it's one of our leading military commanders including general petraeus and ray odierno. both have stated the release of the images could endanger the lives of u.s. soldiers. and make our counterinsurgency efforts in iraq and afghanistan more difficult. that's why i commend the leadership demonstrated by senators lieberman and graham, beth of whom have steadfastly demanded this crucial provision be addressed now by congress. the efforts culminated in the passage by unanimous consent of stand-alone legislation to help prevent the release of the damaging images. so there's other troubling aspects of detainee policy included in this supplemental bill. provisions in this bill attempt to address detainee policy in a piecemeal way that fails to constitute a comprehensive plan for what to do with detainees at guantanamo and those suspects capture off the battlefield and afghanistan and does not include $80 million requested by president obama to close guantanamo. this is a serious rebuke by congress. and reflects a bipartisan backlash against the idea of announcing a date for gu

a think you saw officials that were on the cnn just this week speaking in the form of ray odierno, our commander on the ground. without getting into the semantics of that part of it, the president will discuss this as an important step forward in this process. today, we're handing responsibility to the iraqis for an increased level of their security situation as well as the responsibility that is clearly going to come with needing to continue to work on an assault our political reconciliation problems. as we get closer to september of next year for the drawdown of our combat troops and the end of 2011 for the later stages of the sofa agreement. i think the president will talk about why it is an important step and why we have to remain vigilant in monitoring the situation and working with the generals and working with all of those involved for political reconciliation. the reason we're at this point is because of the contributions of our men and women in uniform. >> on that point, does the white house believes the u.s. has won the war in iraq, or has been put in position to win the war?

at 8:00, general ray odierno breech reporters on the latest military operations in iraq, including the withdrawal of u.s. troops and iraq -- from baghdad. we will have that press conference for you here on c- span at 8:00 eastern time. then, book tv. harry stein and his book "@ six and other liabilities." -- fought"ethics and other liabilities. quote we're live from mount vernon estate with historian and author john ferling. join our three-hour conversation, sunday. it is part of our 3 day holiday weekend on book tv. >> how c-span funded? >> publicly funded. >> donations, maybe. i have no idea. >> the government? >> seize ban gets its funding through the taxes. >> public funding? >> may be. i do not know. >> 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span. no government mandate, no government money. >> today is the deadline for most u.s. troops to begin withdrawing from cities in iraq. we will watch as much as we can of this morning's washington journal. we will have live coverage of al franken after. you have written a report that " general david petraeus that asks how this wil

at 8:00 eastern, general ray odierno briefs reporters on the latest military operations in that country, including the withdrawal of u.s. troops from baghdad and other huge rural areas. we will have that in its entirety at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the winter of minnesota's said erase is expected to speak shortly. this is a live picture outside mr. franken's home in minneapolis. it comes after his republican challenger conceded the race just a short time ago. here is part of that statement. >> i just had a conversation with al franken, congratulating him on his victory. i told them that is the best job he will ever have, representing the people of minnesota. the supreme court of minnesota has spoken. i respect its decision, and i will abide by its results. it will move forward. i congratulate our newest united states senator, al franken. just a few words about my legal challenge. yes, i wanted to win. not just myself and my supporters, but so many have worked so hard and put some much into this effort. and for the values i have always fought for. i also thought was important to stand up for vo

applause] [applause] >> we will show you today's briefing with the general rate or dionne now -- ray odierno. we will have that press conference for you at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> how is c-span funded? >> publicly funded. >> donations? i have no idea. >> government? >> it gets funding through taxes. >> a public funding thing. >> i do not know. >> 30 years ago, america's cable companies greeted c-span as a public service. a private business initiatives. no government mandate. no government money. >> now an event with navy operations chief at role gary roughhead. his remarks last an hour. this is hosted by ogilvy public relations in washington. [applause] >> thanks. it is a pleasure to be here with you today. i really look forward to getting to your questions and for me, and some recent events, to include this session up in newport, our current strategy form that was referred to. little did i know that my in sufficient public affairs officer would have me in front of a pr firm two weeks after i said that. one could think that the things that we have and what we do globally would b

in is when a leading military commanders including generals david petraeus and ray odierno.h of these distinguished military leaders have stated that the release of these images could endanger the lives of u.s. soldiers and make our counterinsurgency efforts in iraq and afghanistan are difficult. that's why i commend the leadership demonstrated by senators lieberman and gramm both of whom have steadfastly demanded that this crucial provision be addressed now by the congress. their efforts culminated in the passage by unanimous consent of stand-alone legislation that will help prevent release of these damaging images. so there is other troubling aspects of detainee policy included in the supplemental bill from the provisions in this bill attempts to address the detainee policy in a piecemeal without pills to constitute a compress a plan for what to do with the detainees at guantanamo and those terrorist suspects captured off the battlefield in afghanistan, doesn't include any million dollars or press and by president of, to close guantanamo. this is a serious review by congre

i would say to the gentleman, commander ray odierno, commander of the multinational forces in iraq, someone i'm sure the gentleman has had the occasion to meet, and i as well, who we know is a well respected and serious leader of our troops. he said, just a few weeks ago, i strongly believe the release of these photos will endanger the lives of u.s. soldiers, airmen, marines, sailor, and civilians as well as the lives of our iraqi partners. certain operating units are at particular risk of harm from release of the photos. and he went on to describe those particular risks that are specific. the gentleman, i think, can agree with me, it is not in the interest of securing the safety of our troops for us to remain silent or for us not to take congressional action, ensuring that nothing occurs for us to possibly harm our troops in this bill. that is why i ask the gentleman again, how have we sat here and delayed consideration of the bill because now we had to ensure inclusion in the bill, the stripping of the provision which provides the safety of our troops. i yield to the gentleman. mr. hoyer:

forces handover security operations in iraqi cities today, general ray odierno, commander of multinational forces and iraq, will brief reporters. live coverage right after "washington journal." on c-span2 at 10:00 the focus is iran and the nuclear program particularly after the contested presidential election. live discussion from the hertz is foundation at 10:00. another view from the wilson center later today, 12:30 p.m. eastern, what is next. that discussion live on c-span. this holiday weekend on "book tv, " discover the unfamiliar side of the nation's first president as we are live from george washington's mount vernon estate with a historian and author john ferling. join our three-hour conversation sunday. part of our three-day holiday weekend starting friday morning on c-span2's "book tv." >> "washington journal" continues. host: but judge reggie walton, chair of the present rate commission and served as a sitting judge in washington, d.c. one statistic -- 60,500, the number of reported cases of sexual abuse within a 12-month period which became part of this study. can you elaborate

. >> i'm a great believer in ray odierno, and what he says concerns me that, you know, there still is a can'ting problem. he, obviously, is doing what needs to be done in terms of keeping the u.s. commitment to get out of the cities, but it would look like, one might speculate, that the insurgents are waiting and as soon as they get an opportunity, they'll begin to launch more attacks. i hope that's not the case. i hope, certainly, that the iraqis can deal with it. at some point they've got to stand on their own, but i would not want to see us waste all the tremendous sacrifice that's gotten us to this point. >> the comments of former vice president dick cheney which is the subject of this morning's front page story in the washington times, and you can hear more at washington times.com. let's get to some of your phone calls. first up is a caller from alabama, good morning. welcome to the washington journal. >> caller: good morning. >> host: you're calling from lake martin? >> caller: yes, i am. >> host: and your reaction. >> caller: i just got off the phone with my son who was in iraq