so what does tehran do? tehran funds hamas, which is causing untold heartbreak and bloodshed in the -- in gaza. number two, it funds hezbollah, funding untold terrorism activity in -- in -- north of israel, in lebanon, and number three, it's also working to develop nuclear weapons. we don't want iran to have nuclear weapons. and what has iran been doing while we have been -- over the last several years? they have had a record of denial and deception in developing nuclear weapons, in processing weapons grade uranium. they have also been developing the method for delivering nuclear weapons, the so-called shahab-3 ballistic missile. that's capable of striking israel, u.s. troops in zack and afghanistan, and even parts of -- in iraq and afghanistan, and even parts of europe. we don't want iran to continue to develop nuclear weapons. now, we have been down this road before and people say right, let's stop them. let's go to the u.n. hoohah for the u.n. well, we've done hoohah for the u.n. we have had over -- we ha

sanctions against tehran, they are trying to make that has targeted as possible. the want to target the leadership instead of the people. it is very difficult to carry out. that is the goal. that was a lesson learned from the failed iraq sanctions host: we are joined from redmond, ore.. caller: think you for taking my call. i was wondering if the gentleman could please address iran's hard tower in regards to brazil, turkey, bahrain, yemen, sunoco se --n senegal, and i could go on. they have an incredible uranium supply being placed on rivers that ave ports to go to the atlantic. i would also be interested in having him go in a little more detail between the relationship of a russia and china in regards to miron. -- in regards to iran. by the green party and has been so ignored by this administration because that is why we're going to get change. host: can you define mean between soft and hard hours? caller: we use soft ppwer in order not to have to use are hard power. they use soft power in tandem with heart host: power. thaak you for the call -- in tandem with ha

a high-level delegation sited tehran in june 2008 with a letter signed by the minister including theamerican secretary of state at the time. meetings took place with iranians, military correspondents, direct and indirect contact, multilateral and bilateral. no effort was scared. the offers did not lead to any conclusion as a result of the refusal to engage in negotiations and for six months now iran has refusedto meet the european union representative. leedy ashton despite the commitment ndertaken last october. it is in this country my country welcomes with a sense of credit to the turkish and brazillian initiative on the tirana research reactor as a confidence-building measure. my authorities indicated the highest level we welcome the commitment of the eminent leaders and cherish the hope. we note however that iran has already spurred no effort to avoid the substance of the agreement by continuing its enrichment to 20% and reaffirming its continuing to do so which reduces the main purpose of the agreement and then by playing for time to ensure but a fraction of the stock of iranian,

ultimately the choices lie with the regime in tehran. but it should be clear that we are doing all we can to impose on iran the highest possible cost for its defines that we are demonstrating by our actions and by our efforts, the depths of our commitment to peacefully ending iran's nuclear activities. we are try diplomacy, we are trying unilateral sanctions, we are trying multilateral sanctions, we are trying our utmost to make conflict inevitable. but there should be no question about the absolute determination of the united states to prevent iran from acquiring the capability to produce nuclear weapons. iran's illicit nuclear activities and programs must stop. above all other considerations, above all other costs, without any doubt or with uncertainty, iran's nuclear program must be stopped. it must be stopped and we begin that today. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm so pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from indiana,

could give to the tehran declaration -- it may have harmed her efforts to get the brazilians or turks to at least abstain. i know i raised this before, but i wanted to give you an opportunity to address --an opportunity again to address why -- a, why it was that the u.s. government decided to announce it had agreement on that tuesday. and why not give a little bit more time for the diplomatic strain to play out? and, b, why the secretary -- whether you see any merit -- the notion that the secretary talking about the announcement being a response to the tehran declaration didn't perhaps hurt diplomatic efforts to keep the turks and brazilians with you on the resolution. >> well, let me work backward to frontward. you know, first of all, in terms of the decision why brazil and turkey decided to vote no in the council this week, that is something for brazil and turkey to explain. why did we announce that tuesday that we had reached agreement with the p-5-plus-1? because we'd reached agreement with the p-5- plus-1 in advance of the resolution process. it is perfectly reflective of our dua

those in power in tehran practice torture, flogging, rape, am pew contiguous, and murder. the regime -- amputation, and murder. the regime conducts official discrimination against women, baha'is, christian jews, and many others. all seven members of the national baha'i leadership in iran remain in prison where they have been held unjustly for two years and on trial for trumped up charges that potentially carry the death penalty. gay people are hanged from cranes. even as their very existence in iran is denied by ahmadinejad. since the sham elections using the term loosely, one year ago, the regime has intensified ts repression, increasing restrictions on the freedom of religion, expression, association, assembly, and the press. what is left? thousands of protesters, dissidents, journalists have been arbitrarily detained or killed with innocent people shot on the street and the stalinesque show trials continue. even iranians who succeed in fleeing their country are reportedly still in danger as agents of the iranian regime threaten them with death if they continue to speak

nuclear weapons and i look forward to further diplomatic and unilateral initiatives to convince tehran that the cost of continuing on this reckless path are greater than in the perceived benefit. hezbollah, the militia political party created in lebanon, has rearmed in the aftermath of the 2006 war with israel. its arsenal of short-range missiles has reportey been augmented by long-range scuds which can reach targets throughout israel. the scuds, believed to be supplied by syria, augment hezbollah's existing stockpile of up to 40,000 rockets stored in underground bunkers in southern lebanon. turkey, which had been israel's strongest muslim majority ally and important mediator between jerusalem and arab capitals, has in recent months become hostile to israel. in addition to hosting the organizers of the gazflotilla, turkey has said it would reduce military and trade ties and put off discussions of energy products -- projects includin natural g and freshwater shipments. last year the prime minister accused israel of being a greater violator of human rights than the sudan and today turkey

it also said moscow will keep a commitment to deliver surface- to-air missiles to tehran. u.s. attorney general eric holder promised a thorough investigation today, in a border shooting that's raised tensions with mexico. a 15-year-old mexican boy was killed monday night by a u.s. border patrol agent. it happened at a bridge that connects juarez to el paso, texas. there've been reports that mexican and u.s. authorities drew guns on each other after the shooting, but holder emphasized cooperation today. >> the incident that we talked about is certainly a regrettable one. one that we are looking into, but i think the relationship that exists between law enforcement in mexico and in the united states is a good one and is based on a series of solid accomplishments, the sharing of intelligence and information and our general working together. >> sreenivasan: u.s. and mexican authorities have traded accusations about the circumstances surrounding the shooting. it came less than two weeks after a mexican man died in california, after a u.s. border agent used a stun gun on him. the u.s

near doubling of the number of companies and individuals blacklifted for doing illegal business with tehran. that last will focus on iran's revolutionary guard, the elite military force that plays a central role in supplying safeguarding the iranian nuclear program. turkey and brazil voted against sanctions. they negotiated a deal last month to ship low-enriched uranium out of iran in exchange for medical reactor fuel. both countries criticized today's action. >> the concerns regarding the nuclear program raise today will not be resolved until dialogue begins by adopting sanctions. this council is actually opting for one of the two traction that were supposed to run in parallel. in our opinion, the wrong one. >> suarez: the u.s. and others dismissed the fuel swap with brazil and turkey because iran would be allowed to keep enough material for a nuclear weapon and continue enriching uraniumed. in washington, president obama spoke after the u.n. vote. he said this day was not inevitable. >> we know the iranian government will not change its behavior overnight, but today's vote demonstrates th

ultimately the choices lie with the regime in tehran. but it should be clear that we are doing all we can to impose on iran the highest possible cost for its defines that we are demonstrating by our actions and by our efforts, the depths of our commitment to peacefully ending iran's nuclear activities. we are try diplomacy, we are trying unilateral sanctions, we are trying multilateral sanctions, we are trying our utmost to make conflict inevitable. but there should be no question about the absolute determination of the united states to prevent iran from acquiring the capability to produce nuclear weapons. iran's illicit nuclear activities and programs must stop. above all other considerations, above all other costs, without any doubt or with uncertainty, iran's nuclear program must be stopped. it must be stopped and we begin that today. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm so pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from indiana,

when i was there, it used to frustrate me because a lot of journalists would go to north tehran, where the westernized, educattd elite live, and would write stories about how all the young people want to drink alcohol and come westernized. that is a minor part of the population. have never quite understood, when journalists go there, they want to project onto this country their own western values. that is why the coverage is, to some degree, the way it is. a last comment in response to that question. the iranian government asked the public last year -- it was not only very successful in keeping information out, coming from outside, but also from getting from the inside out. i was just in beirut and met with a group of financial reporters who used to be stationed in tehran who were taken out. they had been there for years. they could not move around. they did not have the access. the idea that you can do that in this day and age is a question. similarly, iran has been very effective in gem in satellite broadcasting to the country, despite being a signatory to international conventions t

dove attali gave the secretary some background in terms of what happened in tehran. the secretary went through our outstanding concerns regarding iran's behavior. obviously, made more compelling by the most recent iaea report that highlights the fact that iran is hiding equipment, failing to cooperate fully with the iaea, a continuing investment activity, and the secretary again made the compelling case that we have two tracks, but our judgment is that iran will not move appreciably unless it is subject to additional international pressure. >> [inaudible] >> turkey will make its own judgment. our work is continuing on the various elements of the resolution, including work on the annexes, and we expect this work to be done in the next few days. >> it was very clear in the conversation that the foreign minister was having with reporters today that they see no reason to support sanctions at this time, that the deal is broken, that he feels the p5 +1 should take. it sounded clear that if you were to go forward in the next few days that you would get a no vote from turkey

any comments from tehran? >> inspector should be free to report on what they received during the course of their duties. it is worrisome that iran has taken the step which is symptomatic of its longstanding practice of intimidating inspectors in which iran has engaged. we do seek cooperation with the iaea. in only deepens the world concern about their nuclear program. we remain focused on bearish -- of implementing and enforcing the sanctions homemaking -- we remain focused on enforcing and implementing the sanctions. this will not in gender or encourage the international community to believe that iran's program is friendly and nature. >> [unintelligible] >> i am sure we do. i do not have it here. >> [unintelligible] >> i do not know. >> the family of the american who was out looking for bin laaen in pakistan reports that he is not returning their phone calls. i do not know if there were over the weekend early last night, do you have any comments? >> we have been in regular contact with the family and we have

so while the joint the correlation in tehran -- declaration in tehran may technically to fill what had been a proposal by an october 1, we don't think that fundamentally addresses the larger concerns about iran's noncompliance with its international obligations. turkey understands that. brazil understand that. and when this is put for a vote, turkey, brazil, and other countries will have to judge how to proceed. >> can i go back to the human- rights council? >> yes. >> you said there was a rush to judgment. it did not agree with the initial finding. i am wondering what you make of the fact that only the dutch and the italians voted against what this with you, and that some of your closest allies including the french, belgian, the japanese, the brits, and the south koreans abstained. >> we understand that. one of the reasons why we joined the human rights council was that we hope that over time it would take a more balanced and appropriate response to urgent situation. >> right. >> as our statement indicated, we believe that this particular resolution is a rush to judgment. it risks fur

i think at the broadest level, you still have a broad divide manifest itself in tehran. i did not think you would see any activity between the taliban and al qaeda. there is a marriage -- sometimes the enemy of your enemy becomes your friend. these guys are not friends. i don't think there is any cooperation between them. sometimes the iranians might look at afghanistan and they might say that they want the americans out of there. we are on both the western and eastern borders of iran. we would be going nuts if they were in canada. look at the way they think about al qaeda. i did not think they are interested in dealing with them. i think they look at lower level activity and say, they are bleeding our enemy. they did arrest a leadership council in spring of 2003. i think the story is a little bit fuzzy. they are bleeding the enemy. >> please identify yourself. >> suzanne spaulding. thank you. that was outstanding. >> thank you. >> i want to ask about the domestic threat. whether ec these smaller-scale of times as the -- whether you see these smaller-scale attempts as th

other oint i made was that hezbollah is not just a proxy for foreign governments in damascus and tehran. entity. as such, it makes sense for us to engage them. not to compromise with them. not to cut deals with them. simply to engage them. yourot -- you don't affect them. i learned that in iraq. you haae to be in thh game. you have to be engaged. that is how you mess with the minds of people who are unfriennly to a spirit i would like to get on with that with hezbollah. >-- and friendly to us. -- and friendly -- unfriendly to us. i would like to get on with that witt hezbollah. the fighting demonstrated clearly to all of us the capabilities that hezbollah has as a military ntity. since then, by all accounts, they have rearmed, restocked, and are perhaps even morr formidable than they were. host: the ambasssdor is with us until 11:00 eastern for your teleppone calls. the topic is iraq, afghanistan, and the middle east. ambassador, you served as ambassador to iraq. this morning, the headlines are on more insurgent terrorist attacks in baghdad, coordinated attacks which killed dozens. we a

lam, thank you for your tehran -- for your testimony. i want to ask you a specific question about the state department capability. i appreciate the current policy decisions and some of the batons that you're being handed, very important batons, related to security. of the four view, how many of you saw or heard about academy award winning movie "her walker ?" 55. -- "hurt locker." five for five. when i was describing it to someone, it looked like the vehicle involved with the army management, they look like oversized motor homes with intent of bringing all over them. when we were coming back or writing, and there was some environmental dustup of activity and we could not get the easy ride, the helicopter. we got into a few enwraps -- mraps, but we stop for a while on a major road, because there was a ied traffic. there were three of these very large vehicles, one blocking, one in back up, and one with soldiers doing what they do to assure the safety of soldiers. and the people like us, civilians. and iraqis. we waited an hour and a compl

and some of his quotes, he said, here at the conference in tehran the world without zionism, ahmadinejad stated, god willing, with the force of god behind it, we should experience a world without the united states and without zionism. "new york times" also said -- quoted him as saying this occupying regime, israel, is to be wiped off the map. it's one thing when some little punk with no republicry says i'm going to kick your rear end, it's another when a nation has enough enriched uranium to make two nuclear weapons and says i'm going to wipe you off the face of the earth and no longer exist when we're done and continues to make nuclear material to do that. i really thought that this nation would be a bit like the roman empire, not that we are an empire that's why they speak french in france and german in germany and japanese in japan. we fight for liberty wherever it needs to be fought for. but this is a nation that are all of a sudden, after 9/11, we realized we may not take decades and decades and decades to meet our end because we know every nation eventually ends. i wouldn't stay in

unfortunately, tehran has moved on, has continued to enrich uranium and the deal struck eight months ago is no longer valid today and the iaea report affirms that posture. host: wendy sherman worked at the state department. her area of expertise among other focuses is north korea. she is a graduate -- attended smith college, and finished at boston university. this is a message with the question -- guest: i think they're quite different situations. the cuban blockade happened at a different point in history. our cuban politics of very complicated because they are emotional, have strong domestic constituencies here in the u.s. who believe that our embargo of cuba is essential to take down the castro government. during the clinton administration we tried to allow more humanitarian business, more remittances to go back, to allow people to go and visit were steady in an effort to help the cuban people understand there was a wider world. that everything caster was telling them was not true. the bush administration closed that capability. president obama tried to open it more, but right now

but the broadest level, you still have a broad cine hatred of the shi'a regime in tehran. before 9/11, i don't think he would seek any kind of activity between al qaeda and taliban. he had the iranians closer to the northern ally as before 9/11. sometimes the enemy of your enemy becomes your friend. i do not think that there is any operational cooperation between them. i think sometimes that the iranians might look at afghanistan and say, the americans can get bled by them because we want the americans to be out of here. it where iran and mexico and canada, i think we would be done. but looking at the way to think about al qaeda, i don't think they like them. i don't think they're that interested in dealing with them. i think they look a lower level activity and say, they are bleeding our enemy. we do not like them, they did arrest the leadership council in the spring of 2003, but i think the story is fuzzy when you go further down and when you have are ron saying, they are still bleeding the enemy. >> please identify yourself. >> that was really outstanding. i want ask mo

so while the trr -- the joint declaration in tehran may technically fulfill what had been the proposalack on october 1st, we don't think that it fundamentally addresses the larger concerns about iran's noncompliance with its international obligations. turkey understands that. brazil understands that. and when this is put to a vote, turkey, brazil, other countries will have to judge how to proceed. >> can i go back to the human rights council, though, for a second? >> yeah. >> you said there was a rush to judgment. it didn't agree with the initial findings. i'm wondering, in light of that, what you make of the fact that only the dutch and the italians voted against this with you, and that some of your closest allies, including the french, the belgians, the japanese, the brits, and the south koreans abstained. >> well, i mean, we understand that. one of the reasons why we joined the human rights council was that we hope that over time that it would take a more balanced and appropriate response to urgent situations. >> right. >> and as our statement indicated, we believe that this particu

i was in the marine corps back when carter sent us into the indian ocean for the first time, when tehran had our hostages. we were with the nimitz when they launched the rescue -- attempt that failed. i was in the army during reagan and bush. i did not think we will be able to get out and afghanistan unless we allow sanctuaries. it will not be about the money because we spend money on much bigger things that are wasted. and it won't be the lives lost. 4000. we lost more in shiloh. host: when you say sanctuaries, what you mean? caller: copps and firemen, there -- like cops and firemen, there are not parts of the world -- city that they don't police. if we let them go back and do what they have been doing, they will be a sanctuary. people can plot and do what they want pretty much free of normal civilization. if we allow that -- i know the russians try and they were certainly motivated and have logistical advantages that we don't -- they can just drive across the border. where they failed is their country had to turn inward. they might have had some motives that were proper in taming the a

that is represented in this un security council draftso while the trr -- the joint declaration in tehran may technically -pfulfill what had been the proposal back on october 1st, we don't think that it fundamentally addresses the larger concerns about iran's noncompliance with its international obligations. turkey understands that. brazil understands that. and when this is put to a vote, turkey, brazil, other countries will have to judge how to proceed. >> can i go back to the human rights council, though, for a second? >> yeah. >> you said there was a rush to judgment. it didn't agree with the initial findings. i'm wondering, in light of that, what you make of the fact that only the dutch and the italians voted against this with you, and that some of your closest allies, including the french, the belgians, the japanese, the brits, and the south koreans abstained. >> well, i mean, we understand that. one of the reasons why we joined the human rights council was that we hope that over time that it would take a more balanced and appropriate response to urgent situations. >> right. >> and a

but going back to the resolution, whereas on october 26, 2005, at a conference in tehran called world without zionism, iranian president ahmadinejad, stated, quote, guide willing, with the force of god behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the united states and zionism, unquote, whereas "the new york times" reported that during his october 26, 2005, speech, president ahmadinejad called for, quote, this occupying regime, israel, to be wiped off the map, unquote. whereas on april 14, 2006, iranian president ahmadinejad said, quote, like it or not, the zionist regime, israel, is headed -- heading toward annihilation, unquote. whereas on june 2, 2008, iranian president ahmadinejad said, quote, i must announce that the zionist regime, israel, with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal, is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene, quoint. -- unquote. whereas on june 2, 2008, iranian president ahmadinejad said, quote, today the time for the fall of the satanic power of the united states has come. and the countdown to annihilation o

our students in tehran with declining attendance and yet we managed to graduate over 80% and many ofem have post secondary placement. -- our students attencome in wih declining attendance. there are students to keep track of other students and they look after them. every day, they check and see if if they are and school. it can be tough sometimes but sarcasm does not work. the teachers can maybe to a handful of kids but they cannot do hundreds. finally you add on social workers because there is a high rate of kids where -- is so strong. if a student is staying home to get their insulin shot, until we see that, no ranking will get that kid to school. tte real answer to all of this is the teacher team. the answer is not structural change or getting high-quality teachers, it is the team of four teachers working with 75 kids who were then supported by good instructional material. that should be the fundamental unit that we build everything up from. to bring this to scale, we need to think about that now, not just simply to but how. -- who but how. i have seen charter schools that have be

was really about tehran, brazil, turkey deal.also the fact because they're both coming up in u.n. security council and the turk are probably going to vote against the sanctions. and for the united states, i don't want to go in to what really happened in terms of who's right and who's wrong in terms of the brazil turkey toronto, but it is probable, anger with u.s. administration, turkey's efforts and especially upcoming vote. so in this mood and in this, if the turks vote no now or managed to scuttle one what or the other, t whole vote at u.n. security council, the damage to u.s. turkish relations is going to be long lasting. by that i mean, and in some ways it may actually be lack of better word, good. in what way? at me, i think we also need to change our policy. we have always been, because we have always tried to satisfy them and all the issues whether pp k., armenian quest, cyprus. we've gone out of the way even though they don't miss a thing a to be that w, we have diverging interest. we have common interest i think we shoul

the other point i made was hezbollah is not just a proxy for foreign governments in damascus and tehran. they are a uniquely lebanese entity. as such, it makes sense for us to engage them. we do not wishhto compromise with them or cut deals, but we need to engage them. you do not affect your adversary if you do not talk to them. i learned that in iraqq you need to be in the game, engaged, and that is the way you mess with the minds of people i wwuld like to get on with that with hezbollah. host: two years out of the bush3 concerns of the hezbollah have gotten worse or better since he left? guest: since then, by all accounts, they have rearmed, restocked, and perhaps our her an even more formidable partner than they were then. -phost: ryan crocker is with us for your calls. the topic is iraq, iran, and afghanistan. the numbers are on yyur screen. we will get to calls in a moment. ambassador, you served as an ambassador to iraq. this morning, headlines are on more in certain terrorist attacks in baghdad coordinated that have killed cousins. we asked john negroponte how he viewed this earl