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Adm. Mullen Addresses Troops at Camp Lejeune; Regulating Greenhouse Gases
Aired December 07, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We are pushing forward with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM right now with Kyra Phillips.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Tony.
Well, everybody talks about the climate. Will anybody do anything about it? A groundbreaking global warming conference underway in Denmark under a cloud of pilfered e-mails.
What you don't know can kill you. Just ask the Navy vet who couldn't get a colonoscopy but did get colorectal cancer.
And we'll lift the veil of secrecy surrounding rape on college campuses. It's a lot more common than you think and justice is rare.
We start now at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where the surge hits home. The first wave of 30,000 reinforcements being sent to the war in Afghanistan will come from here, 1,500 Marines shipping out this month. And this hour, the camp is playing host to joint chiefs Chair Mike Mullen and we'll listen in as soon as he starts talking troops.
Now Admiral Mullen's mission is to lay out the strategy behind the new developments and CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence sets the stage for us there at Camp Lejeune -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, we're just a couple minutes away from Admiral Mullen coming here to speak to this group of Marines. And again, we just heard that 16,000 American troops have now received their official deployment orders to Afghanistan. First out of the gate as you mentioned will be 1,500 Marines from an infantry battalion right here at Camp Lejeune. But the big push is going to come in March and April. That's when another 6,000 Marines from Lejeune will deploy along with a smaller group of Marines from Camp Pendleton, California.
On the Army side, the 10th mountain division will also be deploying in the spring. Their job is primarily going to be training some of those Afghan soldiers and police officers and all these combat forces are going to be backed up by about 4,000 support troops.
All in all, it means by the end of spring, more than half of the troops that President Obama authorized will be on the ground in Afghanistan -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Chris, troops always seem to be ready to go for the most part. That's their job, but families there that have to prepare for this, it's tough on spouses and kids.
LAWRENCE: Yes, let's be honest. A lot of people who join the military did not do so just to get money for college. When I was in Afghanistan just a few weeks ago, there was a lot of soldiers there who were very happy to be there, happy to be deployed. Right now there are a lot of Marines very excited to get to Afghanistan. But at the same time, you're right. It does put a certain stress on the family.
I talked with one wife last night who was talking about, you know, talking to the kids, letting them know that dad's not going to be around for a few months, starting to adapt the role of having to be good cop and bad cop with the children, getting finances in order. We also spoke with another family where the captain was just back from Afghanistan who had some advice for some of the families about to deploy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERESA MEADOR, WIFE OF U.S. MARINE: My one piece of advice and I was given this piece of advice by a Marine wife also is it makes a weak marriage weaker and a strong marriage stronger. And that's very true. You can take it and run with it or it can break you down. It's up to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: One of the big differences some of the families may have to get use to is if they had an Iraq deployment in the last couple years, they had web cams. They had Internet access. They had a lot of access to call home every other day. A lot of the families who have been in Afghanistan will tell you they may not hear from their Marine or their soldier for a month, maybe even longer -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow, truly a tough situation. Chris Lawrence, appreciate it.
The newly re-elected Afghan president setting his own timeline. He wants Afghans to take the lead in securing the whole country by the end of his second term five years from now. In his first TV interview since President Obama's war address last Tuesday, Hamid Karzai spoke exclusively to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about the fighting, the Taliban, Afghan politics and U.S. plans to start pulling out in July, 2011.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: As the Afghan president, dates or deadlines for the president's exit of allied forces and NATO forces in Afghanistan, we are looking towards the objectives that we have and the achievements of those objectives. Objective one is the defeat of terrorism and the return of safety and peace to Afghanistan and Pakistan and the region and comfort from terrorism in the west.
Now, towards that objective, we need to train and equip the Afghan military forces. We need to strengthen the Afghan government. We need to bring Afghanistan back to a self-sufficient economy to the extent possible. And with the achievement of those objectives probably, we can then think of giving the mantle to the Afghans themselves.
We will try our best as the Afghan people. We will try our best as the Afghan people to do it the soonest possible. But the international community must have also the patience with us and the realization of the realities in Afghanistan. If it takes longer, then they must be with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Karzai says that he's committed to rooting out corruption in government, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that the Obama administration will believe that when it sees it.
Once again, we're waiting for Admiral Mike Mullen to step up to the mic there at Camp Lejeune as troops get ready to head off to Afghanistan. They'll be talking about that strategy that the president talked about just about a week ago. We'll take it live as soon as he steps to the mike.
Greenhouse gases, dangerous to your health and should be regulated. That's the latest word from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA planning to issue the warning at a news conference just minutes from now. We're going to monitor it for you and break in if warranted.
Now the EPA warning no doubt new ammo for the Obama administration. At a U.N. conference on climate change was opened today in Denmark, coinciding with the meeting, new attacks on the validity of global warming.
CNN's Phil Black was in Copenhagen. So Phil, the hacked e-mails that we've been talking about for days casting a cloud over the conference no doubt?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, the impact of those e- mails is certainly being felt here. It's interesting to note that in the opening ceremony of this speech this morning, the hacked e-mail scandal was mentioned directly by scientists here in Copenhagen by perhaps the leading face of climate science in this world, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri. He talked about this scandal and essentially refuted it and he did so in this forum of all places where thousands of climate change believers have come. It is a symbol, a sign if you like symbolic of the fact that momentum from this scandal has grown to such a degree that it felt that it needed to be addressed here.
And certainly, the scientists here are of the belief they refute the allegations from this e-mail scandal very, very strongly and they say that it is a fact that even if a question mark exists over this one institution, the rest of climate science is a global consensus of many thousands of independent scientists working on their own and the fact that they've all come to very similar conclusions all by themselves. They say as a result the climate science is sound -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Phil Black live from Copenhagen. We appreciate it so much.
This is a story we're going to be paying very close attention to, all types of special coverage. You won't want to miss CNN's special report tonight on the U.N. Climate Change Conference and the latest controversy over global warming. Kicking off tonight -- 8:00 Eastern with Campbell Brown, trick or truth, only on CNN. We'll be digging deeper into those pilfered e-mails and what kind of effect they could have on that conference this week.
Fired up students swarming through the streets of Tehran. Riot police hit back hard. What's the occasion? Michael Holmes here to tell us about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Shouts of death to the dictator, they rang through Tehran today. Thousands of students took to the streets in the Iranian capital and across the country. Security forces cracking down, firing tear gas, beating protesters with batons.
CNN's Michael Holmes reported from Tehran and joins me now with more on this. So what triggered all the demonstrations?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's an anniversary, it was actually to mark the deaths of students who were killed in 1953. Those were events that 20 years later eventually the shah of Iran was overthrown. We saw the Iranian revolution. It's held every year to mark that. But what we're seeing is these student protesters using just about every anniversary that comes up to get on the streets, make their points. They're still saying that the June election was rigged, if you like and that the current leadership is not valid. And so they get out on the streets.
And what is significant here is that they're on the streets at all because a lot of people have seen in the past these sorts of protests crushed. You have seen the security forces out on the streets of Tehran today doing just that. These particular protests are focused around the universities, both in the capital, also elsewhere around the country. Chants of death to the dictator, our leader is a murderer that, sort of thing that we're hearing. I think the point here Kyra is that this is not a one thing. It's not one of these protests is going to lead to something tumultuous.
What's significant here is that this is a simmering evolving movement if you like and that at every opportunity, these protesters will get out on the streets, mainly students this time. In previous protests we've seen a far wider demographic. You see the gates to the universities were locked trying to keep university students from getting to the streets. Supporters on the outside, students on the inside. Security forces, we actually got a quote from one of our contacts there saying thousands of police and militiamen surrounding the university hanged a cover on the railings and the main gates. They are also beating people. We can't independently confirm the time that this was taken and the location even. But what we do know is that it ties in with what we're hearing from our people on the ground -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Michael Holmes, appreciate it. We'll track it with you.
And in Greece, gunshots in Athens amid widespread rallies across the country. The unrest erupted during events marking the deadly police shooting of a teen last year. Almost 800 people have been detained. Five protesters and more than a dozen police officers now reported wounded.
The war in Iraq has spawned mountains of video, mostly news footage but precious little cinema, scripted movies by Iraqis for Iraqi audiences. Now movies are being made and being screened and CNN's Isha Sesay shows us where, why and how.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Setting up for a show of defiance in Baghdad. With just hours to go, these young men are preparing to bring film to the battle-scarred streets of the Iraqi capital. For Yahya Al-Allaq, one of the organizers, the evening film screenings are intended to be more than just a diversion.
YAHYA AL-ALLAQ, IRAQI FILMMAKER (through translator): We have to bring life back to Baghdad, let those kidnapped by terrorism, kidnapped by wars, we have to bring it back.
SESAY: This project started back in the summer with showings in a number of provinces. However, recent large scale attacks on the capital temporarily disrupted the organizers' plans for Baghdad. From the devastation came a startling idea.
AL-ALLAQ: We decided to play those movies on the scenes of explosions as a gift from us to the victims of these explosions.
SESAY: But being so close to such horrors would prove to be too much for some Iraqis. He says they decided to relocate here to (INAUDIBLE) park, one of Baghdad's most popular. On this evening, armed Iraqi police are close at hand calmly looking on.
Two and a half years ago, scenes such as these would have been hard to imagine here in Baghdad. Back then, the simple pleasures of life were quite simply out of bounds for many Iraqis.
Now the security situation remains unpredictable. But there are signs that Iraqis are eager to cast off the burdens of recent years and if only for a short time in some cases, escape from it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is a very good idea. God willing, this will show the people in Iraq that Iraq's still good.
SESAY: Making movies in Iraq is a risky business, given that the threat of violence is ever present. Since the war began in 2003, less than a dozen Iraqi films have been made and these are the ones being screened. All deal with the harsh realities of life here. But in (INAUDIBLE) view, what the audience is actually seeing is life portrayed in a humanitarian way, images of beauty in a place where ugliness and brutality have cast a shadow for so long. Isha Sesay, CNN, Baghdad. Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You know it's bad when the Canadians complain about the snow and this is why. Don't worry, Canada. You're about to have plenty of company south of the border. America is about to get socked by the season in a big way.
And a big spectacle, lights in the sky over Jakarta, Indonesia this weekend, beautiful pictures of a paper lantern launch. Over 10,000 of them rising into the night like fireflies. They set a Guinness world record by the way, almost tripling a launch in Colombia in January.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Two live events that I want to tell you about that we're following for you. First, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where the surge is hitting home right now. As you can see here, Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen getting ready to come up to the mike and address the first wave of 30,000 reinforcements being sent to Afghanistan. We're going to take that live once he starts talking.
Also greenhouse gases, dangerous to your health and should be regulated. Lisa Jackson, administrator, head administrator of the EPA going to be speaking about that. She's going to give the latest word from the Environmental Protection Agency planning to issue a new warning in a press conference in just a few minutes.
So we're monitoring them both. And we will more than likely take Mike Mullen first because he is addressing the troops. Let's go ahead and go to him now.
Listen in.
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I'll try to make this as painless as possible. What I'd like to do is spend a few minutes talking about a couple of things and then open it up to questions. And the rules of engagement on questions, what have you been told about questions? Anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ask questions.
MULLEN: Ask questions.
OK. There is no such thing as a lousy question. So I'd encourage you to ask what's on your mind.
One of the reasons I come out and do visits like this is to understand really what is going on where you live. You are the main fighting force of our military and I'm very anxious to hear what's on your mind and particularly with the focus on the new mission that we have in Afghanistan. I'll talk about that in a minute. If I don't know the answer to your questions, if you give me your e-mail address, I'll go research it. I'll get smarter and I'll actually get back to you and actually read and answer my own e-mail. So it's not something I haven't done for a long time. It helps me and hopefully it will help you.
So but first of all, I just want to say it's great to be with you this afternoon. Out in the out with the fleet Marine force and recognize that you are the core of our military and you represent and I can't say enough about how much I appreciate what you do and who you are and that you have raised your right hand to serve our country at this particular point in time.
And you are typical of our history. I don't know what the average age is in here, but usually it's early 20s and have you born the -- that age group has born the burden of our wars since we became a country over 234 years ago. Which reminds me, have we finished the Marine Corps birthday, that month long celebration? But happy belated birthday although I said it a few times last month.
And you are also a member of the best fighting force we've ever had in the United States military. And I can say that having been doing this since 1967. I've been doing it a long time. And I can compare where they were in Vietnam which is where, which was my first war to where we are right now and give you an enormous amount of credit for turning it around in Iraq and putting us in a position in Iraq to be able to turn that country back over to its newly elected political leadership to give the Iraqi people a shot at a future and we're on a plan and a glide slope over the next year, year and a half to achieve exactly that.
So I can tell you (AUDIO GAP) and what you do and recognize those of you who are here also represent many that we've lost, many who have been wounded. And many -- those that we've lost who paid the ultimate price and I never forget that. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about that and making sure that we never forget that sacrifice. So I am and will be eternally grateful for your service to our country at this very, very critical time and in my experience, this is the most dangerous time that I have seen growing up through the last four decades wearing the uniform. And I'm very confident that we can succeed in our endeavors and I have that confidence, quite frankly, because of you. So thanks for all that you are and what you do.
Secondly, I just -- you don't do it alone. You do it with phenomenal family support. And we could not be the Marine Corps we are, the military we are without extraordinary family support and we've always had good support but I've never seen it better than since 9/11. If you'd have asked me in 2000 or 2001 here's what I'm going to do for the next eight plus years, we're going to deploy this many times, we're going to go to these two countries. We're going to put stress on the force we have and be able to succeed in one and now focus on succeeding in the other and change the way we fight. Look at how we've changed in the last seven or eight years. I would have looked out at that from 2000 and said, that's an incredibly tall task and yet, we have succeed in that because of you more than any other reason. So and because of our family support. That doesn't mean -- and I want to be very clear. Our mission is the mission that we have in both Iraq and we're now shifting that main effort to Afghanistan. And our job is to accomplish that mission and it's the mission that the president of the United States has given us and I'll talk to that. But we've also got to keep in mind that we stay focused also on balancing that with the help of the force, the stress that we're under, the strain that we've seen not just individually but also within our families and those are not things that are going to go away.
I quite frankly worry about that we've been holding a lot in until we slow down a little bit and I worry about problems which will come in the longer term because we've been holding a lot in. And I'll talk a little bit more about that when I talk about leadership in a second. But mostly and I'd ask you to please do this. How many married here? I'd ask you to do this and for your direct immediate family, those that are married, also extended family because we've had unbelievable support from our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, coaches, pastors you name it to express my appreciation to them, as well.
Secondly, we -- I frequently talk about change. And one of the reasons I talk about change is because change has become the norm and leadership in a time -- there's no more difficult leadership than in change because it's more difficult to plan. It's more difficult to predict. And it takes all of us from the leadership standpoint to focus on that. And we're living in a great time and there's no change that's more evident particularly for the United States Marine Corps than shifting from Iraq to Afghanistan, where we are, and many of you are headed. And how many have been there before? Very small number.
And I know that certainly the commandant's plans are to keep the deployments in terms of overall length where they've been so it will be, we will -- I believe do what we did in Iraq, do what we did out of Anbar. It will take a couple cycles but the entire Marine Corps will know a lot more about Afghanistan after those cycles and really bring that mission home. And I really believe it. I believe the strategy that the president laid out, the decision that he's made is the right decision. Both those are right and that we will now move out, given our orders and we'll carry them out. And again, I couldn't be more confident and more pleased that you are going to be at the core of that.
So probably the biggest change I would talk to you about today is this -- change to the new strategy, the decision that the president's made with respect to the 30,000, many of whom will be Marines, many of whom are sitting in this room.
And I had lunch with a couple, with several sergeants from 16 specifically and others who are expecting to go over the next many months. And in focusing on that, we should -- we should -- one of the ways I think about it, we became between 2006 and now the best counter insurgency force in the world and we did that just in time.
And it's terrific that we did it. When you think about it -- it took us a while to figure it out, but when you think about when we changed that strategy in the surge in 2006, went to counterinsurgency, and look at who we became and we did that and turned Iraq around. And now, given our capabilities there, we're going to have to an apply that, apply those principles in great part in the kind of focused counterinsurgency efforts that are very much planned by General McChrystal and executing for those that are there in Afghanistan as we speak.
One of the reasons I asked about who's been there before -- my message, if you've been there before, even though it's not very many, is no matter when it was, it's going to be different because General McChrystal has changed the mission to include as its principal focus two areas. One, focus on the people the and their security, and two, develop the Afghan national security forces as fast as we can. And those -- those two areas are absolutely vital to our ability to succeed in the future, and you need to -- and it is in particular that first piece of focusing on population security which is so critical.
One of the changes that he made not too long after he got there, which makes it in some ways harder tactically but much -- in other ways smarter strategically, is to change the rules so that we absolutely minimize civilian casualties. We could have an operation that was a great success tactically, but we kill one or two civilians, or more than that, and it's a strategic failure. And as strategic failures pile up, the strategy would fail. That's why that change is so important. And that's going to take very agile, nimble leaders to figure out when to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive.
And from the way we have done -- we've executed in Afghanistan (INAUDIBLE) almost the entire time, we've learned something in Iraq. And if you flip that over a little bit -- and I know you're focused on the bad guys, but you flip it over a little bit and you're an Afghan (INAUDIBLE) and you've got a family and there's an operation (INAUDIBLE) your wife and kids get killed, and I'm the Marine Corps here to help you, it's hard to make that connection. It would be for any human being, quite frankly, on the face of the earth.
So I'd ask you to think about that. And we're going to have to be -- keep that front and center, he whole civilian casualty issue, the rules of engagement that are associated with it, working like crazy to get Afghans in the lead in their own country. And in the long run, that's really the way to go. And it's going to take us a while to do that.
I know we've been focused in the discussions last week and testimony in the media and the president's speech about July 2011. (INAUDIBLE) wouldn't be over (ph) it for you. The focus there is to get Afghan security forces into a point to start to transition. There's no deadline. There's no end date. There's no exit strategy associated with that, other than we know in the long run that success is and the strategy is to turn their own security over to them. And you'll all be involved in that.
Another major piece that is going to be important and going to be -- and many of you may have done this before, but it is going to be the (INAUDIBLE) security forces. And I'm talking about company-size units, platoon-size units, squads (INAUDIBLE) out in the field, you know, living, working, fighting, training with Afghan security forces, army and police principally. And not unlike Iraq, we're behind on the police side. The army has come along faster, and we've got an awful lot of work to do on police.
So when I talk about General McChrystal's strategy and what he's put in place to focus on as he's taking command last summer and we've been through this review, it's focusing on the security of the people. It's partnering with the Afghan security forces. It's -- it involves, in that security of the people, eliminating civilian casualties as rapidly as we can. And there's been a significant reduction along those lines since he changed those rules. And that makes -- sometimes, that makes it tougher to lead. And I understand that.
So an awful lot -- the other thing not unlike Iraq -- and I hope you're spending time doing this -- there are similarities in Iraq between (INAUDIBLE) there are significant differences. So not unlike Iraq, you need to understand a lot about Afghan culture. Not unlike Iraq -- and quite frankly, obviously, I've been a sailor my whole life. I've been around the world in countries all over the world. And I can tell you how much a citizen of any country around the world appreciates me or any other American learning a little bit about their culture, trying to speak their language.
And you don't have to speak it perfectly. They don't even mind if you butcher it, quite frankly. What they do appreciate is the fact that you take the time to learn a little bit about them, to try to understand it from their perspective. And that is really a vital part of this whole approach, as well, in Afghanistan.
So we need, no kidding, people to understand a lot about the people, the culture. And I think that kind of connection when you're there with the local village leaders, with the local people, the local families, will be what solves this in the long run.
In the long run, it's not going to be about killing Taliban. In the long run, it's because the Afghan people are going to turn them out. Not unlike Iraq, I expect to go through some kind of reconciliation and reintegration, but there's got to be enough security to do that. Otherwise there are just too many of their families are getting killed. Got to create other options for young 15, 16, 17-year-olds than joining the Taliban. But there's got to be (INAUDIBLE) jobs somewhere in the future to support that. So an awful lot of change there.
This is not just about Afghanistan. In the president's strategy review in March and his rollout then, what we emphasize as much as anything is the regional approach. It's Afghanistan. It's Pakistan. And those are the two countries of main focus, but it doesn't eliminate other countries in the region, either, like India or Central Asia or Russia. Everybody's got a significant interest in how this comes out, including Iran that borders Afghanistan, as well.
So, a significant part of what we reviewed was also about Pakistan. And I've been to Pakistan a dozen times or so since I took over as chairman a little over two years ago, and the question that they ask themselves and they ask me is, Are you staying this time or are you going? It's the same question that gets asked in Afghanistan. And you heard the president say and all the senior civilian leaders of our government, the military leaders, it is our intent to have a long- term relationship with both these countries, long-term, stable, prosperous relationship. So our intent is certainly not to leave them. And we've left (INAUDIBLE) past.
Nor should we forget that the main focus of this is to get at al Qaeda, get the safe havens and defeat al Qaeda, who seeks to kill every one of you and I, our families, as they did in 2001. Those goals are very much still there. They're still planning on doing that. (INAUDIBLE) nuclear weapons -- they're living in a state with nuclear weapons, which is -- which is more and more challenge to meet the radical (INAUDIBLE) individuals, actually, groups who threaten the state of Pakistan.
And my worst nightmare is terrorists with nuclear weapons. And not only do I think (INAUDIBLE) do I know they're trying to get them, but I know they'll use them. So that's really what our main focus is and that is, in great part, the reason we're focused on both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Remembering that Pakistan's a sovereign country, we don't have troops in Pakistan, nor will we expect to in the future. (INAUDIBLE) outlook in the future is going to be directly tied to how it looks in Afghanistan. The way they -- way they (INAUDIBLE) world is through a lens that looks at their neighbors that threaten them or not. And I think Pakistan's strategic calculus is directly tied to how Afghanistan comes out, and specifically, a stable, supportive, non- threatening Afghanistan is going to make their life a lot easier and that they, I think, would change -- potentially change how they'd look at the world.
So there's an awful lot of focus on change right now and a lot changing in our lives, and I would just hope you'd work as hard as you can before you go, trying to understand as much as you can before you get there -- for everybody -- because we don't have a lot of time. We've got about 18 to 24 months. The slope on this insurgency is going in the wrong direction and it has picked up, three years, each year to a significant degree.
That's what we're going to do the slope on this insurgency is going in the wrong direction. And has picked up three years each year to a significant degree. That's what we're going to do over the next 12 to 18 to 24 months. We've got to turn that insurgency around. Reverse the momentum, is what General McChrystal says is his top priority of this insurgency. And some of the details of that, or the ways we do that, is what I talked about before.
OK, lastly, I'd only like to spend a minute or two talking about probably the most key ingredient of it all, and that's leadership. And oftentimes, when we think about leadership, we think about seniors, senior NCOs or senior officers, and that's not what I'm talking about. (INAUDIBLE) auditorium (INAUDIBLE) everybody makes a difference. This is taking care of each other. This is taking care of all the responsibilities both here for our families, as well as moving forward. And as much as I'm focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Iraq, I also look out to the future and can see a day when these conflicts are over. And how we -- how we act now, how we grow now, how we do an awful lot of things in our institutions has a lot to do with what's next. And I think there will be a next. It's just too dangerous a time in the world. And so what kind of Marine Corps are we going to have? How are you going to fit (INAUDIBLE) how do we take advantage of this force, which has seen more combat over time than any other force we've ever had in the history of our country, and in retaining the right people, the right Marines, the right families, actually guarantees the future success of the Marine Corps.
(INAUDIBLE) extraordinary pressure. In the Marine Corps, you know this. And just the anecdotal data that I collect as I ask how many deployments you've been on, when was the last time, what's your (INAUDIBLE) time. And from the Marines I talk to, it's moving out to closer -- much closer to two to one. And with the deployments schedule that we have that I can see in the future, I think we're going to get to two to one. And by that, I mean home twice as long as you are deployed.
By and large -- there are other units turning inside that, and I understand that as well. But leading in these tough times, taking nothing for granted -- and I talked about the need to lead and understand the fight you're going into, the need to lead and understand the challenges that we've got at home, the need to lead and understand taking care of each other, the need to lead and understand taking care of those who've been wounded and those we've lost and their families, as well, and never losing that connection -- there's just a host of things that are tied to that that makes the Marine Corps great and will in the future, as well.
And the reason I emphasize leadership is because these are very, very challenging times. In my life, the best solution to tough problems is great leadership, and it comes from great leaders. And that's everybody.
So again, thanks for what you're doing. Thanks to your families. I look forward to seeing many of you in the theater. Learn it. Learn your job well. Put in the extra time because this mission is absolutely vital. And it is -- it is right down the middle of our national interests, and if it goes well, it will serve us exceptionally well. And if it goes badly, it is that nightmare I talked about before. So -- and we will continue to change (INAUDIBLE) individually, us as a Marine Corps, us as a military, and again, take care of each other and lead well. Thanks for your time.
(APPLAUSE)
MULLEN: I've got time for a few questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon, sir.
MULLEN: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Kessler (ph), 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, Alpha Company. Sir, my question today is -- I've been in the Marine Corps for four years now, and for three of those years, I've been married. I've done numerous -- excuse me...
MULLEN: Numerous what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Numerous field ops, sir.
MULLEN: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on those field ops, I usually lose my COMRATs (ph). And I understand that the Marine Corps feeds me, so I -- I don't get paid for it. My question is, Why does my wife lose money for me going on a field op?
MULLEN: You mean losing COMRATs, she loses money because your monthly pay is down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
MULLEN: Well, I mean, technically, we -- if we're feeding you, we shouldn't be paying you for food, is the answer. I don't think it's -- I got that there's less income coming in the family. But essentially, those are the rules that we have. How much money is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's $324 sir (INAUDIBLE) COMRATs.
MULLEN: A month?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three hundred and twenty-four a month, yes, sir.
MULLEN: If you're out for a month-long op?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I'm out for a month-long op, I get $250 for separations.
MULLEN: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But if I'm out for a week, I lose a week's worth if COMRATs.
MULLEN: Right. Got it. Well, I mean, I -- the fact of the matter is, I mean, those are the rules, and they're based on the fact that we basically provide you resources for food, either food itself or money, if you don't rate it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
MULLEN: Yes. You'd probably like me to change that rule, I would guess.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir, I would.
MULLEN: Yes. I don't think it's going to happen. (LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Admiral, how're you doing? This is...
MULLEN: Go ahead. You're on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Simshu Vaskas (ph) from the medical clinic out at New River. The -- my main question that I have, being that the Army as of right now continues to increase in numbers, and we have seen how the Navy has decreased, we also have seen how the Marine Corps is increasing in numbers, which is great. The problem that I have is, you have corpsmen that are out there, and I would like to see the number of corpsmen increasing so we can make sure that our job with the green (ph) side (ph) doesn't get hurt.
So the bottom line is, I just would hate to see how the Navy continues to downsizing. Especially have the biggest problem when I see Navy corpsmen being attached to training teams with the Army, being that they have the biggest service, while we have to give them even more corpsmen out there to help them out. And again, I just would like to see our numbers not just to continue to go down.
MULLEN: How many corpsmen have we got?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not a lot, sir.
(LAUGHTER)
MULLEN: One of the areas -- first of all, give me your e-mail address and I'll get you a better answer than this. But...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you sir.
MULLEN: ... I can do some of this. One is, was when I was CNO, I was taken back by the number of corpsmen that we had, and my recollection was -- now, this is 2005 -- was 25,000 corpsmen. It was the largest rate (ph) in the Navy. I've got the 8404 fleet Marine for (ph) support, medic support, and quite frankly, that's a top priority. And a lot of corpsmen do that and a lot don't do that.
Let me go back to overall -- the Army actually is getting a little bigger now. The Marine Corps is done growing. Marine Corps is at 202,000. And that's it. The Marine Corps has grown from 175,000 to 202,000, and that's been a significantly positive step in terms of our ability to handle these rotations and create individuals in certain skill sets that we found ourselves short of when these wars started.
The same is true for the Army. Basically, the authorized end strength for the Army is 547,000. They're at that. (INAUDIBLE) authorized by Secretary Gates to grow another 22,000 temporarily over the next two years, and that is basically so they can fill up brigades.
I will -- all our processes are not actually, you know, perfect, but I will assume that that corpsman that is with that training team is filling a medic's position, or he or she wouldn't be there, quite frankly. And we are at a time where, from the -- from the joint perspective, which is where I do live now, that we look at all the services to do as much of this as we possibly can.
When I was CNO, very early, I felt it very important we get as many sailors on the ground to support the ground forces as possible, and that was because of my experience in Vietnam, where the ground forces bear the brunt. And if I can get a sailor or an airman -- when I was CNO, I could only affect sailors -- to relieve in some way for security or EOD or MP or engineering or whatever the case might be, that that would help relieve the ground force. And it's done that. So there are some, last I checked, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000 sailors on the ground in CENTCOM, and there are thousands of airmen, as well.
The Navy's not getting smaller. The Navy's end strength has come down from 382,000 down to about 330,000, and that's where they'll sit. The Air Force has stopped coming down, as well. So I think we are, for all the services, about the size we're going to be. We've got to make sure we have enough of the right rates. And then I -- the reason -- if you give me your e-mail address, I'll go back and -- because I am actually extremely interested in the health and welfare of the corpsmen rating, as well as the 8404 force. So I'll do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
MULLEN: OK?
PHILLIPS: Joint Chiefs chairman Mike Mullen there, listening in to him live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where the surge that we've been talking about for weeks definitely hits home here. The first wave of 30,000 reinforcements being sent to Afghanistan will be sent from right there at Camp Lejeune, 1,500 Marines shipping out this month, asking some candid questions there to Mike Mullen. We're going to continue to monitor that for you.
We're also monitoring a live event at the EPA, planning to issue a warning, at a news conference right now Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator, at the helm, talking about greenhouse gases, dangerous to your health, should be regulated. Of course, this all plays into the big push in Copenhagen, talking about global warming. We'll tie it all together for you.
Also, too young for a colonoscopy, but not too young to get Stage 4 colon cancer, a disease that doesn't play by the VA's rules. A veteran who's now in the fight of his life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The eyes of the world on Copenhagen this week, where leaders from superpowers to small nations are trying to hammer out a new plan to cut carbon emissions and address global warming. President Obama plans to attend the final stages of that summit next week.
Meantime, the EPA declaring greenhouse gases are a public health threat. The declaration gives them more ammo to crack down on emissions. Businesses who don't clean up their acts could be penalized. It also sends a message to the world that the Obama administration takes global warming seriously.
Some New Jersey state senators could go head to head this hour as the gay marriage debate heats up. Lawmakers are weighing a bill to legalize same-sex marriage with a sense of urgency on both sides. If it's passed before year's end, outgoing governor Jon Corzine says he'll sign it, but incoming governor-elect Chris Christie says he will not.
Now, a Navy veteran knew that he might get colon cancer. It runs in the family. So of course, he wanted a colonoscopy for early detection's sake. But the VA denied him over and over. And now his fear is the fight of his life. More now from Mylous Hairston of WIVB in Buffalo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MYLOUS HAIRSTON, WIVB (voice-over): It's a weekly walk David Cohen (ph) would rather not make, Thursday afternoon and another visit to the VA hospital in Buffalo.
DAVID COHEN, NAVY VETERAN: Well, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer in August.
HAIRSTON: David was diagnosed in August, but this Navy veteran's story starts several years earlier. Because of the family history...
COHEN: My grandmother died of colon cancer in the '70s.
HAIRSTON: ... and because several other family members showed signs of colon cancer, David started asking the VA to conduct a colonoscopy in 2003. He says he had colon cancer symptoms.
COHEN: I just didn't understand why I was getting them disapproved or denied, you know, every single request.
HAIRSTON: David has proof the VA didn't take long to...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: I apologize. I will get back to that piece. President Obama's talking about jobs.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... very long time, and it significantly beat expectations. At minimum, it showed that for all practical purposes, we've stopped losing jobs. And that's consistent with the fact that in the third quarter, we saw the economy growing.
My first job when I came into office was to make sure that we got the financial crisis under control and that we tried to limit the devastating effects that it was having on the real economy. We have had a very tough year and we've lost millions of jobs, but at least now we are moving in the right direction.
What my speech tomorrow will focus on is the fact that, having gotten the financial crisis under control, having finally moved into positive territory when it comes to economic growth, our biggest challenge now is making sure the job growth matches up with economic growth. And what we've seen is, is that companies shed jobs very quickly, partly induced by the panic of what was happening on Wall Street, and they are still tentative about hiring back all those people who were laid off.
Also, what we're seeing is some long-term trends where companies are becoming so efficient in terms of productivity that they may feel that they can produce the same amount of goods or services without as many employees.
So those present some particular challenges, given the fact that we lost over three million jobs just in the first quarter of this year, before any of the steps we took had a chance to take effect.
With respect to TARP specifically, I think you saw stories today and you've seen stories over the last several weeks that TARP has turned out to be much cheaper than we had expected, although not cheap. It means that some of that money can be devoted to deficit reduction. And the question is, are there selective approaches that are consistent with the original goals of TARP -- for example, making sure small businesses are still getting lending -- that would be appropriate in accelerating job growth?
And I will be addressing that tomorrow, but I do think that although we've stabilized the financial system, one of the problems that we're still seeing all the time -- and I heard about it while I was in Allentown just this past week -- was the fact that small businesses and some medium-sized businesses are still feeling a huge credit crunch. They cannot get the loans that they need to make capital investments that would allow them to then expand employment. And so that's a particular area where we might be able to make a difference. OK?
Do we have -- are you -- is there somebody from the Turkish delegation that wants to call on a Turkish reporter? Is that...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
OBAMA: Go ahead.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
OBAMA: Well, what the prime minister and I have discussed is coordinating closely in dealing with the problem with the PKK. We have stated before, and I have reaffirmed since I came into office, that the United States considers PKK a terrorist organization and that the threat that it poses not only in Turkey but also in Iraq is one that is of deep concern. And as NATO allies, we are bound to help each other defend our territories.
More broadly, I think that it is important for us to have a consistent position with respect to terrorism wherever it takes place. So we have discussed how we can coordinate militarily.
I will tell you that with respect the issue of the PKK, I think that the steps that the prime minister has taken in being inclusive towards the Kurdish community in Turkey is very helpful, because one of the things we understand is that terrorism cannot just be dealt with militarily. There is also social and political components to it that have to be recognized.
With respect to Iraq, I think the degree to which the Kurdish population within Iraq feels effectively represented within the central government in Baghdad, to the extent that we can resolve some long-term pressing issues like Kirkuk, the more I think that Kurds will recognize that their interests are not in supporting any kind of military activity, but rather in working through conflicts politically in a way that allows everybody to be prosperous. And that's the kind of process that we would encourage.
OK?
Thank you very much, everybody. Happy holidays.
