secretary wilson will fill us in on what it will take to get the air force that the united states currently has to the air force that she believes the united states is going to need over the next decade. please give a warm press club welcome to the 24th secretary of the u.s. air force, heather wilso wilson. >> well, thank you so much. since this is the press club, i'm going to start out by correcting the record on at least one thing. and that is that i was actually not -- obviously, not the first veteran in the congress, but i also was not the first woman veteran to serve. there was from, i think the state of maryland, a woman who seceded her husband, but then was not re-elected to a full term. but she was a nurse and nurse in world war ii, and since then, of course, we've had other women veterans who are serving. and it's really nice to get to a point in american history where that's really not a notable thing. where women veterans are not only in the congress, but in the board room as well as on the flight line. so it's a pleasure to spend a little bit of time, a little bit of time with y

to transform the united states air force. lemen, please accept our great thanks for your presence here today. ♪ ♪ >>> we have more now from the recent air force association 2018 air, space and cybersecurity conference in washington. this next portion features two u.s. air force officials, who discuss developments in the operations of the military branch. this is about 40 minutes. >>> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. please welcome afa's

at the time a combined 11 months in the united states air force. it's not just the fact it was a short duration. it was actually how they codified and articulated what they did and the responsibilities they had in the missile alert facility. what they did, they showed the boss a powerpoint and said this is why we're here, sir. we're here to ensure the quality of life of our folks supporting this mission. we're here to boost the morale of these individuals, these war fighters defending our nation. to e3s with a brand total of 11 months in the united states air force as a member of the armed forces. that is the kind of talents we have across our services. you know, it was interesting, madam secretary was here yesterday and she talked about recruiting. and the path going forward and what we had to do. i would offer up this, if i can pull if off, i'd go talk to the chief and go, sir, would you mind calling general miller and see if she can get a fleet of c-17s parked on andrews? every one of us in this auditorium could jump on it in time to run with th

united states. lawrence t. romo, a graduate from the united states air force academy in northern montana college, served 28 yearssident obama as the united states selective service director, a senate confirmed presidential reporting to the president. commander romo was elected as the national commander of the american gi forum of the u.s. in july 2018 and leads congressional charter veterans service organization advocating for veterans, equal right and educational access. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mr. lawrence romo. [applause] >> thank you, secretary wilkie, distinguished guests, my fellow veterans and families, good morning. happy veterans day. it is truly, indeed, my honor to represent the american gi forum as the national commander and this sacred resting place, arlington national cemetery and the heros, our fallen brothers and sister veterans. the american gi forum is chartered veterans service organization and our active duty military, representing active duty military and families, veterans, advocacy for equal, civil right and access to earned benefit, medical care and access to good education.

commander more maneuvering space in conflict because it facilitates all five mission sets of the united states air forces and many of the air forces we work with in nato. it improves our strike. it improves our superiority. it improves our surveillance. it improves our lift. and it improves our command and control. and with each passing day, as we get additional f-35s on the european continent, we can see improvements from a readiness standpoint on each and every one of those mission sets that the air force represents as do the air forces that we serve with in nato. i'll close by reiterating to this group what success is for those of us that serve in africa. it truly is this. 24 additional hours of peace, and an ever improving posture of readiness to where we're more lethal, more responsive, and we're more resilient tomorrow than we were today. thank you. >> i too would like to echo my thanks. i would also like to say thanks to my friends on the stage, war fighters and great officers. i had the privilege of serving with each and every one of them for most of my entire career. it's interesting to me when

in fiscal year '17 the united states air force trained 1,160 pilots. in fy-19, we will train a little over 1,300, moving by fy-22 to about 1,500 pilots and we will stay at steady state at 1,500 thereafter. if we're able to do that and achieve our objectives on retention, we will recover the pilot shortage by 2023, where we will be 95% manned. we are also trying to scrub all of our requirements for aircrew so we are not overproducing aircrew and we have what we really think we need. third is training. if we're preparing for the high end fight, we need to be able to provide time and places for our airmen to train in realistic situations. that means ranges, but it also means what we call virtual and constructive training. sometimes now you can do more in simulation than you can do actually up in the air. that training has to be relevant and realistic and mr. chairman, you're right, jay park as well as our testing training range are two of our premier training in the world to train for the high-end fight. the fourth thing we need to do is cost effective ma

united states. romo, a graduate of northern montana college served 28 years in the air force. ominated by president obama as a united states service director. a senate confirmed presidential appointee reporting directly to the president. commander romo was elected national commander in july of 2018. he leads a congressional chartered veterans service organization advocating for equal rice -- equal rights for veterans. please welcome him. wilkie, myecretary fat -- my fellow veterans and families, good morning and happy veterans day. my name is lawrence romo. it is truly indeed my honor and pleasure to represent the american g.i. forum. as the national commander in the sacred resting place, arlington national cemetery. the american g.i. forum is a congressionally chartered veterans service organization. representing active duty military, families, veterans for advocacy and civil rights, access to earn benefits, a care, and access to good education. today is the 100th anniversary of the end of world war i. let us remember the sacrifices of those veterans who fought in the war to e

alone as i said already in any case need to ally with known of not only russia those are the united states air force they're not an overwhelming force they cannot determine the price on oil and of. but they can certainly make their voice and we heard in a moment they are doing so professor good to talk to you and counting the cost many thanks indeed for being with us thank you very much and finally this week one of the biggest corporations on the planet right now has chosen new york and virginia to house its new headquarters but as al-jazeera is kristen salumi reports from new york not everyone is celebrating. over lunch at the court square diner in new york's long island city local residents wonder how their rapidly growing neighborhood will absorb tens of thousands of more people now that amazon has announced plans to build a new headquarters here for soccer stadium once think that new high rises an ongoing construction are already straining infrastructure in this once quiet neighborhood over looking man has been overwhelming. the online retail giant promised to bring more than five billion dollar

and no organization has done more to advance american leadership in space than the united states air force. as general selvo know, those who run our space programs are the best in the world and since the earl yefrt days as america's newest branch of the service, the air force has fatally served as the steward of the vital assets orbiting the earth as well. but today, space is fundamentally different than it was a generation ago. what was once des late and uncontested is increasingly crowded and confrontational. and today, other nations are seeking to disrupt our space-based systems and undermine our economic and military might as never before. for many years, nations from russia and china and north korea and iran have pursued weapons to jam, blind, and disable our navigation, and communications satellites, through electronic attacks from the ground. but recently, our adversaries have been working to bring new weapons of war into space itself. from anti-satellite weapons, and air-born lasers, to highly-threatening on-orbit activities, and invasive, hyper sonic missiles, both china and russi

alone as i said already they in any case need to ally with known or not only those are the united states air force they're not an overwhelming force they cannot determine the price on oil and of. but they can certainly make their voices. heard. they are doing so professor good to talk to you and counting the cost many thanks indeed for being with us thank you very much and finally this week one of the biggest corporations on the planet right now has chosen new york and virginia to house its new headquarters but as al-jazeera as kristen salumi reports from new york not everyone is celebrating. over lunch at the court square diner in new york's long island city local residents wonder how their rapidly growing neighborhood will absorb tens of thousands of more people now that amazon has announced plans to build a new headquarters here for soccer stadium one shot think that having a new high rises an ongoing construction are already straining infrastructure in this once quiet neighborhood overlooking manhattan. the online retail giant promised to bring more than five billion dollars in investment and

air force. i was at travis air force base. >> i'm a desert storm veteran. >> my service started in the united states marine corps, and i discharged in 2015 as a sergeant. >> on board u.s.s. enterprise with the u.s. navy, i was deployed to 13 countries. i was also part of the iran hostage situation 1978-80. >> sergeant in the marine corps. i was an m-1-d-1 tank mechanic, and proud to serve. >> i served six years in the u.s. navy, the majority of which was on board the u.s.s. bunker hill. went onto deployment to the gulf. >> joined the united states air force right out of high school. went in as a generator mechanic, and then through that i've gotten placed in a civil engineering squadron. >> got drafted in february 1971. i was assigned to batallion in hamburg, germany, and i was in the u.s. army. >> veterans day today means a lot to me, especially since i served. >> it's not just a three-day weekend. >> we celebrate the participation and the historic role that the military plays in the security of this country. >> it's really great to take time out to recognize those who have served, those of us that like serving. >> it's a day to

from the united states air force, we are joined by the 455th air expeditionary wing. which is supporting operation freedoms resolute support. brigadier general david lyons, thank you very much. i want to congratulate you on every minute of the 455th for your outstanding work. destroyedave you hundreds of isis and far more, and many taliban targets, you protect coalition ground forces throughout the region, and you protect them like nobody else. it is incredible the job you do. i want to thank you all for being on, and i have to say, general, it is great to speak to you by teleconference and by phone because your reputation is an incredible one. representing the u.s. coast guard are crew members from six coast guard cutters from the shore support teams that are part of patrol forces, southwest asia, the largest coast guard unit outside of the united states. i am going to your local coast guard station in palm beach and we will spend some time with the great men and women of the coast guard. they have a lot of branding and the job they have done on hurricanes in this co

from the united states air force, we're joined by the 455th air wing, which is supporting operation freedomsnk you very much, david, as the commander. and i want to congratulate you on every minute of the 455th for your outstanding work, not only have you destroyed hundreds of isis and actually far more than hundreds and many, many taliban targets, but you protect coalition ground forces throughout the region and you protect them like nobody else. it is incredit the job you do, and i want to thank you all for being on, and i have to say, general, it is great to speak to you by teleconference and by phone because your reputation is an incredible one. representing the u.s. coast guard, our crew members from the shore support teams that are part of patrol forces, southwest asia, which is the largest coast guard unit outside of the united states, and i'm actually going right now. i'm in palm beach, florida, and i'm going over to your local coast guard station, and we're going to spend some great time with the men and women of the coast guard. they have from a lot of sand points, you could call i

of the united states. 28 years in the air force. ident obama as a united states service director. commander -- he was elected national commander in july of 2018. he leads a congressional veterans service organization and activist. please welcome him. >> my fellow veterans families, good morning and happy veterans day. it is truly indeed my honor and pleasure to represent the .merican g.i. forum our fallen brothers and sister -- sister veterans. our retired veterans service organization, representing active duty military, families, veterans for advocacy and eat and civil rights, access to earn benefits, a care, and access to good education. today's the 100th anniversary of the end of world war i. the sacrifices of those veterans who fought in the war to end all wars. let is not forget the 400,000 men and women whose final resting place is here on these hollowed grounds. over 20ecognize the million veterans that live among us today. fact thatlect on the only 1% of the country serves in the military. freedom tomber the the great country

from the united states air force, we are joined by the 455th air expeditionary wing, which is supportingperation freedoms. lyons,er general david thank you very much as the commander. onant to congratulate you every minute of the 455th for your outstanding work. not only have you destroyed hundreds of isis and far more than hundreds, and many taliban targets, but you protect coalition ground forces throughout the region. you protect them like nobody else. it is incredible, the job you do. i just want to thank you all. i have to say, general, it is great to speak to you by teleconference and by phone because your reputation is an incredible one. representing the u.s. coast guard, our crewmembers from six coast going. that are support teams part of patrol teams. southwest asia, the largest coast guard unit outside of the united states. i am in palm beach, florida. i am going over to your local coast guard station. we are going to spend some great time with the men and women of the coast guard. they have from a lot of standpoints, you can call it whatever you want, the job they have done on

others youk with would not cross social boundaries to achieve standards of excellence for the united states air force, you can reach across disciplines and lines to embrace new possibilities for your organization. you like the airmen who had the do the right thing without expectation of reward, right here in indiana there was an order who people said they would not go to the whites only officers club. that in 1945do expecting to get a gold medal in 2007. my contention is if you like the eyes and heartr is whatr country, this flew down in seymour, indiana. was never made because the unit was disbanded and because japan was surrendering. there was no reason to deploy them. this i would suggest is the embodiment of the question about african-americans in time of war. theirhearts are with country and they had their eyes on the target. congratulations. over a century of collective effort and on your choice of the recognition. i know personally from working with many different vietnam veterans that the tuskegee airmen legacy would not be what it was if you did not live out their standards. [applause] with

william faulkner, the writer, was a -- was -- he was too small to get into the united states air force. so he went to canada to go to an air force training school, are and when he was in toronto i think or one of those cities in canada and when the flu hit, they just said we're shutting down the school entirely. everybody has to stay inside. the doors are being locks. you can't go out and whole air force academy school including william faulkner survived. these are anecdotes of course, but there really was a lot of self-isolation and it worked. >> there's the self-isolation that would happen in the event of an actual pandemic. before that thing to me seems extraordinarily necessary is collaboration globally on global public health. i was wondering if you could speak a little bit about how we're doing on that front in terms of funding it appropriately, advocating for the correct funding and maintaining our status as a leader in that area. >> okay. so i think so one of the tools the united states has used in the past five years is the global health security agenda. and so really working

we had an arrangement, ideal that felt out what didn't, but it's come to fruition with the united states air force. so it picked up a fleet of 14c20 seconds. that's a twin engine, looks like a small c-130. it's a twin-engine aircraft. we are working, there's bit of a worldwide parts shortage on that so we're fielding those c 27 spirit week at the first couple cutter or station in sacramento. we got mine in '18 budget for assembly that will put down in mobile in a building alphabet assimilated. we're stepping out on feeling those c 27th. our fixed wing will be an amalgamation of 235, probably in the high teen numbers. hopefully we'll have the c27 chase omission dies in the not-too-distant future. on the road beside we are watching department of defense closely with future vertical lift. reply a fleet of 60, actually it's 98 what we call aerospatiale dolphin helicopters. there is no more of those been made so that fleet of 98 is what we will have. we are probably looking to fly those more than 30,000 30,000 . so we are into what we call the inmate 65 echo upgrade. that's our next iteration but we ha

united states air force, a veteran of the gulf war, american patriot. came to d.c. to make danchese and he did. godspeed, damon. we're grateful to your service and we will honor your memory. thank you. with that i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from california, mr. valadao. mr. valadao: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to pay tribute to someone i have gotten to know over the last few years well. damon nelson became an immediate friend and ally and mentor. there are so many different words to describe what damon is to it a lot of us. and when i came in as a freshman, i still remember his help setting up offices. helping me interview potential staff. giving me direction on every decision that we had to make. it was amazing to watch as an incoming member with brand new staff and the way he would take his time to mentor every single one of them from top to bottom. treated everyone as as an equal. treated people with respect, dignity. truly leffed this country, institution, and the process of helping others be successful here. never, ever looked down o

established social boundaries of their time to achieve and set standards of excellence for today's united states air force, you too can reach across disciplines, organizational and geographic silos to envision and embrace new possibilities for your organizations. just being like the airmen. you like the airmen who had the courage to do the right thing without expectation of reward. yes, right here in indiana, there were a hundred black men who refused to say they wouldn't go to the white only officers club. it's my contention that they did not do that in 1945 expecting to get a congressional gold medal in 2007. so, my contention is, if you, like the airmen, keep your eyes -- keep your heart with your country and your eyes on the target, this, ladies and gentlemen, is the patch for the 477th that flew down in seymour, indiana, and in columbus, indiana. this patch was never made because the unit was disbanded after the freeman field mutiny and because japan was glowing by the time that nuclear weapon was dropped so there was no reason to deploy them. this, i would suggest, is the embodiment of the question

because the united states air force had failed to upload a felony conviction for domestic violence into the f.b.i.'s criminal background check system, the shooter in that case was able to acquire a firearm, multiple firearms by simply lying about his criminal background record. and so we came together in a bipartisan way to pass a bill i introduced called the fix nics. it fixed or at least took great strides toward fixing our broken background check system to ensure that violent criminals can't easily acquire firearms when they're convicted and ineligible under existing law. we saw that resiliency arise out of another tragedy at santa fe high school where we passed the stop school violence act. i'm not suggesting that by passing legislation we're going to magically wave our wand and stop acts of violence, but we can do things that help provide planning, training, safety infrastructure and law enforcement support for our schools to make them a less soft target. in an open society, i doubt we'll ever be able to stop all acts of violence, but these i think are intended and will have a cons

karen mcdougal during the 2016 campaign, which i will note donald trump as president of the united states, on air force, has directly denied. he said he didn't know where the money came from, didn't really know the situation. you have to ask michael cohen. so possibly, don, but the thing i wonder with donald trump is we wonder is he more agitated, more nervous? he is someone who on twitter and in public statements last week after the election, on twitter over the weekend talking about florida when he's in paris, the way in which he acted in paris -- this seems to me sort of how donald trump acts. i struggle sometimes to differentiate between is he more nervous or frantic or angry or acting less how we would expect a president to act because -- >> that's his thing all the time. >> it never correlates to anything. >> we looked at the patterns but -- >> what if all the dots don't connect? i mean we're always trying -- we're always trying to look at the various data points, right, and draw a through line. and i always wonder what if there is no through line? what if every day it's just a blank slate that h

from the united states air force, we are joined by the 455th air expeditionary wing which is supportingtion freedoms sentinel and nato's resolute support. brigadier general david, thank you very much. david is the commander. i want to congratulate you and every minute of the 455th for your outstanding work. not only have you destroyed hundreds of isis, and actually far more than hundreds, and many, many caliban targets, but you protect coalition ground forces throughout the region. you protect them like nobody else. it is incredible, the job you do. i want to thank you all for being on. i have to say general, it is great to speak to you by teleconference, and by phone. because, your reputation is an incredible one. representing the u.s. coast guard, our crewmembers from the shore support teams that are part of patrol forces, southwest asia hi which is the largest coast guard unit outside of the united states. i am actually going, right now, i'm in palm beach, florida. i'm going over to your local coast guard station. i'm going to spend some great time with the men and women of the coast

united states has. a. drone relay information control center and rob stein and it seems to be very critical information coming from creech air force drone control center in the united states to rob stein and then through satellite the drones might be controlled to attack in yemen or afghanistan or iraq somalia. so it seems that rob stein is very critical node in this. to find out more about germany's role of consequence simply to address it without a lawyer defending the rights of the survivors of a drone strike in yemen. you. complaining against sea german government especially as they bring forward so use of the ramstein air base can you explain to last the legality or illegality of germany allowing the u.s. to his ranch that as a relay base yes we see that see use soft drones of thrones buzzing united states for example in yemen. it's a violation of international law because. many people are killed say or menacing. millions are killed in yemen and that's unlawful under international law standards it's also unlawful under drama law standards. to get cancer then i didn't read the book you think we had better. just. stop ramstein

united states has. a. drone relay information control center and rob stein and it seems to be very critical information coming from creech air force drone control center in the united states to rob stein and then through satellite the drones might be controlled to attack in yemen or you know afghanistan or iraq yeah yeah somalia. so it seems that rob stein is very critical node in this. to find out more about germany's role of consequence to meet undressing with a lawyer defending the rights of the survivors of the john striking again and. playing against. the german government especially as they bring forward so use of the ramstein air base kenya explains the loss the the legality or illegality of germany allowing the u.s. to use ramish that as a relay base yes we see that the use of drones of thrones buzzing united states for example in yemen. is a violation of international law because. many people are killed sir many civilians are killed in yemen and that's unlawful under international law standards it's also unlawful under german law standards. let me ask you then i mean we need to put you that we have been. cut out to stop r

pentagon and from the saudis, they had requested that the united states stopped helping them with air-to-air refuelings for their coalition forcesing in yemen to push that -- essentially helping prosecute that war in yemen. what we learned today from the meeting from the french understanding of what the united states is doing, it was the united states who decided to stop doing that air-to-air refueling for saudi forces to pressure the saudi forces to get into peace talks over yemen. some sbrg details we've learned from the french because this has not been forthcoming from the white house so far. >> nick robertson in paris for us. thank you for that reporting. tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern cnn's fareed zakaria. only on cnn. >>> it was a week of celebration for nancy pelosi. even though her party now controls the house, is her future as speaker set in stone. her daughter will join us live here in the newsroom. don't go anywhere. we're voya! we stay with you to and through retirement. i get that voya is with me through retirement, i'm just surprised it means in my kitchen. so, that means no breakfast? voya. helping you to

united states. the president about to disembark there from air force one. neil? >> neil: thanks, john. n these developments including a number at the united nations, karen pierce, the u.k. ambassador do the u.n. if you have not heard this woman in action, i urge you to record it. she is just a sight to be hold on the floor of the u.n. grad to have you here. >> thanks for having me. >> neil: these are serious, austere events recognizing the end of world war i but they bring all the powers together and to try to maybe think about the risk you take going too far. how do you think this weekend goes for this president, for all the major european leaders? >> you're absolutely right to talk about bringing people together. first and foremost, an opportunity to say thank you, thank you to all of those soldiers from all of our countries that served and gave their lives. it's an opportunity for europe to say thank you to the united states for sending its soldiers to help and an opportunity for reconciliation above all with germany as the enemy that most people think of, but now look where we are w

we have five countries outside states with military forces, right now, in syria, iran, russia, united states, turkey, and the israeli airorce. there is a real danger of collisions, military actions between the two as we saw with the shoot-down of the russian il-20. so the situation is quite dangerous in terms of state to state conflict. we're working to avoid that, while at the same time, building on the cease fire to set forth a legitimate political process that is worthy of the name of the u.n. vision for syria, being at peace with itself, and at peace with its neighborhood. thank you very much. >> thank you very much, that was an excellent statement. and mr. jenkins, we have been joined by a ranking member mr. deutsche, who, and it shows you the high level of interest he has on this issue, because we know that on your side, you've got a lot going on, and competing time restraints. so thank you, mr. deutsche, for joining us. and i would love to have you give your opening statement, sir. >> great. thank you, madam chairman. thanks for calling the hearing. thanks, for appearing before the committee today, and mr. jenkin

the trans pacific and korean war unknown soldiers were flown to the united states, landing in travis air force base -- i'm sorry, yes, landing in travis air force base, and then coming across to virginia, where they were put aboard the u.s.s. blandy. those ships all met at sea. about 7 owe, 75 miles off the virginia capes. do they have any navy veterans in the audience? then you probably know better than i transferring something at sea is a logical nightmare, with high lines and ropes, moving ocean, at speed. well, this wasn't just food or supplies that they were transitioning. they actually did the process of moving the bodies from one ship to another. so they brought all of them aboard the u.s.s. canberra. they immediately separated the korean war unknown soldier and placed a guard upon him with the united states marines, and the two candidates were placed into a room, transferred into identical caskets, flags were draped upon them. they were shuffled about, and the guard was posted for over a day, and sometime during there, they would come in, and they would shuffle them some more, so there

united states and first lady to make their arrival. they have had a 10—hour flight from the united states sport about michael dell and before he boarded therefore —— boarded air forcewe hours in buenos aires before the g20 summit and we have heard how the sta kes a re summit and we have heard how the stakes are high at this week ‘s summit. we are expecting president trump to meet xi jinping summit. we are expecting president trump to meet xijinping and real hopes that the meetings on the sideline of this summit could have a resolution in the deal in trades between the two countries which have been undermined by threats by the us president. the first lady and the president. the first lady and the president had that 10—hour flight, president. the first lady and the president had that 10—hourflight, a little fa ct president had that 10—hourflight, a little fact for you, they were tweeting from the flight. if any of you follow the president or the first lady on twitter, they were tweeting from the flight and they will be spending around 48 hours in buenos aires for the g20 summit and a crucial meeting with president xi jinping. 0nly days before the summit in argentina,

united states government the united states has. ended saudi air refueling rights over yemen for the saudi air force and now the u.s. congress has called for a classified briefing for a classified briefing to be provided to congress now when classified briefings are requested by members of congress and the administration agrees to do that what comes after are usually pretty forceful actions so again what's going to be expected is that the administration and most importantly members of congress will haul for a adjustment to the relationship as it pertains to the united states and saudi arabia in regards to saudi actions in yemen could to get your thoughts on a say john jones joining staff from washington thanks very much. oh plenty more ahead on the news hour we're live at the mexican border city of tijuana where a massive caravan of central american migrants come to a halt. as world leaders talk trade in papua new guinea we look at how they host nation's poor are making their presence felt. and later in school find out why the crowd was unhappy with this tennis playoff to be roger federer who will be here more. saw

think all of that is or is within the capabilities of the iraqi security forces the united states really provides primarily air support and sometimes intelligence on the ground but that was in the early years of the of the war against no i think.

i think all of that is or is within the capabilities of the iraqi security forces the united states three provides primarily air support and sometimes intelligence on the ground but that was in the early years of the the war against no i think both of these capabilities are well in hand by the iraqi security forces but why do you think it's taken so long to finally eliminate them from iraq i mean it's being a long time since dianne has been reduced to this couple of small pockets in the countryside well i mean the insurgency or the whatever you want to call it didn't come out of a vacuum there's a certain organic connection between it and the insurgency that opted after the american invasion occupation of two thousand and three it went dormant during the period say between twenty ten and twenty fourteen but it was followed by the civil war in syria. and then off to the much more dangerous and formidable way in iraq the point i'm trying to make here is that on this eon the lying circumstances that allowed for the emergence of this very varied and twenty violence. i think that we may get sons and even grandsons o

we have five countries outside states with military forces right now in syria i and iran, russia and the united states, turkey and the israeli air for force. there's a real danger of collisions, military actions between the two as we saw with the shakedown of the russian il 20 and the situation is quite dangerous in terms of state to state conflict. we are working to avoid that while at the same time holding on the cease-fire to set forth legitimate political process that is worthy of the name of the un vision for syria being at peace with itself and at peace with its neighbors. thank you very much. thank you, very much. excellent statement. mr. jenkins, we been joined by ranking member mr. deutsch who -- it shows you the high level of interest he has on this issue because we know on your side you have a lot going on and competing time restraints. thank you mr. deutz for joining us and i love to have you give your opening statement. >> great. thank you for calling the hearing and ague, and besser jeffrey, for appearing before the committee today. mr. jenkins, thank you for the difficult work usaid does to address the humanitaria