Congressman john dingell, the serving member of congress in history, is retiring after serving more than 58 years house. Thats next, on cspan. House Armed Services committee mckeon talks about the u. S. Mission in afghanistan. Later, more about the proposed pentagon budget cuts for 2015. An update on the ukraine. Situation in cspan. Org website makes it easier than ever for on washingtonbs d. C. And share your finds with through facebook, twitter and works. Ocial met easy search functions let you access our daily coverage of it simplew tools make to create short video clips and share them with your friends via twitter and other social networks. Or you can send links to your email. Ips via just find the share tools on our video player, or look for the icon links throughout our site. Newh washington on the cspan. Org, and if you see something of interest, click it friends. It with your representative john dingell, member oft serving congress announced he will retire at the end of this term. 87yearold michigan democrat was first elected in a special election in 1955. Taking the seat his father had held for more than two decades. Thepoke to a reporter from detroit news about congressman dingells retirement. Marisa schultz is washington correspondent for the detroit longest serving member of congress, michigan Democrat John dingell joined a growing list of members announcing that they are not running again, why quits decide to call it this fall . Well, he has decided that step down,or him to he wants to spend more time with his family. But he has been suffering some mobility issues, a bad back, and hip surgery. And more recently, though, hes been way congressth the operates. Whenoks back to the time there was bipartisanship and people got along in congress, and he really laments it. In fact, during the shutdown he took to the house floor and he so angry, he said the American People could get better representation from Monkey Island at the zoo. And that ignited cheers from the house. So there is a legal of well. Ation from him as can you point out some of his major accomplishments during his time in office . Had quite a few. He has been involved in major legislation, either authoring them or pushing them through. Congress het got to held the gavel when medicare the clean was part of air act. The endangered species act. He was one oftly the regional authorize of the Affordable Care act. He replaced in congress was a huge advocate for and john health care, dingell made this his priority career,ut his entire culminating with the signing of the Affordable Care act. Been called the dean of the house. Why did he have that title and did it come with any house responsibilities . He was called the dean because he is the leader, the longest serving member of the house. And he did have a leadership responsibility with the energy and commerce committee, from until the 2000s he was earth the chairman or the Ranking Member of the energy and commerce committee. And he was very powerful. And he was able to use that in some of usher this legislation. Now, he was first elected to and succeeded955, his dad who passed away. What impact did his parents have becoming a member of congress . Oh, he talks about his dad often. His dad was a new deal democrat, believed in public service, and when john dingell seat her his fathers carried that with him. And i mentioned earlier health care, his dad really wanted universal health care. Dingell made that his legacy as well. Again, with his leaving, has revealed what his plans might house . R he leaves the i believe hell still be involved. Many, many supporters in his district, and his wife, dingell, is interested in the seat. So i have a feeling hell be much involved in politics and public service. He currently represents southeasternth district and that includes ann arbor and dearborn, and as you wrote in the you detroit news, his wife is expected to run to succeed him. What is theird political relationship like . They are a team. Powerful,eally political couple. Debbie dingell is always at John Dingells side, shes with him at events and fundraising, meeting with local community officials. And she is his confidant. Expected that she is interested in the seat, i would imagine that she would run for seat, and john dingell would do everything in his power to seat. Er win that Marisa Schultz covers washington for the detroit news, us. K you for joining thank you very much. Wed like to get your thoughts on the retirement of congressman john dingell. Join the conversation on facebook. Facebook. Com cspan. House Armed ServicesCommittee Chairman buck mckeon talked the u. S. Mission in afghanistan and the proposed cuts. Entagon budget congressman mckeon spoke at the National Press club and took reporters. Rom and welcome. Noon, my name is my ron bellkine, ill an adjunct professor at the George WashingtonUniversity School of media and public internationalr bureau chief for the associated press, and the 107th president club. National press the National Press club is the worlds leading professional journalists for committed to our professions future through our programming as this, whileh fostering a free press worldwide. Information about the National Press club, please atit our website www. Press. Org. To donate to programs offered to the public through our National PressClub Journalism institute, please visit press. Org institute. On behalf of our members worldwide, id like to welcome our speaker and those of you attending today. Our head table includes guests of our speaker as well as working journalists who are club members. Audiencear plus in our i doubt that members of the general public are attending, so its not necessarily evidence of of journalistic objectivity. Id also like to welcome our public radio audiences. You can follow the action on nccter using the hash tag lunch. Speechur guests conclude well have a question and answer period. I will ask as many questions as time permits. Time to introduce our head tables. Id ask each of you to stand briefly as your name is announced. From your right. Chen, senior editor, air force magazine. Ellen mitchell, associate inside the army. Reporter, Global Security news wire. John newman, deputy director,ionings house Armed Services committee, and a guest of the speaker. Jonathan salant, reporter, bloomberg news, and past National Presse club. Wife of mckeon, mckeon. Jerry with the buffalo news and chairman of the speakers and past president of the National Press club. Skipping over the speaker for a moment, pat host, reporter, defense daily, and Speakers Committee member who organized todays events. Bob simmons, staff director of the house Armed Services guest of the speaker. Matt leatherrer, publisher of and stripes. Westing, United States navy, retired. John don ollie, editor of c. Q. Roll call executive briefing defense and chair of the National Press club, freedom of committee. [applause] congressman buck mckeon, chairman of the house armed guestes committee, is our today to discuss the u. S. Effort in afghanistan. Gallup poll says that for the first time in the nearly more americans, think the 2001 invasion was a think it was, than think it was the right action. The unitedsays states duties in afghanistan are far from complete. Obama has notent disclosed his true plan for focusedtan and has elsewhere. Hes also been critical of president obamas role as in chief, saying that a president must better communicate with the troops and obama has. Than chairman mckeon, a california has announced he will not seek a 12th term in congress. He cited in part, gridlock on capitol hill. In congress, years mckeon has been an advocate for increased spending for the pentagon. At a recent Armed Services saidttee meeting, mckeon Defense Department budget pressures have ham strung the to cuty, forcing leaders strength, readiness and can least when they afford it. Please join me in welcoming to the National PressClub Chairman become mckeon. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you for having me, thank you for being here this afternoon. And im glad to have my wife me. With she was introduced as my wife, shes also a mother of six and a of 30. Ther [applause] and a great grandmother of one. Thank you forgiving me the thingsnity to say a few today that i think need to be said, and i think theyre very important. For nearly 13 years now the United States has been at war in afghanistan. Were there because afghanistan forused as a launch pad attacks that killed americans. For thea responsibility safety and security of our citizens. A responsibility and we thatnot abandon responsibility no matter how tough the fight is. If you, a few polls youll hear the american support for afghanistan has dropped below 20 . Listen to the news youll hear about a hopeless campaign unwinnable, that if you hear about it at all. Barometers, the American People know two things. They know that the war is going badly and they know that their there. Rs oppose us being however, im sure youve heard know it just because i doesnt make it so. Neither polls nor the press the full picture. They never tell the full story. That story is a hopeful one, not hopefulso, but nonetheless. Traditionally its right and stories comehese from the commander in chief. But hes talked about a half, only ay handful of types during his presidency. Each time president obama exitraised his run for the or pitied or wounded, instead of accomplishments of our troops and the importance of the mission that they were given fight. So if the president of the United States wont give this i will. In 2001 after the worst attack soil since pearl harbor, the United States invaded afghanistan. Act of toppling the taliban was stroo teejicly and technologically astounding. Three months time america and her allies knocked down a regime in land lockedy mountainous terrain. We dropped soldiers into a combat zone with a brutal climate, with no support, other and a toughen my turf. Ng on his home we asked them to establish logisticses that any officer would call impossible. We asked them to fight a war for indnt been trained a land that has burried the most world. L empires in the but not only did they succeed, iny kicked the taliban down three months. Tots less than a semester their colleagues back home. Then we asked them to do even harder. Make no mistake. Insurgency is the hardest type of war a democracy can fight. Holding a new country steady with insurgents hiding among innocents can take years. The british 12 years to put down the millennium communists. The insurgency in Northern Ireland took decades to resolve. Last week i visited our colombian friend who have fought narco insurgency since the 60s. Theyre finally nearing the finish line. These fights can be won, but patience ande, treasure. And all those things usually within short supply voters. I wont sugar coat it. Are sick andpeople tired of this war. Not thes their will, enemys, that will determine afghanistans state. If the will of the american, its the will of the american most importanthe weapon in this fight. Not Million Dollar smart bombs carriers. T so here are the questions that ourselves. Ask is afghanistan less than a thant to the United States it was 13 years ago . Is it a better place than it was ago . Ars is america safer than it was on september 10th, 2001 . Whatsgood, hard look at actually happening out there and backof those answers comes a resounding yes. For the life of me, i cant why the president hasnt taken credit for these victories. The game gains since 2009 are threefold. Strategic, diplomatic, and moral. Ats talk about strategy for moment. I think it was the height of announce a surge and in the very same breath the surge. E for the i think the idea of military strategy being done by white house staffers, rather than military planners as some suggested, is worthy of a head examination. I think that when our generations sharpest eny minds,rge general petraeus, asked for more troops, then give him more troops. But even though the way this white house has run this war has with whiteeous, house staffers telling fourstar generals their business, there has been unmistakable progress. Come on thes has back of our troops. Carter woke up one night to find his outpost being by 300 enemy fighters. He not only stood his ground, he over 100 meters through enemy fire to save a wounded soldier. 100meters, thats longer than a football field. Friend,reached his shouldered him and carried him back. Him back, through and 300 feet of grenades bullets, a man shrunk on his shoulders. Au know here we think its big deal when somebody returns a skin 100 yards for a touchdown. When 11 men are trying to tackle him. Compare that. Sergeant dakota meyer was in southernpatrol afghanistan. He learned that four americans and Afghan Soldiers were cut off. He joined with a fellow marine ambush, just the two of them, bringing his comrades back to safety and knocking down anyone who stood in their way. An afghanwary, interpreter, was quacking down the road with an american officer, when two taliban fighters snuck up on quickly. Et acted he killed the two taliban before they killed his american friends. Taliban marked him for but us was luckier than survived and was reunited with his american friends at Reagan National last october as one of americas newest residents. Disgrace. Ional that anational disgrace traitor like Edward Snowden is a and ty carter, janus chenwaryd are not. Those men are the muscle and iser of a strategy that working. Those men did what some would impossible. Their stories should be told and and over again. Heroes, but our troops as well. Have09, Coalition Forces lost entire sections of the map taliban. Rge ent every day they were attacked, Populated Areas had become pools of enemy activity, the taliban were back. Deadly enemy that would burn their entire country to the aound if it meant keeping woman out of school. The taliban came back, but so did our coalition. When the enemys annual summer in 2012 weicked off were ready for them. They threw everything they had we stopped them cold. The taliban were dug into the ticks. Ke we booted them out. The enemy failed in every regard achieve its military objectives during their last offenses. Here is the tectonic shift that since 2009. The blossoming Afghan National security forces. Or the ansf. Inn i went to afghanistan 2010, i had a long talk with the trainingn charge of Afghanistan Security forces. He told me a story. Sergeant who was training his afghan counterparts four roundso put into their weapons. Knowfghan soldiers didnt what four was. Werewerent dumb, they illiterate. They hadnt had the opportunity that we have to get an education. Education was just one of the infinite problems we faced a new army and a new police force. Instructors expressed outright hopelessness that the afghans would survive contact with the enemy. For what a difference a couple of years makes. That same year i visited we educated 70,000 afghans up to level. Rd grade they know what four is, they now can communicate before better. School books,ir theyre happy with the opportunity to get some education. Ansf has nearly doubled 2009. E, since today 95 of conventional 98 of special operations are done by the ansf. They have nearly 370,000 people uniform. There to beat back an enemy thats smaller, geographically constrained, and still smarting from the clobbering that our gave them. S during the 2013 fighting season lead. Sf took the combat they made gains, they built on those gains, and they secured gains. These guys were taking their not five years ago. Today they are holding onto territory that took a 50nation coalition to win. Ive met with the afghan capable. S, theyre they can take the fight to our shared enemy and theyre ready for that fight. The taliban can attack, but it. s about theyre not trying to capture well defended targets because they cant hold them. Forces haveecurity a numerical edge. The taliban doesnt try to hold onto territory for long periods any more. Because the afghans make it hurt they try. Heres what it all means. Uncertainties we faced in afghanistan are no longer military. Are diplomatic and they are moral. The hard to understate diplomatic excesses of the past several years. In may of 2012, president obama signed adent karzai Strategic Partnership agreement. Nonnatored them a major ally. And the afghans ratified the agreement with both houses of parliament. Also in may of 2012, the community got behind the effort in chicago supportdged to afghanistan through 2017. At a conference, the wider International Community declared its support for a promise ofith 16 billion worth of assistance. Tougher nuts to crack has been pakistan. The no secret that pakistanis and the taliban have some shared history. Need for rose colored glasses here. U. S. ,ons between the pakistan, and afghanistan are a knot. N yet were finally starting to take some progress leads. And afghanistan have both acknowledged that stability countries is symbiotic. Problems in one means problems the other. Relations between the two are refined, that starts with Prime Minister sharif last september. Official state visits are well and good. Watch ig is