the united nations conference on environment and development. and then he encouraged them to get behind the conference and allowed the general assembly to get behind it and then gore shaped the agenda behind the conference and he did wonders in publicizeing it. and he even convinced a very reluctant president bush, the first president bush, to attend the conference, to be there with the other world leaders to make the conference a success. this was 1992, the date of the of the united nations conference on environment and development. also known as the rio conference and that's what spawned the kyoto conference years later. he got everyone to sing from the same hymn book. an unprecedented number of groups attended the conference and that helped give the conference moral authority and helped create a sense of inevitablity. and an unprecedented number of world leaders attended rio as well giving the conference an official stamp and also putting the world's governance on record. and an unprecedented number of media outlets attended to report on this

wolfowitz was viscerally hostile to the united nations. i had to come up with a set of arguments because he might find just about appealing enough not to become a serious obstacle to policy that would involve theñr un >> are you effectively saying that the british government's policy was changed in washington rather than london? it was in washington that our lives had changed, not that we sat down and said this would be the correct strategy? >> i would not say that it was extremely who wish. one of the things you have to remember is tony blair is a true believer about the weakness of saddam hussein, and his realization of that predates by a very long time the arrival of george bush in the white house. >> the policy of the government or himself? >> can i read you something? this is a speech, just a paragraph. this is a speech that tony blair made in january, 1998. 1998, which is early. areas, prime minister for a year. "we have a clear responsibility and long-term interest of the world to stop saddam hussein from gentrifying the world's co

, about the united nations. now that you're in the hot seat, so to speak, and really see it close up, you know, what can you say to assure those americans who are really concerned about the united nations for the reasons that i outlined? >> well, let me say a few things in response to that. first of all, you are right. there're many americans who share the views that -- you are taking a lead it. but i think it's lost in understanding and appreciating that is the fact that survey after survey, including relative recent ones, indicate his support for the united nations and among the american public is typically in the range of 65% to 70%, higher than most people would intuitively anticipate. and yet, you cannot support for the institution and still feel disappointment about its failure to achieve its full potential. and there's no question that that in fact the case. but we need to look at this in various ways. first of all, when the united nations fails to act for example you pointed to rwanda or darfur for many

one was they wanted the united nations to come back into the picture. they wanted the unilateralism of what they saw having happened in the invasion to be corrected back to an internationally approved and organized situation for iraq with u.n. playing its proper part in it. and secondly, they wanted to minimize the overall political geo-political damage that had been done by the invasion of iraq and that in my mind was a more constructive approach than might have happened but i had something to play with in the rest of the security council because of those attitudes. those two sets of responses very much echoing the united kingdom policy at that moment. >> with a country like france, a fellow permanent member with very similar global interests of the united kingdom, we often approached matters of peace and security in the same way. on iraq, we were on different sides of the water sh shed because of the decision to use force which president shirack had been veried a -- chir ad ack had been very -- chirac had been very adamant against. the french were pre

he had created a league of nations, but the united states would not join. wilson was a hero to the world, but not in the united states. the american secretary of state received the award of the establishment of the united nations, but seoul earlier that no one could be sure how significant the united nations would be. many have been awarded the prize for the courage, even when the results were a long time seem modest. audry sakharov, lech walesa, and dalai lama, to name a few. when our received his prize, the struggle against apartheid was in its infancy. there were very few results 2.2. martin luther king jr. received his award, he proclaimed his dream, that by the decision one day we will live in a nation where there will not be judged by the color of the skin, not by the content of the character. but there were still a long way to go from the dream, the reality. mr. president, we also happy to see through your presence here through much of dr. king's dream had come true. [applause] >> in the middle east, there have been many wars and many peace prizes ha

states and the interrelated united nations aspects. with that, i think everybody who has -- thank everybody who has spent time here this morning and our witnesses. thank you. c-span3 c-span2 [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> embedded in afghanistan, a freelance journalist observing how the u.s. uses a unmanned vehicles for drones. >> there are two units. one handles the north, one handles the south. the south is the bigger and this year of the two. i would guess 100 predator drone. they look like giant model airplanes, about the size of a small compact car. the reapers look about the same, but they are about twice as big. in their noses, they carry a bunch of different sensors, radar, cameras, things like that. the exact number depends on what your carrying and where you are flying, but it is not impossible for one of these of woolworth's -- one of these orbits to soak up vast amounts of data. he can think of the drones as manned aircraft, if the man is s

turning over the sovereignty of the united states to an unelected bureaucracy in the united nations. mr. barton: i want to thank congressman scalise, congressman linder and congressman shimkus for participating in this special order. what we're attempting to do is actually use the scientific method to determine what steps if any the united states government should take policywise if in fact climate change or global warming is a major problem that needs to be addressed. and it does appear in my opinion that there is reason, reasonable doubt, about whether we should take some of the radical steps that have been espoused in the climate change bills that passed the house and are pending in the senate. i want to take the remaining time and go through the series of emails that have just become public, we've alluded to them. and go into a little more depth. the first email, which we've already alluded to, is from michael man. michael man is a climatology at penn state university. he's one of the leading scientists in the ipcc. he is the author of the original hockey stick theory that is kin

we have joined in the architecture of institutions from the united nations to nato to the world bank that provide for the common security and prosperity of human beings. we have not always been thanked for these efforts. and we have, at times, made mistakes. but more than any other nation, the united states of america has underwritten global security for over six decades, a time that for all its problems has seen walls come down and markets open and billions lifted from property, unparalleled of scientific progress and advancing frontiers of human liberty. for unlike the great powers of old, we have not sought world domination. our union was founded in resistance to oppression. we do not seek to occupy other nations. we will not claim another nation's resources. or target other people because their faith or a net -- or ethnicity is different from ours. what we have fought for, what we continue to fight for is a better future for our children and grandchildren and we believe that their lives will be better if other people's children and grandchildren can live in freedom. and access op

and in response, governments of the world agreed to the united nations framework convention on climate change. it is now the world's most important mechanism for dealing with this issue. we are all well aware that all the nations have exceptional expectations towards this conference. as indicated in the bali action plan and in crop14, this conference in copenhagen should set out the directions for fighting climate changes for several deg aids. countries with substantial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should make specific commitments to reduce such emissions. developing countries and especially the least developed countries can expect great financial, technical and organizational assistance for aadaptation to climate change, but for quick social and economic development. it is nothing more than simple human solidarity. but the effort of prevention of climate change generates not only cost, they create also a great opportunity for all nations to introduce fundamental changes of their economic systems, with a chance for introduction of modern effective and energy-s

united nations had to curtail activities in afghanistan. with the swell of numbers, could you comment on what you see the role of the united nations being in the coming months. >> the role of the united nations must be large. they should be the primary element that is coordinating donor nations' efforts at development. they bring credibility. they bring international credibility that i think is very, very important just like they do when they participate in elections. i'm hopeful they'll return not only with the staff that they had, but continue to shape the staffing that they have there so as we increase security in areas, they have the ability to operate effectively and partner with the afghan people. because, again, they do bring an extraordinary amount of credibility to the mission. >> general mcchrystal, a number of observers have commented on the importance of tribal politics in afghanistan. you have noted the need for good governance and stability if we're going to make any progress in extricating ourselves from afghanistan. what do

connie hedegaard, minister for the united nations climate change conference in copenhagen, her excellency, ms. mayor bjerregard, of the city of copenhagen, and dr. rajendra kumar pachauri , chair of the intergovernmental climate change panel appeared distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, this climate change conference will be followed closely by people from all over the world. many, including children, have already raised their voices on the host country's internet platform. to begin the welcoming ceremony, we would like to show you a short film about this. following the showing of this film, we will have a selection at from that danish berle's choir. -- the danish girl's choir. [chattering] [laughing] >> and you still doubt the impact of human influence over this predict a quote catastrophe. >> -- in admitting carbon dioxide are imposing a cost on this generation and the next generation. >> the number of environmental refugees to more than to under 50 million people. the shortage of resources and the high number of refugees will increase tensions all over the world. [rain patter

kingdom without reference to the united nations, without the un route? >> he had a president in kosovo that did not benefit from the security council resolution. it was subject to serve roderick's view of acquiescence of the russians. i think the short answer to the question is, sending 50,000 british troops to iraq. it all broke down on the second resolution. they had, at least, that an effort. thank you. >> christopher, was there a perception in the usa that participation would be inevitable? >> there was a stage -- and what i was told by a very regular contact, somebody senior in the state. from the national security council, i warned london about this in the middle of the summer, that we were, i thought, being taken for granted. it was assumed partly because we were engaged in the contingency planning on the military side. i assume that what tony blair had said it in private to bush would be public the next day. there was an assumption. the brits were going to be there. i would say that london had been taken for granted. by the way, what about air se

to the united nations that we have -- and i don't agree with you -- but tortured people. but then you went on to say that united states was going to evaluate several other things. well, you evade -- you were not specific at all about what those other things with. and i probably would disagree with you. but there's one more thing. and that is it appears to me that what you're talking about when you talk about rights is not the rights we have in the bill of rights but a new set of rights that want to be created. and i will just say that when obama goes around the world bowing, what that is is the altruistic tenet of self-sacrifice. and what he is really doing is he's self-sacrificing the american taxpayer or the american people. >> we'll leave it there. michael posener. >> i have a couple of reactions to. that first of all, i think when we look at ourselves we're not doing it from a position of weakness. we're doing it from a position of strength. this is a country founded on principles of human rights and democracy. thinks part of our d.n.a. and it served us well for 230 y

and in response, governments of the world agreed to the united nations framework convention on climate change. it is now the world's most important mechanism for dealing with this issue. we are all well aware that all the nations have exceptional expectations towards this conference. as indicated in the bali action plan and in crop14, this conference in copenhagen should set out the directions for fighting climate changes for several deg aids. countries with substantial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should make specific commitments to reduce such emissions. developing countries and especially the least developed countries can expect great financial, technical and organizational assistance for aadaptation to climate change, but for quick social and economic development. it is nothing more than simple human solidarity. but the effort of prevention of climate change generates not only cost, they create also a great opportunity for all nations to introduce fundamental changes of their economic systems, with a chance for introduction of modern effective and energy-s

would it not be appropriate for the secretary-general of the united station or beat -- united nations to name needs countries? my friend is absolutely right. this is a unique venture. it is difficult to look back on this were so many countries come coalition, the leadership of nato and the united nations, and they are committed to providing additional resources to enable the surge in military activity to happen, but at the same time, to enable the political settlement. as far as the naming of countries that have offered troops, it is possible for me to refer to statements that have been made by different leaders in different countries, but i think the announcements should be made by these leaders themselves and not the secretary general of nato. i am confident that the 5000 additional troops i talked about a few weeks ago has been an important part of the continuing mission that these 5000 -- these 5000 troops will be obtained as part of the pledge made by other countries. >> will the prime minister say what steps he will take to afghanistan whose forces are confined to and non-combat

wolfowitz was viscerally hostile to the united nations. i had to come up with a set of arguments because he might find just about appealing enough not to become a serious obstacle to policy that would involve theñr un >> are you effectively saying that the british government's policy was changed in washington rather than london? it was in washington that our lives had changed, not that we sat down and said this would be the correct strategy? >> i would not say that it was extremely who wish. one of the things you have to remember is tony blair is a true believer about the weakness of saddam hussein, and his realization of that predates by a very long time the arrival of george bush in the white house. >> the policy of the government or himself? >> can i read you something? this is a speech, just a paragraph. this is a speech that tony blair made in january, 1998. 1998, which is early. areas, prime minister for a year. "we have a clear responsibility and long-term interest of the world to stop saddam hussein from gentrifying the world's co

and in response, governments of the world agreed to the united nations framework convention on climate change. it is now the world's most important mechanism for dealing with this issue. we are all well aware that all the nations have exceptional expectations towards this conference. as indicated in the bali action plan and in crop14, this conference in copenhagen should set out the directions for fighting climate changes for several deg aids. countries with substantial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should make specific commitments to reduce such emissions. developing countries and especially the least developed countries can expect great financial, technical and organizational assistance for aadaptation to climate change, but for quick social and economic development. it is nothing more than simple human solidarity. but the effort of prevention of climate change generates not only cost, they create also a great opportunity for all nations to introduce fundamental changes of their economic systems, with a chance for introduction of modern effective and energy-s

and world bank and united nations with all of its many organizations. you have some very good organizations like unicef, world food program that provide all kinds of memb kinds of emergencyç help even places that are falling apart and sometimes at great risk to the people who are providing the aid. what we don't have is a coherent international structure for helping countries build and rebuild particularly after conflict. and each country has its own infrastructure, a lot of mope gets wasted on overhead, on contractors and subcontractors. a lot of the money never gets to where it is supposed to go. you have individual like greg morton son with his three cups of tea who goes around building in bothpri minister areas. it would be great if we could find some better way because this is aç enter solution than war. obviously schools, food, jobs would be very important in terms of reducing the number of foot soldiers for organizations like al qaeda and the taliban. so, perhaps that is a task for the next decade and thoughtful people to think of a better wa

that will be a quite big challenge for the united nations and for world leaders. i appreciate at this time, to all the world leaders who have taken time and patiently participated in all of the negotiations, very tough negotiations. i would really hope and appeal to world leaders and world opinion makers that, while i know that not everybody is satisfied with this result, this was a quite significant achievement, which we were able to make in copenhagen. considering all the complexity and difficulties of this issue. it is not an easy task. everyone knows that it will not be an easy task. therefore, we should be more proactive. we should be more forthcoming, rather than critical. i would be very willing to discuss on this issue with other world leaders and other opinion makers and civic community leaders how we can do better. how we can change this negotiation process. there are some lessons we have learned. all of these lessons will be very carefully reviewed from today for a better result next year. thank you very much. thank you. [captioning performed by nationa

would it not be appropriate for the secretary-general of the united station or beat -- united nations to name needs countries? my friend is absolutely right. this is a unique venture. it is difficult to look back on this were so many countries come coalition, the leadership of nato and the united nations, and they are committed to providing additional resources to enable the surge in military activity to happen, but at the same time, to enable the political settlement. as far as the naming of countries that have offered troops, it is possible for me to refer to statements that have been made by different leaders in different countries, but i think the announcements should be made by these leaders themselves and not the secretary general of nato. i am confident that the 5000 additional troops i talked about a few weeks ago has been an important part of the continuing mission that these 5000 -- these 5000 troops will be obtained as part of the pledge made by other countries. >> will the prime minister say what steps he will take to afghanistan whose forces are confined to and non-combat

was it not appropriate to remind the house that we are there in the united nations -- 43 nations are in the coalition and eight other countries have pledged troops? would it not be appropriate for the secretary-general of the united united nations to name these countries? >> my friend is absolutely right. this is a unique venture. it is difficult to look back on this where so many countries come together as part of one coalition, the leadership of nato and the united nations, and they are committed to providing additional resources to enable the surge in military activity to happen, but at the same time, to enable the political settlement. as far as the naming of countries that have offered troops, it is possible for me to refer to statements that have been made by different leaders in different countries, but i think the announcements should be made by these leaders themselves and not the secretary general of nato. i am confident that the 5000 additional troops i talked about a few weeks ago has been an important part of the continuing mission. these 5000 troops will be obtained as

the united nations did not endorse the afghanistan war at the time it was initiative. and the u.s. had decided not to request un authority because the bush a administration had made a decision that they did not want to a knowledge the right of the united nations to make decisions, and as a result, the resolution was passed with great fervor and unanimously. every member of the security council stood and cast votes, they did not just raise their hands. what they asked for was a level of international corp. going after the money, police cooperation, but it did not authorize the use of force and was not taken under the terms of a chapter 7 of the charter, if required if you are going to have a war. host: seek moving forward to present day, the british are currently conducting an iraq war in korea, and are expecting to hear from tony blair and others. what do you hope to learn from that? >> i think the british decision is very important, to go forward. it is something we need to do in this country, and the efforts of president obama describing it to look forward has been translated int

saw that no one could be sure how secure the united nations would be. many have been awarded the prize for the courage. andrei sakharov and the dalai lama. there was the struggle against apartheid when it was in its infancy. when martin luther king jr. received his reward -- his award, he hoped that poor little children would one day live in a nation where there would not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. there is still a long way to go from dream to reality. mr. president, we are so happy to see so much of dr. king's dream that has come true. [applause] >> in the middle east, there have been many wars and many peace prizes have been awarded. why does the nobel committee not wait until peace has been concluded. nothing is final in history. it always moves on. peace must be built again and again. the nobel committee cannot award the prize when nothing has been achieved. if the principals are important enough and the struggle is vital to the future of the world, the committee cannot wait until we are certain that wo

at the united nations conference founding in san francisco, it was mainly the americans to the host but at the same time, the most out of their depth. because of all the international and regional organizations of the last century, the one that was best known for which the united states conceived but did not join was the league of nations. so at san francisco it was americans going to the delegations of iraq and saudi arabia and egypt and syria to ask how they had gotten up and running their regional organization. some see the gulf war cooperation council that came into being in 1981 as a detraction, a distraction from the league of arab states. in the early months and weeks of its existence, there was, admittedly, no small amount of animosity, jealousy, resentment, suspicion, distrust, and yet it is in keeping with the charter of league of arab states which does include individual efforts between two or more arab countries to form building blocks upon which larger platforms of integration, coronation, collaboration, and cooperation can be forged subsequently. it is also in keeping with

job losses and outsourcing from the united states to the other nations. particularly hard heat would be heavy industry, agriculture and states that rely upon coal for like that production. mr. speaker, i voted against cap and trade because i wasn't convinced of the problem and because the solution would cause further economic devastation to my constituents. i'm from michigan where we currently have the highest unemployment in the united states. we also derive 2/3 of our like that from coal and our number one industry is industrial manufacturing and our number two industry is agriculture. if cap and trade were to pass, michigan's economy would be devastated. but we were told that it had to happen because the alternative is worse. mr. speaker, a few weeks back, a series of emails from within the climate research facility at britain's university were either hacked or were leaked by a disillusiononned outsider that has blown away the global warming theory and being called climate date. these emails show that these scientists have used tricks to manipulate dat

nations security council are prepared to do? >> well, indeed. the prime minister mentioned this in his statement following the european council and as leader of the house i make sure that the house is kept updated on this important issue. but how telling it is, mr. speaker, on this day, today is the day when we have seen employment rise. we've seen the number of people in work increasing. today's the day where we've seen the number of people claiming unemployment benefit falling for the first time in two years. and i would have thought today was the day that the foreign secretary would come to the house and admit the tories had got it wrong. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as my right honorable friend seen today's daily record which exposed an illegal company charging a e.p.i. of 2 million 639, 539%. is it not that we followed the leader of european countries and put these charges especially in the run-up to christmas? >> well, i congratulate the daily record for their campaign against loan sharking. it's important that we inform eve

states and the interrelated united nations aspects. with that, i think everybody who has -- thank everybody who has spent time here this morning and our witnesses. thank you. c-span3 c-span2 [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> embedded in afghanistan, a freelance journalist observing how the u.s. uses a unmanned vehicles for drones. >> there are two units. one handles the north, one handles the south. the south is the bigger and this year of the two. i would guess 100 predator drone. they look like giant model airplanes, about the size of a small compact car. the reapers look about the same, but they are about twice as big. in their noses, they carry a bunch of different sensors, radar, cameras, things like that. the exact number depends on what your carrying and where you are flying, but it is not impossible for one of these of woolworth's -- one of these orbits to soak up vast amounts of data. he can think of the drones as manned aircraft, if the man is s

and then we come to power we will defend the united national health care system. that was the conservatives. madame president what is the problem with our system, which makes it rather a different then the system in any other industrial country? and it is that we have allowed for-profit private corporation to develop and run our health care system and the system that needs companies have developed is the most costly, wasteful, complicated and bureaucratic in the entire world. everybody knows that. with 1300 private insurance companies and thousands and thousands of different health benefit programs all designed to maximize profits, private health insurance companies spend an incredible 30% 30% of every health care dollar on administration and billing on exorbitant ceo compensation packages, on advertising lobbying, and campaign contributions. this amounts to some $350 billion every single year that is not spent on health care but is spent on wasteful bureaucracy. it is spent on bureaucrats and insurance company telling us why we can't get the insurance we paid for

pursuing what we think is in the national security interest of the united states and countries in europe in the middle east is also a human rights issue. we do not want to be in an either or position. are we going to pursue non- proliferation or are we going to support the demonstrators inside iran? we will do goes to the best of our ability to get a result that will further the cause we are seeking to support. >> one final question in the back. >right there. with the the red. a christmas tree. >> thank you i am wondering what -- what you see the role of artists doing in helping to promote human rights? i had the privilege earlier this summer to hear the playwright speaker in one of the senate and buildings. i wondered how use of creative practice amplifying policy. >> that is a wonderful question, because i think the arts and artists are one of our most effective tools in reaching beyond in through repressive regimes and giving hope to people. it was a very effective tool during the cold war. i have had so many eastern europeans tell me that it was an american music and literature, amer

luckily for us the united nations continue to update some of the data that the lake at -- league of nations once put together. it was also looking at the league of nations material that i discovered newfoundland was one of the country's. i did not know that. i always thought of it as a province of canada. it was a country. it lost its sovereignty because it was on the brink of default. talk about a high price for defaulting. to make a long story short, there was a lot of detective work that went into the book and unfolded over several years, the adr for the book came from the work we did in the 2003 then 2004 and 2005 were busy years and finishing other work so in 2006 we began full speed to bring the data together and work. i must say, and i can speak for both me and my co-author, ken rogof, one of the things i am most proud in my professional career, as this crisis unfolded not just here but in the united states, the u.k. crisis is almost a mirror of what happened in the u.s., ireland, spain, we have the first global crisis. i know the term global gets bandied around but it is global. a s

there is a united nations presence in afghanistan. there is also in the isaf presence. not everyone who contribute civilian aid is a member of nato will isaf, but they are all members of united nations, so how we coordinate and better hold accountable our civilian aid is a matter of great concern to all the contributing nations, both the troop contributing, non-troop civilian, non-nato, etc. the plawent country has announca substantial contrition. we're looking at the united nations and nato, but we're coming up with a coordinating mechanism that can meet the needs of all the various parties who want to contribute to afghanistan's future. >> secretary gates, i assume that general mcchrystal understands the importance of that handoff and the coronation. >> nobody wants to more than he does. >> let me turn to the secretary an abnormal and. -- and admiral mullen. what effect do you see this additional deployment having on to tell time and the length of deployments cycles and the reset, and in the service required to take care of our troops both here at home and in theater?

kingdom without reference to the united nations? >> he had a precedent in kosovo from which was a successful operation that would not benefit from the security council revolution but have the formal support of the security council and subject to serve rodericks' abuse. of the russians. iraq was not like that. the short answer to your question is the might have been mission impossible to send 50,000 british troops to iraq without benefit. of course, in all broke down and in the end be did go to iraq the least was an effort >> but what is the perception of the u.s. say that to the u.s. participation would be inevitable? was it taken for granted? >> we did reach a state, well, i was told where by a very regular contact, very senior in the state department what the white house has to say from the national security council, i wonder this is in the middle of the summit in june or july, we were i thought being taken for granted and our support was assumed partly because we were engaged on a contingency plan from the military side and tony

the united nations protocol at the kyoto protocol show's art work of all countries. it serves of the legal basis and cuts for international cooperation and on climate change as such, it must be highly valued. the outcome of this conference must stick to the basic principles in the convention of protocols credit must follow rather than deviate from the mandates. it should lock up the progress already achieved in the negotiations. Ñisecond, all the fairness of roles. the principle of differentiation represents the core and bedrock of international cooperation on climate change and it must never be compromised for it in a dressing climate change, it is inadmissible to turn a blind eye to historical responsibilities per capita emissions on the endeavor levels of emissions will undermine the efforts of developing countries to get rid of poverty. actions in this regard can only be taken within the framework of sustainable development. third, pay attention to the practicality of the target. we need to take a long-term perspective but more importantly, we should focus on th

and world bank and united nations with all of its many organizations. you have some very good organizations like unicef, world food program that provide all kinds of memb kinds of emergencyç help even places that are falling apart and sometimes at great risk to the people who are providing the aid. what we don't have is a coherent international structure for helping countries build and rebuild particularly after conflict. and each country has its own infrastructure, a lot of mope gets wasted on overhead, on contractors and subcontractors. a lot of the money never gets to where it is supposed to go. you have individual like greg morton son with his three cups of tea who goes around building in bothpri minister areas. it would be great if we could find some better way because this is aç enter solution than war. obviously schools, food, jobs would be very important in terms of reducing the number of foot soldiers for organizations like al qaeda and the taliban. so, perhaps that is a task for the next decade and thoughtful people to think of a better wa

after that, united nations secretary general on the summit held in copenhagen. then, a look at the future of afghanistan and then another chance to see the discussion on the relations between the u.s. and moslem world. >> tomorrow, a look at the university's look at health care. that is at the national press club here of c-span. >> this month, the senate has continued work on the health care bill. here is how you can follow the debate. listen to highlights on c-span radio and review the debate at our health care of with live, streaming video from the senate floor. complete video archives, briefings from leadership and other key senators and the latest from the reporters and editors of the role call. and now, for iphone users, follow the health care debate with the iphone application. you can listen to c-span, c-span to and c-span radio. >> up next, a conversation with steve forbes on i'll -- on how he feels about the senate health care debate. this is about one hour. journal" continues. host: joining us from new york, steve forbes, the author of "how capitalism

and the united nations with a down grading, that was a major wakeup call. when the premier and the president of china told a delegation led by kissinger and bob ruben, we don't have any confidence that you're going to be able to deal seriously with your deficits and debt problems, when the imf and the united nations say we ought to look for an alternative reserve currency, i think those are all major wakeup calls that we ought to be heegd. -- heeding. i told the story earlier after i left congress, i was ceo of the american stock exchange in new york. and one of the surprises to me in getting to know wall street was how irrational financial markets can be. and they go on perceptions. they react on where they think things are going. and i think our fiscal situation is something that's being perceived. right now it's not being focused on because all the markets are focusing on the global recession. as they focus on the subsequent issues of fiscal policy, they do not see any serious attempt by the united states to get our house in order. and so what this commi

i would now like to invite the secretary-general of the united nations, mr. ban ki-moon, to make a statement. please, mr. secretary-general. [applause] >> distinguished heads of state and government, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, prime minister rasmussen, it is a great pleasure and honor for me to welcome you to this very important level meeting conference on climate change. thank you for your taking time as part of your very busy state affairs. this means you are coming as national and global leaders to address together this climate change issues, which is a defining challenge of our era. excellencies, the finishing line is in sight. our discussions are bearing fruit. never has the world united on such a scale. the leaders are all your. every sector of society mobilized, faith groups, ceos, and individual citizens. the world is watching. we are closer than ever to the worlds first truly global agreement to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. just hours remain too close to spinal tap. you have achieved much already. if we are to meet t

we have to implement urgently and fully the commitment of a framework convention of united nations on climate change the effects of climate change we can already feel them mainly among the poor countries. we need concrete action and fair actions that will be supported by financial means and technological means. they should reflect the share of each country in the last. this goal should be updated in such a way that we can follow the advancement of scientific knowledge. the ambition to reduce 50% of global emissions greenhouse gas emissions into thousand 50 and compare with 1990 will help us to ensure to reach this objective. this ambition will be empty and meaningless if there is no clear-cut commitment for the short and midterm. here in copenhagen, there is no room for conformism. countries should assume more ambitious targets of reducing emissions that will be new historical levels. the reduction should be 25%-40% in 2020 and not compared to 1990. if we compare to the truly ambitious, we should seek the threshold of 40%. i would like to speak very clearly and frankly to all of you.

that will be quite a big challenge for the united nations and for all the leaders altogether. but i appreciate that at this time to all the world leaders to have taken time, and patiently participated in all this negotiation, very tough negotiations. i would really hope an appeal to world leaders that while i know that not everybody is satisfied with these results, this was quite significant achievement which we were able to make in copenhagen. considering all the complexity and difficulties of this issue. it is not an easy task. everybody knew that it would not be an easy task. therefore we should be more proactive and more forthcoming, rather than critical. i would be very willing to discuss this issue with other world leaders and other opinion makers, and even civic and community leaders, how we can do better, how we can also change this negotiation process. there are some lessons which we have word, but all of these lessons will be helpful from today for a better result next year. thank you all very much. >> there will be a briefing right after this. >> tonight on "the com

we have joined in the architecture of institutions from the united nations to nato to the world bank that provide for the common security and prosperity of human beings. we have not always been thanked for these efforts. and we have, at times, made mistakes. but more than any other nation, the united states of america has underwritten global security for over six decades, a time that for all its problems has seen walls come down and markets open and billions lifted from property, unparalleled of scientific progress and advancing frontiers of human liberty. for unlike the great powers of old, we have not sought world domination. our union was founded in resistance to oppression. we do not seek to occupy other nations. we will not claim another nation's resources. or target other people because their faith or a net -- or ethnicity is different from ours. what we have fought for, what we continue to fight for is a better future for our children and grandchildren and we believe that their lives will be better if other people's children and grandchildren can live in freedom. and access op

blair house is a tool of diplomacy for the united states. this is a way that the nation really opens its doors to guests that we want to honor in a particular way to say this is our home, we are opening this to you, and you are here as our guest. >> when it was acquired by francis preston blair in 1837, as his reputation built in the city of washington, it eventually became to be called blair's house, and then later on, simply blair house. >> the custom has been that the house is offered to an incoming president just before their inauguration, that they would stay here for a period immediately before their inauguration. >> this is the story of a house on pennsylvania avenue, usually eclipsed by its famous neighbor, the white house. guest house for foreign leaders, home to presidential advisors, respite for presidents, temporary quarters for presidents elect. all these describe blair house. >> now you've entered the original blair house, the oldest part of this facility. it was built in 1824. if you had been here on may 1,1850, you would have

we have joined in the architecture of institutions from the united nations to nato to the world bank that provide for the common security and prosperity of human beings. we have not always been thanked for these efforts. and we have, at times, made mistakes. but more than any other nation, the united states of america has underwritten global security for over six decades, a time that for all its problems has seen walls come down and markets open and billions lifted from property, unparalleled of scientific progress and advancing frontiers of human liberty. for unlike the great powers of old, we have not sought world domination. our union was founded in resistance to oppression. we do not seek to occupy other nations. we will not claim another nation's resources. or target other people because their faith or a net -- or ethnicity is different from ours. what we have fought for, what we continue to fight for is a better future for our children and grandchildren and we believe that their lives will be better if other people's children and grandchildren can live in freedom. and access op

and it is not in the national security interest of the united states. so while israel may bear the brunt or be the closest target or target of words -- hopefully not anything else -- they have carried this fight, but it's not just their fight. the fight is all of ours. i mentioned diplomacy is the pillar of our national security. another pillar of our foreign policy and of our national security is stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. imagine what the reaction would be if iran had a nuclear weapon, what that would evoke in the arab world in terms of their interests in having weapons of mass destruction. it simply cannot happen, and with this legislation today, we strengthen the president's hand to grant, to use or to withhold this particular sanction. but to have the capability to use diplomacy in a stronger way. i urge all of my colleagues to support the iran refined petroleum sanctions act. with that i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from ohio is recogniz

meanwhile, more than 40 other countries operating under united nations authority, the united kingdom, canada, germany, france, poland, australia and others, have over 30,000 troops in afghanistan and have suffered casualties as 2010, therefor example there will be more than 140,000 u.s. and allied military personnel inñr afghanistan. as of september 2009, there were 104 contractor employees working for the department of defense in afghanistan. the congressional research service estimated just this week that the troops surge in afghanistan could raise the number of d.o.d. contractors working there to between 130,000 and 160,000. we would note that those numbers, striking as they are, do not include the thousands of department of state and u.s. a.i.d. contractors in afghanistan. considerably speaking, then, the total war fighter and contractor work force in that country will likely exceed 300,000 by the end of 2010. the u.n. sanction military presence in afghanistan is large and growing. but we must note the challenge there is also large and becoming more acute. afghanistan is nearly t

guest: mahmoud ahmadinejad has has said several times publicly in the united stations -- united nations that israel should be wiped out. he is a despicable leader. i have great respect for the israelis given the history of israel and the holocaust, they have been attacked some money times. the israelis cannot disregard this. they have to take this seriously and they are taking it seriously. the biggest issue in israel today is this issue, what to do about iran. the united states is a close friend of israel. we were should remain separate part of our strategy should be to tell the iranians that they cannot threaten or attack the state of israel. if they do, they would have to deal with the united states and i think we should make that commitment to israel. we owe it to them as a friend. if you took the attitude that mahmoud ahmadinejad is crazy, that might be foolish. he is a president of a country that has a lot of power. he has also denied the holocaust. you have to take it seriously and apply pressure against them so that he cannot harm the state of israel. that would be my answer. ho

also, number of police professionals, both from the united states and other contributing nations. we are a component of the international security force here that is the four star general headquartered also appear in kabul. -- up here in kabul. host: general, we're going to let our viewers call in with their thoughts and ask questions of you. we will get to that in just a moment. let me ask you, general, about the different roles that the afghan national security force and the afghan police take under. can you define that more clearly for us? guest: we call it the afghan national security forces, but the two main components are the afghan national army and the afghan national police. i will just start with the army. the army is about 100,000 soldiers strong right now and our goal is to grow them here in this year until october 2010 to grow them from 100,000 to about 134,000. that will improve both the quality and quantity of the security force. moving over to the police, the police currently are about 95,000 across the country. we are shooting toward a goal of about 109,000, again

and it is not in the national security interest of the united states. so while israel may bear the brunt or be the closest target or target of words -- hopefully not anything else -- they have carried this fight, but it's not just their fight. the fight is all of ours. i mentioned diplomacy is the pillar of our national security. another pillar of our foreign policy and of our national security is stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. imagine what the reaction would be if iran had a nuclear weapon, what that would evoke in the arab world in terms of their interests in having weapons of mass destruction. it simply cannot happen, and with this legislation today, we strengthen the president's hand to grant, to use or to withhold this particular sanction. but to have the capability to use diplomacy in a stronger way. i urge all of my colleagues to support the iran refined petroleum sanctions act. with that i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from ohio is recogniz

you think the united nations but is that the right place for it? one r we getting there? and the second question is, if it doesn't look like which is the picture i get, what's plan b? >> well, plan b is so far inferior to plan a. the focusing on it is not very encouraging. the main expectations from the mainstream science suggests that the absence of effective mitigation would have consequences that will probably be catastrophic involving disruption of human civilization on a scale beyond anything we've had before. there's uncertainty about the science but the uncertainty points to chances of it being worse than the main expectation as well as chances it'll be better so the uncertainty adds urgency for the plan a. we are already to o late to avoid significant consequences of climate change. the main scientific opinion says we're feeling some of that rather painfully in australia you. the concentrations in the atmosphere through the standard 30-year late are the results will continue to increase for some time. so, we need a big effort to deal with the need for adaptation e