins to ease off later today, we're told. these storms are fairly common in colorado this time of year, march and april considered the snowiest months of the whole year in colorado. that's why it's the home to such great spring skiing. but this storm, not a whole lot of fun, a doozy, high winds that have knocked out power in that area, visibility in some places we're told is near zero, the roads are treacherous, and they're telling folks

as admiral mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said just last month, israelis remain a vitala cornerstone of our regional security commitments. when america invests in israel's security, israel is safe to her and america is stronger. [applause] israel and the united states are allies, friends. they should treat each other as such. it is time to reduce the tension, time to set aside the past week and pledged to work to solve problems together. [applause] we are heartened by the report of the united dates in israel are working hard together to get the relationship back on track. and we are honored to have the secretary of state, hillary clinton and the prime minister, netanyahu said israel here with us today. [applause] we must remind our leaders that the special relationship is vital, strategically important and must be unshakable. [applause] and when disagreements inevitably arise, they should be resolved privately, as is befitting close ally. [applause] israel is ready to take risks for peace despite the unrelenting terror. every israeli prime minister, including prime minis

. >>> the upcoming -- admiral mullen saying the upcoming attack in afghanistan will be the next surge. traveling through afghanistan he says the operation will be the military's main focus this summer. trace: this is a fox news weather alert, rhode island getting hit by historic flooding, providence seeing the wettest month ever recorded, not just march, the wettest month ever, talking about 16 inches of rain, the president de layering a -- declaring a state of emergency, the president saying, and i'm quoting here, none of us alive have seen the kind of flooding we are experiencing now and forecasters say the worst, if you can believe this, is yet to come. with us on the phone is steve kass, public information officer for the rhode island emergency management agency. steve, we're looking at the pictures now. man, you guys got hammered up there. we also live in the northeast. connecticut didn't get it as bad, and it's kind of amazing, the rain is going out, steve, and people are saying now the worst is yet to come because all that water has to come pushing down, right? >> that's exactl

have been very unhappy at the comments by american military leaders, secretary gates and admiral mullen, and by the way, this is not a criticism of the obama administration, this is a criticism of the american military because this happened in 2008 as well. i have been very critical of their saying what a catastrophe it would be if military force were used against iran. i don't understand that as a negotiating tactic. even if they believe it, i don't understand why they would say it. and thereby reduce the pressure for a negotiated settlement that the people running iran would logically feel. now, more recently general petraeus, most recently general petraeus made a kind of countervailing statement in which, cent come commander, in which he said, you know, we have plans for everything, and we can carry out those plans, too, when it comes to iran. that is a much more sensible message to be sending to the ayatollahs. third, syria and lebanon, a subject very close to jeff's heart as it is to lee's and to mine. the policy is not 100% clear to me, again, sitting on the outside. there is, i t

madam speaker, i want to congratulate madison mullen, anthony zendeja is iv and lena savell as well asll students think about the ideals of democracy and how they can contribute to our society. i thank representative hunter for hig this resolution -- bringing this resolution forward. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentlewoman from illinois. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. miss biggerert -- mrs. biggert: i rise in support of house resolution 1170 congratulating the winners of the voice of democracy national scholarship program. the voice of democracy national scholarship program is an audio essay contest for american high school students across the world. students in grades 9 through 12 enter the contest by recording an audio essay. since the beginning the program has provided more than $3 million in scholarship funds to student winners. this year alone, $149,000 in scholarships was awarded to the winners. the voice of democ

that includes the leaders here with me today, secretary clinton, secretary gates, and admiral mullen.t includes the tireless negotiating team. it took patience, perseverance, but we never gave up. as a result, the u.s. will be more secure and the american people will be safe. finally, i look forward to continuing to work closely with congress in the months ahead. there is a long tradition of bipartisan leadership on arms control. presidents of both parties have recognized the necessity of securing and reducing these weapons. statesmanlike george shultz, henry kissinger, and bill perry have been outspoken in their support of more assertive action. earlier this week i met with my friends john kerry and dick lugar to discuss this. throughout the morning, my administration will be consulting senators. my administration will be consulting senators from both parties to prepare for what i hope will be a strong bipartisan support to ratify the new treaty. with that, i am going to leave you in the able and my secretary of state, hillary clinton, as well as secretary of defense gates and joint

and that national security advisor james jones traveled there, mike mullen, vice president biden. and in addition, the u.s. government announced a new set of sanctions on iran's islamic revolutionary gathered. -- guard. i understand you are seeking a new set of sanctions through the u.n. security council which will require the support of all five permanent members including china. so i want to ask but china. you were recently in saudi arabia, which is now exporting more oil to china than ever. reports have suggested that saudi arabia may be able to provide china the stable supply of oil it needs. thus, reducing china's reliance on iranian oil. and this in turn could make china more willing to support sanctions against iran. do you feel better about the situation with china? do you feel that this diplomacy of yours that the u.n. could yield the right outcome? >> well, senator, we are working at it every single day. and the iaea report gave us one more piece of evidence to present to doubting countries about conclusions regarding iran's nuclear ambitions. we also are making the argu

as mentioned, including secretary gates, secretary napolitano, chairman of joint chiefs of staff mullen, director of national intelligence blair, john brennan, and many of the constituent agencies, i.c.e., dea, et cetera. as well as participants from aig and other organizations in the u.s. government. so i think what you see in sort of a two-month panorama is really even as we focus at our front pages may focus intent on the security issue, all of us know that it is a much broader and deeper relationship that gets we hope a lot of attention all the time. as we look at merida right now it's a particularly good time to take a look at the initiative and how it's evolving and how security corporation is going. it's three years into the calderon presidency. it is three budget years, if you will, into the merida initiative, although congressman cuellar and i have of course had this conversation and we don't actually have all of that money yet. but we are deadly in our third year of programming of the merida initiative initiative funds and, of course, the obama administration has reviewed the

host: some of the other names that are part of this trip, robert gates, admiral mullen, homeland securitysecretary napolitano, dennis blair. what does such a large and high ranking contingent say to the people down there? mexico and mexico's leaders are frustrated, frankly, with the united states, and appreciated of the corporation. the frustration is the north for traffickers and a handful of these things which are becoming increasingly powerful are funded by u.s. money. the president of mexico on down keep on saying that the u.s. needs to do something from keeping that from happening. as much as $25 billion in cash comes across the border every year and that money goes straight into these crime rings. host: so what can the u.s. say about that kind of money? guest: they say they will increase controls on money laundering and finance. indeed, they have changed the way that cartels get money -- a wire transfers and the banking are much more difficult, so now they move more bulk cash. one thing that all the secretaries have been very firm on is that they are not going to decriminalize drugs

we do this currently with chairman mullen's experts in afghanistan and pakistan. >> i agree with generalenuart. i would probably add another part to that. as we were working to our experience in haiti -- that is to include an interagency part. it is not only the joint peace. it is understanding the other parts of our interagency, our counterparts there, that will have great benefit as we apply a whole government approach to many of the situations we are facing in the future. >> when we talked yesterday about dhs, the mexican border situation and what is unfolding their -- >> a final question, general renuart. since the strikes right at your legacy, talk a little bit about the relationship between the two commands to see at norad and u.s. northcom. why is it important to have a single commander? >> when the two commands were formed, there was clearly an opportunity there to create a transparent -- a transition between warning of threats that norad has traditionally provided to the operational defense of the homeland, whether it is misfile or maritime homeland defense, into consequence man

be with estonias, afghans, iraqis, and this is part of the shift that secretary gates and chairman mullendirected for the entire military force in becoming more attune to this advise and assist effort, whether it be in africa or afghanistan or iraq. i believe because of that there will be no lowered priority on something that has now considered an inherent part of the primary mission. >> can we assume that this model will be adapted into afghanistan also? that as we make progress in terms of reducing the capabilities of the taliban that we'll be able to put more of these type of units on the ground? >> sers, i'd go so far as to say the units we're sending ober there now into the area that admiral stavridis spoke about are completely capable on their own as combat units of partnering with the afghans. we are learn as the british prime minister put it, once we've exhausted alternatives we'll do the right thing. we've it right this time and are using the lessons learned to change the very makeup of the unit training. >> thank you, sir. general ward, can you describe the nature of the partner

i come back to admiral mullen.nk it's very important that our investments were making in our own security and own well-being. these are also investments we're making because they're the right thing to do and what we have the opportunity to save lives at 11 to $14 we can do vaccination or have the opportunity to treat hiv patients and keep societies from within their corporate active work force and falling into disarray in conflict. we are saving money in the long run and we are creating more stable in a more just world for us to participate in. and that is as president obama has said the responsibility of the superpower that has the capability to do this. we doubled our partners accountable and i think the united states agencies are national development and the american people should make sure that every dollar we spend is worth it and be very focused on that. but when we know we're generating results, these are some of the best investments we can make to protect ourselves and build a better future for the world. >

must be dealt with on its merits but as president obama, secretary clinton, secretary gates, admiral mullen and i have said repeatedly, there are many countries with security interests in what happens. and it's not an accident that when you have a country that is torn by the war which is relatively weak compared to a very powerful neighbors it trolls other countries in the. that's what happened in cambodia and a different way and it's happened and other parts of the world. part of a story. in afghanistan is surrounded by, when my system now that i don't just mean continuous neighbors, i mean countries in the region. russia still has an interest in the common border. india has a legitimate interest even though they don't have a border. iran and pakistan are the two lowest important countries with common borders. i just visited two of the others, uzbeckistan and tajikistan and i missed turkmenistan and only because logistics and i will go back. now, having said that i need to stress pakistan and india have historic relationships which people must respect. it is complicated. its origins go bac

i come back to admiral mullens' article and speech. these are investments we are making in our own security and well-being. these are also investments we are making because they are the right thing to do and when we have the opportunity to save lives as at $11 it $14 we can do in vaccination or have the opportunity to treat h.i.v. patients and keep societies from losing the core productive workforce and falling into disarray and conflict we are saving money in the long run and creating a more stable and just world to participate in. and that is as president obama has said the responsibility of a superpower that has the capability to do this. we need to hold partners accountable and i think the united states agency for international development and american people should make sure every dollar we spend is worth it and be focused on that. but when we know we are generating results, these are some of the best investments we can make to protect ourselves and build a better future. host: dr. rajiv shah thank you for coming on "washington jo

i come back to admiral mullens' article and speech. these are investments we are making in our own security and well-being. these are also investments we are making because they are the right thing to do and when we have the opportunity to save lives as at $11 it $14 we can do in vaccination or have the opportunity to treat h.i.v. patients and keep societies from losing the core productive workforce and falling into disarray and conflict we are saving money in the long run and creating a more stable and just world to participate in. and that is as president obama has said the responsibility of a superpower that has the capability to do this. we need to hold partners accountable and i think the united states agency for international development and american people should make sure every dollar we spend is worth it and be focused on that. but when we know we are generating ons for security, stability and well-being. this requires the effective use of fenster redds of the national security including development. and this requires relentle

clinton, the secretary of defense, robert gates, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, robert mullen. >> thank you very much. has president obama reiterated, that is one of the highest per these of the obama administration to pursue an agenda to reduce the threats posed by the deadliest weapons the world has ever known. president obama said the fourth in his speech in prague last year and today he and president medvedev reached an agreement to make significant and verifiable reductions in our nuclear arsenal. long after the end of the cold war, the u.s. and russia still possess more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons. we do not need such a large arsenals to protect our nation and our allies against the two greatest dangers we face today. nuclear proliferation and terrorism. this treaty represents a significant step forward in our cooperation with russia. we recommended to reset our relationship because we saw this as essential to making progress on counter-terrorism, nuclear security and non-proliferation. we will continue to have disagreements with our russian friends but this

the first has been, as i've mentioned, the action of mullen state terrorist commit the second is the action of rogue states or in the case of iraq aggressor states. and of the world community is going to mean anything in terms of our ability-here and our ability to live at peace, then we have to be prepared to take the international action. it is, of course, far better if all countries are united in the action that has got to be taken. it but it has the necessary to take action in situations where either through terrorism we are put at risk and our own country were through the aggressor states the region in this case in iraq the region iran and iraq is put at risk attwell. >> can i just come back to the specific question on iraq because mr. villere argued in the comments on the 18th of march, 2003, that there was a link between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, which constituted what he said was a fundamental assault on our way of life and that a threat of chaos from tyrannical regimes with wmd and extreme terrorist groups with the possibility of the two coming together, rep