what areome of the things the pentagon -- that you w would lie to see the pentagon start doing right away in order to reduce its overhead, which a lot of folks, yourself included, have criticized as being poerous? >> i do think reducing bureaucracis somethi that not only secretary hagel agrees of people whoer have recently served in the obama pentagon agreeith, and it needs to happen. that is not going to solve our national deficit, but on the other hand, we have always talked in the military about the tail to tooth ratio. the tale has just gotten and i it adds burdens on the people who are on the tooth. the secretary has made a start on that. i think we could well look at additional authoritis to enable make changes with civilian and military folks, not just that the pentagon, but in the combatant commands as well. >> what sort of authority changes do you think you guys would be willing to grant? >> i don't know what we would be willing to d we've had several people make suggestions of early buyouts for some civilian folks and other ors to help shape the force she the personnel folk

in the ukraine. >> the pentagon is looking to shrink the army to preworld war ii level. getting rid of a complete unit of attack jets. lisa stark, what kind of levels are we talking about? >> chuck hagel said this is the first away things will look like after years of war. the smallest since world war ii, particularly land forces. the army up to 570 tow troops in the army the president promised to end the wars in afghanistan and iraq of course and reduces to levels back to 490,000. defense secretary hagel is talking about more cuts down to 440 to 450,000 in the army. he's not only talking about changing personnel, it is a change in weapons systems and a whole new way of doing business. here is what the secretary had to say. >> after iraq and afghanistan we are no longer sizing the military for long sessions. we must retain our edge over technical adversaries. the military must be able to respond quickly to all contingency anies and be able to respond should any possible emergency occur. >>> sequestration was stayed for a couple of years for the pentagon. he warned congre

how do we look at the pentagon budget in the bigger picture? these are all issues that still need to be worked out in congress. host: pennsylvania, republican line. caller: i have a concern. i was reading a newspaper this morning and i noticed that the is making itnment possible for individuals to get $1000 apiece for a tax savers if they can find the form for it on the free file software available at the irs. for individuals to say, for retirement, if they earn under 29,000 for a private individual. host: caller, forgive me. [indiscernible] what i am after is how can they afford to give $1000 apiece to individuals for retirement savings when we are deducting from the military? how can the federal government afford to cut our military benefits when we are increasing the percentage of foodstamp increases and deducting it from our men and women who are putting their lives on the line? you hear this a lot. how are we going to support our troops elsewhere in the government? this is the constant debate. our money?e spending where are our priorities?

it's really out of touch with the real world. >> the pentagon disagrees with you. there's a guy named newt gingrich who disagrees with you. i want to hear you listen to yourself talk about this issue a few years ago. >> what would you say to senator inhofe and to others in the senate who are resisting even science? what's your message to them here today? >> my message, i think, is that the evidence is sufficient that we should move towards the most effective possible steps to reduce carbon loading of the atmosphere. >> and do it urgently, now. >> do it urgently. >> this, i love, this newt gingrich guy, he's great. i would hate -- he uwas talking to somebody who used to be called a flip-flopper. i would hate to thing that newt gingrich is competing with john kerry for the title of flip-flopper in chief. >> it was in a debate in the senate conference hearing room talking about taking effective steps and suddenly elevating this -- i'm happy to say this is a serious topic and debate seriously. to then elevate that to more important -- remember, the phrase he uses is ve

how do we look at the pentagon budget in the bigger picture? these are all issues that still need to be worked out in congress. host: pennsylvania, republican line. caller: i have a concern. i was reading a newspaper this morning and i noticed that the is making itnment possible for individuals to get $1000 apiece for a tax savers if they can find the form for it on the free file software available at the irs. for individuals to say, for retirement, if they earn under 29,000 for a private individual. host: caller, forgive me. [indiscernible] what i am after is how can they afford to give $1000 apiece to individuals for retirement savings when we are deducting from the military? how can the federal government afford to cut our military benefits when we are increasing the percentage of foodstamp increases and deducting it from our men and women who are putting their lives on the line? you hear this a lot. how are we going to support our troops elsewhere in the government? this is the constant debate. our money?e spending where are our priorities?

think the pentagon said, well, we'll freeze the generals and admirals. they are not cutting into those flag officers more than was projected, which also could have brought savings, for the navy side, you didn't mention the lcs ship, which was supposed to be future of the navy, and the pentagon is asking the navy to basically go back to the drawing board. that's good news for ship builders and planners -- >> right, but the bad news is for military bases that might be cut. i have to ask you very quickly, do you think under those circumstances this will make it through congress? >> i think chunks will, i think chunk won't. i think brak will not. the lcs buy -- the number of those ships is still to be determined. you have to give credit to the pentagon for putting a lot of items on the table when people thought the big ticket items aren't there. they neutralized one item when they said they are not going to cut one of the 11 aircraft carrier air strikes this year, but if congress tries to push it next year that's what they would go for. the question is how m

i'm talking about risk in the pentagon at issue is not the ability of the u.s. to prevail against many adversaries but how long it takes and at what cost, material financial and human. that does not mean however that we can ignore or rationalize the strategic consequences of flushing the resources available for national defense. if we don't like a strategy that results in additional funding is required to allow for a different set of trade-offs and lower levels of risk. for this budget plan we added the $115 billion above current law in order to have a reasonable opportunity to fulfill the president's strategic priorities albeit with higher risk for certain military missions. this brings me to the sequestration slated to return in current law and fy2016. as a result of the last few months of analysis we were able to identify with some decision with the post-sequestration military would look like a over the next decade. that means significantly fewer ships including at least one less aircraft, dropping the army down a bit further to 420,000 active-duty soldiers ,

women taking pain relievers like tylenol. >>> and historic cuts at the pentagon, the new plan to shrink the military to numbers not seen before world war ii. >>> and the price you pay at the supermarket, from everything to milk to meat, why everything is on the rise right now. >>> and a comedy genius is gone from "ghostbusters," to "groundhog" day. animal house, caddy shack, to clark griswold chlt tonight, we remember the great harold ramis. nightly news begins now. >>> good evening, we begin tonight with two major health stories, both breaking late in the day. both of them concern women's health. in a moment, the story involving pregnant women and the active ingredient in pain relievers like tylenol. but first, the news tonight involving the prevention of ovarian cancer, in women that have a genetic mutation that increases their risk for this often fatal disease. and it concludes that these women should make a tough choice about the treatment, even earlier than many do now. we get more from dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: nicole armstrong credits her older sister, katrina, an award-w

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we should say, the pentagon and the nsa, not commenting on this. the white house is saying, they won't discuss their internal deliberations on this. >> a sensitive subject. thanks very much, for that. >>> take a quick look at the markets. the dow was up yesterday, pushing to near-record territory. up about 15 points today. the next big market mover could come thursday, that's when the head of the federal reserve, janet yellin addresses the senate banking committee here in washington. we'll be all over that. that's it for me. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." in the meantime, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right thousand. >>> wolf blitzer, thank you, as always. great to be with you. i'm brooke baldwin. a lot of news to get to today. we want that start with this direct threat from president obama. every single american troop could be out of afghanistan by the end of this year. and today the president called hamid karzai and for the very first time, we're told,

he leaked the pentagon papers in 1971. helped to end the war in -- that helped to end the war in vietnam. >> i believe firmly that edward snowden is no more a traitor than i am or that i was, and i am not. >> today, daniel ellsberg versus stewart baker on spine -- hyena. all of that coming up here at -- coming up. now,me to democracy democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the massive storm that blanketed the east coast in up to 18 inches of snow is expected to ease today after four days. the storm was blamed for at least 18 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents in the south. in new york city, mayor bill de blasio faced criticism for a decision to keep the schools open. the mayor says he acted mindful that many parents rely on school for child care, and many low-income students rely on school for their lunch. >> we have made abundantly clear that we know the city is functioning and city agencies are doing their job, it is not something you do lightly. >> united nations envoy lakdar brahim met with top u.

jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. >>> we are learning more tonight about the dramatic takedown of the most wanted drug kingpin in all the world, and how u.s. and mexican authorities finally got their man after over a decade of escape and evasion. authorities say joaquin "shorty" guzman and much of his cartel are responsible for much of the flow of drugs into this country every day. nbc's mark potter has our report. >> reporter: these are the first public images of mexico's top crime kingpin in 13 years since his dramatic escape from this maximum security prison by hiding in a laundry cart. since then joaquin "chapo" guzman has become known as the world's most powerful trafficker, supplying most of the u.s.'s illicit drug supply. reportedly a billionaire and a violent player in mexico's drug war. >> 80,000 murdered and he was responsible for a good bit of it. >> reporter: a year ago, authorities say, guzman became restless in his sinaloa mountain hideout and sought a more comfortable life in the cities. >> once you become more complacent, you become more vulnerable. >> reporter:

material coming out of the pentagon. that material exposed really terrible, terrible official lies but the u.s. government. lies about the progress of the vietnam war, and that made that material so consequenceal because of that. in this case the material has, you know, provided a window onto like the scale of eavesdropping and all kinds of troubling things. certainly, some misstatements by officials, but i'm not sure they've exposed a wholesale cover-up and public lying over years and years the way the pentagon papers did. >> on the editorial page, "the times" editorialized saying that edward snowden should be considered for amnesty. you get involved with the editorials? >> i don't. i have no involvement. >> so you don't write editorials ever? >> i don't. i don't even know what the editorials are going to be the next day. there's a pretty strict -- we call it the chinese wall here between the opinion side of "the times" and the news side, and i'm on the news side. >> so do you agree or disagree with the editorial's opin

how would you characterize the relationship between the pentagon and lockheed martin? >> bogdan: i'm on record, after being in the job for only a month, standing up and saying it was the worst relationship i had seen in my acquisition career. >> martin: these planes coming off the lockheed martin assembly line in fort worth cost $115 million apiece, a price tag bogdan has to drastically reduce if the pentagon can ever afford to buy the 2,400 planes it wants. >> bogdan: i know where every single airplane in the production line is on any given day. you know why that's important? because lockheed martin doesn't get paid their profit unless each and every airplane meets each station on time with the right quality. >> martin: so if this plane doesn't get from that station to this station... >> bogdan: on time with the right quality, they're going to lose some of their fee. you've got to perform to make your profit. >> martin: they must love you at lockheed martin. >> bogdan: i try and be fair, david, and if they want what i call "winner's profit," they have to act like and

plans for a full withdrawal by the end of the year. >> the president has tasked the pentagon with preparing for the contingency that there will be no troops in afghanistan beyond 2014. >> the warning came just hours before secretary of defense chuck hagel meets with nato ministers in brus sls to discuss a way ahead in afghanistan. the president left open the possibility if karzai signs the security agreement that would give u.s. and nato troops legal protections, some trooms could stay. the longer karzai waits, the white house said in a statement, quote, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 u.s. mission will be smaller in scale and ambition. asked on thursday what the pentagon would do without a security agreement ahead of the brussels meeting with nato leader spokesman rear admiral j john kirby said the following. >> without one, we're going to have to start planning for a complete withdrawal, but we're not at that point right now. >> actually, they are at that point right now. the white house took one step closer to a zero troop option, delivering the message to president karzai

>> martin: the f-35 joint strike fighter is the pentagon's newest warplane and its most expensive weapons system ever. it is supposed to replace virtually every other jet fighter in the united states military. >> this is a fighter that has amazing capabilities in a lot of ways. >> martin: the f-35 is a supersonic computer, the most complex fighter jet ever built. it's also seven years behind schedule and $163 billion over budget. >> stahl: cate blanchett is a favorite to win the academy award for best actress for her role in "blue jasmine," about a park avenue socialite married to a con man. >> you know, someday, when you come into great wealth, you must remember to be generous. >> stahl: she has played a queen, an elf, an albino, and a man. >> i guess i've got one of those faces that's not particularly beautiful, not too ugly, you know. i can look... >> stahl: come o >> ...a bit masculine, i can look a bit feminine, depending on how you're lit, how you're shot. >> i'm steve kroft. >> i'm lesley stahl. >> i'm morley safer. >> i'm bob simon. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories tonight on "6

and the pentagon. if they want to be able the combat point they have to tackle that back office more seriously than they have. >> ifill: the secretary of defense said today it was a modest and necessary serious of proposals but you've been through this before. what is your sense based on what these kinds of debates we've seen unfold especially talking about shrinking rather than adding how realistically it is hopefully. >> if they get the personnel measures through i'll buy gordon a six pack. >> and i'll accept. >> that's not going to happen. >> i agree with tom on that. the personnel staff is the third rail of defense budgeting. you don't go in there lightly and you go in well armed. brian murray said military retirees under 62 are working full time ought to get a pension cola 1% less than the cost of the consumer price index. within six weeks, that was deader than a door dmail because the groups came up on the net and people said we weren't work on that. it's dead i'll how about the hardware. >> hard

jane wells will be monitoring the pentagon for us live. we will also have reaction from a defense stock analyst. >>> in the meantime, let's take a look at the defense sector. seema mody is at the flash desk with more. a lot of those stocks have been very strong. >> they have. with the obama administration planning on shrinking the army to pre-world war ii levels and eliminating an entire class of air force attack jets, you would think defense dogs would be on the defensive but not even close. instead, stocks are soaring. lockheed martin, general dynamics, raytheon, rockwell collins, all trading at record highs. back to you, sue. >> thank you, seema. >>> as the u.s. prepares to slash defense spending, we are following that developing story in ukraine. our chief international correspondent michelle caruso-cabrera is live now in kiev amid kind of a quiet tension. russia's prime minister calling the ouster a mutiny. given the tensions, what's happening right now? >> reporter: well, like you said, a quiet tension. there are thousands of protest

. >> it will changes the pentagon. s secretary of defense chuck hagel is recommending steep budget cuts for the military, they include 13inging active duty troops to levels not seen since before world war ii. he says the reduction in troops is a trade-off for building up technological superiority. special operations forces and cyber resources but the proposal is drawing criticism that the drastic changes will hurt u.s. security. >> the assumption that's being made in the pentagon, it's almost laughable if it wasn't so serious is they don't believe that the united states will involve itself in a ground war of any consequence again. the fact of the matter is, those assumptions have been made after world war ii. korea, vietnam and the cold war and everyswing time, they have been proven wrong. here we are making that same assumption again. joining us from washington it kevin barron, the executive of defense one that focuses on u.s. defense and national security. he has covered the military, the pentagon, congress and polit

the pentagon. this after the military prosecutor quit. with the trial set to begin next week, joining me now is general sinclair's lead defense attorney mr. chef. the prosecutor quit. we did reach out to the pentagon and prosecution and get statements and the pentagon has yet to get back to us for a statement and of course we will have the pentagon's side of the story whenever they do get back to us. tell me your best argument for why the charges should be dismissed? >> well the charges should be dismissed because it's pretty clear the decision-making in the case is being driven by politics and people at the pentagon as opposed to where it should be with the convening authority at fort bragg. this is a case that has always been a remarkably thin case in terms of the evidence. there are thousands and thousands of text messages and personal journals by the person who's accusing general sinclair of sexual assault. it demonstrates the consensual nature of their relationship. on top of that, in early ja

but for now on the program it's already international and the pentagon is pumping in cash to boost its military presence in africa and the u.s. says by pouring in troops weapons and mercenaries it intends to turn a land of conflict into a land of hope u.s. military bases are ultimately spread all across the whole horn of africa you can see right the drone base is a dog across the region the biggest being in djibouti that hosts over four thousand military personnel and contractors and thousands of u.s. soldiers reportedly preparing for missions as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise regional forces so. what could really be motivating america's newfound focus on the bread basket of the world. hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of war materials here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports we have american has a lot of investment in that they have invested so much in t

now the pentagon is pumping in cash to boost its military presence in africa the u.s. says by pouring in troops weapons and mercenaries but it tends to turn a land of conflict into a land of hope now u.s. military bases are now spread all across the whole horn of africa drone bases are dotted across the region the biggest being in djibouti hosting over four thousand military personnel and contractors and thousands of u.s. soldiers are reportedly preparing for missions as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train by regional forces so artie's paullus leonardo so what could really be motivating america's newfound focus on the bread basket of the world out of africa. hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of moment to realize here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports we have made it has a lot of investment and. they have invested so much in the oil sector and they need

on the pentagon to africa the u.s. military presence across the continent i mean accusations of oil gas and mineral resources those are the real motivation. for moscow. headlines that is up before we join in the life and. the lawyer russian pilot jailed in the u.s. as his client needs urgent medical help he was finally able to meet his client. who's pleased to see a doctor despite symptoms suggesting a heart attack could be imminent. it's been days that the russian citizen in a us jail is asking to examine his heart because he says he is experiencing severe chest pain and may have a heart attack any moment the attorney had a chance to see his client on sunday and we spoke with him earlier here's what he said you're shown go did appear sick to me his face was red hugh visibly had shortness of breath he would take pauses in our conversation compose himself he was having difficulty remembering the dates and the chronology of the different events that took place this week shortness of breath a burning sensation in the ches

but the pentagon's toughest fight may be getting all the cuts past an armada of opponents. mike emanuel has tonight's top to story. >> with the united states planning to draw down almost all of its forces from afghanistan today, they have planned to slash the number of active duty forces. post-9/11, the army surged. it's now down to 520,000. the army expected to trim to 490,000, and today, secretary of defense chuck hagel announced plans to cut the force to between 440,000 and 450,000 soldiers in the coming years. >> we seek a highly ready and capable army, able to dominate any opponent across the full spectrum of operations. to achieve this, the army must accelerate the pace and increase the scale of its post-war draw down. >> pentagon officials acknowledge this reduced budget takes on, quote, additional risks. >> we're all willing to take risks, but none of us are willing to take a gamble, because at the end of the day, it's our soldiers, sailors, marines, coast guardsmen, america's sons and daughters who will face the challenges with the strategy and resources we develop

the pentagon has confirmed tonight that the ukranian ministry of defense has refused to take u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel's phone calls for at least the last week. in the meantime, moscow is distask an envoy to kiev at the request of president yanukovich. >> amy kellogg live in moscow, early friday morning, aim, thank you. >>> president obama is acknowledging some philosophical differences with russian leader vladamir putin in some places as ukraine and syria, but he's downplaying any cold war type competition between the two nations. chief white house correspondent ed henry on what some see as a very real power struggle. >> reporter: aides to president obama today took any u.s. military option off the table for dealing with the chaos in ukraine, the signal they are on the edge of following the european union's move to impose sanctions. >> given the violence that we saw overnight in ukraine, i think it's fair to say that the options available to the president are being considered with some urgency. >> reporter: this follows a stern warning from the president to his ukranian

now the pentagon is pumping in cash to boost its military presence in africa the u.s. says by pouring in troops weapons and mercenaries it intends to turn a land of conflict into a land of hope now u.s. military bases are basically spread all across the whole horn of africa drone base is a dotted across the region the biggest being in djibouti that hosts over four thousand soldiers and contractors and thousands of u.s. soldiers are reportedly preparing for missions as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise local regional forces so it. takes a look at what could be truly motivating america's newfound focus on the bread basket of the world. hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of moment to realize here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports they have made it has a lot of investment and. they have invested so much in the oil sector and they need to protec

as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise african militaries to deal with the three eight it's not impressing those who live here. the americans have failed to combat terrorism in afghanistan or anywhere else and the same will happen here in west africa it's likely that their presence even bring the terrorists to synagogue but the president does his calculation saying well this will allow me to be a good friend of the united states maybe attract some investment or strengthen my security forces but from the point of view of the senegalese people we risk losing our norful lot. and number of african leaders have expressed concern about the potential militarization of the continent fearful that america's expanding presence will bode badly for africa and hope people policia r.t. . and up next here an aussie international how big drugmakers allegedly profit from illness and five years in the u.k. time from going underground with action that's one thing. i was first state of the city address new york mayor bill de blasio. said that he would put forward legislation for the c

hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of war materials here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports we have made it has a lot of investment in that they have invested so much in the oil sector and they need to protect that and that believes rafsanjani is the real reason for u.s. troop expansion in africa not to bring democracy not to help the local populations but to protect american interests and justify the reasons for being here the governess in syria or to lead to you know the collapse of. you know accountability. and of course you know dubai is. different it's a shia kind of make up it's got crisis in the country snow for about it you know it it to me it in terms of american power and policy reasons to actually come into nigeria africa's dotted with u.s. bases and a growing constellation of small american drone outposts camp limone near north of somalia has been america's main facil

the pentagon is pumping in cash to boost its military presence in africa the u.s. as by pouring in troops weapons and mercenaries it intends to turn a land of conflict into a land of hope u.s. military bases in are spread across the whole of the horn of africa and drone bases are dotted across the region with the biggest in djibouti hosting over four thousand military personnel and contractors and thousands of u.s. soldiers are reportedly preparing for missions as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise original forces so she's policy a look now at what could really be motivating america's new found focus on the region. hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of moment to realize here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports we have made a lot of investment in. they have invested so much in the oil sector and they need to protect that and that believes r

the argument from the pentagon. john kirby, thanks for being here. >> appreciate it, glad to be here. >> i want to ask right up front, when you look at the required cuts, is secretary hagel making these reforms because he wants to, or because he has to? >> i think it's a combination of both, ari, to be honest with you. the military, with or without the budget discussions coming off 13 years of war, transitioning to a war footing to a peacetime footing and we have to be talking about restructuring, resetting, and rethinking the way we arm ourselves, the way we man ourselves anyway. it was driven, absolutely, in part by the fiscal constraints that the whole country's facing right now. the budget we put together, the bipartisan budget act, president's budget complies with that law and does require us to make some hard choices. we believe that we can still execute the president's defense budget, we believe there's going to be some additional risks because it doesn't give all the dollars we had planned for in last year's

back in thames an out of control pickup rear ended the vehicle of the same officer. >> the pentagon today recommend something steep budget cuts for the army. actually explaining how to deal with the budget cuts that could bring their levels the lowest since before world war ii. that's a deceptive statistic. chuck hagel made the announcement during the defense department's budget proposal hearing. there are several other military items on the chopping block, and i want to show you them. among the u.s. air force's entire a- -- fleet of a-10 wart hogs, saving $3.5 billion over the next five years. so, and then there's this, the u2 aircraft, high altitude reconnaissance jet, and the pentagon is also proposing to some rink the u.s. army to preworld war ii levels. look at this graph. u.s. rooms on the ground skyrocketed during world war ii, after the war forces went way down and rose again during the korean and vietnam wars. in the past decade the size of the nation's military has dropped to roughly half a million troops and now the department of defense wants to bring the number lower. mike em

on the program the pentagon is pumping in cash to boost its military presence in africa the u.s. says by pouring in troops weapons and most in areas it intends to turn a land of conflict into a land of hope now a u.s. military bases are just about spread across the entire horn of africa drone bases are dotted across the region the biggest being in djibouti hosting over four thousand military personnel and contractors and thousands of u.s. soldiers are reportedly preparing for missions as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise regional forces so now it takes a look at what could really be motivating america's newfound focus on africa the well the well known breadbasket of the world. hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of war materials here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports we have made a lot of investment in that they have invested so much in the oil sector

international the pentagon is pumping in cash into boosting its military presence in africa the u.s. says by pouring in troops weapons and mercenaries it intends to turn a land of conflict into a land of hope now where u.s. military bases are now spread all across the whole horn of africa there are drone and bases in south sudan uganda kenya ethiopia the seychelles and even djibouti which has become home to four thousand u.s. military personnel and contractors now thousands of u.s. soldiers are reportedly preparing for missions as part of the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise regional forces so now looks at what could really be motivating america's new found focus on africa. hundreds of millions of american dollars are flowing into africa as the pentagon upset spending on the continent there's plenty of war materials here nigeria a case in point the west african nation is america's fourth largest supplier of crude oil accounting for eleven percent of all u.s. oil imports we have made it has a lot of investment in that they have invested so much in the oil sector and they ne

extra $50 billion he's asked for will be split between the pentagon and all the other agencies. and, you know, even with the budget this year that, you know, hagel's budget under sequestration, that only brings us back to 2007 levels in real terms. so it's not like even going back to when dick cheney was secretary of defense. >> no, it's still post certainly a post-9/11 footing which is a terminology i know the vice president appreciates. before i let you go, real quick, on the foreign policy question, your reaction to this d.o.d. announcement today. regarding karzai. >> well, i think it's a smart move because let me tell you, i dealt with it, i was part of a team that went over there. he really thinks we want to stay more than he needs us. and so i think this is great to call his bluff and say, okay, you don't want us, we're planning on -- that will get his attention and particularly the people who will succeed him in the election. >> yeah, you know, i don't want to make light of it, but i can't imagine after 12 years why he'd have the impression we may be there for a very long

the pentagon's new strategy to train and advise african militaries to deal with the threat it's not impressing those who live here. the americans have failed to combat terrorism in afghanistan or anywhere else and the same will happen here in west africa it's likely that their presence even bring the terrorists to go for the president does his calculation saying well this will allow me to be a good friend of the united states maybe attract some investment or strengthen my security forces that from the point of view of the senegalese people we risk losing our norful lot is a number of african leaders have expressed concern about the potential militarization of the continent fearful that america's expanding presence will bode badly for africa and her people. r.t. now we spoke to journalist lawrence freeman who has written extensively on african affairs and he believes the end flux of u.s. troops to the continent is actually destabilizing the situation on the ground spurring anti-american sentiment. we spent over a billion dollars supposedly in counterterrorism security in the. west af

this -- the problem that the pentagon has, that the intelligence community has, is over the last several days the russians had been able to move faster, put their people where they want to put them, go to airports, go to bases, move around kiev, move around the crimea faster than the u.s. can react to it and right now the intelligence community, the pentagon is playing catchup, trying to figure out what moscow is up to and moscow so far is showing a very shadowy hand, not being terribly clear. and that's leaving the u.s. in a tough spot. just what exactly are they up to and did they, in fact, move over to take over crimea. there are people who are saying that is what happened, jake. >> jim sciutto, what are your sources telling you? >> this is the thing. we've been focused in the last 48 hours on this thing. will russia do a georgia-style invasion in 2008 in crimea today. in effect, that's an i mperfect question. they don't have to do that to carry out a military invention. the other options are smaller forces-led black ops, that kind of thing, and that appears to be what we're seeing ri

. >> what do you make of the pentagon's proposal today? >> i'm a little bit more -- yeah, it's in this context. i agree, chuck hagel wants to spend more than we need. if you take the deficit problems seriously. on the other hand, it's a lot less than defense secretaries have pushed for in the past. so the time may have overrode it a little bit. i'm encouraged to have him talk about getting rid of some weapons systems and reducing the military. the biggest issue here is that he does seem to me to be agreeing at this notion of american intervention with significant military force in various parts of the world basically for geopolitical influence as opposed to a national defense, is a bad idea. i think it's a good thing that he wants to reduce the military to a point where we wouldn't be able to do some of these things. now, we need to continue to push for this. and what i'm afraid of is that members of congress are going to not only go on with him in the cuts but that they'll want to do even more. so, yes, he's talking about more than we nee

we start with big cuts over at the pentagon. we're awaiting the arrival of the defense secretary, chuck hagel, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey. they'll be laying out the details of the new proposed pentagon budget and the cuts. you're looking at live pictures from the briefing room over there at the pentagon. once they come in, we'll go there, we'll hear what chuck hagel has to say. the "new york times" is reporting that under this new proposed budget, the u.s. army will be cut to a level not seen since before world war ii. that means a drop to around 450,000 active duty soldiers. but the new budget is also expected to protect critical programs like cyber warfare. the old strategy was to have enough military strength to fight two ground wars simultaneously. that's changed with new directives and now with a projected smaller fighting force. let's discuss what's going on as we await the defense secretary. joining us, general george joe, former nato ally commander. i assume you think this is sm

to me the feeling that a regular cup of joe just isn't enough to keep you up any more well the pentagon has a new solution that it's planning to try it on american soldiers and i know i say this a lot but the latest development is literally shocking because they're planning to zap their brains with electricity that's right the pentagon has already begun to experiment with this new shock therapy which it says could keep the u.s. military's digital warriors and drone operators more alert the air force army and darpa are all participating in five separate studies with a price tag of two hundred grand a pop this government already relies on a video game methods to kill so is it turning soldiers in electrical conductors.

the pentagon confirming that some 12 aircraft have landed at the airport there. earlier, there were -- there were soldiers there that were not dressed in russian uniforms. they were in camo, but not in russian uniforms. they had secured the airport, and then 12 aircraft landed. estimated about 2,000 troops landing in crimea. now, the current administration, the authorities on the ground, as you mentioned, the election has been set. that they are saying that this is an invasion by russia. already, we've heard from the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, saying and teaming up with the president of the united states in this statement. we've heard warnings from secretary of state john kerry saying that russia should not invade the sovereign space of ukraine. we've heard defense secretary chuck hagel speaking for the united states in nato, saying this should be a time for caution and wise, diplomatic moves. but we have yet to hear, until now, from the president of the united states on this situation. president barack obama in the white house briefing room. >> over

when he is right on the point, he is right on the point. >> why would the military brass inside the pentagon fight the idea of spending money on that? >> it didn't fit their plan. they would rather have the next generation, the tank, then a relatively passive non-fighting vehicle that simply transports troops around, albeit in greater safety. it didn't fit into their weapons procurement plans. gates was right. my rant is not about gates per se, although he does demonstrate intermittently, traits that i am very critical of. on that point, he is right. however, his problem with the military still persists after he is gone. they want to dispose of most of them because somehow, some genius in the pentagon is getting the idea -- no future enemy is going to use roadside bombs against us anymore. the single most effective weapon in both iraq and afghanistan. they want to get rid of them. probably half of them are going to be left over there. the other half, shipped back, reconditioned and either sold to other parties, other countries by foreign military sales, or god help us, will the excessed to p

and it was for the pentagon papers the nineteen seventy one. one thing that struck me is that today. now all these years later when we don't really consider him a controversial figure it all. in fact. we regard the court case that is what you done with the detonation of the pen to paper string of horses at cornerstone. for press freedom in the united states today. i wonder do you think this is the way. in years sometimes decades from now on the wheels are the ones that got the money chelsea mining and that it would snow tonight i think so because there is a very basic and who it so you always prefer to do with the growers from the undecided if it's not coming from the torn country it's easier for the european support snow and at peace with the us for instance and it would be exactly the opposite it has snowed and was a french word the high in the season you're also a time when you have some use to record the steps because you can view or opinion. i am. on the value of founding documents or the information which was coached to the topic with a v

the reaction reasoning behind the pentagon's plan to shrink our armed forces. >>> arizona burning. the right to discriminate may become law, but the nfl, american airlines and apple say on. >>> plus, drama on day one of kerry kennedy's drug driving trial. and the comic genius that had a hand in some of the most quoted films in history has died. it's tuesday, february 25th. "early today" starts right now. >>> and good morning. i'm richard lui. the historic drought drying out much of california only getting worse. images from nasa here clearly showing the extreme lack of snow covering the state, rain is in the forecast this week. it will help a bit, but it is not enough. public school administrators even being asked here to dramatically cut back on water use from kindergartens to community colleges. meanwhile, for many of those who enjoy the spring-like weather this past weekend, hey you better buckle down. the polar vortex is coming back. the cold wave will push down temperatures to below zero and down to the 20s in parts of the south. what that means is yet another huge blast of wi

. >> the reasoning behind the pentagon's plan to shrink our harmed forces. >> arizona burning. the rht to discriminate may become law but others are speaking out. >> plus drama on day one of kennedy's drug trial. and the comic genius that had a hand in some of the most quoted films in history has died. early today starts right now. hello everybody, thanks for jous. i'm betty nguyen. i hope you enjoyed the spring-like weather this weekend because the polar vortex is b k back. it will be down to the 20s in parts of the south. yet another huge blast of winter is in store for tens of millions of americans. bill karins will have details on this in a minute. chuck hagel says the nation can't afford a military being smaller than before world war ii but only if it keeps it's technological edge. tracy potts is live in washington. will the army be able to respond as quickly in a time of crisis if it's smaller? >> well, yes. but the issue is if there's more than one controversy, more than one arena where we need to respond, that could become a problem. what the military says is this, they