our patients were just beginning to return from vietnam. i wore my nia bracelet for six years. continued to pray for that person. i learned early on to value you and your fellow veterans. i will always be grateful. sincerely, i lean aren." >> this is left by a daughter in honor of her father. "the true testament of a life well lived is the love you leave behind. remember with love" >> this card was designed and written by ariel pool, from oklahoma high school in el cajon, california. "i support you in every way possible. merry christmas to all the families of loss soldiers prepared and will always be remembered. happy holidays to all and happy new year's. yours truly, ariel poole." >> this card is merry christmas on one side and as a picture of private first class anthony mccormick, the class of 2008 from alcohol and ballet. he is evidently now serving in iraq. "merry christmas, i get many many thanks to all the men and women in our country that fought for our american freedom. you guys of the bravest people and have such an amazing hearts. not only do you guys think of yoursel

when he said people were claiming this is like vietnam -- vietnam did istocks ofnotd not . we simply have to this. i am a hippie from the 1960's. we voted for obama. hillary made the comment about iran. did anybody believe hillary was going to do anything differently? host: stella, you oppose the president. caller: i absolutely do. lewis carroll ruled "alice and the looking glass." i feel like we're fighting them over there so they do not come here. they are here. every attack has started from here. there was allusion in the president's speech about yemen and somalia. i think al-qaeda is absolutely lathing analysts. we chased them around and around. -- i think al-qaeda is absolutely laughing at us. the reasoning is impossible. also, follow the money. if this is costing us $1 million a soldier -- the soldiers are not getting anywhere near the top $1 million. where is that $1 million galene? if there has to be a war tax, let the people who are profiting financially from this horrible war pay the tax. host: what did you think about the president delivering a speech at the mili

in vietnam and his efforts to inform the outside world what was happening at the hanoi hilton. this is 25 minutes. ♪ finish >> liddy. ♪ eternal father -- >> all right, ladies and gentlemen, my guest in the studio is one of my all-time heros. he's jeremiah denton jr., he has been many things in this life. he's a naval academy graduate, he became what in the navy they call an aerodale, i say that because one of my sons is retired navy, he's a seal, and he was shot down over north vietnam and it was the longest-serving prisoner of the vietnamese and probably the most abused of those who lived to survive it. >> alvarez was actually longer than i, shot down the the previous year. he was by himself there a long time. >> i see. and subsequent to his release became a united states senator from the state of alabama, and he has authored a remarkable book. it's called, "when hell was in session." it's about his experiences all those many years when the vietnamese tried to break him. they tried to break everybody. and it was he, it was admiral denton who when forced to appear in a propagan

in vietnam there was a gi resistance movement that was s o powerful that by the end of the vietnam war nearly half the soldiers on the ground would not follow orders. they would not comply. they would not do missions. and there was little the military could do about it. there were certain little the government could do about it. basically when you have a military that is in that far advanced in a state of collapse where nearly half the people on the ground won't follow orders it's hard to fight the war. that is a very huge factor coupled with a powerful anti-war movement year in the u.s. coupled with a very fierce the vietnamese resistance. those three factors brought an end to vietnam. and so -- [inaudible] >> okay. we're going to have a q&a. [inaudible] >> fair enough. where was i? so finishing talking about vietnam, as i said, we had very fierce g.i. resistance that brought that to an end. we don't have anything like that happening right now in iraq. also what happened during vietnam, they don't have anything like that happening today. before the end of vietnam, actually around the

he was opposed to vietnam, he was opposed to iraq. he pointed out the dangers in afghanistan and what could happen if we do leave? he didn't make any effect on you with that? >> none whatsoever. absolutely not. in fact, this is going to be his vietnam if he doesn't change his mind here. this isn't going to work. larry, think of the logic of what we heard him say. he said that we're going to send more troops over there so we can withdraw in 18 months. seriously, let me just say that again. we're going to increase the troops so we can decrease the troops. >> larry: of course, the increase in the troops will accomplish what the increase did during the surge in iraq. it will temper the situation. so by bringing in more troops, they train -- they're able to more quickly train the afghanistans to run their own country. that makes some logic, doesn't it? >> the situation, the surge in iraq -- the situation was tempered in iraq because we were able to buy off enough of the people who were killing us. now, if we do that in afghanistan, if we c

so you know the question. >> the ghost of vietnam haunts this administration. walks through the corridors of today's white house every day. it certainly walks through the corridors of the united states congress constantly. but afghanistan 2009 is not vietnam 1965 or not even 1961. it's a very different situation. we were attacked from afghanistan. the most successful foreign attack on the united states of america bar one wha? the royal navy's attack on our capital in 1814 was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting today a repeat performance. in 2006 on the fifth anniversary of september 11, they planned a repeat performance which would have been more chilling and devastating than what happened on september 11, 2001, the so-called operation o vert, to blow up eight jumbo jets flying across the atlantic to the united states and canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died than died on september 1u9s. more importantly than that, the sbration airline business would have gone out of business. nobody in their right mind would get on

can you tell us -- >> i was interested as an historian of vietnam. i was too young to be drafted or fight in vietnam, but obviously it's going through your generation. and so when the ford foundation and susan baris and many other people said you know vietnam is now one of our most natural allies, but there's one big thing stopping it. it's the fact that we left dioxin. we left agent orange at the banks and we sprayed it all over and we haven't cleaned it up yet and we forgotten about it. but in the account everyday barricades with birth defects. there's fishermen who can't fish in the legs because of the day off and we behind. and sometimes this is where the aspen institute can come in. the american government could not easily admit all the blame for this and then be liable for every birth defect or every possible, you know, illness or so in vietnam. but the american government obviously wanted to do some in. so it couldn't do it directly so we raised money for the ford foundation, the gates foundation than others. we cleaned up the dioxin and agent

we heard the same kind of rhetoric from those trying to justify the escalation of war in vietnam.n you hear the lyndon johnson tapes on the phones such as those aired on bill moyer's show a couple weeks ago you hear leaders on the hill saying privately, even pleading with the president not simply to get carried away with the militarism. as one leader from the appropriations committee pleads with the president now -- yet there's something in this repeated compulsion, president bent on war who insists, no, we are the smart guys, the best and brightest. we will do a ride. host: norm solomon, the author of "or made easy." and this ismark, a reporter. caller: good morning. i want to talk about the fact that when president obama was running, running for office, he said that he felt the war in afghanistan was the right war to fight. he made it very clear. he really got in and listen to what everyone had to say. he made the decision he thought best for the country around how we face afghanistan. i think if we look carefully at what he has done, he is not just sending troops over there to

>> it all started with the vietnam war. if it wasn't for the vietnam war we wouldn't have the organization of personnel and research devoted -- they have not been flushed up in personnel and funding to the extent that they are expected and should pursue answers on the other wars. there are inadequate numbers of personnel and funding for the expanded mission. if congress and the american people are going to expect more from joint pow mia accounting command they need to -- in my little abbreviated statement we talked about, weekend do any of it without increasing that element. >> there is a serious deficiency in that argument. you are not going to get the people working in hawaii. they have been leaving on a consistent basis. why would you want to fund something in a location that will never be fully staffed with professional personnel to do the job? >> i want to turn to anyone else who wants to comment on this issue. >> what is important here is to focus on how we can make this a better situation and to do what is necessary

but in vietnam every day there's kids with birth defects. there's fishermen who can't fish in the lakes because of the dioxin. sometimes the aspen institutes can come in -- the american government could not easily admit all the blame for this and then be liable for every birth defect or every possible, you know, illness or so in vietnam. but the american government obviously wanted to do something. so it couldn't do it directly so we raised money from the ford foundation, the gates foundation, and others. we cleaned up the dioxin and agent orange that was left at the da nang air base and contained it. the military and government has under bush and obama, and nobody has to admit fault or say we're liable. let's just clean it up like a good person would do if you have made a mess. and sometimes you just need practical solutions instead of everybody getting on an ideological high horse. we went to the air base, saw the containment projects, and helped with the rehabilitation centers, because instead of saying, we're guilty and pay for everybody

yet we're just like vietnam. are we propping up a phony government like we did in vietnam? the elections blocked free elections in vietnam? if they there had been elections in vietnam, ho chi minh would have won in a land slide. i tell you what should happen, larry. we need an immediate congress to pass a war tax, because you know what, we're involved in two wars now and this country is feeling no pain. well, i got news for you. when you're involved in war, everyone should feel a little bit of pain. we need to pass a war tax to pay for this war. and i'll tell you something else, it's time to bring back the draft. these guys are on their fifth or sixth tours over there. i used to be advocate for a professional military. i'm not anymore. it's too easy for these people to take our young men and women to war and not account for it. let's pass one more law. the next time the government votes to go to war, i think every congressman and senator should be required to p predesignate someone in their family beginning military service. i'm tired for these people voting to go to war an

and what are we doing to address the deficits for vietnam veterans that have been mistreated? and when are we going to get a surgeon general, sir? let's get on with it. thank you. guest: paul, i had difficulty understanding the first questions. i just got the lessons and care. host: i think that is the gist of it. guest: he asked one question we learned about warrior care since walter reed. i think we learned there is that, first of all, the army -- if you remember "forrest gump" when he was playing ping-pong, he was playing a patient in an army relocation center, -- army rehabilitation center. in the 1970's, we had one of

that is different from vietnam.o give him a chance to finish the job. >> larry: penn, president bush had done the same thing -- he wouldn't have picked an exit date. if he had done the same thing, would you have been climbing -- would a lot of americans be climbing all over him? >> absolutely. i think there's no difference. and i certainly -- i don't think anybody understands the cost of war. i think it's beyond human comprehension. it's just horrible. i think there's the possibility -- not definite -- but the possibility that killing people overseas also helps the recruiting and builds the hate a little bit. i know they wish us ill, but i don't know that going in and, you know, 11,000 civilian -- i mean, 11,000 casualties and 7,000 of those civilian, seems like it's not going to generate a lot of good will. it seems like there should be at least more people saying that peace is an option. >> larry: no less a military hero than dwight eisenhower, and we quote him, war is stupid, every gun built, every ship built, ev

we turned a vietnam war veteran, some guy who was not tough enough to take on the terrorists, that was the work of a political operation. so ultimately the democrats have to find a way to sort of turn this ocean liner in a better direction, you know, by the midterm point if they're going to have some traction. >> congressman, could i come back to you and actually pick up something that joe lockhart said about the tricks of the trade, if you look, going into an election, that somehow in this constantly changing battle of the last cycle the democrats nudged ahead in terms of their use of technology, use of the internet, mobilization and so on. what can we expect in the form of innovation from the republican party in the midterm? >> you know, daniel, i think probably the best place to look is in virginia and new jersey about a month ago in these gubernatorial electricses. i know in my home state of virginia, we far surpassed the get out the vote effort of the other side this time, and it

you had to get the establishment on your side from the vietnam war. he said the key to these people as john mccloy, one of the characters in our book. and he says we should convene them together and we can dump them the wise men and they will do whatever we want. so that's the joy of the documents in the interviewing, which is the way a journalist tries to take on history. it was helpful when i did henry kissinger because every time i looked up the memos in the document, they seemed rather misleading until winston loy told me guess if you work for henry mcgill writes three versions of every memo. one is for the files and is totally untrue. one is for nixon and has its particular slant. and what is for henry's personal files and that's when we tell the real story. so i'm trying to get out the right documents. i did ask dr. kissinger about this. he said yes if i had known now what i knew then about the documents i could never have written a dissertation using

the situation in vietnam, the u.s.was there with very little legitimacy and was perceived as the vp colonial -- of the french. let's deal with the situation we have a, not with analogies to other places. i understand the question. in terms of domestic politics there is a great parallel. the president finds himself in a terrible situation. all the critics of the war are daut pelosi democrats from cambridge and new york city. the supporters are sarah palin republic and. the people he has to convince are his natural constituency. palin is just looking for a chance to say he is covering it up. the politics in this are terrible. yes? >> you mention that we do not know and there have been no credible reports. there have been reports over a number of years that he has not stayed in above iran what is going back and forth. there were reports in the 2004 and photographic evidence. the had seen him there in january 2009. how do you analyze those reports? >> i want to be absolutely explicit. the last time we had a solid piece of

that is different from vietnam.e him a chance. >> larry: penn, president bush would haven't picked an exit date. would you have been climbing -- would a lot of americans be climbing all over him? >> absolutely. i think there's no difference. and i certainly -- i don't think anybody understands the cost of war. i think it's beyond human comprehension. it's horrible. and there is a possibility, that killing people overseas also helps the revut kroouting a little bit. i know they wish us ill but i don't know that going in to 11,000 civilian -- i mean, 11,000 casualties and 7,000 civilian, seems like it's not going to generate a lot of goodwill. and it seems like there should be at least more people saying peace is an option. >> larry: dwight eisenhower, we quoted him. war is stupid, every gun built, every bomb built takes away the clothes for children and health for seniors. >> this is a very rich country. the amount of money on the troops is tiny with respect to the hemt of the country. i would go farther than st step

war, and george bush's because of iraq. >> i love the historical analogies, particularly wit vietnam. but we spe more than $1 trillion and 5000 liv chang a few shadowy figes and the bills for one reason, nlear weapons. in these earlieroris -- obvisly, in the cold war, we we worried about the soviet unio -- this is alabout new york and washington and n francisco going up in radioactive du because of jihadists getting nuclear weapons. it see likeuch distant, remote kind of ridiculous that. and yet the consequences are pret great >>. at is whyhis war ibout kistan, not about afghanian. ife abandon theegion, pakistan to lost, and the loss o pakistan to radical islam uld be catastrophic. but let me jt say aord about the politics of this. why are peoplsurprised? are we al suffering of and mia? for the last five years, the democrs have argued that afghanistan was the the good wa afghanistan w the central front in the war on terro -- remember that? that washe main argument of the jo kerry campaig, continued all rough the second bush term, d its mantra was that we have tohift resources out of

unlike vietnam, we are not facing a broad based popular insurgency. and most importantly unlike vietnam, the american people were viciously attacked from afghanistan and remain a target for those the same extremist were plodding along its border. to abandon this area now and to rely only on efforts against al qaeda from a distance would significantly hamper our ability to keep the pressure on al qaeda and create an unacceptable risk of additional attacks on our homeland and our allies. second, there are those with knowledge that we cannot leave afghanistan in its current state, but suggest that we go forward with the trips that we already have. this would simply maintain the status quo in which we muddle through and permit the slow deterioration of conditions there. it would ultimately prove more costly and prolonged our stay in afghanistan because we would never be able to generate the conditions needed to train the afghan security forces and give them the space to take over. finally, there are those who oppose identifying a timeframe for a transitio

the vietnam war in 1966 saw 200,000 troops committed to vietn vietnam. at the peak of the war, 543,of our treasure lost. general, the cia has indicated that afghanistan is 4,000 feet versus up in the air versus iraq that is flat. you asked for 40,000 troops. we've got 30,000. what is your commitment to protect troops as they travel up into those mountains and to save lives? >> my commitment is absolute. our rules of engagement provide them every responsibility and right to defend themselves. we believe that the equipment we're providing them is as good as we can and we will continue to do that better. i will push for every asset we need to protect there will be. >> i thank you for that. i think the terrain is so difficult. it brings to mind the pat tillman story that opportunities for friendly fire and loss of life are heightened. there is a theory of clear, whole, build and transfer. president karzai today said this week with secretary gates that it will be 15 years before he can maintain a military with his own resources. ambassador, why are we engaged

i am a vietnam vet. young people in this time that we lost in the 60's to prove that this is exactly the same war? >> gland, when did you serve in vietnam? >> i was there at the end. i was in the air force. i took care of said. and because i was at the end i really kind of noticed how much we lost. i mean, do you realize how much potential this country had that we lost at that time? >> i'm going to stop you on that point. thank you for the call. there is no official republican response, but senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky is on the phone talking to reporters, giving his reaction. here's part of what he seen. this is life here on c-span 2. >> we owe it to the brave americans who are now or will be deployed in pursuit of this objective to provide every resource necessary to prevail. as the forces produces results in security and governance and capabilities of the afghan security forces, we must ensure that the transition of responsibilities is based on conditions on the ground and not purgatory timelin

i am a vietnam veteran. i just wonder if uc continued support for all of the military other than just today. what do you think the american people are saying? . . host: i am going to let our producer have them know to turn down their television. we will come back to your mother, but i have your wife on the line. go ahead. your on with your husband. caller: merry christmas. guest: merry christmas. i love you. it is 6:00, i cannot get the boys up, but we wanted to tell you we are proud of you, we love you, mary christmas. i'm calling from montana. host: thank you for joining us this morning. we will try to get your mother back on line. frankie, go-ahead. you are on the air. guest: good morning. i love you. i am proud of you. i am so thankful you boys are over there to protect us and keep us safe. i will never forget that. you know how proud i am of you. guest: thank you. merry christmas to you. host: sergeant stiffarm, we want to thank you for joining us this morning. for the next 20 minutes, we will members a

and the vietnam war was fought on the grounds that if all of vietnam went communist, the rest of asia would quickly follow the so-called domino effect here as it happened, the dominoes fell not in india in the 1970s, but in eastern europe in 1989. we shouldn't forget either that thanks largely to the huge population of china, more than a fifth of humanity still live under what may be regarded as communist rule. up until 1989, there were 16 communist states as i would define them, oddly there are 36 countries today which were at one time communists. that contradiction is to be explained by the fact that the soviet union, once broke up and became 15 states in czechoslovakia and yugoslavia also broke a. so there only were 16 communist states, but there are 36 countries who were communist. today there are five communist countries, china, vietnam, laos, north korea and cuba. the first three of them have been developing market economies and substantial private sector's. politically communist, economically not. china has even been described as an example of party state capitalism. ideologica

>> we have the same in vietnam. the technology is even better today. but they are carrying over 100 pounds on their back. some even more. sometimes they drop those sacks when they get ready to deploy. but they are taking a lot of weight. and that body armour and everything else. it can -- it gets tough. in the heat and dust and all of that. >> again these photographs from "time" in news stands today. annie has the last question. >> caller: good morning. thank you for the service, general. my question concerns the clarity of the goals. i would like to have the president tell us exactly why we are there. are we there carrying some mineral or pipeline, just tell us that. but my problem is, and i think the problem with millions of americans that we rely on the war, and many of us do not believe the fact that they've been given to us surrounding 9/11. i think we have not been given anywhere near the truth surrounding the 9/11 attacks, and it is time to have a real and sincere investigation into 9/11 to where we can understand what really happened to drop th

people often cite the analogy of vietnam'. he did not go to vietnam, but he supported the americans. >> if you forgive me, it is not a wholly -- it was a bad period for u.k. - u.s. relations. the fact that he smoked a pipe in the u.s. office was offensive to some. the thing about anglo-american relationships, it is not characterized by its stability. it is characterized by volatility, an extraordinary ups and downs. >>xdçó i was not talking to -- >> it was interesting. >> it is an extremely interesting question. but i am interested in the a fallacy -- in the question of a policy. the prize and actually sending forces -- >> i could see the prime minister blair, given what he had seen in 1998, given where he was coming from, would have ever done a harold wilson if i can put it liket hat. -- like that. what level of military support might have been an alternative to sending the armored brigade. i cannot envisage, post 9/11, tony blair and the way the harold wilson did, put distance between himself and the white house. >> can you

we heard the same kind of rhetoric from those trying to justify the escalation of war in vietnam.he lyndon johnson tapes on the phones such as those aired on bill moyer's show a couple weeks ago you hear leaders on the hill saying privately, even pleading with the president not simply to get carried away with the militarism. as one leader from the appropriations committee pleads with the president now -- yet there's something in this repeated compulsion, president bent on war who insists, no, we are the smart guys, the best and brightest. we will do a ride. host: norm solomon, the author of "or made easy." and this ismark, a reporter. caller: good morning. i want to talk about the fact that when president obama was running, running for office, he said that he felt the war in afghanistan was the right war to fight. he made it very clear. he really got in and listen to what everyone had to say. he made the decision he thought best for the country around how we face afghanistan. i think if we look carefully at what he has done, he is not just sending troops over there to fight, but t

many books have been written by vietnam veterans pows and i think i've read them all. i've been out of work since december and those two groups of books i found fascinating and particular one by bill jacobs, if not now when is the name of that book. >> host: john, let me keep you on the line. i want to see if you've read this one. max cleland's book heart of a patriot. how i found the curse to survive vietnam walter reid and karl rove. >> caller: i've read about six books about that this year. bad in history is an incredible time. one incredible effect i found about lessons in history is such few people make the decision for us to go to war. it's incredible. three people sat around a desk and decided for us to go to war in 1962. that book is an incredible book for all americans to read. >> host: thanks for the tip. here is john on our line. >> caller: besides the bible which takes longer than a year to read, i liked arguing with these. it is better than common sense for me and i just really enjoyed reading it. and there's another book that was like to read and not free

a medal of honor recipient. 37 books have been written but vietnam veterans, p.o.w.' and i think i have read the mall. i have been out of work since december. in particular, won by bill jacobs one by bill jacobs. host: have you read this book? "part of a patriot." caller: i probably read 60 books about vietnam veterans this year. it is an incredible time. one fact i learned is that such a few people made the decision for us to go to war. three people sat around a desk and decided for us to go to war in 1962 pre that book is an incredible lesson for all americans to repair it is "lessons in disaster." host: ky. caller: i liked "arguing with expectidiots." it made sense. i enjoy reading it. another book, "last free man in america. wrote that is a local politician who wrote to them. host: here is a look at peter degallows talking about the book. >> people started looking at him with slightly different bias after the cancer diagnosis the may have been a reassessment developing. i think people who have been exposed, we talk about his friendship with many republicans. peopl

guest: we had the same problem in vietnam.is better today, but they are carrying over 100 pounds on their backs, some even more. sometimes they drop those rucksacks when they get ready to deploy, but they are taking a lot of weight, and they have body armor on and everything else. it gets tough, particularly in the heat and the dust and all that. host: again, these photographs from "time" magazine, in newsstands today. annie, joins us. good morning. caller: thank you for your service, general. my question is about the clarity of goals and afghanistan. i would like the president to tell us exactly why we are there. if we are there securing some special mineral or pipeline, just tell us that. my problem is, and the problems of many billions of america, is that many of us to not believe the facts as they have been given us surrounding 9/11. i think that we have not been given anywhere near the truth surrounding the 9/11 attacks, and it is time to have a real and sincere investigation into 9/11 to where we can understand what real

the president has said he wants to avoid another vietnam but yet he's reintroduced the vietnam syndrome of conditional commitment to america's calls and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman has one minute. mr. wilson: madam speaker, i rise today to address the issue of key importance to my constituents, jobs and the economy. i am proud of the work that congress has done to bolster the economy and create new jobs across our country. in ohio we continue to see new funds awarded and released every week. communities across the state and my district have been positively impacted by these funds. today, over $225 million of recovery funds have been announced to counties i represent along the ohio river. improvements in technology, investments in education funding, substantial things for our future. just last week $75 million recovery money was announced in ohio. these funds include

i am a vietnam veteran. i just wonder if uc continued support for all of the military other than just today. what do you think the american people are saying? . . host: i am going to let our producer have them know to turn down their television. we will come back to your mother, but i have your wife on the line. go ahead. your on with your husband. caller: merry christmas. guest: merry christmas. i love you. it is 6:00, i cannot get the boys up, but we wanted to tell you we are proud of you, we love you, mary christmas. i'm calling from montana. host: thank you for joining us this morning. we will try to get your mother back on line. frankie, go-ahead. you are on the air. guest: good morning. i love you. i am proud of you. i am so thankful you boys are over there to protect us and keep us safe. i will never forget that. you know how proud i am of you. guest: thank you. merry christmas to you. host: sergeant stiffarm, we want to thank you for joining us this morning. for the next 20 minutes, we will members a

>> i guess we didn't learn anything from vietnam. >> what purpose did vietnam serve? >> looking back today and what purpose is afghanistan going to serve. the brits today finally came out and told pakistan, you know, start doing something. and -- get out -- al qaeda out of the country. get bin laden. >> anybody else withdraw? >> vick. >> i don't see the connection to terrorism and the homeland security. allegedly that is one of the reasons we're in this. but -- >> and what could the president do because -- if he comes out on tuesday evening and he says, we're going to bring 30,000 more troops into afghanistan, here is the goals, the objectives and here is the -- our end withdrawal strategy. and how many of you would say, okay, i'll go along with his point of view? >> cheryl? >> bernadette will and patricia will and william will. but vick, you won't? >> i guess, i really am going to watch this. i want to see him make the case and try to connect the dots. why is this -- this, some -- so important in terms of american lives and all of the trls of dollars we have spent --

>> i guess we didn't learn anything from vietnam. what purpose did vietnam serve? and what purpose is afghanistan going to serve? >> the british government said, what are you going to do? get bin laden? >> i don't see the connection between terrorism and homeland security. allegedly that's one of the reasons we're in there. >> what could the president do, because if he comes out on tuesday evening and he says, we are going to bring 30,000 or 35,000 more troops into afghanistan. here is the goals, the objectives. and here is -- and withdraw strategy. how many of you would say, ok? i'll go along with his -- his point of view? >> cheryl will. patricia will. but vic, you won't go along? >> i want to see him make the case. why is this so important in terms of american lives and trillions of dollars we've spent on -- >> bill? >> i want to watch him with interest too because if he did decide to pull out, they would call him unpatriotic. as i said, what did we learn from vietnam? what are the goals there as far as afghanistan? strastiegically they have no use for -- strate

it is what johnson faced in vietnam. the ghost of vietnam haunts this administration.t walks the quarters of the white house every day. it walks the course of a congress every day. afghanistan 2009 it is not vietnam of 1961. it is a very different situation. we were attacked from afghanistan, the most successful foreign attack on the united states of america are one, at the royal navy's attack on the capital, was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting today a repeat performance. in 2006, on the fifth anniversary of september 11, they replant a repeat performance that would have been more chilling in devastating than what happened on september 11, 2001, to blow up eight jumbo jets flying across the north atlantic to the united states from canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died than died on september 11. the international airline business would have gone out of business. nobody in their right mind would get on an airplane to fly anywhere again. as bad as the viet cong were, as bad as the north vietnamese were, they had no designs t

it was called the moratorium against the vietnam war. this was mostly a college thing. there were going to be teach- ins' and kids would cut classes and so on. we decided to imitate this and -- some kids decided to imitate this and i thought it was wrong. i wrote him a letter every weekend, mostly what happened during the week. it was mostly high-school plays and basketball games. this time i wrote about moratorium day. he said that was a funny one. my father said why don't you send that to the national review? i changed the letter a little bit and i sent it off. we were completely uninformed about journalism. we knew note journalists or anything about journalism except we concerned it -- we consumed it. i assumed they did not like it. they did not -- teacher it away and this is what magazines do. i got a letter from a man who was the managing editor. i just cleaned off my desk and found your magazine and i learned that is what magazines do. >> nothing changes. i read it and i like it, he said. we would like to publish it. that was great. it was like a rush, you know. w

it was called the moratorium against the vietnam war. this was mostly a college thing. there were going to be teach- ins' and kids would cut classes and so on. we decided to imitate this and -- some kids decided to imitate this and i thought it was wrong. i wrote him a letter every weekend, mostly what happened during the week. it was mostly high-school plays and basketball games. this time i wrote about moratorium day. he said that was a funny one. my father said why don't you send that to the national review? i changed the letter a little bit and i sent it off. we were completely uninformed about journalism. we knew note journalists or anything about journalism except we concerned it -- we consumed it. i assumed they did not like it. they did not -- teacher it away and this is what magazines do. i got a letter from a man who was the managing editor. i just cleaned off my desk and found your magazine and i learned that is what magazines do. >> nothing changes. i read it and i like it, he said. we would like to publish it. that was great. it was like a rush, you know. w

i'm a vietnam veteran of three years.lled out, "what about the troops?" he had to be reminded. as far as i'm concerned, that sucks. thank you. guest: one of the things i would say -- let me express my gratitude to the vietnam veterans. the treatment they receive, which is much different from what we have today, is attributable to them. they stepped up and told us that we will not allow this to happen again to this generation of warriors. we are very, very appreciative of that bond we have with the warriors of that generation. i know they know that they have passed the guide to this generation, and the army has not filled this generation and will certainly not fill them. --not failed this generation and will certainly not fail them. host: is this unique to the army? guest: no, they all have a version of the program. we collaborate quite often and share ideas. but all of them are somewhat different all the services of a different culture and different circumstances. all of them approached this in a little bit differently. w

the situation in vietnam, the u.s.very little legitimacy and was perceived as the vp colonial -- of the french. let's deal with the situation we have a, not with analogies to other places. i understand the question. in terms of domestic politics there is a great parallel. the president finds himself in a terrible situation. all the critics of the war are daut pelosi democrats from cambridge and new york city. the supporters are sarah palin republic and. the people he has to convince are his natural constituency. palin is just looking for a chance to say he is covering it up. the politics in this are terrible. yes? >> you mention that we do not know and there have been no credible reports. there have been reports over a number of years that he has not stayed in above iran what is going back and forth. there were reports in the 2004 and photographic evidence. the had seen him there in january 2009. how do you analyze those reports? >> i want to be absolutely explicit. the last time we had a solid piece of information abo

the situation in vietnam, the u.s.was there with very little legitimacy and was perceived as the vp colonial -- of the french. let's deal with the situation we have a, not with analogies to other places. i understand the question. in terms of domestic politics there is a great parallel. the president finds himself in a terrible situation. all the critics of the war are daut pelosi democrats from cambridge and new york city. the supporters are sarah palin republic and. the people he has to convince are his natural constituency. palin is just looking for a chance to say he is covering it up. the politics in this are terrible. yes? >> you mention that we do not know and there have been no credible reports. there have been reports over a number of years that he has not stayed in above iran what is going back and forth. there were reports in the 2004 and photographic evidence. the had seen him there in january 2009. how do you analyze those reports? >> i want to be absolutely explicit. the last time we had a solid piece of

i was a vietnam veteran. i see both sides of it.ost: specifically, what kind of work to do for tsa? caller: i was a screener at the gate in utah, a screening bags with x-ray. host: without breaking confidentiality, what kind of things do they tell you to look for that might tip you off that something bad will happen? caller: i cannot really say. i cite a piece of paper say i cannot divulge the things i learned on how we are supposed to profile people and see people as they come through. you looked inside the bag with x-ray and you could tell that normal things in a bag or a suitcase just do not belong. you can tell there is something different. host: is there something that says if this person is wearing x or has x in their bag, that person is to be pulled over and questioned in depth? caller: that's true. the best advice given us was that if you have a feeling that there is something wrong or something different, you better say something. normally, human intuition is that if you see something irregular or out of place, it is. if it

>> my dad had a vietnam nese counterpart in the green berets. his counterpart was named tiger. he save heed my dad's life on a number of occasions, and when vietnam fell they lost touch with one another. in honor of him i was given the name. >> larry: have they ever heard from him? >> we found out in the beginning of the year that he died at starvation in a concentration camp, yeah. >> larry: we'll be back with tiger woods. he'll with us for the full hour. i'm larry king. don't go away. >> yeah! ♪ throughout our lives, we encounter new opportunities. at the hartford, we help you pursue them with confidence. by preparing you for tomorrow. while protecting what you have today. you've counted on us for 200 years. let's embrace tomorrow. and with the hartford behind you, achieve what's ahead of you. and with the hartford [audio: gavel hits the desk] this bill will let americans keep the coverage they have now. ...and guarantee no one is denied coverage for getting sick... ...or for a pre-existing condition. this bill keeps all medical decisions between doctors... ...and their patie

host: you point out in the vietnam war, congress did not fund that conflict. guest: in 1968 and 1969 they did pass a 10% surtax. otherwise it was dev silt financing. host: let's look at the historical perspective. back in 1989, congress did pass its first tax. congress issued bonds to pay for the war of 1812. back in the american war, taxes paid for 40% of the costs in that conflict, and the civil war led to the cretion creation of the first income tax. moving ahead to world war ii and world war ii you pointed out congress issued bonds to pay for 6% of the wartime -- 60% of the wartime costs. congress raised feaks but still covered on 40% of the costs. finally this point, congress financed the korean warren tirle by taxation, with no borrowing. guest: then we took a different tact. host: why is that? guest: nobody likes to pay taxes. everyone would like to have lower taxes and increased benefits. that's not realistic. host: our phone lines are open. you can also send us a tither comment at twitter.com or journal@cspan.org. guest: an interesting thing about con

i'm a vietnam veteran of three years. it's just ironic that the news conference that the president just had, someone in the audience yelled out, "what about the troops?" he had to be reminded. as far as i'm concerned, that sucks. thank you. guest: one of the things i would say -- let me express my gratitude to the vietnam veterans. the treatment they receive, which is much different from what we have today, is attributable to them. they stepped up and told us that we will not allow this to happen again to this generation of warriors. we are very, very appreciative of that bond we have with the warriors of that generation. i know they know that they have passed the guide to this generation, and the army has not filled this generation and will certainly not fill them. --not failed this generation and will certainly not fail them. host: is this unique to the army? guest: no, they all have a version of the program. we collaborate quite often and share ideas. but all of them are somewhat different all the services of a differe

interesting you had the freudian slip of vietnam. [laughter] you and i are, we're of that same generation. yeah. would you like to take a stab at geopolitics? >> wow, that's crazy. [laughter] >> i'll help you. >> yeah, i'll need a lot of help. [laughter] basically, one thing that i realized when i was there is that in their memory, the afghans, it's almost like they kicked the british out, i don't know, a couple years ago, and the russians were, like, last week. yeah, we got them out of here last week. so they had, their sense of time is very, very here and now and current, but they, they remember. and they were hoping when i was, when i was there in august and september of 2003, they were really hoping that america would follow through. they were really thankful. i got so many people shaking my hands and saying thank you, you know, we're so glad that this has happened and, you know, the taliban are no longer in power. do you think you'll follow through and finish everything you've promised us? and then, of course, iraq happened and

so you know the question. >> the ghost of vietnam haunts this administration.ugh the corridors of today's white house every day. it certainly walks through the corridors of the united states congress constantly. but afghanistan 2009 is not vietnam 1965 or not even 1961. it's a very different situation. we were attacked from afghanistan. the most successful foreign attack on the united states of america bar one wha? the royal navy's attack on our capital in 1814 was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting today a repeat performance. in 2006 on the fifth anniversary of september 11, they planned a repeat performance which would have been more chilling and devastating than what happened on september 11, 2001, the so-called operation o vert, to blow up eight jumbo jets flying across the atlantic to the united states and canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died than died on september 1u9s. more importantly than that, the sbration airline business would have gone out of business. nobody in their right mind would get on an airplane

in vietnam, there were similarly politically determined limits. do you have any such limits in your efforts? >> i am not aware of any limits. i certainly don't have any that i feel right now. >> thank you very much. mr. jones? >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. i want to thank you gentlemen for being here today for your leadership to our nation. and i represent the district where the camp lejeune marine base is located and i'm very proud of all our men and women in uniform, marines, too. i want to ask a question. several of my colleagues, mr. sanchez and mr. partlet, and in your comments you talked about the karzai government. and knowing that there have been numerous articles written about the brother being a drug dealer and on the payroll. what i want to know from a professional like yourself, how difficult is it to say to the afghan people, trust your government? i mean, if they see us as propping up this corrupt government, try to help me understand just how difficult that is, or if it's not difficult to say, trust your government? >> congr

and others in vietnam.r 400 today. my question is the defense department in the past since 2007 has cut its oda funding from 16% of overall oda to about 9%. has that money moved into the defense procurement or have you seen any of it flow over to you in order to do this civilian surge? and the monies intended to make it happen? it is about $1.5 billion. have you seen that? >> congressman, i'm not aware of that in terms of the accounts from department of defense to department of state. what i would tell you now is that i'm very satisfied with the development budget that we have. i've put in a request for additional development funds. and that's being looked at right now. but i'm comfortable with the level of development assistance that we're providing to afghanistan and i'm very comfortable with the buildup of civilians we have on the ground. >> i thank the gentleman. mr. lobiondo? >> thank you, mr. chairman. and general mcchrystal and ambassador eikenberry, thank you for being here, thank you for your servi