the humanitarian aid, and reaching out to the neighboring countries of syria -- both ambassadors in brussels and three authorities on the ground. we are working to ensure an effective and coordinated response. me of suspended all types of operation. the european investment bank, with which we work closely, has suspended all technical assistance to syria. we have maintained a that benefits the population, students, human rights defenders, and the opposition. those programs with syrian students and universities will continue. we are supporting efforts to deliver shelter, medical supplies, food, and whatever is needed. we have put together a contribution of 29 million euros in a bit too affected syria and neighboring countries. the support to the neighboring countries is essential. i discussed these issues when i was in turkey over the weekend with the prime minister who also joined the prime minister by video link. the situation on the turkish border is critical. the turkish response has been critical, fast, and professional. i have offered our assistance on a number of occasions. i did so aga

before christmas, i was in a panel in brussels with the ambassador who is the iranian representative to the iaea and there was one thing that the two of us agreed. this is that we are probably the only persons in the world who have read all those reports. because they all so different to read. let's go back to the iranian nuclear program. the concern about it for a number of reasons, and maybe the biggest reason is that iran conducted this clandestine enrichment two decades without fulfilling its reporting requirements to the iaea. and moreover, actually irandy verted nuclear matter which it never reported. this is a classical diversion of nuclear material. it also accepted nuclear material from the safeguards and went and did some additional experiments for this. here is lesson number one. that it is called a spade a spade, called black a black, but you never heard that the iaea say that nuclear material was d diverted. the reason was when it came into the light of the international community the reason for that was that the agency didn't call it diversion and noncompliance, because

i was at a nato meeting in brussels and the -- i read in the paper that the belgium parliament passed a law that allowed any one in the u.s. military to be prosecuted in foreign courts. and i thought my goodness, that means we can't have military people go to belgium where nato is. if -- if any rogue prosecutor can decide he wants to enhance his public image he can file a lawsuit which he did against general franks as i recall, and so i called in the defense minister of belgium and not being a diplomat i was not very diplomatic. and i explained that nato didn't have to be in belgium. and that we didn't have to be in belgium. and within a matter of weeks the legislation was defeated, nullified, withdrawn, and it stopped. but it happens all over the world. and my view is, it's a danger particularly not just for us but for the world. think of the contribution our military made in the tsunami in india. indonesia years back. think about the earthquake that took place in pakistan. our people did a superb humanitarian job. any time the u.n. or international organization has to deal with the

well, if i understand you correctly, you're suggesting to the rest of europe, particularly berlin and brussels, to close both their eyes in case they miss the deficit targets because you think it will be dangerous and it would be bad for those economies to pursue some additional fiscal belt-tightening? do i understand you correctly? also, because, basically, if they miss those targets they will also miss the rules, or break the rules, of the upcoming fiscal combine. >> as i underscored, there is a risk involved in focusing too much in balances. the fiscal balances not adjusted for the cycle. but that we have to keep in mind that the balanced budget rule that based on the fiscal compact has to be implemented in your area country is the defined in structural terms. so the fact that more and more countries in europe should focus on achieving targets on structural bashgszis, i think i acknowledged in the european union. regarding a specific target, i underscored a strong uncertainty regarding gdp growth in these countries. but i think that particularly for 2013, focusing on targets rather than see

i'm going to -- i'm actually going to brussels next week to meet with my nato people. on the agenda is unified actions. we have to be candid with each other about what they can reasonably expect us to provide, what they need to provide in terms of isr, the analysis, fusion of intelligence and operations, and investments that they need to make in order to close some gaps that heretofore they've relied almost exclusively on us to provide. so i actually see this as a positive thing. >>> general, what do you think are the greatest risks if the united states intervenes? >> in syria? >> yes. >> first of all, you know, on occasion i've been portrayed as saying this would just be too hard so let's not do it. i want to assure you that's not the case. if asked to do something, we absolutely have the capability. but in terms of my concerns and how they would translate into military advice, is i have to be very clear about the military objectives that i was being asked to achieve, and i would have to be -- i'd have to be clear about how those military objectives were contributing

. >> in brussels today, secretary of state hillary clinton calling for another round of sanctions. what has been imposed in the past and is there any sense that a new round of sanctions would be any more effective? >> sanctions are certainly weaken the regime, affects the regime in many ways in its ability to import, in its ability to export its product, but it is also true that sanctions on their owner not going to succeed in toppling the regime without any other action. this is a regime, in arab we have a saying he who is drowning will not be afraid to get wet. sanctions are not going on their own to affect the regime's willingness to shoot its own people in order to survive. >> what is life like inside syria, and do the average syrians fully understand what's been happening in villages and towns like homs? >> i would say the majority of the syrian population is against the assad regime but that's not to say that there aren't some minorities that still support it for one reason or the other. the business community does not want to lose its economic interests and so far you know m

i'm going to brussels next week. one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. what we have to do is be candid with each other. it they need to do what they need to provide. they relied exclusively on us to provide. i see this as a positive. >> what you think are the greatest risks of the united states facts ? >> on vacation i've been portrayed as saying this is too hard. that is not the case. it has to do something, and we absolutely have the capability. i have to be clear about the military objective is that i was being asked to achieve. i have to be clear about how these were contributing to some outcomes that we would all understand and agree upon. but the dishes stopping the violence, that is one outcome. the other responsibility is to balance the rest to the mission. what would be the cost of doing this? the risk to the forest is a zero sum game. we are deployed all over the world. if i am asked to do something in syria and the secretary says i need this option, my response ability is to make sure i understand this and that by articulate the risks not to t

i'm going to brussels next week. one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. what we have to do is be candid with each other. i can assure you i will be banned need to provide. in terms of isr, the infusion of intelligence operations and investments they need to make to close some caps we're here to fourthey relied exclusively on us to provide. i see this as a positive. >> what you think are the states? >> on vacation i've been -- on occasion i've been hard. that is not the case. it has to do something, and we absolutely have the capability. i have to be clear about the military objective is that i was being asked to achieve. i have to be clear about how these were contributing to some outcomes that we would all understand and agree upon. what is the outcome? but the dishes stopping the if it is just stopping the violence, that is one outcome. i can build from that outcome. i can build military options andthe other responsibility is to balance the rest to the mission. what would be the cost of doing this? the risk to the forest is a zero sum game. -- to the fo

you were in brussels correspondent from 2002 through 2005. the early years as the euro project developed. i would -- i would love your sense of the internal german dynamics on this but appreciate the anti-german sentiment we are saying in the south. how does the german foreign policy and economic policy react to that? we look forward to your comments. thank you. >> thank you and thanks for your patience. i know this thing -- it is 10 days old. angela merkel said -- they ask, what is your name and would international become a german. she said i am just coming for vacation. icthey know they have a problem. i also would like to talk about that. and i guess i would like to comment on that as well. i think i would address two or three basic misperceptions i have observed here in d.c. german crisis management. i think no one in germany commensurately not the delran has any plan for this crisis trade what they're doing now is they're trying to define what they did as a plan. it is a little bit unfair because no one has anticipated this. there was no

i am alert to that and i'm going to brussels next week to meet with nato and one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. we have got to be candid with each other. i assure you i will be about what we can reasonably provide and what they need to provide in terms of isr, the fusion of intelligence and operations, and investments and to make to close the gaps here to fore they have relied almost exclusively on us to provide. i actually see this as a positive thing. >> what do you think are the greatest risks if the united states intervenes? >> on occasion, i have been portrayed as saying this is too hard, but not do it. that is not the case. if asked to do something, we absolutely have the capability. but as far as my concerns and how they would translate, i have to be clear about the military objectives i was being asked to achieve an i would have to be clear about how those contributed to some outcome that we would all understand and probably agree upon. if the outcome is just stopping the violence, that's one the outcome. just stopping the regime is another. i can build

>> well, we're going to be discussing that in brussels and chicago. and obviously, we'll want to work closely with our isaf partners to determine what that enduring presence will look like. but clearly, it's -- it -- you know, any future presence will focus on areas like counterterrorism and focus also on training assistance and advice, as we've provided and probably will continue to provide in the future. do you assume there'll be hundreds if not thousands of u.s. soldiers still on the ground in 2014? >> i don't -- i don't think we ought to comment on what we're assuming at this point, mainly because we really want to engage in serious consultation with our partners as to what that presence ought to look like. >> but there will be some u.s. presence, correct? >> that's -- i think that'll be the case. >> secretary panetta and chairman dempsey, i wanted to follow up with -- on the attacks over the weekend. these kind of attacks are -- amount to something like guerrilla warfare. couldn't that in itself be effective enough to undermine the confidence of

before christmas, i was on a panel in brussels with a professor who is the iranian representative to the iaea. there was one thing we agreed, we are the only people in the world who have read all those reports. [laughter] let's go back to the iranian nuclear program. the international community's concern about it for a number of reasons. maybe the biggest reason is that iran conducted this clandestine and uranium enrichment conversion activities two decades without fulfilling its reporting requirements to the iaea. moreover, actually iran diverted nuclear material which it received from abroad, never reported to the iaea. this is a classic diversion of nuclear material. it also accepted nuclear material from the safeguards and conducted additional experiments from these. years the first lesson, calling a spade a spade. but you have never heard the iaea has said that nuclear materials were diverted. the reason for that was in 2003 when this came into allied of the international community, the reason for that was the agency did not call it a diversion and noncompliant because it would

on nato, i am leaving tomorrow for a joint ministerial in brussels, the last high-level meeting that will take place before the chicago summit in may. we are at a pivotal point for the alliance, as we build on the gains that have been made in afghanistan, and try to chart the course for the future in that area. we will also be working to ensure our nato has the right military capabilities that will be needed for the future in order for nato to assume the responsibilities that it must as we proceed. even as we deal with these global security challenges, we have a great challenge here at home, which is working with congress to implement our new defense strategy. let me give you a quick update on where i think things stand at this point. since the president's budget request was released on february 13, the budget and strategy that we have developed have been subject to intense scrutiny on capitol hill. german dempsey and i went to the hill to testify five times before the key committees. there had been more than 50 additional congressional hearings the service secretaries, the service c

uruguay had collapsed in brussels. we came home and began to negotiate nafta. president bush signed in december of 1992. it was put through congress the following year. within five months, we completed the uruguay rounds. people did not want to have the north american market not have the benefits for the global economy. my friend to my left thing is that doha is dead. i believe there is a way to bring back. >> i'm still to your left. [laughter] >> no change at all there. i believe doha could contribute to those of five strategies i just mentioned. a simple package that would harvest some gains. i would move forward if i had a chance to do so. i think the trans-pacific partnership could be grade. the stated goal is to bring together economies from across the pacific into a single trading community to serve as a platform for broader regional integration and a free-trade area of the asia-pacific. the trans-pacific partnership involves nine nations. we have trade agreements with four of the nine. brunei, new zealand, malaysia, be add-nam' would ons. the potential f

secretary-general ban ki- moon speaking earlier today in brussels is calling on syrian authorities to exercise maximum restraint and he says opposition forces should also fully cooperate in the current cease- fire which he says is essential for political dialogue to continue. turning to domestic issues, reaction this morning to reports about secret service agents' actions in colombia from california republican darrell issa. in remarks on cbs, he says that lawmakers will "look over the shoulder of the agency and as it investigates the 11 agents involved." the chairman of the house oversight committee is concerned about the allegations that secret service agents or with prostitutes in columbia, saying that such a activities would severely compromise presidential security. we will hear more from the congressman later today when he gavels in a hearing on management issues and excessive spending at the general services administration. that's live at 1:30 on c-span radio or watch on c-span 3. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> it's been nearly 10 years since the rele