acting before congress does or the automatic cuts take effect, panetta ordered cost cutting measures including delaying contracts and a freeze on hiring. both panetta and general martin dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff agree military readiness should not be affected. >> if fiscal uncertainty has become a very serious threat to our national security. >> readiness is what's now in jeopardy. we're on the brink of creating a hollow force, the very thing we said we must avoid. >> secretary panetta said he intends to stemt u.s. troops from any cuts. >>> the afghan president hamid karzai will hold a meeting today with president obama about troop levels. in advance of that he met with secretary of state hillary clinton about handing off security responsibility to afghan forces by 2014. at one point secretary clinton joked about secretary panetta's plans to retire to his walnut farm in california. >> secretary panetta, in addition to his many years of service, is at heart about walnuts. >> clinton and panetta had a private dinner with karzai at the state department. >>> new

the very thing we said we must avoid. >> secretary panetta has said he intends to exempt u.s. troops from any cuts. >>> afghan president hamid karzai is in the middle of his visit to the u.s. he met with secretary of state hillary clinton thursday. they talked about handing off security responsibility to afghan forces by the end of 2014 as well as preparations for elections next year. at one point secretary clinton joked to karzai about defense secretary panetta's plans to retire to his walnut farm in california. >> secretary pan net, in addition is at last with walnuts. >> clinton and panetta had a private dinner with karzai. and karzai meets with president obama later today. >>> there's new information about last year's secret service scandal involving prostitutes in colombia. according to an investigation by nbc news two u.s. drug enforcement agents facilitated a sexual encounter between a prostitute and a secret service agent just days before president obama's visit to cartagena in april. the findings reveal the agents tried to destroy incriminating information that led to

ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta at the pentagon. the secretary of defense says the military campaign is reaching its final chapter. >> after a long and difficult task, we finally are, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing an afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan, that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that they provide be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said he and karzai made good progress but he declined to say whether they had agreed the size of the u.s. force that will remain in afghanistan. >> after a long and difficult path, we are finally, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing in afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that are you providing, be able to provide security to its people and to protect its

secretary panetta repeatedly said no that's the plan. but doesn't prudence dictate even when strong supporters on the hill are saying that defense will likely get hit even if sequestration is averted. don't you have to start planning for that now? >> one aspect is that we have just absorbed a half a trillion dollars in cuts. and what i think the secretary panetta is saying and what i would say certainly is that as we approach the overall fiscal situation there, we need to look at the entire package. you can't pay our way out of our fiscal situation on the backs of discretionary spending or defense. so that's the first thing. the -- the -- we believe that we have now a strategy and resources that are well matched up and we understand that people are wondering what's going to be the next move in the overall budget. what we're trying -- we have a very solid now matching of our program and with the country needs to the budget. and as people make decisions in the next round, they need to see what it is that the country needs for its defense a

clinton and panetta had a private dinner can karzai at the state department. karzai meets with president obama today. >>> well, there's new information about last year's secret service scandal involving prostitutes in colombia. according to a justice department investigation obtained by nbc news, two u.s. drug enforcement agents facilitated a sexual encounter between a prostitute and secret service agent just days before president obama's sit in april. the findings revealed the agents tried to destroy incriminating evidence. the case has been referred to the dea. >>> louisiana governor bobby jindal has desclared a state of emergency after a severe weather system rolled across the state. the real misery, that's coming from flooding. much of the state has been soaked by a slow-moving storm system. >>> and now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. former republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan might be in or out of the 2016 presidential race. congressman ryan told the wisconsin state journal that for now, quote, i've decided

he's also had meetings with pan pap, panetta, of course. let's listen to chuck hagel. >>> thank you, chairman levin, ranking member inhofe, and distinguished members of the committee. i am honored to come before you today as the president's nominee to be secretary of defense. first, as you suggested, mr. chairman, let me introduce my family. my wife lily beth, my son zar and daughter ali are not with us. our son claims he's taking a test. we'll confirm that later. but both our son and daughter that we are very, very proud of, and i think, like any proud father and any proud mother, you all know how i feel about that as you have the same feelings about your children. it's the same way we feel about ours. i also want to introduce my brother tom who served with me in vietnam. my brother mike who is our number three brother and, i might add, who actually possesses any talent our family has. he has in the pentagon ten paintings as chairman of the air force artist guild over the years, and they're hanging in different locations in the pentagon, s

>> i want to commend secretary panetta. i think this is a very positive step, and it reflects the reality of what's happening, obviously, in defending our nation and the reality of our country. you know, already 20,000 women have served in afghanistan and iraq. you heard the secretary say that 152 of them have given their lives in the line of duty. two of those women have earned the silver star, so this reflects the reality of what's already happening, what needs to happen, and make sure that our nation is defended. >> at this stage do you think that it's going to move very quickly? what are you going to want to monitor in terms of your oversight of how rapidly this can be done? >> well, i think that secretary panetta and general dempsey laid out a very important plan. they are in general going to give opportunities for women that they deserve, and they'll evaluate the qualifications of each position and make sure that it's appropriate. given the readiness of our forces and like so many of them do now very bravely serving.

they're comfortable with leon panetta, comfortable with gates. the fact hagel is not as close to most republicans on this very hot issue we see today iran sends notice to the iaea to upgrade capabilities, it's a problem we're reading about every day in the paper. >> and michael scherer, you'll hear hagel say he did it in his questionnaire that he believes that pressure has to continue on e iran and that he's going to be -- the first thing he said he was briefed on when he went to the pentagon was the military -- potential military operation that the u.s. would take against iran. >> yeah, he's going to say the right things on iran. there is the needer here but it is worth paying attention to the fact that hagel will have a lot of control over the pentagon budget, much more than he will in big decisions about what we're going to do with iran. those decisions made by the president, his national security staff. hagel will get a voice in that. but hagel is really going to have a lot of voice in shaping what the pentagon is going forward, so i think in

earlier, panetta spoke optimistically about the u.s. entering its final chapter of the war. >> we have poured a lot of blood and treasure in this war over the last ten years. the fact is that we have also made a lot of progress as a result of the sacrifices that have been made. and we're not going to walk backward from what's been accomplished. >> the stronger position we take in showing that we are going to continue to complete this mission, the better the chances we have to ultimately achieve political reconciliation. >> during a photo op with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell yesterday, president karzai declined to answer about troops in his country after 2014. >> what kind of forces would you like to see left in your country are i? >> thank you, everybody. >> come on. >> i was told by the organizer of the senate to keep quiet. [ laughter ] >> thank you, everybody. >> well, president obama and president karzai will participate in a joint news conference this afternoon. >>> president obama is now on his lookout for his next chief

leon panetta. first of all, let me express my deepest gratitude to the president for giving me the honor and the prif of serving in your administration these last for you years as director of the cia and now as secretary of defense. i have been extremely proud to be part of your national security team, mr. president, and to be proud of what it has accomplished in your first term. looking ahead to the second term, i want to commend president obama on his decision to nominate chuck hagel as the next secretary of defense and let me also add as former director of the cia to commend the president for his choice of john brennan. i've had the opportunity to work with john and counterterrorism issues, these last for you years. he knows the cia. he will be a strong leader of that great intelligence agency. i've also known chuck for a long period of time as well. i had the opportunity to work with him closely. particularly in his twaft as chairman of the president's intelligence advisory board. i greatly app

panetta has ordered cost cutting measures including a delay and freeze on hiring. the joint chiefs of staff argue and agree that the military readiness should not be affected. >> this fiscal uncertainty has become a very are serious threat. for national security. readiness is now what's in jeopardy. we're on the brink of creating a hollow force. the very thing we said we must avoid. >> secretary panettaas said he intends to exempt u.s. troops from any cut. >>> afghan president hamid karzai is in the middle of his visit to the u.s. he met with secretary of state hillary clinton thursday. they talked about handing off security responsibility to afghan forces by the end of 2014 as well as preparations for elections next year. secretary clinton joked to karzai about his plans to retire to his walnut form in california. >> secretary panetta, in addition -- walnuts. >> clinton meets with president obama today. >>> there's new information about last year's secret service scandal involving prostitutes in colombia. according to an investigation by nbc news two u.s. drug enf

and to my friend leon panetta. thank you for your service to our country over so many years and in so many capacities. you are one of the premier public servants of our time. to follow you will be a most challenging task. i will try to live up to the standards that you, bob gates, and others have set for this job and nation. let me also express my deep appreciation and congratulations to my friend john brennan. and to acknowledge the president's confidence and trust in john brennan. thank you, mike, for your continued service. i'm grateful for this opportunity to serve our country again. especially its men and women in uniform. these are people who give so much to this nation every day with such dignity and selflessness. this is particularly important as we complete our mission and support our troops to a sacrifice so much more than a decade of war. am grateful for an opportunity to help continue to strengthen our country and their alliances. and advance global freedom. we help build a better world for all mankind.

panetta has asked the military service chiefs to determine whether any job should still be off limits. sally kidd, wbal-tv 11 news. >> now, your insta-weather forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> officially 2 inches of snow down at bwi marshall this morning. that is the most we have had on a single day since january 2011. it has been awhile since we had a little bit of snow around here. we have already almost doubled the total snowfall we had all last winter. traces here and there, and last year we only ended up with 1.8 inches for the entire winter. this morning, less than an inch here on tv hill. towson had a dusting of snow there. a significant amount of snow in parts of southern maryland, in st. mary's county, 5.5 inches of snow. ellicott city with an inch, bellaire with. 10 inch. it was a destined to the north and a couple of inches well to the south of baltimore -- a dusting to the north. it does not take much moisture when you have arctic air around to get some accumulation, with just a little bit of moisture in the atmosphere. the high today was 15 degrees belo

dealing with a different set of nuts. >> panetta has served as secretary of defense since 2011. his legny will include overseeing the troop drawdown in afghanistan, the trimming of the defense budget and the death of osama bin laden. >>> a gag gift greeted secretary of state hillary clinton when she got back to work at the state department today. you see this picture here? mrs. clinton got a football helmet with the state department logo on the side. secretary clinton has not made any public appearances since early december when she fell, hit her head and sustained a concussion. hence the helmet. she was released from the hospital last week after treatment for a blood clot. >>> just hours from now a special meeting will be held to talk about the proposed closure of several east bay fire stations. contra costa supervisors voted last month to shut down stations in clayton, lafayette, martinez and walnut creek. they say it's necessary to close a budget deficit after voters refused the tax increase. tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at the lafayette veterans memorial building. >>> ca

is the last chapter call well this is being said is mr panetta stepping out the door if you will look to now in washington it's really a question of what politics and economics dictate and at this stage of the game mr obama has shifted his script if you will from talking about a war of necessity to a war of how can we get out of this with the least amount of damage if you will my guess is that probably something like five to seven thousand troops would be the compromise solution at the end of the day and it's a question of comparative advantage in terms of negotiating style i would say mr mr karzai probably has the upper hand here so. as discussions with top american officials have created more questions than answers do you think this meeting with obama will shed more light on the prospects of the you with mission in afghanistan . i do expect it will shed more light on the u.s. mission in afghanistan for as you say the last chapter really at the end of the day mr obama can no longer skirt this issue the election is out of the way the clock is ticking so this is sort of if you will do

he grabbed power. >> secretary panetta said that the u.s. is not in a position to train the mali military because it's not a democracy. >> they defected to the al qaeda, all the guys we trained. >> are we doing this because of france or are we doing it because we know al qaeda is there? >> ultimately there's a threat to the u.s. down the road. but france is an ally and, yes, we're doing it because of france. >> primarily because of france? >> pry pearl-- >> -- pry pearl-- >> -- primarily-- >> what did lafayette do for the united states? what did he do? >> he was aide to camp to washington. >> what else did he do? >> he almost got his head cut off in the french revolution. >> nato has to do -- if france is attacked, we'd help defend france. it doesn't mean if france goes to war, we go to war. >> it's something that is felt between allies. >> do you think we'll gain everything from helping out-- >> obama doesn't want to get involved but i think we have to help in terms of what we're doing right now. >> u.s. is not involved but these are former

panetta replied the japan/u.s. alliance is extremely significant and forms the basis of peace in the region. >>> people in china took to the streets for a second day of protests against alleged government censorship. authorities responded by mobilizing police officers to the scene. about 100 people gathered on tuesday at the headquarters of the nanfang zhoumo newspaper in the city of guangzhou. reporters at the paper say local communist party officials forced them to change an editorial calling for greater democracy and freedom of speech. more than 30 police officers ordered protesters to leave. they asked reporters to show i.d. cards. no local newspapers reported on monday's protests. some papers carried an editorial from a communist party affiliated newspaper calling for calm. >>> journalism is a tricky profession to practice in china. we went to the staff at "the global times" to get insight. the newspaper is affiliated with the chinese communist party publication "the people's daily," and it's known for hard-li

secretary pa ne panetta had started this earlier in the year. he opened up 14,000 positions earlier this year. this is not new. i spoke to the first fighter pilot to fly in combat and she had this to say about the naysayers. >> the same arguments were being made back then that are being made now against this policy change that is happening in order to catch up with reality on the battlefield. and i know air combat is different from ground combat but they were making the same arguments back then, that women did not have the inch turns or the strength to be fighter pilots, and i had just completed the hawaii ironman triathlon, winning the division and beating most of the military men and they said i didn't have the endurance to be a fighter pilot. >> reporter: one marine garnered attention last year when she expressed concerns about this move is captain katie petronio. she wrote in the marine core times last year, get over it, we are not all created equal. >> i found that i broke down and had muscle atrophy and weight loss at a much faster rate an

that is what freedom is all about. >> leon panetta there. what do these changes mean and how does the u.s. military compare with other countries like britain? our defense correspondent has a closer look. >> thousands of women in the u.s. military had been facing daily dangers on the front line in iraq and afghanistan. when it comes to the fighting, it has mostly been done by men. women have been trained to kill but prevented from joining infantry units. the senior military commander confesses this makes little sense. >> women are fighting, they are dying, and have shown have great skills. the one thing they will probably look at is not changing training standards to accommodate women. >> now, president obama like to overturn the ban. he has the backing of u.s. military chiefs to break down the barriers. a u.s. marine captain has done two tours in afghanistan, it is not about gender. >> i want to make the point that we are not looking to just reserve a spot for women, we are trying to give people a chance to compete for the spot. some women c

so panetta knows and chuck hagel was supporting him. they know they have to do this somewhat gradually. >> thank you. appreciate it. >>> this guy, diplomatic trouble shooter, decorated war veteran john kerry on top to be america's top diplomat. the senate foreign relations committee is holding a hearing on the nomination to become secretary of state. kerry talked about how his military experience in vietnam has shaped his views. >> i want all of us to keep in our minds as i think we do the extraordinary men and women in uniform who are on the front lines even as we meet here today. the troops at war who helped protect america i can pledge to you that as a veteran of war i will always carry the consequence for our decisions in my mind and be grateful that we have such extraordinary people to back us up. >> want to bring in our foreign affairs correspondent. kerry it seems like is ready made for the job. this is something where he got the nod after you had susan rice withdrawing her own nomination from consideration. this is someone who h

secretary panetta has said that a sequester would be devastating for our military. hagel's views on the sequester will be of great interest to this committee and the nation. those of us who have served with senator hagel in the senate know that he is a man who was not afraid to speak his mind. senator hagel has made a number of statements over the course of his career which committee members will ask him about during today's hearing. for example, senator hagel has stated that unilateral sanctions against iran, "are exactly the " and thatoach, and "the worst thing we could do is try to isolate iran." i believe that while effective multilateral sanctions are preferable, unilateral sanctions are an important part of the approach that the obama administration has followed and congress has supported, and it appears that sanctions are producing tremendous pressure on iran. another statement which has raised concern is senator hagel 's recommendation that we conduct, "direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks with the government of iran." now, while there is value in

ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta at the pentagon. the secretary of defense says the military campaign is reaching its final chapter. >> after a long and difficult task, we finally are, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing an afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan, that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that they provide be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said he and karzai made good progress but he declined to say whether they had agreed the size of the u.s. force that will remain in afghanistan. >> after a long and difficult path, we are finally, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing in afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that are you providing, be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said and he karzai good progress but declined to say if they agreed on the size of u.s. forces that will remain in afg

ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta at the pentagon. the secretary of defense says the military campaign is reaching its final chapter. >> after a long and difficult task, we finally are, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing an afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan, that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that they provide be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said he and karzai made good progress but he declined to say whether they had agreed the size of the u.s. force that will remain in afghanistan. >> after a long and difficult path, we are finally, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing in afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that are you providing, be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said and he karzai good progress but declined to say if they agreed on the size of u.s. forces that will remain in afg

leon panetta saying women will be on the front lines. big news day. that is it for panel. stay tuned for a little case of deja vu. excuse me, sir i'm ga have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day afr day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] e pill eachmorning. 24 hours. zero heartbur stay top of mind with customers? from deals that bring them in with an offer... to social media promotions that turn fans into customers... to events that engage and create buzz... to e-mails that keep loyal cus

leon panetta, i would assume leon panetta would not do this unless president obama has approved it. >> i can't imagine changing the policy like this without the approval of the white house. >> bill: in some ways, the president in his inaugural address was talking about this promise of equal opportunity guaranteed in the constitution and that our mission is to make sure that those words actually are real today. this is a very concrete example of that, isn't it? >> it is. i suppose the timing -- the white house has the advantage of knowing the future. so they could know what the news may be tomorrow or the next day. so they look pretty smart in predicting things, don't they? >> bill: or they were talking about this. they said you know the perfect time to announce this would be two days after the inaugural address. >> second term, you want to know what obama's accomplished? he already will point in the second week, here's something that my second term changed. so many women in the military are excluded from these jobs that you cannot -- that's why this is so overdue. you just can't have

i'd like to echo your remarks about secretary panetta. i don't see him here today but i do recall when he was first nominated i was probably one of the first phone calls to him and i've enjoyed working with him, with senator mccain certainly i'll continue to depend on his counsel and you and i have worked very well together in the past. mr. chairman, before i continue, i'd like to consider the documentation. senator hagel was asked to provide the speeches he's delivered over the last five years yet his initial submission was for only four speeches, even though as was noticed by, where is -- by senator cruz that he had honorariate for 12 peachesp. we received them last night, i'm hoping we'll be able to get that information before we have to cast votes on this nominee. thank you, mr. chairman for senator hagel to serve as secretary of defense. senator haguele is a good man who has a record of service, i first learned of that when he was first elected and i have been a great admirer of the time he spent in vietnam with the sacrifices that h

and to my friend, leon panetta. thank you for your extraordinary service to our country over so many years in so many capacities. you are one of the premiere public servants of our time. to follow you at the department of defense will be a most challenging task. but i will try to live up to the standards that you, bob gates and others have set for this job and this nation. let me also express my deep appreciation and congratulations to my friend, john brennan, and to also acknowledge the president's confidence and trust in john brennan. thank you, john, for your service and what you will continue to do for our country. to mike morel, who i have gotten to know over the years, not just serving on the senate intelligence committee but also as the president has noted, the privilege of co-chairing the president's intelligence advisory board with former senator dave warren. thank you, mike, for your continued service. mr. president, i'm grateful for this opportunity to serve our country again. especially its men and women

i suspect secretary panetta in thinking about this had two data point. one is he's got the sexual abuse problem pain lot of them disproportionately toward women, these attacks. and he thinks the ethos of the services may be somewhat the cause of that. secondly, he looks at gays in the military. they've gone through a decade of don't ask, don't tell. lifted the ban on gays openly serving in the military and the response from the rank and file was a collective shrug. i don't think they care anymore. they understand after a decade of war, the people a watching each other's backs. there is not going to be a huge amount of blowback from the rank and file. they know these things are not important. what is important can these people have my back in a war zone? they've prove than they can. the rest of it kind of goes away. >> ifill: does that mean as secretary panetta leaves and goes back to the walnut farm as he describes is, does this mean he leaves a legacy opening up the armed forces. >> he's probably thinks this is a legacy burning move-- >> ifill: gs in th

. >> just minutes ago, defense secretary leon panetta announced the military will no longer ban women from combat. initially women will be assigned to combat communications, logistics and drivers. gradually they'll work closer to battle as medics and corp.men and operate artillery before becoming combat troops. they would to volunteer and meet the same physical standards as men. whole process would take two to three years. but in reality, women have been serving on the front lines in iraq and afghanistan for the past ten years. as of today, look at this number. 152 female service members have lost their lives, they have been killed in iraq and afghanistan. and at least 958 more wounded. in all, 292,000 women deployed to iraq and afghanistan. joining me now our special panel, a former marine corps captain, executive director of the service women's action network, a woman to file class action lawsuit to challenge the military's ban on women in combat. also military analyst retired army come cell jack jacobs, a recipient of the national medal of honor and michael smerkonish with us. it's

leon panetta will make the announcement at the pentagon tomorrow behind me. women say this is the moment they're waiting for, a victory and equality. >> i think i have been walking abut thr about three feet in the air. thrilled the pentagon is lifting a ban on women serving in combat. >> exciting first step to further include women in the military service. >> the reservist is one of four female service members who filed a lawsuit to stop the approximately see thpolicy that bans women. >> great advancement in advancing women's equality in military service. >> reporter: the move overturns a 1994 ruling banning women from being in comb battle units. this change will allow the military to open up 200,000 combat positions for women in the army and marine infantry units. >> i am incredibly excited. >> the former sergeant wait aid decade for this announcement. she wrote a book "love my rifle more than you." focusing on u.s. army experience in iraq. >> i thought that the military was not at already. i thought there was no chance that women would be allowed to serve i

speaking about the troop count decision, secretary panetta told reporters, my hope is that we will be able to can complete this process in the next few weeks. two months ago it was weeks and four weeks after, it was weeks and now, it is months. good to see you both. roland, let me start with you. in a week where the question has been questioned for nominating chuck hagel for defense secretary, a man who was against the surge in afghanistan is four more defense cuts and written about avoiding wars, would it help the president to take a stronger stance on this? >> no. at the end of the day, you go through your evaluations. i talked to a three-star general that served in afghanistan that made it perfectly clear that these are delicate situations. you are still dealing with a country where we are trying to get the security forces up to bar. it could cost us about $30 billion a year. the president has to make an economic decision as well. if panetta is on his way out is saying, i want it done in weeks and the president is simply saying, i am going to take a few more months, i say, take you

secretary panetta tonight says the u.s. will take all necessary steps to deal with this crisis. >> by all indications, this is a terrorist act. and the united states strongly condemns these kinds of terrorist acts. it is a very serious matter when americans are taken hostage along with others. >> reporter: it all began when 20 armed islamic militants, believed to be affiliated with al qaeda, approached a group of oil workers. the attackers were reportedly heavily armed, driving in three unmarked vehicles. the oil workers were on a bus headed to a nearby airport. there was a fight -- security forces for the workers battled back. when the smoke cleared, at least one foreign worker was dead, others wounded. the terrorists then headed to the compound where the gas refinery workers live. while it is unclear how many foreign workers they seized, sources say it could be as many as 15 to 20. along with the americans, there are british, norwegian, french and japanese workers, too. the attackers claim this is retaliation for the fren

i suspect secretary panetta in thinking about this had two data point. one is he's got the sexual abuse problem pain lot of them disproportionately toward women, these attacks. and he thinks the ethos of the services may be somewhat the cause of that. secondly, he looks at gays in the military. they've gone through a decade of don't ask, don't tell. lifted the ban on gays openly serving in the military and the response from the rank and file was a collective shrug. i don't think they care anymore. they understand after a decade of war, these people are watching each other's backs. there is not going to be a huge amount of blowback from the rank and file. they know these things are not important. what is important can these people have my back in a war zone? they've prove than they can. the rest of it kind of goes away. >> ifill: does that mean as secretary panetta leaves and goes back to the walnut farm as he describes is, does this mean he leaves a legacy opening up the armed forces. >> he's probably thinks this is a legacy burning move-- >> ifill: gays

defense secretary leon panetta is on our weeklong trip to europe to discuss close military link ups and includes a visit to spain by washington is looking to double its defense presents this year a spanish international affairs experts believe this is just one part of america's push to extend its worldwide influence. you have to take into account that there are two strains of thought within diplomatic circles in the united states or one of them is that they have to leave and the most serious danger comes from the east from china and so they feel they should reinforce their military and political presence in asia and the other strain and leon panetta and president obama are part of it says that the u.s. has to be present in both so the operation and therefore they also have to deploy the anti missile defense shield that is a provocation against russia. for the world up to some other global news for you in brief will start with a bombing that killed at least some people there was actually a suicide car bomb attack near the headquarters of the kurdish democratic party that's located in nor

the move expected to be officially announced today by leon panetta. >>> some fiery testimony from secretary of state hillary clinton on capitol hill yesterday. for more than five hours in two separate hags, she defended her role in the aftermath of the attacks on the u.s. consulate in libya. she also heard the anger of republicans who say they are not satisfied with the steps taken by the white house before and after the ahack. -- in two separate hearings. >>> debates over gun control continue across the country after mass shootings. as trace gallagher reports, vice president joe biden will hit the road to promote the government's plans. >> reporter: vice president biden launching a series of road trips to promote gun control. the white house says the campaign includes a visit to virginia a state where many strongly support gun rights. virginia experienced its open school shooting tragedy. thirty-two people were killed in a rampage at virginia tech in 2007. debates over gun control continue across the nation n minnesota, a group of sheriffs calling for stronger background checks. they also

. >> from the abc 7 news room, leon panetta just spoke at king's college. said we are working around clock to ensure the safety our citizens. he said the fate of many of those taken captive remains uncertain. looks to attack the have no placewill to hide. defense secretary leon panetta just speaking in london at king's college. northeast miti -- in the new passed along.e -- any >>> and welcome back, everyone. quick check ona traffic. >> for the most part, we are quiet. a crash in virginia on 66 in manassas. many cars and vehicles we have. everyone coming through manassas, this is that the for business to 34. -- 234. now we want to check in with meteorologist. >>> after being on vacation for a week, the sunshine comes back. everything will be rapidly off to the east and southeast. the skies are clear in the winds are gusty. kind of chili out there right now. n the 30's -- kind of right now. winds will increase. it feels like it is 30 degrees in many parts of the metro area. today, look of were weather.and chilly the >>> of all the world this morning, one per

defense secretary leon panetta was on a week long trip to europe to discuss close military link ups and includes a visit to spain where washington is looking to double its defense presents this year spanish international affairs experts believe this is just one part of america's push to extend its worldwide influence. you know that i said. you have to take into account that there are two strains of thought within diplomatic circles in the united states or one of them is that they have to. and the most serious danger comes from the east from china and so they think they should reinforce their military and political presence in asia and the other strain and leon panetta and president obama a part of it says that the u.s. has to be present in the boat so the operation and therefore they also have to deploy the into missile defense shield that is a provocation against russia. now mourners in chicago have said to full farewells at the funeral of freedom of information activist aaron swartz he took his own life last week under pressure from federal prosecutors who sought her thirty five year

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: defense secretary leon panetta said lifting the ban on women serving in combat will make the u.s. military stronger. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight, we examine the historic move, which opens more than 200,000 jobs to women. >> ifill: then, we turn to u.s. foreign policy, as confirmation hearings begin for secretary of state nominee john kerry, two former national security advisers stephen hadley and zbigniew brzezinski weigh in. >> brown: paul solman looks at china's fast growing economy and asks, is it headed for a crash? >> wages are rising for the burgeoning middle class, but for hardscrabble factory workers: mounting protests against unlivable wages and working conditions. >> ifill: and vice president joe biden hangs out with hari sreenivasan on google plus to talk about gun violence. >> make your voices heard. this town listens when people rise up and speak. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided b

defense secretary leon panetta is on a week long trip to europe to discuss close military link ups it includes a visit to spain where washington is looking to double its defense presence this year spanish international affairs experts believe this is just one part of america's push to extend its worldwide influence. you have to take into account that there are two strains of thought within diplomatic circles in the united states or one of them is that they have to and the most serious danger comes from the east from china and saw they feel it should reinforce their military and political presence in asia the other strain and leon panetta and president obama are part of it says that the u.s. has to be present in the world so the operation and therefore they also have to deploy them to missile defense shield as a provocation against russian. regime change comes at a high cost a recent study of the arab spring has revealed that the egyptian syrian and libyan revolutions could set those countries back some two hundred twenty five billion dollars middle east economic analyst thinks that th

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: defense secretary leon panetta said lifting the ban on women serving in combat will make the u.s. military stronger. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight, we examine the historic move, which opens more than 200,000 jobs to women. >> ifill: then, we turn to u.s. foreign policy, as confirmation hearings begin for secretary of state nominee john kerry, two former national security advisers stephen hadley and zbigniew brzezinski weigh in. >> brown: paul solman looks at china's fast growing economy and asks, is it headed for a crash? >> wages are rising for the burgeoning middle class, but for hardscrabble factory workers: mounting protests against unlivable wages and working conditions. >> ifill: and vice president joe biden hangs out with hari sreenivasan on google plus to talk about gun violence. >> make your voices heard. this town listens when people rise up and speak. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided b

and leon panetta behind him. let's listen in. >> as president and commander-in-chief, my solemn concern is the american people. over the past few years, we met that responsible by ending the war in iraq, transitioning into afghanistan, decimating the al qaeda core and taking out osama bin laden. by disrupting terrorist plot and saving can countless american lives. among an outstandings national security team, i'm especially grateful to leon panetta who led the cia and military with incredible skill. leon, after nearly five decades of service, you have more than earned the right to return to civilian life. i'll have much more to say about leon's distinguished service in the days ahead. today i simply want to convey to you and sylvia, the eternal gratitude of the entire nation. thank you so much, leon. i also want to thank michael month relo. in moments of transition he's guided the cia with a steady hand as acting director. not once, but twice. and he is a consummate professional. as i said, everybody in the white