Bush took responsibility for those “coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq with serious injuries”

Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) says that President Bush met with the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors that Dole is a part of, and told the commission to do “whatever it takes” to improve health care for wounded veterans. Dole says that Bush properly said he is responsible for every young man “coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq with serious injuries.” (0:47)

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Iran: All military options remain on the table

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, at a press briefing, says this government [United States] has made clear that we're going to continue to put pressure on Iran, and that we're going to try and persuade them to change their ways. The pressure is being applied diplomatically, economically, and military. He says he's not going to go into specifics, but that "all military options remain on the table." (0:46)
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U.S. contractors and tax evasion in the Caymans

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) says that it is "embarrassing" that Defense Department contractors in Iraq are paying their employees through shell companies in the Cayman Islands, thereby avoiding U.S. taxes. (1:00)
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McCain and Bush are unwilling to engage with other nations

Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) talks about the foreign policy opinions of Senator John McCain and President Bush. They stated that it would be useless to engage in talks with Iran, but Biden says it's amazing how little faith John McCain and Bush have in themselves in their unwillingness to engage with other nations.(1:04)
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McCain and Bush don't offer much in foreign policy goals

Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) says that the United States needs a more sophisticated understanding of America’s foreign policy in Iran, than either President Bush or John McCain are offering. (1:21)
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“There was a logic that supported the CIA’s conclusions” on weapon stockpiles in Iraq

Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith says that he sometimes wonders why more probing questions were not asked to expose the error of assuming Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. He says that part of the answer is that the conclusion the CIA came to about stockpiles made a lot of sense under the circumstances, and that there was a powerful logic to support the conclusions. He says it was perfectly logical to assume Saddam had something to hide, since he fought the inspectors and wanted out from under the economic sanctions. (1:20)
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Rationale for war: “Saddam had a long history of supporting various terrorist groups”

Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith says that nobody in the administration believed that Iraq was responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, and that the controversy of Iraq’s ties to al-Qaida was not an enormous influence on going to war. He says that the rationale of the war relating to terrorism had to do with Saddam’s long history of training terrorist groups in Iraq and promoting terrorism. (1:11)
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Military assets in the Middle East a reminder to Iran, not yet a threat

During a press briefing at the Pentagon, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the U.S. has more than enough assets in the Middle east to serve as a reminder to Iran of the U.S. military capability, as a part of pressure the American government hopes to put on Iran. (1:04)
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Pentagon seeks to amplify pressure on Iran

During a press briefing at the Pentaon, Defense spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the Secretary of Defense would like to see diplomatic and economic pressures, as well as the threat of military action toward Iran continue in an "amplified way." (0:50)
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Iraq veterans speak out against the war

Iraq veteran speak about the distinct power the military has over the soldiers and the harm that he and others have received by speaking out against the war in Iraq. "The only people who to do not support whistle blowers are those who are up to something." (0:53)
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What Iran wants

Selig S. Harrison, senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and director of the Asia Program of the Center for International Policy, says that Iran wants a stable, friendly Iraq that is not a threat to them, and that he believes there will be “no graceful orderly withdraw from Iraq” or any stable reconstruction without the cooperation of Iran. (0:41)
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Cooperation with Iran necessary in order to get out of Iraq

Selig S. Harrison, senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and director of the Asia Program of the Center for International Policy, says that if the U.S. wants to “get out in an orderly fashion from Iraq” there needs to be cooperation with Iran. He said it is important to get into negotiations with Iran and also to “stop the slaughter in Sadr City, which places Iranians in an awkward position.” (0:58)

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Bridge money for the war, but Iraq better start to pay, says Skelton

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) says that the committee will continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with a $70 billion "bridge" fund until the full supplemental is approved. But Skelton also calls for the Iraqis to contribute more to their own security. (0:37)
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In Iraq, “corruption and its consequences are the fuel that sustains the insurgency”

James Mattil, who had been Chief of Staff for the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT), says that OAT was set up to “provide assistance, training, and support to Iraq’s anti-corruption agencies.” He says that OAT was under-staffed and had no operating budget, and that whenever OAT tried to implement U.S. policy, “our own officials blocked us.” He says that “corruption and its consequences are the fuel that sustains the insurgency, providing the money, the people and the motivation to fight Americans in Iraq.” (0:56)
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“In a sense, the Department of State has contributed to the killing and maiming of U.S. soldiers”

Judge Arthur Brennan, who had served in Iraq in 2007 as the Director of the Office of Accountability and Transparency, says in a hearing titled “Have Bush Administration Reconstruction and Anti-Corruption Failures Undermined the U.S. Mission in Iraq?” that the Department of State misled the U.S. Congress, the American people, and the people of Iraq. He also says the Department of State contributed to the consequences of corruption, and that “billions of U.S. and Iraqi dollars have been lost, stolen, and wasted.” (0:46)
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Iraq: virtually defeated AQI within Kirkuk

During a live briefing from Iraq held in the Pentagon, Army Colonel David Paschal says when they first arrived, their enemy was AQI, but as they've highlighted their precision targeting, they have virtually defeated AQI within the Kirkuk province and it's important that they maintain the pressure. (0:17)
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Iraq: we've been capturing people of interest

During a live briefing from Iraq held in the Pentagon, Army Colonel David Paschal says since their arrival, they've either killed or captured 20 of their top high value targets, and in addition, they've either detained or captured 63 persons of interest. (0:26)


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Replacement insurgents: not so savvy

During a live briefing from Iraq held in the Pentagon, Army Colonel David Paschal says that as they kill or capture insurgent leaders, their replacements are not as savvy, and the population is turning them in because they don't want to go back to the way it was and they are happy with the security gains that have been achieved. (0:18)


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Stop-loss has proven necessary

During a press conference at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says that despite his concerns about stop-loss, a retention technique where military members who are scheduled to retire or discharge are not allowed to do so, it has proven necessary in the current conflicts. He says that he expects with continued draw downs in Iraq, that the number of stop-loss cases will be reduced. (0:58)
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Additional Marines for Afghanistan tied to force levels in Iraq

During a press conference at the Pentagon Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that despite a desire by the Commandant of the Marine Coprs, General James Conway, to move Marines into Afghanistan, additional deployments of Marines or other additional troops depend on the force levels in Iraq. (0:40)
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