i'm actually going to brussels next week to meet with nato. one of the agenda items is in fact, operation unified protection. what we've got to do is we've got to be candid with each other. i can assure you i will be about what they can reasonably expect us to provide. what nay need to provide in terms och isr, the analysis, fusion of intelligence and operations. and investments that hay need to make in order to close some gaps that here to for they've relied almost exclusively on us to provide. 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 vices i have to be very clear about the military objectives that i was being asked to achieve, and i'd have to be cle

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

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

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? >> 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 the miss

. >> as you know in brussels, 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, you know, weakened the regime. affected the regime in many ways in its ability to import and its ability to export its products. but it is also true that sanctions on their own are not going to, you know, succeed in toppling the regime without any other action. this is a regime which is -- in arabic we have a saying that he who is drowning will not be afraid to get wet. so sanctions are not going on their own to effect 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 population is against assad's regime but that is 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 it

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

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

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

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