i would note that the mantra here is the chief of services met with chairman mike mullen. the consensus was the military fighting two wars and responding to a new mission in haiti, now is not the time to make such a big change to military policy. that is my understanding of the status of things. i just hope as we discussed it you will recognize that congress has made the decision and will not have to change it if we do change it and use your power to in any way influence the discussion or evaluation of the issue. >> we can't possibly evaluate the impact on unit cohesion, morales and retention on recruitment and so on if -- unless we encourage people to tell us exactly what they think and exactly what their views are honestly and as forthrightly as possible. otherwise there is no use in doing this at all. i can't emphasize enough, we understand from the beginning of this that this must be an act of congress. >> this is not about command influence. this is about leadership. i take that very seriously. >> thank you. >> secretary gates, i applaud your efforts in commissioning

and today, mike mullen sees back that moral high ground and said, no, no, no. to serve, in effect, in a place and situation where you're lying about your life, that is a lack of integrity. and he put it back on a new moral high ground and gave it more power to the idea of getting rid of this don't ask, don't tell policy. >> davidg gergen, insider briefing, appreciate it. we want to know what you think. join the live chat at ac360.com. >>> just ahead, a hatian-american neighborhood in new york, still obviously reeling from the earthquake back home, but not giving up hope. i'll show you what i find there today on the streets. ny's budge. this is help protect and care for your employees at no cost to your company insurance. with aflac, your employees pay only for the coverage they want or need. and, the cost to you - nothing at all. if all you know about us is... aflac! ...then you don't know quack. to find out why more businesses provide aflac, visit getquack.com i was just in town for a few days, and i was wondering if i could say hi to the doctor. is he in? he'

tomorrow my mike mullen seems back that high ground and says no, no, no. to serve in effect and playboy with a situation where you're next lying to your life. that is a lack of integrity, and he put it back on the high groind and gave more information to the idea of getting rid of this policy. >> appreciate it. thank you. join the live chings at 360? just ahead, but not giving up hope. i'll show you what i found there today on the streets. when i was a kid, we -- we would just go to the -- the farm. [ cow moos ] [ laughter ] no, seriously, where are you guys going? ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! [ female announcer ] the new classroom. see it. live it. share it. on the human network. cisco. >>> it's been exactly three weeks since the catastrophe in haiti. haiti's government, such as it is, says at least 200,000 were killed in the quake, though, frankly, their numbers, they don't have any idea. while aid is pouring in, rebuild from the rubble is going to take years. the quake has shattered live

eso fue lo que dijo hoy el almirante mike mullen, jefe del estado mayor conjunto dijo ante una comision del senado.. esta es la primera vez que un militar estadounidense de tan alto rango muestra un claro apoyo al levantamiento de la prohibicion... la ley no pregunten no digan, vigente desde 1993 obliga a los militaredel pais homosexuales a ocultar su orientacion sexual... ya varias pulgadas de nieve acumulado sobre la region a esta hora de la noche ...veamos que nos espera para las proximas horas .....32 grados es lo que esta marcando el termometro .....podemos ver en nuestro mappa doppler satelital el paso de esta nueva tormenta invernal sobre la region y que conituanra para las proximas horas ....se espera que este nevando fuerte hasta las 5 de la manana aproximadamente .....y el total de acumulacion seria entre 3 a 6 pulgadas ......enn nuestro pronostico escolar es muy probable que este mnnevando ahasta las 7 de la manana por lo que tiene que consultar con las escuelas si los chicos llegara mas tarde o seran en horario normal ...para el resto del dia estara mayormente nublado co

. >> today the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen and bob gates expressed support for repealing don't ask don't tell. john mccain is on record saying that's what he would need to hear to change the policy, that's not how john mccain reacted at today's hearing. at all. in fact, he sort of blew a gasket. >> i'm deeply disappointed in your statement secretary gates. your statement, obviously is one which is clearly biassed, without the view of congress being taken into consideration. you are embarking on saying it's not whether the military prepares to make the change, but how we best prepare for it, without ever hearing from members of congress. >> so for john mccain, as long as the military leadership is against gay people serving in the military, he wants to defer to their judgment. if the military leadership is for gay people serving in the military, he thinks the military leadership should defer to him. last year he did an interview, he said in his very first day in office if elected president, he would have asked the chairman of the joint chiefs to review don't

defense secretary robert gates and admiral mike mullen voiced their opposition to the ban and suggested that officials take a year of studying the ban on the policy before scheduling a vote. >> it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. now matter how i look at this issue, i cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are to defend fellow citizens. >> there is another side to the issue. what are some of the concerns that people in the military have. >> the biggest concern that people use to oppose the policy is the breakdown of discipline within military units, especially smaller military units as you come down the chain of command it is absurd, but that is the excuse they use. >> there is also a budget impact. once you go down the road, you have to consider whether you give benefits to partners. that's a huge consideration, isn't it? >> it's a huge consideration, when you think of the military or the budget perspective. my view about the budget perspective is we don't have e

at a senate hearing today, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, said it's time to end the ban on gays in the ranks. >> speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. no matter how i look at this issue, i cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. for me, personally, it comes down to integrity-- theirs as individuals, and ours as an institution. >> warner: the hearing was called after president obama pledged in last week's state of the union address to eliminate the current policy, known as "don't ask, don't tell". >> this year, i will work with congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. ( applause ) >> warner: current law forbids the military from asking recruits if they are gay, or actively hunting for them in the ranks. but gays who op

. >> today the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen and the defense secretary bob gates both expressed unreserved support for repealing don't ask, don't tell. even though john mccain is on record saying that's what he would need to hear to change the policy, that's not how john mccain reacted at today's hearing. at all. in fact, he sort of blew a gasket. >> i'm deeply disappointed in your statement, secretary gates. your statement obviouses one which is clearly biased without the view of congress being taken into consideration. you are embarking on saying it's not whether the military prepares to make the change, but how we best prepare for it, without ever hearing from members of congress. >> so for john mccain, as long as the military leadership is against gay people serving in the military, he wants to defer to their judgment. but if the military leadership is for gay people serving in the military, he thinks the military leadership should defer to him. last year he did an interview, with ana marie cox on air america radio in which the senator said on his very f

this year in a activity union address, the joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen delivered a powerful statement supporting the repeal. >> speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. no matter how i look at this issue, i cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> a strong voice against the repeal in today's hearing. the republican senator, john mccain. >>> chris lawrence met with the troops on this issue. chris, what did you find out? >> reporter: the same kind of disagreement we saw with admiral mullen and john mccain. a lot of difference of opinion on this issue. we talked to not only members of the military, but also people who wanted to join the service, but were kept out by don't ask/don't tell. coming out of columbia medical school, robert cavanaugh wanted to be an officer -- >> all right. unfortunately, chris, we have a little technical problem there.

. >> reporter: admiral mike mullen said it's time to scrap don't ask, don't tell that prohibits gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. >> we have a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> reporter: in his state of the union, president obama made repeal of don't ask, don't tell a political priority. >> this year i will work with congress. >> reporter: today defense secretary gates says he supports the president, but indicated it could take two years to implement the change. >> the question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it. >> reporter: that drew a blistering review from republican senator john mccain, suggesting gates was playing politics. >> it requires the agreement of congress in order to repeal it, and so your statement, obviously is one which is clearly biased. >> reporter: there is an estimated 65,000 gays and lesbians in the military and 69% of americans believe they have the right to serve. gay rights advocates claim the shift

joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen said it is time to end the policy. that didn't sit well with several republican senators. >> i cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> at this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the don't ask, don't tell policy. >> congress would need to approve the repeal and that is not expected to happen soon. for now the pentagon plans to ease up on enforcing the policy. >>> seven months after michael jackson's death, prosecutors in los angeles are set to file charges against the superstar's physician. dr. conrad murray is expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. he could possibly surrender to police as early as today. legal experts say the probable case against murray rests on whether the prosecution can prove he acted recklessly. >> certainly the district attorney's office would have to look very carefully and certainly consult wit

. >> reporter: joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen told the senate arms services committee the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which forces gays in uniform to keep quiet about their sexual orientation, is fundamentally dishonest. >> we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> reporter: while 428 gays were discharged from the military last year, defense secretary gates made it sound like it is no longer a question of if gays can serve openly but when. >> the question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change but how we must... how we best prepare for it. >> reporter: today's testimony made clear it will not happen any time soon, certainly not this year, if at all. for one thing, gates wants a year to study. >> what the men and women in our armed forces really think about this. >> reporter: for another, "don't ask, don't tell" is a law enacted by congress. >> i'm happy to say that we still have a congress of the united states that would have to pass a law to repe

mike mullen led the charge. >> putting individuals in a position that every single day they wonder whether today is going to be the day and devaluing them in that regard just is inconsistent with us as an institution. i have served with homosexuals since 1968. everybody in the military has. gwen: some members of congress including celebrated veteran john mccain disagreed. >> this would be a substantial and controversial change to a policy that has been successful for two decades. it would also present yet another challenge to our military at a time of already tremendous stress and strain. gwen: so, nancy, what if anything has changed? >> legally, nothing has changed because it takes an act of congress to end the ban on gays and lesbians openly serving in the military. but admiral mullen's statements were surprising to everybody in the pentagon. when they appeared on the hill, they expected ron earth gates to say what we did, that we would commission the review and look at ways to implement this, that we would honor what the president called four in the state of the union address. admiral m

joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen supports end the ban. he told the armed services committee it would be the right thing to do. don't ask, don't tell is indeed making a comeback in the conversation since president obama mentioned it in the state of the union address. our joe carter asked and you told him how you feel about gays in the military. >> i'm joe carter and this is hln's "views from the street." we're talking to people about issues, issues affecting their lives. are you familiar with the policy in the military don't ask don't tell. >> uh-huh. >> i have two cousins that are in the army. >> do you think it matters? do you think sexual orientation in the army matters? >> i don't think it matters at all approximate. >> it shouldn't matter. >> it should be open. >> it often presents a really challenging situation for an institution that's been so conservative for so long. >> well, i think it matters because of the situations that you put them in, the close quarters and i think sometimes that would promote something that might not happe

admiral mike mullen? >> thanks for the chance to appear before you and discuss the state of the military and fiscal year 2011 submission. i want to thank you all for the extraordinary support you provide every day to men and women in uniform, as well as their families. they are well-equipped, well- trained, and enjoy the finest medical care anywhere in the world in no small part due to your stewardship and dedicationi and have seen many of you in the the war zone in hospitals and at bases all over this country. so have our troops. they know you care just as critically, they know their fellow citizens care. all i want right now is guidance on the mission before them and the tools to accomplish it. that's why i'm here today to speak on their behalf about the guidance they are getting from this department and to secure your continued support for the tools we want to give them. secretary gates has already walked you through the major components of the defense review and the president's fiscal year '11 defense

. >> the joint chiefs chairman, admiral mike mullen, says lifting the ban is a matter of integrity and, quote, the right thing to do. >> we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> admiral mullen's statement ran into stiff opposition from republican senators. >> the armed forces must maintain policies that exclude people whose presence in the armed forces would create an unnecessary risk to the high standards, morale and discipline of a unit co heegs. >> in this moment, immense hardship for our forces, we should not be seeking toef turn the don't ask, don't tell policy. >> until the law is changed, gates said he would try to make enforcement of don't ask, don't tell more lenient. >> secretary gates says it will take at least a year to repeal don't ask, don't tell. the final decision is up to congress. >>> also on capitol hill, a chilling admission from the country's top military officials. they say al-qaeda is certain to try to attack the united states in the next three to six months, emphasis here on

thanks, guys. >> now, a look at the defense department budget with robert gates and mike mullen. this is a little less than an hour. çóÑi we will have about 25çó minutes important strategy documents. Ñiafter my opening --ñm/ aftery opening statement, and the germans, and our questions, you will hear from the undersecretary of defense for policy who will discuss theÑi qr and the mdr in more depth. then, our controller will provide more detail on the budget request. the three requests are requestsfy 11 request of $548 billion. in overseas contingency request of $159.3 billion which will fund military operations in iraq and afghanistan next year. the fiscal year this supplemental request of $33 billion which covers the additional estimated costs of the president's new strategy for afghanistan. to make sure we have the resources we need to support our troops and -- who are applying to the theater, i will ask congress to enact these supplements by spring. for the next few minutes, it like to place into context the base budget requests which reflects the institutional party an

the chairman of the joint chiefs admirable mike mullen pushed for the change last fall saying it would be a way to continue broadening opportunities for women. a rare public apology today from the top u.s. general in afghanistan. general stanley mcchrystal expressing his regret over the death of civilian in recent military operations there in a message broadcast to afghan languages. in that message general mcchrystal apologized for air strike that the afghan government reports killed 27 civilians. general mcchrystal also said he has made it clear to the forces that protecting afghan lives is a top priority and that he will work to regain the people's trust. the military has said winning hearts and minds is key in this mission. it even announced today that its latest operation in marjah's advance partly, it said, to give civilians time to prepare. despite the setbacks, we're told coalition forces are making progress through insurgent gunfire and roadside bombs remain constant threats. all members of the armed forces undergo extensive training before entering the afghan war zone. then th

defense secretary gates joined by chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mike mullen for a briefing from the pentagon live at 1:00 p.m. eastern. and we will look at the state department budget with deputy secretary of state for management and resources. that briefing live on c-span 3. >> "washington journal" continues. host: alex isenstadt is congressional reporter for politico and john kornacki is professor of political management and george washington university, joining us this segment to talk about the role of independent voters. i wanted to start the conversation showing some of the swing in independent voters and where they are. here are the numbers -- gallup numbers, latest gallup numbers on the percentage of independence. republicans, independents, democrats appeared 36% independence. in particular, which way they are leaning. 2010, just as of last week. a 43% leaning republican, 40% leaning democrat. take you back to the middle of the bush administration in 2004 or toward the end of the first turn, this is 2004, january, leading republican, 48%, leading -- leaning democrat, 46%.

joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen said it is time to end the policy. that didn't sit well with several republican senators. >> i cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> at this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the don't ask, don't tell policy. >> congress would need to approve the repeal and that is noexpected to happen soon. for now the pentagon plans to ease up on enforcing the policy. >>> seven months after michael jackson's death, prosecutors in los angeles are set to file charges against the superstar's physician. dr. conrad murray is expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. he could possibly surrender to police as early as today. legal experts say the probable case against murray rests on whether the prosecution can prove he acted recklessly. >> certainly the district attorney's office would have to look very carefully and certainly consult with

host: admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. let us go back to the "the new york times" piece. however, republican sound like they are not interested in repealing the law. "the wall street journal caused what has this to say. republicans appealed to be united against the appeal. including senator john mccain, looking more at coverage of this topic, we will see a clip of senator john mccain in a moment. and more mullen became the highest-ranking military officer ever when he asked to appeal these restrictions. a source of controversy within the pentagon. it was put in place in the clinton administration back in 1993, according to "the wall street journal." the story goes on today that and nbc-wall street journal poll in 1993 found no more than 43% of americans supported lifting restrictions on gays in the military. usa today-gallup poll in june 2009, by contrast, 69% of americans favored eliminating, don't ask, don't tell restrictions. let us look at what senator john mccain said yesterday. >> numerous military leaders to tell me

robert gates, admiral mike mullen, a briefing at 1:00 p.m. that will be alive here on c- span also. the state department briefs live at 1:00 eastern on c-span-3. earlier today, there was a discussion on the impact on independent voters on the coming elections. host: we have reporter for politico and john kornacki from george washington university joining us to talk about the role of independent voters. i wanted to show some of the swing in independent voters and where they are. here are the numbers, the latest gallup numbers on the percentage of independence. 36%. which way these independents are leaning. this is 2010. 43% leaning republican. 48% leaning democratic per take you back to the middle of the bush administration towards the end of the first term. 2004, january, republican, 40%. leading democrat, 46% corporate the recent election in virginia, new jersey, republican governors one there. then scott brown in massachusetts. it seems more democrats are leaning republican. guest: this is a global. is about the entire united states. if you went by states, it would be a little bit

defense secretary robert gates along with admiral mike mullen gave testimony on the policy of don't ask, don't tell. what do you know about the review of this policy that's been announced just now by defense secretary gates? >> he announced jay johnson, the legal counsel of the department of defense and general carter hamm will lead the charge reviewing all the issues involved with repealing don't repealing don't ask, don't tell. here's secretary gates making his case early today. >> mr. chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. no matter how i look at the issue, i cannot escape being have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. >> the criticism comes from republican john mccain who is a former p.o.w. he says don't ask-don't tell has worked. >> it would be far more appropriate to determine whether repeal of this law is appropriate and what effects it would have on the readiness and effectiveness of th

mike mullen is the first sitting chair of the joints seats of staff about rolling back that policy. 7:12. here is howard. >> good morning. the snow is over for now, but we have another storm or two that we'll be dealing with over the next couple of days. i can tell you more about that when we come back. >>> welcome back to 9 news now. it is 7:14. ra lot of you young people know this but in case you're walking up, we want to tell you about school closings and delays. these are closed. calvert, charles, montgomery and prince georges county schools. >> these are opening two hours late. allegany, carroll, frederick, howard or washington county schools, get up and you're on a two-hour delay. >> the virginia these schools are closed. fairfax counties, frederick, fredericks berg city, and orange county, page county, prince william county, shenandoah, stafford and warren county schools all closed. >>> in west virginia these school districts are closed this morning. berkeley, grant, hampshire. >> opening two hours late. hampshire county is opening two hours late. berkeley and grant are closed

from admiral mike mullen. a short time ago at a hearing still end way, before the senate armed services committee, a live look at the defense second turkey robert gates, hello, that is where we start a new hour, of "america's newsroom," i'm bill hemmer. martha: i'm martha maccallum, admiral mullen revealing additional u.s. troops will arrive in afghanistan, at a slower pace, than the white house had originally announced. bill: despite the hold-up, he predicts our forces will begin reversing the taliban's momentum by year's end and mike emanuel is live at the pentagon on the story, watching the hearing and talking to people over there, good morning, mike. first, to the deployment issue related to afghanistan. why the hold-up, and why the delay? >> reporter: admiral mull ln laid out, bill, 4500 of the surge troops are already there in country, and the number will rise to 18,000 by spring, and then they say they'll have the 30,000 additional troops by the end of summer. the pentagon says the issue is essentially

plan for afghanistan, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, saying today the taliban's influence is growing and that this next year will be critical to reversing the momentum gained by the insurgents. aside from the new troops heading to afghanistan the military is also stepping up missions targeting taliban leaders, all this while the president of afghanistan, hamid karzai is tout ago reimmigration -- reintegration plan for taliban to switch side, saying those taliban not part of al-qaeda or other terrorist networks who accept the afghan constitution, who have no ideological emnity with the u.s. will be persuaded by peaceful means to return to afghanistan and lay down their arms and become part of the afghan community once again. with us, lieutenant colonel tony schaeffer, center for advanced studies. on one hand, that sounds like a carrot, yet the budget calls for a whole lot of sticks, including special ops, drones. how do you see it? >> i think first off when you look at the carrot approach, it's been minimally successful so far. we tried this before. agai

you'll hear first from defense secretary robert gates and joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen. they'll be followed by an overview with the quaudreniel defense review. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> first of all, let me say the full text of both my and the chairman's statements will be available immediately after the briefing. the statements are kind of long. and so just put your minds at ease, we'll have about 25 minutes for questions after the statements. and i would ask that you confine your statements to the qdr in the budget as we get toward the end of the 25 minutes, if we've got time, i'll be happy to take one or two questions on other subjects. today this department is submitting the fiscal year 2011 defense budget request along with two important strategy documents. the 2010 quadrennial and ballistic missile defense review and from my opening statement and the chairman's and our questions you will hear from the undersecretary of defense for policy, who will discuss the qdr in more depth and then our controller robert hale will provide for detail in the three budget

>> well, i think it's astounding to suggest that someone like admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said today he believes the policy should be lifted and our service members can handle the change, that someone like him doesn't understand the military. we also have john shall kashvili. gays serving in the military always have and not serving in the military but serving openly. polls show two-thirds of the military know or suspect gays in their unit and others are kidding themselves if they think they haven't shared quarters with a gay person. there's nothing radical about a policy that catches up with policy on the ground. >> it's not a question of whether gays serve in the military or can serve in the military as to whether people who engage in other sexual behavior can serve or have served. the focus son the behavior and not the individual and their orientation. >> of course it's a question of -- >> no. >> of course, if gays already serve -- >> what you're calling for is a change in military code and law which would drop all sexual morays, the standards that's -- >

. >> chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mike mullen is in saudi arabia meeting with allies in the region. pentagon press secretary jeff morrell discusses that and other topics. this is 20 minutes. >> that is why i had to read so quickly. >> there are reports coming out that snipers are alarmingly accurate, more so than we have seen in the past. is this an issue that has risen to the level of the pentagon? have you been aware of this? >> luckily, you guys have the benefit of briefings from the arce south commander closer to the operation than i am. the secretary did receive a briefing this morning from general mcchrystal on the ongoing operation down in helmun, as well as other issues related to afghanistan and pakistan. i do not believe q is briefed specifically on the sniper threat. i think the characterization offered to him was similar to the one offered to you all by the commander. this afghan initiated and afghan led operation is having great early success, but i stress early. we are just six days into this. we're still very much in the clearing phase. we do have assets in pl

defense secretary robert gates and joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen testify about the pentagon's spending before the senate armed services committee. that is at 9:00 a.m. eastern. at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c- span, timothy geithner are testifies before the senate finance committee. now, president obama on his now, president obama on his budget request forÑ  fiscal year 2011. plan proposes a three-year freeze on non discretionary spending. this is 10 minutes. >> good morning, everybody. this morning i spent -- i sent a budget to congress for the coming year, reflecting the serious challenges facing the country. we are at war, our economy has lost 7 million jobs over the last two years, and our government is deeply in debt after what can only be described as a decade a profit for -- a profligacy. 10 years ago, we had a budget surplus of more than $200 billion, with projected surpluses stretching out over the horizon. over the course of the past 10 years, the previous administration and previous congresses created an expensive new drug program, passed massive tax cuts for the

mullen -- i'm quoting from the article -- and the consensus seemed that the military fighting two wars and now responding to a new mission in haiti now, is not the time to make such a big change in the military policy. that is my understanding of the status of things. i just hope that, as we discuss it, you will recognize first that congress has made the decision. it is not yours to make. and we will have to change it, if we do change it, and second, you shouldn't use your power to in any way influence a discussion or evaluation of the situation. >> senator, i would say that we can't possibly evaluate the impact on unit cohesion, moral, retention and so on unless we encourage people to tell us exactly what they think, and exactly what their views are honestly and as forthrightly as possible. otherwise, there is no use in doing this at all, and again, i can't emphasize enough, we understand from the beginning of this that this must be an act of congress. >> thank you. >> senator sessions, for me, this not about command influence, but about leadership. i take that very seriously. >> than

. >> and now joint chief of staff chair admiral mike mullen and a number of others discuss lessons for leadership and strategy. first, you'll hear a presentation about admiral arkansas arleigh burke. from the center for strategic and international studies, this lasts about an hour, 30 minut. >> you know, people will frequently -- my name is john hammily, and people frequently say do you miss being at dod? i say, no, i don't miss being at dod except for one thing, i miss the ceremonies. because they are such a big part of reminding you what your life is about. and today is a chance for you to have a ceremony. now, it's actually a bigger day in many ways. admiral roughhead was just this morning up at fort meade where we commissioned the tenth fleet, so this is a historic day in many dimensions. and we're going to celebrate today a very great man who was a part of the history of the navy, made the navy so great, and also i hate to brag, but made scis -- csis great, and that was arleigh burke. now, this is the annual abshire lecture series, and david decided he would like to use this as an

mullen are testifying before the senate armed services committee on a proposal to end the don't ask don't tell policy. that hearing just began this hour. you can watch live coverage of it on c-span3. later, national intelligence director, dennis blair, joins cia director leon panetta and fbi chief robert mueller for a senate intelligence hearing on threats to u.s. security. that's live on c-span3 at 2:30 50er7b. >> a year ago this month the president obama signed the economic stimulus funding into law making $787 billion variable. since then the federal government has committed more than $332 billion to states for stimulus projects. that's up 3 billion from last week. $176 billion have been paid out for those projects. for more about the economic stimulus, go online, to cspan.org/stimulus. you will find the fourth quarter reporter on stimulus effects plus congressional hearings and debates, news conferences and links to government and watchdog groups tracking stimulus spending. again, that is all at cspan.org/stimulus. the president's fiscal year 2011 budget request of 3.8 dal trill

james jones, mike mullen, vice president biden also travelled there. the u.s. government announced a new set of sanctions on iran is military guard. anderson and you are seeking a new set of resolutions -- i understand you are seeking a new set of resolutions. you were recently in saudi arabia. it is now exporting more oil to china than ever. reports suggested that saudi arabia may be able to provide china the stable supply of oil it needs. that would reduce china's reliance on iranian oil. this could make china more willing to support sanctions against iran. do you feel better about the situation with china? do you feel that the diplomacy could yield the right outcome? >> we are working at it every single day. the iaea report gave us one more piece of evidence to present to dodging countries -- doubting countries about iran's nuclear ambitions. we are making the argument in public that china's dependence on oil from the gulf should cause it to make a strategic calculation to support sanctions. in the absence of pressure that changes the iran and efforts to obt

mullen. they will talk abouted projected $700 billion budget for the defense department. expected there, other department officials for that briefing. also at 1:00 p.m. on c-span3, deputy secretary of state for management and resources jacob blue on the president's 2011 funding request for the state department. >>> a look inside the hallways of capitol hill this morning as copies of the budget requests make their way to the senate budget committee. [inaudible] >> good morning. >> good morning. >> [inaudible]. >> go ahead. >> [inaudible]. [background sounds] [background sounds] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> if you all could back up to the sides, please. >> everybody back up. everybody back up, if you can. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> thank you. >> no problem. >> thank you. >> for the >> and we are waiting for the scheduled white house press briefing today with press secretary robert gibbs. that is expected to start shortly. the scheduled for 12:45. we will bring