into vietnam. richard nixon, enter nixon was particularly shrewd, i argue in exploiting the drug crisis in vietnam to his political advantage. he exaggerated the menace of drug abuse in an anslingeresque way and effectively presented himself as a national savior bent on eradicating the drug peril from american life and june 17, 1971, after the release of a congressional report claiming exaggeratingly as it turned out 15% of american gis used heroin, he formally declared the war on drug, called drug, abuse public enemy number one in america and the situation he says approached the dimension of the national emergency, now, the timing of the speech is very opportune for him, four days earlier "the new york times" had begun printing exempts of the pentagon papers, which -- apparently there is -- i haven't seen it but there's an excellent documentary out on daniel else berg and his role in leaking the pentagon papers. the pentagon papers was a top-secret blueprint of american governmental war planning l

and i'm going to go back to the vietnam era first, kara. because i think to some degree what laura is describing in terms of women being much more involved in combat than ever before has to do with the kind of the wars we're fighting now. by also think it probably has to do with cultural changes. and so the vietnam war happened in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s that this was a time when women's lives here were changing a great deal. can you talk a little bit about how the military had to adapt to accommodate those changes here? >> sure. when you think about -- when i think about nursing in the military, sort of the iconic world war ii, and in my mind i always remember this ad that was to recruit women and it has this white clad nurse leaning over a bed and a wounded soldier, and it says safety is life. it's a very romanticized, you might kill the boy and then go home and marry him kind of approach. and in the early 1960s when the army surgery serve vietnam, that kind of image wasn't going to cut it in tyler. they tried a little bit of that, but th

-- vietnam and afghanistan? and, fourth, i think comparison is useful even if it's not politically correct, and i think we refuse, most of us refuse to see the fact that the soviet expanse in afghanistan is extremely, extremely interesting. the british one. and we should have worked on that much more. we should have worked on that in 2002, 2003 when people following the situation the trend was extremely negative. and basically in 2005 i wouldn't say over, but the situation was so bad that we knew that we were heading to major difficulties. so now what kind of comparison can we do? first i would say it's about escalation and goals, and i will have this kind of comparison, but i am not an historian. i am thought to know much more about vietnam, but two things are important. the first is that in vietnam the united states had the problem about defining the goal, and i would say that there was overemphasis of the importance of vietnam. when you're reading text the feeling that -- [inaudible] as a world power. it's th

so the vietnam war hip in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's. this is a time when women's lives here were changing a great deal. any type little bit about how the military had to adapt to accommodate those changes here? >> sure, when you think -- or when i think about nursing in the military, sort of the iconic demeanor from world war ii. and in my mind i always cemented this ad was to recruit women and it has this white partners leaning over a bad i'm a wounded soldier and it says save his life. it is very romanticized po. you might kill the boy and then go home and marry him. and in the early 1960's when the army started to recruit for vietnam, that kind of image wasn't going to cut it entirely. they tried a little bit of that, but they also needed to say, if you become a nurse, will help you specialize. will pay for your education. you can become in the nasa says, and our nurse, all of the specialized training. and in the next ad would be a woman dancing with the position and so you can have a grand time in the army. [laughter] as other of th

remember he wrote his dissertation on vietnam. we were talking and i've been reading some french history on the algerian war and i mentioned the general, not by name, said there's one general and he listed off the top of his head about eight of the french generals of the 1950's who had fought in both vietnam and algeria appears he was quite conscious of the background, especially the french background and the counterinsurgency. i want to talk about and highlight two areas. the first is what petraeus did you know what say this in the context of my belief that the surge failed in the sense that it did not achieve a strategic call. it improves security. there a lot of iraqis live today because of the surge. there was a real achievement. i think the surge failed because the purpose of the surge was to improve security to create a breeding space which included a breakthrough would occur. that is still not occurred. it may occur this year, it may not. but all the basic questions that led to the violence to life before the surge are just

it's the book on how we won the war by general jap of vietnam, north vietnam at the time. i came across that book repeatly and began reading through it. what was going through the mind of a vietnamese general. we didn't lose the war here. it was lost in the united states and a lot of it exactly on the floor of this congress in debates that is similar to the debates we have today. it's on page 8. it's not worth reading the book. they got the inspiration because the united states had negotiated an agreement with -- in korea. where did they get the inspiration to win the war against us in vietnam? they saw we didn't fight the korean war through a final victory but negotiated a settlement. and then i'd fast forward to june 11, 2004, where i was waiting sitting ogo into iraq the next day and then muqtada al-sadr said with english closed caption say they will leave iraq the same way they left vietnam, the same way they left lebanon, the same way they left mogadishu. that's the inspiration of not only our enemies of al qaeda in iraq and around the world, it's the inspiration for

[applause] >> general zinni, i'm a vietnam veteran.a catastrophic priority 1 total and permanent disabled vietnam veteran, former marine personal bodyguard for lyndon johnson. the issue that i have that i wish to bring forward in this moment to you, sir that i find to be the greatest challenge at the moral issue in our country is that for over two years, the average of 20 veterans from this war commits suicide because they cannot take the degradation of what happens to them when they go there and they come home and they see the disconnect. and so the question i pose to you, sir, is what level of leadership would you impose in this country that could assist these people because suicide in my understanding is just about one of the greatest sins that a soul can ever commit. >> thank you. this has become an alarming problem and it's growing. and, frankly, the services in the military that have invested a lot in trying to understand it and prevent it are not as successful as they would like to be. the numbers have not gone down in the ways

the second event is the story of how the vietnam women's memorial in d.c.me to be built and in the years after the war in the 1980s nurse veterans got together and started to raise money to build the memorial. the movement was spearheaded by carlton evans and for a decade these women raised money, lots and lots of money. federal agencies and had to gain the approval of two separate presidents to have this memorial built. when the women's memorial was dedicated in 1993 it was the first memorial on the nation's mall to women. that is also a profound event. is not just entering women in to serve our discussions about the vietnam war but a memorial to women, the first one on the mall. profound event but as i learned in terms of in her experience in gaining support for the memorial, that came at the cost of casting women's roles in the war in a particular light. the women's foundation was lobbying congress to pass a law that would direct that the memorial be built and that is how they get built. it is congressional. she went to the vfw because it was crucial for

half the home was on the streets tonight are vietnam vets. give me 30 seconds. the rate of homelessness is higher by our troops today. more people have died, more vietnam vets have died from suicide and died in the iraq war. that is what these wars are doing to our society. these are our children. it is time to take care of them and bring them home. but support the resolution on the floor. to four minutes to the chair of the house armed services committee, the gentleman from missouri, mr. skelton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. skelton: mr. speaker, have we forgotten, have we forgotten what happened to america on 9/11? have we forgotten who did it? have we fore goten those who protected and gave them a safe -- forgotten those who protected and gave them a safe haven? let me speak in favor of those men and women who wear the uniform today that are doing something about it. i'm so proud of them. every american should be proud of them and their professionalism, their devotion to duty, their patriotism. thus, i rise in str

the first semi ask that question of a bunch of corporals and sergeants coming out of vietnam, i said21 for mirage the tenant or officer the single most important trait, those young marines said i want them to know their stuff. they did not say stuff. [laughter] almost every one of them. in the and it is competency a lawyer to be a good person and have values and treat people well. but the heart and soul of leadership is that you are confident and know your stuff for by kinky through the crisis and lead this company or unit to success in accomplish the mission and bring you back home and make you successful. and we have too many readers that we either select or ride at a position that all possess that competence today regardless of whatever field you are in is extremely difficult to achieve this virtually every organization an institution and every aspect of our society has become much more complicated and complex and difficult to the. without the experience, knowledge and demonstrated performance to be able to come in to where we wanted to be. i thank you for your attention i will ta

i used it for my source of my book bridging the gap after vietnam. my comment and question to you is there is a very obvious lack of middle class and mexico. there is a great middle class in the united states and i think that's one of the reasons we are such a great country in all phases. you either have it or you don't in mexico's there is a class system, there definitely is a class system. i wonder if he would comment on those issues as to why there is obviously a tremendous immigration fleming from mexico and the united states. >> david, you've been -- >> i think david can speak to that better than all right. >> one of the things i'm puzzled about is trying to identify that number class in mexico. there is more of a middle class that i've discovered that my fault as i've been traveling north of mexico. when i meet northern mexicans, and by northern mexicans i am speaking specifically of people living in the six northern mexican states of baja california, and -- as we work our way west to east. those states when you bring mexico down on the united

there was in vietnam, too.dea to put more resources and things are better is deeply wrong because flexible in afghanistan you put 100 million more the taliban are going to get at least 10 million. because there is corruption and plenty of things. you send more arms of afghanistan the taliban will get part of the arms and so on. you are destroying the country and establish high-level corruption. so this idea that the that affect, the unintended consequences of the more resources and that is the key point and suddenly i don't see what i of seen since 2001 is every hear more resources, every year the security and the end it is just the end of the process. it is the end because after soon after the 2000 peace and we stop and do not send more resources, no enforcement. the withdrawal is kind of much more complex. so, with that escalation, difficult to criticize the importance of the conflict i think it was also in vietnam to find the objectives, the metrics where [inaudible] in the case of afghanistan it's more abou

when i started, we were still just coming out of the post vietnam -- post-vietnam -- post- vietnam era. i think they blamed the media for some of that perception. now, you have the most widely respected institution in america. they realize that we are the conduit to the american public that are not at all hostile. plus, the fact that they now aware that this is how it is going to be. we have to be better at it than the enemy. they are bound by having to get your story straight before putting it out. they are always going to be you in putting the story out. >> we are going to show a clip from earlier. your wife is what kind of a doctor? >> she is retired, but she was an obstetrician. >> your kids? >> one kid isn't reconstructive -- is a reconstructive surgeon. another is getting her premed requirements so she can go to medical school and another daughter is taking her junior semester abroad. >> what about the reconstructive surgeon? >> he is a male. >> where is he doing this? >> he is doing this in baltimore. let's watch this report from jeddah where it -- >> let's watch this report. >>

my brother gary, vietnam-era veteran. my sister beth ann, army veteran. nephew iraq veteran. i come from a family who believes in service. the american family, large family of our nation believes in service to our country. yet, it is true that the death toll as the "washington post" reports in afghanistan is at least at 1,000. and we have to have this debate tore either recommit to continuing the war and giving the reasons to the troops why we're doing that or to suggest that maybe this is the opportunity for us to take a new direction. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. i yield three minutes to the the gentleman from illinois, mr. kirk, a member of the committee on appropriations. the speaker pro tempore: mr. kirk is recognized for three minutes. mr. kirk: i feel compiled to rise today as the only member of this body who was deployed twice to afghanistan, both times as a navy reserve intelligence officer in kad

>> guest: so we are often times blocked by china, occasionally vietnam or regularly vietnam, that started in november of last year. >> host: why? >> guest: you know, it's a remarkable question. we're not sure. this is not a company with any political agenda whatsoever. we are a vehicle for communications of our users. so whatever our users feel like talking about with their family, their friends, their business associates, that's what we do. we're the intermediary that allows that communication to take place, so it's unusual that countries would take the step of blocking their own citizens' communications by blocking access to our site. >> host: how many employees and where is it headquartered? >> guest: so we're a little over 1200 employees which is a pretty dramatic growth spurt. we still think of ourselves as a start-up company. we're based in palo alto, california, it's a true silicon valley success story. we feel like we're the likely successor to a long-term process in silicon value i -- valley. i think we're the next step, we hope, in that iteration process. >> host: well, mr. spar

when the vietnam war ended, that ended for him. he was done in the navy because he couldn't go to battle anymore. >> larry: tell me what you think of guys who do this, who put on these insane uniforms -- we had one here a couple weeks ago -- and walk up to someone who may be blown up in a minute carrying explosives. why do they do that? >> why would they commit suicide like that? >> larry: no. why would they go to diffuse the bomb? why would you want to take that job? >> well, someone has to do it. lots of times it's the old dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. you know, in the condition that, you know, war is, all jobs are really pretty dirty when you are fighting a war. there's nothing glamorous about war at all, larry. it's a matter of survival. >> larry: president obama wants all u.s. troops -- he wants the level in iraq down to 50,000 combat troops by labor day, and then all troops out by the end of next year. think it will happen? >> no, i don't think it will happen. i wish it would happen with my whole heart to bring thos

and because he did not want to serve in vietnam. i saw him at the end of this parade that i was in. he drove me home. i was sort of crying because he did not have his entourage with him. he was alone. i said they have taken everything from you. the government has stripped you of your livelihood. they have taken it all. he said they have not taken everything. they have not taken me from me. i know you want to be something sunday to meet never want something so much that you wanted more than you love yourself so that when they take it from you they take you from you. >> host: good advice. we will pause for break and be right back. >> after words and several other c-span programs are available for download as broadcast. more with william and janet cohen and representative john lewis in a moment. >> after words with william and janet cohen and representative john lewis continues. >> let's continue our dialogue, discussion on the questions raised on reconciliation and america. we have made progress. no one can deny that fact. i know the one who grew up in rural alabama, a year in child r

problem, vietnam or iraq? said no question at all, iraq. >> well, first off, it is a real honor to be here on this podium with two journalists that have written quite perceptively or not the iraq -- on the iraq war. i feel out of place. i spent four months in iraq mainly trying to lose the war. but pat trick -- patrick has given me a chance to think about the changes that took place that took place within the u.s. government and specifically the u.s. military that were caused by iraq and where that leaves us going forward. as i looked at my wardrobe this morning, i thought, do i really need to wear a tie? i thought, who are you kidding? tom ricks hasn't warn a tie since 1973, but i think there's a lesson here -- just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. i said i served in iraq. again, i was really trying to lose the war. all that indiscriminate targeting we were doing in the fall of 2003 and 2004, yes, you can blame me. ironically, though, one of the things that i haven't re

when bloggers in countries such as china and vietnam and egypt and iran are threatened, we speak out publicly on their behalf. this is an important part of what we can and need to be doing. i want to just say at last comment, and it relates to what you spoke about senator durbin in your opening. this is about issue where the government has a role but the private sector also has a role. as you noted, i was involved before coming into government in the creation of the global network initiative, which is a multistakeholder initiative that brings together companies, ngos, academic experts and social investing firms. i think it's really critical that we and you work to figure out ways for companies to step up and take responsibility here. we can't do it alone, and companies acting alone can't make a difference. there needs to be a collective response, and i'm personally very committed as are others in the state department, to trying to find ways to work collectively with the private sector to make a difference in this area. thank you very much. >> chairman durbin, ranking member coburn, m

vietnam' was a much bigger effort. our goal was different in vietnam. it was much more fighting a war against a group of soldiers. we spoke about hearts and minds, but it is not quite what we are doing here. there were problems with the drug, but not the problems in afghanistan. and this is -- i hate to use the expression. this is part of the war on terrorism. afghanistan is a lot more open than vietnam's was because communications are a whole lot better. now, you carry a tv camera that is lighter than a back pack. reporters are embedded with the truth. it would be a lot harder to fit in a particular line and get away with it that was in vietnam. host: independent line. caller: in your recommendation, he suggested the use of the army contract vehicle that it would provide expedited security clearance as well as a clear speaker in the language. guest: we did not. the farming is swallowing all of its own linguists that it can get its hands on. it is a great idea. host: next caller. caller: it is about the contractors in iraq. no one was sure where the mon

i was graduating into vietnam in 196.eren't a whole lot of people ready to go, and here jack, he decided he wants to go. well, you know, he had to file a petition. he got the petition. and he showed his medal. he's a man that always was fighting but fighting for opportunity. he fought for his country but he never stopped fighting. when he got back here. but it wasn't a fight out of anger and resentfulness. it was a fight about this is just right. wasn't complicated, in my experience of jack, it wasn't complicated stuff. it's right or it's wrong. if it's right you got to do something about it. i also remember thinking that when i was out there in 1974, if any man reflected his district it was jack. marcy talked about, you all remember the movie diagnosis dear hunter." -- remember the movie "dear hunter." that was jack. he reflected the ethic of his district. like so many of your districts, the people here. i -- he was made of the same stuff of the people he served with and actually grew up with. throughout his career he --

but i was at oxford university years ago whether the vietnam was a counter insurgency was a subject of debate. forget about the lessons. but now the are reducing it to counter insurgency and putting it together with iraq and afghanistan and discussing these lessons. i also mindful of winston churchill who said the further backward you can look for other for what you can see. our panel looks back only seven years so maybe we can only see forward a few years but i think with our distinguished speakers we may be able to even glimpse some lessons beyond that. the word lessons is also a broad and nebulous term it may be the importance of looking for lessons lost, the outcome of misplaced or whatever is a this searching for them in the dialogue in sue's thinking about it but obviously it is based on an acquisition of knowledge it hopes to have facts and a rendering a judgment the importance making sure you take the fact some of the narrative, the chronology and try to the and render judgment that may be helpful in this case may be for operations but also i hope that the strategic level and i

somewhere i heard that during the vietnam war. so what is it we got to do? we got to doubledown on a bad policy to protect the honor of those who have already died? i don't think so. there isn't a soldier in this country who's laid down their lives for our nation that isn't a hero. and no one in here disagrees with that. what is shameful is our policy that puts them in harm's way when they don't need to be. and make no mistake about it, this is not about national security, because if it's about national security it's about whether we put our treasure and our lives on the line in afghanistan or whether we put it in kuwait or whether we put it in the sudan or whether we put it in some other place in the world, all of which is where we need it. where we need it the most, that should be the question. because we don't have the resources to put it everywhere. so don't come and tell me our national security requires that we have an afghanistan because that's not the only place we need it. the question is where our priorities should be and you take it from one place

. >>> and the photo that captured the heart break of the vietnam war comes to life. the little girl burned by nay palm tells her story. >>> drivers in parts of virginia will soon be able to push the pedal down a little bit more. speed limit is going up to 70 mis per hour on interstates in rural and less populated areas throughout the commonwealth. it takes effect july 1st but transportation officials have to sign off on whether or not it's safe. the current speed limit is 65. >>> metro wants to know what you think about a possible fare hike. the transit system is considering upping fares to $5.45 at peak times and also want to raise bus fairs and smart trip card prices. metro access fairs and parking fees could also go up. it's part of an effort to close a $189 billion budget gap. >>> and you can tell metro who you think about the changes in an online survey. they say it will take 5-10 minutes to complete and all of the information will be presented in a budget hearing in april. your voice can also be heard in person too. the first public hearing on the budget is mon

i think that the event in my life that probably got me to where i am now was the vietnam war, in coming out of the college and deciding to go into the navy before i was drafted. then, when i got out of the navy, i remember 1968 being a huge year that it was. the tet offensive, the assassination of -- the assassination of bobby kennedy and martin luther king and the tet offensive, that is what got me interested in news. the only new skill that i had after three years in the navy was the knowledge of military affairs. that is how i began. >> you went to princeton. what a mistake -- you went to yale. and then you went into the navy? >> i did a brisk start of graduate school. i had to be honest with myself and tell myself that i was just going to graduate school to postpone the decision about facing the draft. >> what years were you in the navy? >> 1956 to 1969. -- 1966 to 1969. >> you were on the destroyer the entire time? >> based in pearl harbor. we would go to the western pacific. the gulf of tonkin. we would spend six months and come home for about a year and then go back. that is what

this is this influence that vietnam -- influence that vietnam had on the civilian society. the rate of homelessness among the people of iraq and afghanistan -- >> i yield him 32nd. >> the rate of homelessness is now higher, by the soldiers today. more people have died from suicide and in the original award. -- original worar. it is time to bring them home. let's follow the motion on the floor. >> the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. skelton: >> mr. speaker, have we forgotten what happened to america, on 9/11? have we forgotten who did it? have we fore goten those who protected and gave them a safe -- forgotten those who protected and gave them a safe haven? let me speak in favor of those men and women who wear the uniform today that are doing something about it. i'm so proud of them. every american should be proud of them and their professionalism, their devotion professionalism, their devotion to duty, their patriotism. i rise in strong opposition to this resolution, that threatens to undermine the recent gains in afghanistan with the coalition partners. six m

white vietnam was a very different war, the frustration felt by the american public and members of congress at that point in time is similar to that of today. and overriding the presidential veto and passing the war powers resolution, congress was claiming a critical responsibility the founding fathers granted to it. that such a declaration would be a product of robust discourse, one which our leaders would identify the nature of the threat posed by our enemy, define the objective of the mission before us, and fully weigh the prudence of sending our troops into harm's way. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for one minute to address the house. address the house. mrs. maloney: mrs. maloney: mr. speaker, this chart is a quick way to assess the direction things have been going in our efforts to recover from the great recession. while it is not success, it is definitely progress. it shows the month

my sense that it's another thing that got exaggerated, the length of the vietnam war. because i think the problem of drug use had developed in the '70s and late 60s, particularly hard drug use was a product of the breakdown of the inner cities and the structural problems that the country was experiencing. and supply rate again was largely from mexico. it was going on at best had only a minor effect. so and there was never the level of purity in new york that there was in saigon. at the back, yeah. >> i'd like to eat from personal express to the question of the potency of vietnamese and thai weed. the high potency marijuana that is available today that comes to us through the breeders in amsterdam, that marijuana started with seeds from, among other places, southeast asia. very high potency cannabis types because of the equatorial growing conditions where canada's predominates. also from afghanistan, the mountains of tibet, getting her afghani varieties. but the we that was available in vietnam and thailand, laos, far exceeded the quality and potency what was available

he was the first vietnam veteran elected to the congress.was the longest serving member from pennsylvania ever to serve in the house of representatives. he never forgot those brave men and women in uniform and made sure that they had the resources and tools to do the job they do so well. he made sure our veterans had the care that they deserved and visit them so many times in our military hospitals. and he helped so many of us in this house. not one of us can say that we had not gone to jack during our career for help. he will surely be missed by the country, but most notably by pennsylvania. so, joyce, to you and your family, our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to you. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable robert brady. >> good morning. first, i'd like to advise mrs. murtha that i'm your adopted son. i don't know whether or not jack ever told you. good morning, mom. [laughter] i was under jack's wing. it was warm in the wintertime and cool in the summer. he showed me to be courteous to everyone. he made everyo

while wars were fought in places like korea and vietnam, those nuclear missiles never fired. the conflict never occurred and never occurred because of those heroes of the cold war and answered president kennedy's call as we embarked on a path of hazards and defended missile silos and served on navy ships and when they returned, there were no parades, no public thanks. they went quietly into their jobs, until today. today, they receive the thanks. today we acknowledge their courage, valor and patriotism. today we say thank you to those who kept the world safe, who kept the peace, who saved the world from that unimaginable nuclear catastrophe. my bill honors their sacrifice and ask that americans fly their flags high in thanks and dedicate one day each year to thank them for 50 years of security. those young children, those elementary schools had to feel great fear during those air raid drills. they may have felt unsafe at the time, but those in dangerous places kept them safe for a generation and more. we thank them for that service. i thank both sides of the aisle for their b

one day maybe my dream then will come true, a free and democratic vietnam. thank you. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today ons omotions to suspend the rules or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: i ask you and everyone a happy st. patrick's day and ask to suspend the rules and pass the rule house resolution 1141 on this special day. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1141, resolution honoring the accomplishments of supreme court justice sandra day o'connor, the first woman to serve on the united states supreme court. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, and the gentleman from texas, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: thank you

i think vietnam was when you mention. what's been the effect of the ounce?ect for us to claim immediate results. it's not going to happen that way. governments are testing the limits and we're pushing back. i think of the long run we're going to succeed because they think efforts by governments to control people's ideas are not going to succeed. people are going to find creative ways to circumvent whatever research government has put up. but i think we just have to be resolute in saying we are absolutely dedicated, as secretary clinton said, to a free open internet and communication environment, without restrictions. and we're going to keep pushing for that. and when government pushes back, we're going to be there to say this is a counter to american values in american foreign policy. >> so there's definitely going to be consistency to your message in a constant feature message? >> if were not consistent, we're not going to succeed. >> mr. weitzner, you mentioned the gni and your perspective of the diversity of other companies that make up the industry that

and they have put personally identifiable information out of the hands of vietnam. even while we were meeting a member of the human rights watch committee or organization got an e-mail that dr. song, and i met with his wife in vietnam, obviously another country but borrowing from china, and he had just had his house invade after spending four years in prison for posting on the internet what is democracy downloaded from u.s. embassy in hanoi translated. for that so-called crime, he got a jail sentence. yesterday they raided his home. but yahoo! has learned from that and put that personally identifiable information outside the reach of secret police. google's transformation has been perhaps the most impressive over these couple of years. in 2006 i chaired the first hearing on internet freedom called internet china, tool for freedom or suppression. the hearing responded to yahoo!'s cooperation with chinese internet police tracking down a journalist who is still serving a ten-year prison term for disclosing state secrets, that is e-mailing to the u.s. chinese government

and also when he wrote his book about the vietnam war and his regrets, mcnamara said a phone the people like john service were only in the state department perhaps five would not have made such errors of judgment in thinking about the chinese and their interest. my concern is bob come pick up the phone he is at the center for chinese studies. but this town focus is into a tunnel vision and it is very hard to break out and see what is beyond the radar screen precut i fear for our country right now because we do not see what is beyond the radar screen and it is nice the president talked in the "state of the union" to boost the economy and more jobs but we can't forget. my eight sons served in iraq so i and very aware of it. they're two wars going on in they may have said for anything domestic. sorry. i had to get that out. >> you mentioned earlier there was some disappointment in this give expression that eventually developed in communist china. so the outcome in china and your mouse -- mao alleviate certain expectations during the war? >> when the summarize it. to what extent did john's

for example might verse book which was about my service with the marine corps in vietnam, was a memoir, a nonfiction narrative but in its structure, the way i selected details, even the tone of the book, it are owed a lot from fictional techniques, so much so that some reviewers and many readers from whom i do still get letters, refer to it as a novel. on the other side of the equation, the techniques of journalism i have found very useful in writing fiction especially those of researching and interviewing. a lot of novels that i've written have run out of journalism. the first novel i ever did, war of africa, which was set in ethiopia during the civil war with eritrea, grew out of an assignment i had for the "chicago tribune" and that heart of the world. similarly the last novel i did before this one, "crossers," acts of faith which is set in kenya and sudan, that brought up an assignment i had with "national geographic" adventure. this one, "crossers," was inspired by an assignment that i originally got from a virginia quarterly review to write about the border as an issue, to write

in the word vietnam our soldiers did not come home.e crowd appreciated them and gave up thursday on an airplane. we couldn't wear uniforms by the way as those few who are vietnam veterans might remember. we are least learned a lesson not to turn antiwar or entire particular war to anti-military that happen once to our shame i think in our culture and we go out of our way not to let that happen. but we have to remember the kinds of conflicts today put that greater strain. i sat at a table at an event next to a man that had received the medal of honor in world war ii. and the extraordinary heroism this person generated as an officer was beyond belief. and in the course of the discussion, the speakers were talking about somalia, viacom and these other wars that come after his time. he turned to me and said i couldn't do that. i couldn't do what you did, meaning young people were out there in the audience. i said you've got to be kidding me. your legendary in the core. he said you know, i knew who the enemy was, i knew where the front line

i think basically at the end of the vietnam war, the u.s. military said we're not going to do that again. and the american people agreed. and they went through and they took out all the insurgency stuff. there's an argument that the u.s. military was so strained and we can at that point really need to get back to focusing on to fill the gap because that was what all that was probably capable of doing at that point. it was sort of a straightening your lines and doing what you could do. that said, somebody in the u.s. midterm i have broken up in the 1980s and said we are so a dominant conventionally, but the only way we can be faced is that the far ends of the spectrum. either in small unit a regular warfare, or an weapons of mass destruction. that we have occupied the middle ground so thoroughly. instead what you have is army that after the gulf war was extraordinary complex and, gordon sullivan when he was chief of staff you to give talks about how we think we have it just about right. i have learned that that's one of the warning signs of m

thompson used to say during the vietnam war, that every good american should throw a bag of dead rats over the white house fence, meaning just get out there and make a lot of noise, so i think it's been fairly mild this week. i do think, though, that the leadership of the democratic party and the republican party, might want to do a joint message to the american people, that we're going to still, there are going to be appeals of health care. there's going to be fights. but we don't want the rhetoric to get out of control. so i think there needs to be some bit of bipartisanship. right now, it's a little too shrill. and we're on a bit of a red alet. but i think it's going to dissipate fairly soon. at least for that potential violence. >> mayor brown, you've probably heard late this afternoon, there was a word that jim clyburn, the great house majority whip, the number three guy in the leadership with nancy pelosi and steny hoyer, got another one of those faxes, a picture of a noose, a photograph of a noose. obviously that carries all kinds of history with it where do you place the viole

i think of being part of the movement of the domestic equivalent of the vietnam war i think a lot of activists suffer from a type of ptsd. no. it took them a while to see that there are really part of the movement but one thing that happened right away which i was struck if i was the extent to which they had a sense of camaraderie with each other and us a sense of group identity partially generational almost from the beginning even after they went back to being students they realize they were connected together in it some way said that sense of cohesion helped produce a tighter snic as the movement went on and that kind of happened very quickly even coming out of the conference as they went back they still felt themselves connected in a way that had not happened before. there is the embryonic cents they were part of a movement >> i would just add to that, excuse me. i was too old to bn snic there was a sense of movement at least as i saw it and i saw it particularly 1963/64 when a group of non-white people inspired by snic for disorganization called the southern state and organizing

. >> are you not worried about a vietnam-style scene where we are holding equipment back? >> i guarantee that will not happen. >> thank you. we love to have you back especially as the drawdown continues. >> you are watching this week in defense news. >> iraq security forces has improved over the past seven years. u.s. inn -- units have been providing much maintenance. what happens when the u.s. leaves the country by the end of next year. we have joining us this morning, the director of iraq security forces. thank you for joining us. >> good morning. >> since the beginning of the iraq war, the united states has gotten the brunt of supporting the iraqi forces. what are iraq's capabilities today and where do they need to be by the time you hand over to them? >> i would consider it as being maturing iraqi security forces across the board. they are in a status of development. we have been putting a lot of key pieces of the puzzle together. everything from unit level to division level and field workshops and medium level workshops at the region level. national level ability as w

look back at the vietnam war the way nixon, ronald reagan vilified in the first part of his administrationook how george bush was vilified and demonized. i think we are going to go through a period, there are no easy decisions no popular decisions. that's why the tea party movement is so= the back of a new generation of political leaders, hopefully some come from baby boomers. >> sean: i watched gingrich up close during the revolution his contract with america day george w. bush did was kept this country safe and he never wavered on the idea that we've got to be on the offense. which we weren't in the lead-up in the 90s. i don't know, these problems seem worse to me. has taken us back to bill clinton era policies. &$4= us back to carter on steroids. >> that's frightening. we can build, even though we have a calamity here and we built on the ashes before. after the great depression, after world war ii. we can do it again. this country can do it. we are the greatest country in the world and we can do it. >> but we have a timeframe.és$u i think the day of reckoning is coming. by china and t(

they hear about things like the vietnam war matt and compared to the war on terror yet they have a sense they are not getting the real story so this book is designed to say you didn't get the real story on the field, war and are probably not getting the real story on the war on terse from the current administration because of their political agenda. >> last year you had the ultimate man survival guide. was that a big seller and the beginning of another series? >> aren't you pushing. thank you for asking. we are talking about starting a series of foltin that man survival guides. that was a very successful book and it's a lot of fun and also the kind of books that covers a wide range of topics from the conservative family value sort of rugged independence point of view and again this is another book that has appealed greatly to a younger audience and a lot of people i know what the book and give it to their son when they graduated from college, they just got married. it's a fun and interesting book and something that we will do more of. >> who is your best selling author present? >> portno

notion that they're on their own without a staff or technical director and cannot influence china, vietnam, indonesia, or even three -- turkey. just save the new markets and allow people to communicate. we are waiting for the senate, the obama administration, to act. we are hopeful that with their employment that we can succeed. the most popular place for that energy, talk about how new our public policy is, i am one of three people and unfortunately i cannot be flying all around the world to open these markets. i have to do it from here in washington. we have met together to talk about these issues months before the hearing. google, microsoft, other companies like that, in order to do business in china had to make a very difficult decision. in response to the inquiry we said the opposite. weather is a lot in place, where there is a report from one of our producers going back to a company regarding infringing content, we work with the law of that country. let me give you a concrete idea and how it is different from the center ring discussion that was taken to mean. in germany, austria, 30,

information out of the hands of vietnam. even though we remain part of the human rights organization -- we got an e-mail that dr. song, in vietnams, had just had his house invaded after spending four years in prison for posting on the internet "what is democracy?" translated from the u.s. embassy. for that, he got a jail sentence. yesterday, they raided his home. yahoo has put that personally identifiable information out of the reach of the secret police. in 2006, i chaired the first hearing on internet freedom, called "the internet in china -- a tool for freedom or suppression." da cooperated -- yahoo cooperated in the tracking down of the journalist imprisoned for the mailing -- for e-mailing to the u.s. government orders about what not to say on the anniversary of timman square. cisco and others testified on the hearing, which broke new ground. since then, we have had meetings with google executives. they have taken actions on their own accord, realizing, i believe, that the view that somehow the internet would transform

something bigger to try and the soviet union so we fought them in vietnam and latin and south america we fought them on our own so the enemies refi today we'll look at where we are best word least prepared. that becomes a tough decision you not invest tremendous amounts of resources in something that is less of a threat to your existence. i will predict he will probably see some major programs cut like we have just seen the f-22 was cut the future combat system was cut. we will still preserve enough of the advantage to make sure nobody gets to adventurists. we have to be careful of the risk. if you cut your vantage to close, there could be a surprise from the enemy that jobs one generation or two ahead. we could handle the other kinds of conflicts of counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism the best we can within that context. not to say we will not write the doctrine or do two train or meet that but the priorities will be the larger and more dangerous and potentially existential threats in the long run. we know to be all things to all people in both areas. thank you. >> general, i wan

we lost vietnam because we did not provide them with a competent government that provided them with basic security and a decent living. the strategy for winning afghanistan is simple. stop killing the people and they'll stop killing you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. i'm pleased to yield to my florida colleague, mr. stearns, a member of the veterans' affairs and energy committee, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. mr. stearns: i thank my distinguished colleague. my colleagues, this debate is reminiscent of a debate we had three years ago almost to the date. now, february 14, 15 and 16. and you remember, mr. kucinich, the gentleman from ohio, the debate was you tried to force us to pull out of iraq before the job was done. i hope you remember that. from the moment we got there, many of the folks wanted us to leave. but most remarkable is that these same folks wanted us to leave just before we stabilized iraq.