i would not call myself an opponent of the iraq war. it certainly was something that one over the book. -- that loomed over the composition of this book. i would not call myself an opponent of the iraq war. i was never big fan of the rationale that george bush had it -- had for it. i would say that i supported it on a different rationale. which makes it -- which is one reason i have been surprised to see this book described as an expression of support for american foreign policy because i think having read the book, and perhaps the people that lead to that conclusion, you do not see that in there. i think it affected the way this book was written. i tend not to the a partisan, political writer. he would not be my inclination to give europeans all lecture on what they have to do. -- it would not be my inclination to give europeans a lecture on what they have to do. i am describing a situation. i am not writing a policy brief to europeans. i think the fact that most of my conversations that i had with muslim immigrants and european politic

i would not call myself an opponent of the iraq war. t certainly was something that one over the book. what would not call myself an apartment -- an opponent of the rock were, -- of the iraq war, i would say that i supported it on a different rationale. which makes it -- which is one reason i have been surprised to see this book described as an expression of support for american foreign policy because i think having read the book, and perhaps the people that lead to the executithat conclusion, t see that in there. i think it affected the way this book was written to ri. i tend not to the eight paulsa , political writer. i am describing a situation. i am not writing a policy brief to europeans. i think the fact that most of my conversations that i had with muslim immigrants and european politicians and academic experts on this sort of thing, since most of those conversations were in the context of the iraq war, during which europeans were reluctant to take any advice from americans, it might have further dampened my desire to sound like m

the subject of the war come up in italy's restaurants and cafes? is this something they feel very strongly about compared to the iraq war? >> the iraq war was very much present in everyday life of the italians. afghanistan is more remote and has not been much discussion on the street level. although now when you have five bodies coming back, it's going to be huge. tomorrow's newspapers will be full with stories like six, seven pages, just devoted to afghanistan. >> right. and president obama's apparent determination to push ahead with the mission in afghanistan, how is that affecting how italians, the italian government sees him, his administration? >> italians love president obama. and i don't think that the insistence of going on with the war in afghanistan is going to affect the view that italians have of the administration. >> but if the president said that his european allies should commit more troops to the effort in afghanistan, would the italians send more forces? >> that would be a very difficult decision for prime minister berlusconi. >> what do you think would be palatable for the italians? would it be a few hu

the afghanistan war. >> and was that a ploy? or is that your belief? >> true belief. but i think the left in general had a position which was iraqghanistan was the right war. they're the ones who hit us. al qaeda hit us, sheltered by the taliban, we've got to resource properly what we do in afghanistan. here he is as president biting off a huge task of counterinsurgency and nation building where we don't have a strong central government that isn't corrupt. it makes it longer -- >> this is the part of politics i don't like in war. the president's like nixon and i hold this against nixon, not only the bed, dirty tricks, i heard about that in politics. but keeping us in a war that was pretty clear we were going to lose by after '68 that we were definitely in a holding action and 37,000 guys killed because we're in a holding action. without a real mission of victory of any kind. roger, is there a mission that's realizable here in a reasonable amount of time and reasonable amount loss of life? and if there isn't, why are we there? >> i don't know the answer to that. i fear there may not be. i don't know what a reasonable loss of life

the page 334. "george w. bush's blunders military misadventure in iraq.. ." >> it is interesting. i would not call myself an opponent of the iraq war. it certainly looms over the composition of this book. i have not a big -- i was never a big fan of the rationale that george bush had for it. i would say i supported it, but on a different rationale. which is one reason that i have been surprised to see this book described as an expression of support for american foreign policy, because i think having read the book and perhaps the people who leap to that conclusion have not, having read the book i do not think there is much of that in there. there is another way that iraq really affected the with this book was written, which is that i tend not to be a partisan political writer, i do not think. it would not be my inclination to give europeans lectures on what they now have to do. i am describing a situation, i am not writing a policy brief to europeans. i think the fact that most of my conversations that i had with muslim immigrants and european politicians and with academic experts on this sort of thing, since most of those conversat

these are crocodile tears from conservatives who never paid for the iraq war or tax cuts. democrats want to pay for it, you have the c.b.o. able to enforce t look at what is hannoning with tarp. all the conservatives said it would be a waste. now we have 32 banks on the mark for paying -- repaying at least $130 billion worth of tarp funds t depends on how you manage it. if you manage it well and cut the waste, which the democrats want to do, in the healthcare system, 30% is wasted on overhead n a government-run medicaid and medicare only 4% are on overhead. the government programs are more efficient. >> half the banks were forced to take tarp money. tarp is not a good comparison. you have healthcare that will be pushed through regardless. we are all going to get burned in the end because it is going to cost more. they're going to pile on crap we don't need and you're going to be nickeled and dimed. already we're talking about slicing off your flexible spending account, penalties on pulling money out of your medical savings account, all this to cover the cost and they will

the good war. it didn't have initially the controversy that surrounded the iraq invasion. >> i'm not surprise upon pts it's purely political and you have a democratic president and he's suddenly against the war. >> a lot of republicans supported the war. >> sure. that was the position. >> is it hard for the american media to stay interested in a war that's dragged on now for more than eight years? >> absolutely not. what the marines and the soldiers are going through there, what the afghan people have gone through is so overwhelming. >> do the marines feel ignored that they don't -- do they feel thir fighting and in some cases dying. the marines are living without electricity, without water and food? are you kidding? they don't have any idea what the media is doing. it doesn't factor through their daily life just getting through each day is so hard that that's the challenge. >> as you say, it's hard even with the best writers and best television reporters to convey that reality. it's over 100 degrees and the conditions just sound awful. you have an-month-old baby, i just saw her opinion very cute.

. >> host: professor william quandt recommends when it comes to the iraq war george packer the assassinsagan steve coll, ost wars. >> guest: yeah, one othe things that we tried to do with this book was to bring a kind of depth of experience and knowlee to a number of fields that there a a few entries in contributions to the book th deal with contemporary issues and we found that these are the people tha really have a thirst for credible information on subjects like this. and ople who are in the field have been, who have a lot of experience teaching these issues to students know whathe good books are d know what is recommended but can also tell you how to read them critically and so professor quantas i think it's an excellent overview of some of the major issues that you would want to know about something like the iraq war but also an injury like that and milar entries on the climate crisis or presents different sides i think and help a reader rt out the information for themselves. >>ost: university of virginia law profess who is an author herself writes about civil rights literature and book

iraq? i did not hear any word about the cost of the iraq war. that is what is running as broke, that and the war that reagan created with the working class when he took the side of corporations. this is one condition that regan made that i would change little -- are we better off now than we were a generation ago? guest: there were conservative voices against the iraq war if i remember correctly, people like pat buchanan, robert novak. but not most. most did rally around a republican president. even those who had his doubts in many cases of came in to try to stand by a republican president. they look at it differently with a democratic president. host: the next call comes from california. caller: to continue from an independent view point, when tom delay passed the prescription drug benefit, the pharmaceutical endowment act -- that will go down in history as an interesting tidbit of american politics. the war funding is always supplementary. we will never actually just find it appropriately. the tax cuts -- ok? that is why think that tea party is

the wilderness. obama last night demonized victims of the war on terror when he pointed out the iraq war cost money. must have been the speech given by the voices inside her head. speaking of which -- >> executives don't do this because they're bad people. they do it because it's profitable. >> he said tonight that insurance executives are bad people. >> worst person says another landslide winner. and a special comment. it isn't being a jerk that's the problem. it's being a jerk who's wrong on the facts. we must reclaim this land from the, yes, sir, from the morons. all that and more now on "countdown." >>> good evening from our very temporary accommodations in new york. the memo having instructed those who were against health care reform to, quote, rock the boat early in the presentation, to yell out and challenge the statements, to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda, stand up and shout and sit back down. our fifth story on the "countdown." republican congressman joe wilson of south carolina apparently taking that advice, mixing in his long-standing anger management issues and mi

maybe not on the iraq war but certainly that issue. >> i think you have a point. have to remember. he is using the classic ends justify the means argument. we're a nation of laws. we have to apply them legally and thinkly to all people who come into our custody. and if i believe in due process, laura. and i don't believe in enhanced interrogation methods which is another word for torture. laura: how many people could be sacrificed in this utopian idea. this ivory tower approach to interrogations that they have to be done in a certain way. even people like khalid sheik mohammed who we knew had operational information about al qaeda? this isn't about iraq. this is ksm. this is a man who is responsible as a master mind of 9/11 where 3,000 americans were killed. what is permissible to do with him and who would want to work for the cia when they think they are going to be prosecuted, keith? >> lawyer remarks we have to take things one step at a time. if someone has broken the law, they should be held accountable. laura: this is not breaking the law. evidence murdered am

we had a congress elected in 2006 promising to end the iraq war. they did not end the iraq war.esident, saying they were going to give us universal health care with the public option. so far we don't have it. why don't they try consistency and try delivering for their people? that might be a winning strategy for a change. >> if it doesn't work for the democrats, here's another piece of that "meet the press" interview with david gregory and the former president, is it going to be a repeat of 94s is? here it is. >> do you worry about a repeat of '94 politically? >> there's no way they can make it that bad for several reasons. number one, the country is more diverse and more interested in positive action. number two, they've seen this movie before because they had eight years under president bush when the republicans had the whole government and they knew the results were bad. number three, the democrats haven't taken on the gun lobby like i did and they took 15 of our members out. i don't think it will be -- whatever happens it will be manageable for the president. >> joan walsh,

this is the iraq war. point no. 3 in the iraqi war is the [inaudible] which is a disgrace to mankind. the united nations also should not forget it. the united nations should -- the general assembly of the united nations should investigate and look into these murders. the abu ghraib prisons -- the prisoners of war who were abused their, dogs were used on them and men were made love to. there are soldiers there, and they are raped in prison. this is against civilization. we should not keep quiet. we should know the facts. up until now, a quarter of a million prisoners are being badly treated. we should open an investigation for that. then we have the afghan war. there should also be an investigation. why are we against taliban? if they want to make a religious state, it can be like the vatican. afghanistan is a religious country. [unintelligible] those terrorist to hit new york city -- those terrorists who hit new york city, are they taliban? why afghanistan? i encourage my friends of britain and america to s

thank you for your sacrifice. >> more than 4,000 families have lost loved ones in the iraq war since one in afghanistan. >>> dozens of families separated by the korean war were reunited this weekend. for decades they have had absolutely no contact with each other, no mail, no telephone, no e-mail. song ji-ae has more on the emotional tear-filled reunions. >> reporter: this 88-year-old thought this moment would never come. after nearly 60 years of being separated he's holding the hands of his son and daughters, babies when he left them during the korean war. "father, we thought you were dead" says his daughter, now in her 60s. 97 korean families separated by war and ideology for decades were reunited saturday in the north kungan mountains. they showed each other photos of their lives and their relatives who had passed away. most of the families were separated by the korean war in the early 1950s. since then, there have been no phone calls, no letters, and no information at all about family members on the other side of the border. but every story followed a similar tragic pattern. 95-ye

a little incivility six years ago might have stopped the iraq war. he can shout anything he wants at anybody he wants in any circumstances he wants providing that he is willing to suffer the consequences of his action. i am willing to suffer him. this nation can survive a president being disrespected by some nickel-dime congressman from beaufort. the shame falls onto the shouter and not the one shouted at. but this nation cannot survive the continued acceptance, the continued endorsement, the continued encouragement, the continued institutionalization of stupidity. i think if mr. lincoln were alive, he might recast his most famous imagery -- a house divided against itself cannot stand. i believe this government cannot endure permanently half smart and half stupid. section 246 is written expressly. there will be no health care funding for those who are here illegally. there will be no mechanism created to establish such funding. i fear section 247 will have to be rewritten expressly so that there will be a mechanism created to establish stupid panels.

republicans should support but never supported when they were in power and when they didn't pay for the iraq war and didn't pay for prescription drugs and they didn't pay for the president's tax cuts. when republicans were in office they spent many, many more times the amount of money the president is proposing, $700 billion over ten years, $70 billion a year. the republicans spent many, many times that amount of money without paying for it. so these are crocodile tears. what you see the president doing right now is moving to the political center. he unified the democratic party with the help from joe wilson and he will get some republicans to support it at the end of the day and a big victory for him politically but a big victory for the country. >> jamie: tony, ten seconds. >> antiquated the talking points, julian brought up paying of the iraq war. the reality is the president wanted a much more progressively liberal plan. he didn't get it because the american people stood up and actually voiced their opposition to it. now he is trying to back pedal to center. >> jamie: tony, i have to -- i'm

remember, when he camigned, afghanisn was the good war. iraq was the bad war. iraq was the war of... pardon me ghanistan was the war of necessity and iraq was the war of choice. and so even on theampaign trail he said ahanistan needed more troops, afghanistan needed re resources. when he took office, within a month, in februarof this this year, he dispatched 21,000 addional militar personnel to afghanian. now he faceshis position. if he were to tn sort of pull back and say "look, i don't think ctinuing on this way makes sense," he opens himself up to a lot of criticism from the righ that he'sssentially flip-flopd from wh he was saying during the campaign. >> rose: i comeack to this, o. general mcchrystal was given the responsility by the presint too over there andive him his assessment and he told the geral "i'll give you all the resources you need" i.e. in tes of the smartespeople in the government to do ts. and then heoday him... genal mcrystal said i'm going to reach out anget a whole bunch of people from acamia and counterinsurgency rategies to come in here

he called the iraq war the mother of all evils and called for the security council to be abolished. >> it should be called the terrorism council. >> reporter: ahmadinejad began a speech alluding to the global recession. he said the era of capitalist thinking is over. >> no longer possible to inject billions of dollars simply by printing worthless paper's sets. >> reporter: -- paper assets. >> reporter: reporting from atlanta, i'm andy flick. >>> 5:21. acrorn under investigation. >> and are going on the offensive. >> acorn files a lawsuit against others involved in an undercover video that caused the group a lot of problems. i'm sherrie johnson, that story coming up. (announcer) they're highly trained specialists. true professionals, always ready when they hear the call... guys, pancakes! because when it's pancakes everyone's in it together. caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other h

i wish we had the discussion in the iraq war. give me a break. >> i got to tell you, guys. we've got to wrap now. the democrats say the conservatives are all so shrill. i got to tell you, i think the dems are sound a little shrill. next week at 8:00, we are looking back at the fall of lehman brothers one year later. watch us monday and tuesday night for a retrospeckive on that long and difficult year and forecast of the future for the markets. still a lot more ahead tonight, though. at 8:30 tonight, watch options actions. this is cnbc first in business worldwide.  >>> one year ago as the financial woerld teetersed on the brink, one man stepped up and placed a big bet on big business. that man is warren buffet and he told the word, buy america. on monday, we sit down with buffet to get his thoukts one year later. that's monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern only. and at 8:30 eastern tonight, watch "options actions." we're back in two minutes. another. >> and now for tonight's "parting shot." it's been eight years since 9/11 and i still miss the twin towers of the

. >> more than 4,000 families have lost loved ones in the iraq war since it began in 200 lee. other 840 families lost someone in afghanistan. >>> a u.s. drone has crashed into the headquarters of an iraqi political party in northern iraq. the u.s. military says the drone went friday in mosul, crashed into the roof of the iraqi islamic party being the largest sunni political party in iraq. the pentagon says the crash was only a coincidence. >>> the stock market, it can get confusing if you don't know where to invest your funds. but hln money expert clark howard tells us you how to make money without the hassle. >> i want you to know something. i am obsessed with something known as index funds. how could somebody be obsessed with something like that? it's a good thing for you. what's an index fund anyway? instead of you buying an investment, individual stock or buying a mutual fund where some brainiac tries to figure out what to buy, what to sell, how much of it to get, in an index fund, it's really simple. you just buy all the big companies in the country. 500 of those. or you b

the visit was a part of the administration's effort to show what they focused on the iraq war despite the military pullbacks and the buildup in afghanistan. >>> and iraqis, they are celebrating the release of the jail journalist who made global news last year by throwing their shoes at george w. bush. she was slapped -- he was slapped with a three-year sentence, but he was set on good behavior. they cut through a cheering crowd saying that the iraq secret service agents beat him with iron bars and tortured him with electrical shocks after arrested. >>> now to the search for a gunman last seen in a wheelchair. dc police say he shot a woman and then got away in his wheelchair before they arrived on the scene, happening around 1:00 in the afternoon right after the victim stepped off a metro bus on 8th street northeast. the suspect is described a black man in his 20s with a dark complex and long dread locks. police say he was wearing a white t-shirt, dark jeans, and last seen headed east on g street. >>> while working two jobs, she lived a trouble free life according to the family members

in the iraq war, the brits got a violent, long slog in afghanistan british forces have been in heldman province. you have suffered 217 losses there. will we see a substantial dramatic reduction in forces, a reorganization on the british side of this fight? >> let me say, first of all, we have a duty, all of us to prevent terrorism returning to the streets of new york or london. the second thing is the way forward in afghanistan, even after the disputes of the election is very clear to me. it's got to be a policy of the afghan people, the army, the police taking responsibility for their own affairs. we are prepared to put the troops necessary to make sure the training and mentoring of the afghan forces leads to an army of 130,000. our strategy is afghanization, it's the afghan people taking control of their own affairs that's the way forward for afghanistan. >> part of our conversation earlier today here in new york with gordon brown. it's all on our website at nightly.msnbc.com. >>> you perhaps saw the spoof on camera, it delivered a punch. it got a.c.o.r.n. in trouble. now, we learn m

. >> let's talk about afghanista in the iraq war, the brits got a violent, long slog in afghanistabritisforces have been concentrated in helman province, a long, violent slog. you have suffered 217 losses there. will we see a substantial dramatic reduction in forces, a reorganization on the british side of this fight? >> let me say, first of al we have a duty, all of us to prevent terrorism returning to the streets of new york or returning to the streets of london. the second thing is the way forward in afghanistan, even after the disputes othe election is very clear to me. it's got to be a policy of the afghan people, the army, the police taking responsibility for eir own affairs. we are prepared and always have been to put the troops necsary to make sure the training and what we call mentoring of the afghan forces lds to an army of 135,000. our strategy is ghanization, it's the afghan people taking control of their own affairs that's the way forward for afghanistan. that's the key to a safer britain and safer america. >> part of our conversation earlier today here in w york with gordon brown

the crowd that brought us the war in iraq, they're back for more. w they want a surge in afghanistan. it's the usual suspects. mccain, condi, and our old friend joe lieberman. the same old line, the war is the only way to keep us safe. they didn't even change the script. take a listen. >> we need additional troops and the longer we wait and delay, the more americans will be put at risk unnecessarily. >> our national security interests are very much tied up in not letting afghanistan fail again and become a safe haven for terrorists. it's that simple. if you want another terrorist attack in the united states, abandon afghanistan. >> when we sent more troops in we turned it around. iraq is rising up on its own. now people support the war in iraq and it's a lesser concern. we're capable of doing that in afghanistan. if we don't the taliban and al qaeda will be back there from which they struck us on 9/11. >> joining me now, robert greenwald, director of "rethink afghanistan." good to have you back with us tonight. >> thank you. >> before we start our di

objecting to the naming of an international center for dick cheney on campus visit his support for the iraq war president of the university reminded the protesters that real intellectual diversity includes and extends to people who you don't agree with.

the main issue that angered egyptians specifically at the united states was the iraq war and with theama administration specifically talking about a withdrawal, i think that that's improved people's opinions. >> and overall, eight years on, is there more or less violent extremism and sympathy for al qaeda? >> well the sympathy for the attacks of 9/11 have been on a decline and they are -- they continue to decline in 2009, especially among both egyptians and saudis. it's interesting the two countries that improved the opinion of the united states and also the two countries whose publics are less likely than they were just a year ago or two years ago to say that the attacks of 9/11 were justified. and dalia, what about opinions towards muslims around the world? have they got more or less negative, or would you say that the figures have stayed about the same? and why do you think there may or may not have been changes to that? >> the opinions of -- toward muslims around the world, specifically by the american public, have improved slightly, but not very much. so in 2007, we found that ar

officials are use this label of vietnam, senator kerry was one of the people who applied that label to the iraq war, yet the surge ended up remedying that to a great degree in turning the country around. that is a fair characterization in your view? >> i do not see any comparison or similarities between afghanistan and vietnam. but, there are also? comparison being made between afghanistan and iraq, and do see some similarities as far as the size of the country, the population, size of the population and the mix. like majority muslim countries. but apart from that i think they are two very separate countries with different histories and i do not agree with the notion. >> let's stay -- president obama has repeatedly said that obviously the important conflict is afghanistan. there is a shift of resources underway. draw-down in iraq to try to facilitate that. he authorized 21,000 more troops including 4,000 trainers to help bring the afghan force -- forces up to speed. but, at this point, folks are just sort of looking at strategy and saying that, well, we have to get that balance right in the iraq an

he refused to deploy in 2006, arguing the iraq war was illegal. ended in a mistrial. a judge argued that a second court-martial would violate his constitutional rights. >>> some michael jackson fans spent the night sleeping outside l.a.'s nokia theater. they started forming lines yesterday to get tickets to the film "this is it." it's a behind-the-scenes look of jackson rehearsing for his show just before he died. >>> everybody wants to save more and spend less. we have just the guy to help you. join hln money expert clark howard at noon eastern. he's going to show you ways to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. the clark howard show, noon eastern today right here on hln. >>> another obama appointee is out of a job. the white house says it's not caving to pressure from conservative pun are pundits, but is this part of a growing pattern? >>> in this week's empowered patient" we talk about whether hand washing works. there's a lot of experts who say it doesn't do much. but i want to talk about one woman who we helped this week. her n

he refused to deploy in 2006 arguing that the iraq war was illegal. a judge ruled that a second court-martial would violate his constitutional rights against double jeopardy. >>> some michael jackson fans spent the night here sleeping outside of l.a.'s nokia theater. they started forming lines yesterday to get tickets to the film, "this is it." the documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at jackson rehearsing for his london show just before he died. the tickets go on sell tomorrow. >>> it is estimated nearly one in four women will be the victims of domestic violence in their lifetime. women of all backgrounds are at risk. but muslim women seem to be especially reluck lant to seek help. she's raising awareness in the muslim community. she is this week's cnn hero. >> abuse cuts across religions and culture. i'm a muslim, born and raised in pakistan. migrated to new york in 1990. within the muslim community, there's a lot of denial about the issue. koran condemns abusive behavior required to speak up. i'm rabina naz and i'm helping women end abuse in

from the iraq war to tax breaks for the wealthy. i will not make that same mistake with health care. second, we've estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding savings within the existing health care system. a system that is currently full of waste and abuse. right now too much of the hard-earned savings and tax dollars we spend on health care don't make us any healthier. that's not my judgment, that's the judgment of medical professionals across this country. and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment. because medicare is another issue that's been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. and that -- t

the united states during world war ii would not allow pictures of mortally wounded people and then to build public support to allow pictures of people. we didn't allow caskets in the early part of the iraq so not justify what they did i think it's a tough call. i don't think you want the government telling you what you cannot cannot run. i don't think it's good for the country spewing what about the family, jim? >> to have rights in this case, certainly moral rights. let's not be naÏve about information wanting to be free in the digital edge. this picture will get out there will be over the place that will be on al qaeda once -- al qaeda websites. it seems to me four times at the secretary defense of the family, ask a journalistic agency not to do something, that to seriously consider it. but the war in afghanistan is a secret, it's the feelings of the salmon and young man and a think the ap did the wrong thing. >> are antiwar activists will use this photo to push their agenda? sooner both sides whose information is why, which is why this is as james and i think we all agree, a very, tough call. i think jane would agree. i think the far greater danger is to let the government and the pe

me think twice about whether he's sincere when he turned afghanistan, the good war, the war of necessity as opposed to the war in iraq. >> wait, wait, wait, because a strategy he implemented six months ago, the polls have turned against you, and you haven't given a speech in the interim, by the way on this war explaining what we're doing there and because the general that you appointed and you told to it will you what you need has come back and now told you what he needs, you're saying, hey, i think we better reconsider this? is that what you expect from a commander-in-chief? >> it not what i expect. only saying i'm not surprised by it. >> okay, well. >> that from a political leader, they're facing election ins 2010 and if the story line then is that americans are bogged down in afghanistan with suicide bombers putting american bodies on the front page of the paper every day, this administration is going to blink. that's all there is to it. >> i go, look, the i think the political calculation that the obama administration is making is a mistaken one. it's already done a lot to alienate centrist with the health care p

less than we have spent on the iraq and afghanistan wars and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few americans congress passed in the previous administration. [ applause ] now -- most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent. but spent badly in the existing health care system. the plan will not add to our deficit. the middle class will realize greater security. not higher taxes. and if we are able to slow if growth of health care costs by just .1 of 1% each year, it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term. now this is the plan i'm proposing. it is plan that incorporates ideas for many of the people in this room tonight. democrats and republicans. i will continue to seek common ground in the weeks ahead. if you come to me with a serious set of proposals, i will be there to listen. my door is always open. but know this. i will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it is better politics to kill this plan than to improve it. [ applause ] i won't stand by while the special interests do the same old tactics to keep

he was hurling his shoes during that press conference shouting angry words about lives lost in the iraq ware 30-year-old journalist was arrested and convicted of assault many in the arab world hailed him as a hero whose action expressed the resentment over the war in iraq and the u.s. occupation, meanwhile, his family, planning a celebration for his homecoming. two people trying to cross a flooded river in the mini-van, get stuck and the rescue is caught on tape. we're going to show you the whole thing coming up. plus, a tribute to calm service torn nations and camels. i've been growing algae for 35 years. most people try to get rid of algae, and we're trying to grow it. the algae are very beautiful. they come in blue or red, golden, green. algae could be converted into biofuels... that we could someday run our cars on. in using algae to form biofuels, we're not competing with the food supply. and they absorb co2, so they help solve the greenhouse problem, as well. we're making a big commitment to finding out... just how much algae can help to meet... the fuel demands of the world. introduc

obama, i think, showed that he wasn't soft on national security many he was a big opponent of the iraq war, kept saying that the war in afghanistan was the war of subsidy. he announced a new strategy and put a new germ in charge many now, that germ is asking for more troops anticipate the president is not sure he is going to give them to limb. this is an extraordinary spectacle playing out if public view. it will be fascinate to see what the president does. >> reporter: it doesn't seem like political differences should play a role. of course they do. what do you see as the political difficulties obama will face? >> political dips, it's not just politics, its about policy and he has a big problem because you have, particularly with the leaking 0 this, all of of the military brass saying we have to continue our copter insur generalsy strategy. on the other hand, you have the wing, anti-war left that he was a part of 0 when it came to iraq, they are really having doubts about doubling down inside afghanistan, now, so if the president is to send more troops and that obviously means more of a c

spend a lot of time talking the iraq war. i don't think can you make the moral equivalency.eople to hear your answer. why are you against capitalism. why are you against capitalism? >> yeah, that's right. i can tell you one of the reasons i am is because i think it puts profit as the number one goal and not people's well-being. right now the way it's set up 225 individuals, their total wealth is equal to half the population of the world's wealth. is that a legitimate system? i don't think so. sean: let's get into what your solutions are. because i say that if you support -- if you don't support capitalism, you don't support freedom the only alternative is a government-run system of redistribution. do you support government run redistribution of wealth? >> i support people-run redistribution of wealth. and one. sean: woe, woe, hang on. how do you have people-run redistribution of wealth because the only way you are going to get people to give up their wealth is, unless you threaten to throw them in jail and coerce them through the government. so, you don't have people. >> sea

the president goes against the base and the left that don't like this war he is challenging the people who voted for him. h. don't forget his opposition to the iraqas his main point against his chief rival hillary clinton. he was in that sense a peace candidate. >> he covered himself by supporting the afghanistan war. was that a ploy or true belief? >> i'm sure it was true belief. i think the left in general had a position which was iraq was the wrong war, afghanistan was the right war. because they're the ones who hit us. al qaeda hit us. sheltered by the taliban. we ought to resource properly what we do in afghanistan. here he is as president biting off a huge task of counterinsurgency and nation building. we don't have a strong central government that isn't kruchlt. we have a corrupt government in afghanistan. >> this is the part of politics i don't like in war. the presidents like nixon, i hold this against nixon, not all the other stuffs, maybe it was the worst, but keeping us in a war that was pretty clear we were going to lose by after '68, we were in a holding action. 30,000-some guys killed because we were in a holding action without a v

the president's decisionmaking on additional troops. is that unprecedented? >> reporter: well, as i recall, lester, commanding generals in iraq testified before congress at various points during decisionmaking deliberations on the iraq war and what to do before the surge, for example, so i think it's not all that unusual, but i think the republicans want to get stan mcchrystal out there to try to give some umf to that recommendation. it's demeanor who are most reluctant about escalating troops to afghanistan. they're worried about a repeat of the vietnam situation. >> john harwood. john, thanks very much. >>> this reminder, as we saw in that report from the white house a moment ago, david gregory talked with former president bill clinton about iran and many other topics. that airs tomorrow on "meet the press." >>> now to the latest in the alleged terror plot targeting new york city. the suspect is set to appear here in new york on tuesday, but tonight we're learning more about how close he may have come to pulling off an attack. nbc's jeff rossen now with the latest. >> reporter: back in his hometown na ji bulla zazi returns to new york city under heavy protection. u.s. intelligence officials say zazi was close to pulli

less than we have spent on the iraq and afghanistan wars and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few americans that congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration. [ applause ] most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent, but spent badly in the existing health care system. the plan will not add to our deficit, the middle class will realize greater security, not higher taxes, and if we are able to slow the growth of health care costs by just one-tenth of 1% each year, one-tenth of 1%, it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term. now, this is the plan i'm proposing. it's a plan that incorporates ideas from many of the people in this room tonight, democrats and republicans. and i will continue to seek common ground in the weeks ahead. if you come to me with a serious set of proposals, i will be there to listen. my door is always open. but, know this. i won't be the one that made the calculation that it's better to kill this plan than to improve it. [ applause ] i won't stand by while the special interests use the sam

easy chrissie, the lack of candor shall we say about the lead up to the war in iraq. these are consequential things, and they seem rooted in what i call the revanchist view of how to govern and how to deduct politics. that is to say that you know best. your ideals are purists and anyone who is in your way be damage. i think it is very damaging to our politics that people also. by the way and i quote this in the book, that a great champion of reagan, martin anderson helm i am sure steve knows very well said in 2002 or 2003 that bush's policies on all the major issues, hisositions were identical to ronald reagan's and in 2003 we were hearing much about bush from the right to as a president who would complete the reagan revolution, so that important to remember as well. as far as the czars eneille obama administration i am with you. it was jfk came into office, fearful of the government wanted to sir clemsen-- circumvent roosevelt because you couldn't get these done if those government bubeaucrats got in the way and one of the interesting sort of reversals in our potics

i was glad that he referred to the enormous cost of the iraq war. f we hadn't thought the war in iraq, which i thought was a terrible mistake, we wouldn't be worrying about how to pay for health care. i had one disagreement with him when he said that the deficit issue in america is entirely about health care. it's also about a greatly excessive overdone military. but even beyond that, i do think, yes, there is room for reductions. as herb said -- ben, rather. sorry, ben, for the generational flicks, i'm old. as ben acknowledged, people have talked about waste and fraud. how are they going to do that, there's the medicare advantage plan, which pays more than other medicare plans. we can cut that back. there is duplication, electronic records can help. i am not convinced that we will find all of the savings that we want. i am convinced that we should not reduce the services under medicare. and i know the president did say, if we cannot achieve this with anti-waste methods in medicare,well find other spending cuts. that may be necessary and i have plent