peter pham of the africa center at the atlantic council in washington, d.c. and emeera woods, co-director of foreign policy in focus at the institute for policy studies. let's start with you. before we get to the french intervention, i want you to help people understand the context here a bit. what makes mali important and what has made it so volatile? >> well, ma'amy is a country on the wt coast of africa that is really at the epicenter. it is on the sahara, the brink of the sahara and sub saharan africa. it is a country rich in resources from gold to uranium, vital minerals in mali. there are also explorations of oil, particularly in northern mali. so it is a country that is rich in resources, that has actually been really the center of a democratic process for quite some time. we have to remember it is mallian women and students that back in the 1990s let out a dictator and ushered in a democratic process that has helped since the 1990s. we have to also recognize the history of mali. remember timbuktu the ancient center of learning for islam. the oldest un

peter pham, you've heard lynn lindsey hilsum talk about france kicking the hornet's nest.you agree that the action in algeria signa a regionalization of this conflict? that it's a very different thing now? >> very much so. although it's been a regional challenge for some time-- except our attention wasn't focused upon it. but to remind us al qaeda in the islamic maghreb certainly staged this. i think they had several goals in mind. servely if they had been successful, grab a few more hostages, they're already holding half a dozen french hostages to add to the number they could use and leverage. but what's interesting is what they didn't do. they didn't bw up that gas installation. that was reminder to the algerian government that we can strike, we didn't choose to do so but next time we could hit the vital oil and natural gas facilities which supply, by the way, one-fifth of europe's energy needs. so there are serious implications that could come out of this. >> suarez: you've got a nato partner in france fighting against a guerrilla army in mali. it's not an easy task, is

peter pham you've heard lynn lindsey hilsum talk about france kicking the hornet's nest.u agree that the action in algeria signals a regionalization of this conflict? that it's a very different thing now? >> very much so. although it's been a regional challenge for some time-- except our attention wasn't focused upon it. but to remind us al qaeda in the islamic maghreb certainly staged this. i think they had several goals in mind. servely if they had been successful, grab a few more hostages they're already holding half a dozen french hostages to add to the number they could use and leverage. but what's interesting is what they didn't do. they didn't blow up that gas installation. that was reminder to the algerian government that we can strike, we didn't choose to do so but next time we could hit the vital oil and natural gas facilities which supply by the way one-fifth of europe's energy needs. so there are serious implications that could come out of this. >> suarez: you've got a nato partner in france fighting against a guerrilla army in mali. it's not an easy task is i

peter pham is with the atlantic council.hanks for coming this morning to talk about al qaeda in africa. here is the front page of cq weekly -- is africa the next front in a war on terror? guest: it is certainly going to be a significant front, much more significant than perhaps we have given it credit for being in recent years. we have until very recently until last weekend, northern mali was the largest territory controlled by an al qaeda- affiliated group anywhere in the world, an area roughly the size of texas. we also have active islamist extremists groups not only there in that region of africa but in somalia, the horn of africa, as well as in northern nigeria where the boko haram extremists have been carrying out a campaign of violence that have left thousands dead in the last few years alone. host: how close is it tied to what americans think of as al qaeda and coming from places like afghanistan, pakistan? guest: the group in northern mali, it is making the news these days, is very closely tied. al qaeda and islamic

. >> rose: and for analysis of algeria and mali we turn to max boot, jennifer cook, and peter pham. >> the ramification of what happened in algeria and the strikegain the gas installation there and the hostages being taken there really opens this up and internationalizes it with a number of year mean citizens taking u.s. citizens and japanese as well. so the events of this last week, the french incursion, the islamists move south and the taking of the gas installation in algeria really puts a whole dramatic new spin on this and adds momentum to the whole problem. >> rose: we conclude this evening with jeff bridges the actor and bernie glassman, their new book is called "the dude and the zen master" >> well, one day bernie says to me, by the way, you know that in the buddhist circles the dude is considered a zen master. i said what are you talking about, man. he said oh yeah. i said come on, you know. you know, the cohen brothers never mentioned anything about you know, any kind of spirituality or zen or anything. and he says there you go, the-- . >> rose:lgeria, mali, the dude and the

our guests also included jay peter pham of the atlantic council will discuss the influence of terroristups in north africa. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> several live events to tell you about. a senate health subcommittee, we will hear from health professionals about a doctor shortage. that is here on c-span at 10:00 a.m. eastern. also at 10:00 on c-span 3, the american enterprise institute examines how the film "zero dark thirty" displays enhanced interrogation by the cia. panelists include former intelligence officials who participated in the hunt for osama bin laden, including retired general michael keaton. -- hayden. ♪ >> if we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those forces which are bringing about this suffering. >> the white house is a bully pulpit, and you ought to take advantage of it. >> obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis. >> i had little antennas that pointed up and told me when somebody had their own agenda. >> there is a much influence in the office. it would be a shame to

our guests also include jay peter pham with the terrorist groups in north africa.washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> general stanley mcchrystal controlled operations in afghanistan from 2009 until his resignation in 2010. following a "rolling stone" article in which his staff was critical of the obama administration. on monday, the retired four-star general was at the brookings institution to discuss the iraq and afghanistan wars. this is an hour and a half. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to brookings. thank you very much for coming out on this particular day. although it's an unusual thing to have general stanley mcchrystal here today. i'm one of the members of the 21st century center for security and tense. we are hosting this event with bruce rydell who runs the intelligence project within our center and today's topic, as you know, is general mcchrystal's experience, particularly at the joint special operations command where for five years he essentially lived in iraq most of the time and built up an organization, that it