the first idea would be in afghanistan and iraq. progress was made in iraq through negotiations. we have not really tried negotiations with the taliban. they are tribal and all we talk about is using more force. that is recruiting more angry people for them. i would recommend to the administration that they try negotiation. that will not be easy but it is worth a try. if we could get a better resolution over there, that would save us billions. my biggest way to save money would be on the health-care debate. we spend more money on health care than any other nation. 75% of our money is spent on cancer, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. all those are preventable through better diet and lifestyle changes and exercise. that is where the health care debate should be going is to prevention. $1 for prevention saves $5 in health-care costs. host: thank you very much. you are echoing some of the sentiments from dr. cosgrove. yesterday, the supreme court class photo was taken. this includes the new justice sonia sotomayor. the new session opens next monday. they have decided to hear a cas

forces out of iraq. on acquisition reform the conference report supports the plan to increase the size and acquisition work force and reduce reliance on contractors for acquisition functions. it eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse through better contract oversight. the bill also repeals the national security personnel system, returning employees to the general schedule over two years while providing additional flexibilities for hiring and personnel management. the conference agreement prohibits the release of guantanamo bay detainees into the united states, its territories, and possessions, and restricts detainee transfers until after the president has submitted a plan to congress. the conference report revises the military commission act to make them fair and effective and ensure that convictions stick. let me briefly address two difficult aspects of the conference report. first, i'm disappointed, so very disappointed we were not able to retain the houses' provision implementing the president's proposal

house in june of this year, how would he have reacted to what seemed like a moment of regime change in iraq? >> i believe the event in june either beginning of a gradual disintegration of this particular regime for the following reasons: the current regime has three pillars. the ayatollah, i iranian nationalism, and the space structure that produced the presidential election. each of these pillars is now in question. the ayatollah is arguing among each other and when you proclaim a universal islamic republic based upon universal@@@@@ @ @ @ correct -- i believe this regime is structurally weaker than it was before. so, the issue is how do we best deal with it. in june the conduct of the administration was a -- i can under an american enterprise but infil period it is important we emphasize moral decency in what we are facing. and we do not slide in the position [inaudible] government increase its conduct or semi thinking and acting [inaudible] of the people who have been making the opposition to the united states will, the governing principles would say should be the principal objective of o

look at what has happened with our duties in iraq. -- with iud's in iraq. the policies we are adopting are ensuring defeat. and we have the experience. rumsfeld was correct, they are trying to follow those policies again in afghanistan. if you're going to fight this war, the principles and means of doing it are already well established the politicians are constantly overturning those principles of war because they do not understand them. that will result in a much higher level of casualties and in the long run, it is going to be much more expensive. afghanistan is an air mobile environment. it is not an armored environment. all right host:, we will leave it there. for the next hour we will turn our attention to the u.s. economy and some of the fluctuations in the market and some of the economic signs that are out there in the last couple of weeks or so. this is the couple -- cover story of "business week" this week. why the market will keep going up is one half of the story and did you flip it around you will see "wide market is going nowhere." the story is

a bill that is supposed to be used to fund the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the final version of the bill included all eight of these aircraft. when the subcommittee met later to consider the 2010 defense appropriations bill, it went ahead and added three more. so it is hard to see this chart that is an interesting one. this is the seac-17 originally n the budget. these other ones that have been added by congress. each year the department of defense and the administration has said enough. we have enough c-17's. obviously that has not been the case. it brings us to where we are now. well in excess of requirements, continue to spend billions of dollars for aircraft we do not need, including the eight c-17's in the 2009 supplemental. the original requirement was 180. according to the most recent statement of administration position, the administration strongly objects to the addition of $2.5 billion in funding for 10 unrequested c-17 airlift their quest -- aircraft. order, together with the existing fleet of c-5 aircraft are more than sufficient to meet the depa

i think general petraeus demonstrated in the iraq that if you pay attention to what the commanders say they need to accomplish the mission, that is what you should fund and that is what you should finance. i think the mission without a change has been to confront al qaeda and the taliban, eradicate al qaeda and their sanctuary and render the taliban neutral any stay as is the type of thing on troops right now, i think stretches that goal. we have not been able to reduce the taliban. they have tripled since march. they have tripled. i think general mike krystle's request is justified -- general machrystle's request is justified. host: did you vote with senator mccain? guest: i did. i think i realized enough information from the generals on the ground where it was absolutely essential that the senate and house be able to hear the testimony of our commanders before a decision is made. guest: finally, one to get your reaction to the new unemployment number. 9.8% as employers cut to a hundred 60,000 jobs. host: -- guest: state tax levels were at their lowest level in decades. our federal re

after the disaster of iraq, the american people will not stand for another endless foreign occupation, one that will cost many lives and not make our country any safer. afghanistan is a difficult problem, but the president still has good options. he can order the pentagon to develop a troop redeployment plan and a timetable for withdrawal. at the same time, he can be bold and shift to a new mission that will be far more likely to succeed because it will actually have the support of the afghan people. this new mission in afghanistan would include economic development, education, infrastructure, humanitarian assistance, better governance and improve local policing and intelligence to hunt down extremists. this is what the afghan people want from america so that they can have hope for a better future and reject violent extremism. mr. speaker, president obama deserves credit for reviewing his decision to send more troops earlier than was expected. he's showing political courage and he's showing an open mind by considering other alternatives. i urge him to choose a new course, one that wil