p.j. crowley? >> i don't think we are obliged to build a nation. when you look at the facts that, yes, there's tremendous amount of corruption, very tribal. and then there's another issue that no one's really mentioning. you know, does the president have the clout and the respect of our enemies to actually make these words make a difference? will pakistan respect what the president wants to do here? you've seen iran push the envelope to the enth degree because they see us as weak and perceive the president -- >> i want to come back to this key pakistani issue in a minute. we're going to continue live coverage cnbc of the presidential address to the nation. we'll be back with our distinguished panel. i'm larry kudlow, stay with us right after the break. we'll be back. [ donovan ] i hit a wall. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomo

p.j. crowley. thank you so much for your time tonight. >> good evening, eliot. >> help me out here i have been reading these stories as they have been emerging. explain to me -- who is mr. chen and why is the entire world focused on him? is he that important? was he that fundamental of civil rights voice in china. >> well, you gave a pretty good synopsis of what he is trying to do what makes him unusual as an activist in china who has come to the attention and not positively so the chinese government is actually his instinct was to find a way to continue his activism while staying in china. the united states has a long history of -- of bringing activists from china, safe passage in asylum in the united states so this was potentially a revolutionary situation. unfortunately china has reverted back to form. they have been cracking down on dissidents for a number of years since the beijing olympics. they don't want to see a beijing spring, and it has been a very tough time for mr. chen and other activ

p.j. crowley.ou spoke for the state department, i believe, so effectively all these years and all those years. and i'm just wondering, what do we make of this guy, he does remind of somebody who has suddenly been scripted to talk like some kind of tough guy internationally. and i just wonder where it comes from. what's the genesis of this mitt romney tough guy? >> well, first of all, chris, as you know, there's a difference between campaigning and governing. and he's actually trying to create differences that may or may not exist. most of what he outlined, the obama administration has considered, is doing, or has considered and is rejected. on the subject, for example, of arming the opposition. well, the gulf states are already doing that, because syria is a proxy war, you know, with iran. but also, be careful what you wish for. you know, in the context of libya, for example, libya's awash with arms. and once the war has ended, now the new central government's having a tough time reining in, you kn

p.j. crowley. a lot going on there. we know that we have two cabinet level secretaries there to talk u.s. strategic china dialogue. in the middle of this i think many would call a human rights crisis. how do you think we've played our hand thus far? >> i think we have stood up for human rights and the secretary of state before arriving in beijing put down a very solid marker that this case, the chen case, was important to the united states. understand a couple of things. this is a broad important relationship between the united states and china, it's always going to be difficult and complex on a good day. then you throw something like this into the mix and it can have the potential for tensions although, up until today, it appeared the united states and china had worked constructively, intensely, to try to resolve this. go ahead. >> p.j., it sounds like someone is doubling back on the original agreement and/or the terms were not fully understood. chen guangcheng saying he felt he wife was going to be beaten to death if

p.j. crowley. he's a retired colonel that served 26 years in the air force. you. >> it's awful enough without knowing who did it. the state department emphasizing not that it was just militia but aided by iran. is that the most important part of this? >> it's one of two. the report highlighted the other which is where does russia go since syria is it's most significant remaining client state in the middle east. it's entry into influence in the region. >> in terms of the iranian involvement and the fact this may have been, we can't say for sure but signs and witnesses say it may have been carried out by government supported militia. does that change the fact they feel like they have to answer for this sort of thing? what are they sensitive to at this point? >> it allows them to hide the ball. syria has agreed to a six-point plan for the u.n. and arab league. by shifting from the military, which has carried much of the burden of firing on its own people now to the non-uniformed personnel, he's able to listen and say syria's reached a sipping point and not admit

p.j. crowley is the former assistant secretary of state and sophie richardson is the china director for humanrights watch. thank you so much for coming on. sophie, let me ask you, first of all, you first, size up the whole complicated situation right now, and then you get into the human rights part. let's learn something here. >> well, what hillary clinton's in china to do is something called the strategic and economic dialogue. it's the full range of issues between the united states and china. secretary of treasury, tim geithner, is there as well. so now human rights is a part of a very large and complex relationship between the united states and china. and you drop into the middle of this a very, very unique and tense -- >> how does she avoid either irritating them to the point of danger for an east/west conflict, we don't want to go to war with china, and at the same time, fight for human rights? >> she put down a marker before she went to china saying, this is a case that's important to us. and some very diligent work by diplomats both at the embassy and those who flew in for the snde, as

p.j. crowley. welcome back. let me begin with this comparison i've been hearing more since this slaughter many homs. is this beginning to resemble a bosnian-type situation where you have ethnic group versus ethnic group fighting for themselves? >> first, the international community struggled for a couple of years in 1992, '93, '94. it wasn't until the tragedy of srebrenica that there was a c catalizig effect that have brought people to the negotiating table and international forces to implement the peace agreement. is hula that kind of cat liezing moment? it may or may not be. >> the numbers are fuzzy. that's 7,000, 8,000, possibly 10,000 bosnian muslims back in july 199 5. is that what we're waiting for in syria? >> and you're right. unfortunately this is a tragedy that's unfolding a bit more in slow motion. i think what's pivotal here is if you compare syria to libya, there you had a clear call from the arab league for intervention and you had nations that were willing to take on the burden of that intersengs.

p.j. crowley on capitol hill.>shepard: osama bin laden, frustrated with the terror network he founded, or he was before he died, and he was not a fan of at least one major figure in his ranks according to files we found. and the college student who says he had to drink his own urine to survive at the feds locked him up in a cell for days and days and forgot he was there. and forgot he was there. he is suing. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. ♪ wer surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. between taking insulin, new v8testing my blood sugar. is this part of your life? freestyle lite test strips? why, are they any beep! wow, that hardly needs any blood! yeah. and the unique zipwik tab targets the blood and pulls it in. so easy. freestyle lite needs just a third the blood of onetouch

p.j. crowley said about the agreement.o you agree with the three goals that you think were identified in that? and how important is the strategic interest of that agreement for the united states? >> i think he, you know, clear lee has laid out a game plan to increase stability in afghanistan which is clearly in the interest of the united states to preclude it from becoming a base of operations for attack against nato or the u.s. secondly, it's to also tell the pakistanis that we are going to stay in the region. the pakistanis are constantly concerned we flit in and out the statement to pakistan that we are going to be there. >> that's important. >> why is that importantly? >> at the moment u.s.-pakistan relations are at a low ebb for a number of reasons for the violation of sovereignty when bin laden was taken out. >> this says what? >> we are going to be there and we want to also sustain and improve our relationship with them. they have major, many problems. they have large numbers of taliban in pakistan seeking to disrup

p.j. crowley.craig. >>> right now, astronauts on board the first-ever private spacecraft are unloading food, clothes and other supplies as well. earlier, crews opened the hatch between the "dragon" and the international space station. the capsule connected with iss yesterday. the "dragon" will remain there for a week before returning to earth. >>> to the best of "office politics" now, from author, filmmaker and war correspondent, sebastian to our very on rachel maddow, we talk war, we talk politics. but alex also goes inside their offices and shows us a side to them that you haven't seen. take a look. >> the president's the favorite for reelection, no matter what the state of the economy. i will say that until election day because he's a well-funded, talented, likable incumbent. >> what do you think are obama's strengths? >> well, i do think he's a big campaigner. i think he was a lot bigger in 2008 when he wasn't as well-known, when he represented a real outside force. i don't know that he's the m

p.j. crowley, thank you gentlemen, for joining me. i want to talk about the politics of this. let me play with william cohen, a former defense secretary, said to andrea mitchell. >> once he left the u.s. embassy, then power shifted immediately to the chinese government. and frankly, the united states is in no position to dictate what the terms of release will be for a chinese citizen, dissident or otherwise. >> do you agree with that, p.j.? >> well, secretary cohen is my former boss. i would phrase it a little bit differently. it is not about leverage. the united states negotiated in good faith with china based on the wishes that mr. chen expressed at the time. he was trying to do something very unique which is rather than be an activist who is forced into exile, he wanted to be an activist that continued to do his work inside china. much more powerful. and so the united states negotiated that basis. it thought it had a deal is that that deal is unraveling. as a result, mr. chen is changing his mind and may well be seeking to come to the united states. i think u.s. officials a

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