Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20130124 : vimarsana.com

Ifill secretary of state Hillary Clinton testified for the first time today about last septembers deadly attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya. Her testimony before senate and house committees was at times tense and even emotional. As i have said many times, i take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the state department and our country safer, stronger and more secure. Ifill from the start, secretary clinton made clear she accepts ultimate blame for security failings before the attack that killed ambassador Christopher Stephens and three other americans. She told a Senate Hearing this morning, its not just about policy, its personal. I stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flagdraped caskets off the plane at andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children. Ifill but sparks flew when Senate Republicans accused the Obama Administration of deceiving the nation by initially suggesting the benghazi attack was something other than terrorism. Senator ron johnson of wisconsin we were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that. And that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact. But could but, you know. And the American People could have known that within days, and they didnt know that. And with all due respect, the fact is we had four dead americans. I understand. Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided theyd go kill some americans . What difference, at this point, does it make . It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. Now, honestly, i will do my best to answer your questions about this. But the fact is that people were trying in real time to get to the best information. Ifill republican john mccain pressed clinton on why u. S. Consular staff evacuated from libya to germany werent questioned sooner. I categorically reject your answer to senator johnson about, well, we didnt ask these survivors, who were flown to ramstein the next day, that they that this was not a spontaneous demonstration. To say that its because an investigation was going on the American People deserve to know answers, and they certainly dont deserve false answers. So here we are, four months later, and we still dont have the basic information. Now, if you want to go out and tell the American People what happened, you should at least have interviewed the people who were there instead of saying, no, we couldnt talk to them because an f. B. I. Investigation was going on. Well, senator, i understand your very strong feelings. You knew chris. You were a friend of chris. You were one of the staunchest supporters of the efforts to dislodge qaddafi and try to give the libyan people a chance. And we just have a disagreement. We have a disagreement about what did happen and when it happened with respect to explaining the sequence of events. We did get to talk to the d. S. Agents when they got back to this country. We did so. It was not before september 15. We had no access to the surveillance cameras for weeks, which helped to answer a number of questions. Ifill the challenges continued later in the day before the House Foreign Affairs committee. Over and over and over again it was repeated that we had enraged the islamic terrorists, which by the way, whats that do . When you say that we enraged the islamic terrorists, thats means were at fault, theyre not at fault. I want to be clear that of course it was a terrorist attack. The very next day i called it an attack by heavily armed militants on our compound. I think there is still however questions about exactly what caused it, who the attackers were. Ifill in the senate, Kentucky Republican rand paul said clinton, who is leaving office shortly, should have been fired first. Im glad that youre accepting responsibility. I think that ultimately, with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9 11. And i really mean that. Had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you of your post. I think its inexcusable. Ifill democrat dick durbin of illinois accused republicans of applying a double standard. I do want to make one point for the record here about whether the American People are told everything right away, in the right way, so that they can be fully informed. And id like to refer to five words for them to reflect on iraqi weapons of mass destruction. We were told by every level of government here there were iraqi weapons of mass destruction that justified a war, the invasion of the United States. We are still searching for those weapons. They didnt exist. Thousands of americans lost their lives. We could have a hearing on that if youd like. Ifill while the benghazi attack was the main focus, secretary clinton also turned her attention to upheaval elsewhere in north africa. Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum. The arab revolutions have scrambled Power Dynamics and shattered Security Forces across the region. Instability in mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we saw just last week in algeria. Ifill in mali, elements of al qaeda in the islamic maghreb, known as a. Q. I. M. , have seized a large swath of territory, prompting france to intervene militarily with air power and ground troops. The u. S. Military is providing transport flights to aid the french, and clinton said other assistance is under consideration. It is a necessary struggle. We cannot permit northern mali to become a safe haven. People say to me all the time, well, a. Q. I. M. Hasnt attacked the United States. Well, before 9 11, 2011, we hadnt been attacked on our homeland since, i guess, the war of 1812 and pearl harbor. So you cant say, well, because they havent done something, theyre not going to do it. This is not only a terrorist syndicate; it is a criminal enterprise. Ifill the secretary also said the recent crisis at a natural gas plant in algeria is more evidence of the growing threat of a. Q. I. M. Islamist militants seized the site last week, and the algerian military struck back. The algerian government says at least 37 foreign hostages were killed, including three americans. Clinton acknowledged many questions remain about that incident. Let me offer our deepest condolences to the families of the americans and all the people from many nations who were killed and injured in that recent hostage crisis. We are in close touch with the government of algeria. We stand ready to provide assistance. We are seeking to gain a fuller understanding of what took place so we can Work Together with algerians and others to prevent such terrorist attacks in the future. Ifill clinton is expected to be back before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow, to introduce her likely successor, senator john kerry. Brown online you can watch some of the more heated exchanges from the hearing, as well as read the full testimony transcript. Still to come on the newshour the emergence of africa for u. S. Policymakers; combat roles for women in the military; the robotic planes known as drones and the way forward for the g. O. P. But first, the other news of the day. Heres hari sreenivasan. Sreenivasan an arctic storm system kept its grip on the midwest and northeast today. Subzero temperatures spanned a large swath of the nation, from the upper midwest into new england, and 15 states were under wind chill warnings. Fierce winds have blown across the great lakes for days, dumping more than a foot of snow on ohio, pennsylvania and new york. The deep freeze is forecast to stick around through the weekend. Marine general john allen is back on track to become Supreme Commander of nato forces in europe. White house officials said today his nomination is no longer on hold. Thats after the pentagon Inspector General cleared allen of any wrongdoing in email exchanges with a tampa, florida woman. Allen steps down as overall Coalition Commander in afghanistan next month. The air forces top general vowed today to put an end to Sexual Misconduct within the service. Figures for 2012 show some 800 reported incidents. Many of the cases stemmed from a scandal at Lackland Air Force base near san antonio. An investigation there found 32 instructors allegedly engaged in Sexual Misconduct with nearly 60 female Service Members. At a house hearing, the air force chief of staff general mark welsh called the numbers appalling. There is no way we can allow this to happen again. The air force goal for Sexual Assault is not simply to lower the number. The goal is zero. Its the only acceptable objective. The impact on every victim, their family, their friends, the other people in their unit is heartwrenching. And attacking this cancer is a fulltime job and we are giving it our full attention. So far, six Training Instructors from lackland have been convicted on charges ranging from adultery to rape. Nine others are facing courts martial. 15 more instructors are still under investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began trying today to form a new governing coalition, after a weakerthanexpected showing in tuesdays elections. Nearfinal totals showed his bloc and its allies had only 60 of 120 seats in parliament. Netanyahu signaled hell reach out to a new centrist party that made a strong showing. It favors a new focus on making peace with the palestinians. This was election day in jordan. Voters cast ballots in the countrys first parliamentary elections since the arab spring. The new legislature will have more power, including the ability to choose the next Prime Minister. Some two Million People were eligible to go to the polls. Turnout estimates varied from a high of 56 to as low as 47 as the day went on. Several Islamist Groups boycotted, saying the election was stacked against them. But the Prime Minister dismissed their actions. translated the weakness of the turnout, if it exists, and i am not saying that, nobody should think that it is because of the boycott. It is not correct. Otherwise anyone would think if there was any hesitation for the elections its because people were neither convinced with past elections nor with the performance of the past parliament. And they are fed up. Sreenivasan European Election observers were stationed across the country. But no major rules violations were reported. A suicide bomber in Northern Iraq killed at least 25 people at a shiite funeral today. Among those hurt were a number of provincial officials who had been attending the service. The bombing today was the latest in a series of recent attacks, amid rising sunnishiite tensions. The suicide of a former pro football star became the focus of a wrongful death lawsuit today, against the National Football league. The family of junior seau claimed his death was the direct result of a brain disease, caused by blows to the head during his playing days. Seau retired in 2009, and committed suicide last may at the age of 43. Posthumous tests showed that he suffered from c. T. E. , a degenerative brain illness. The n. F. L. Already faces scores of suits over player concussions. Notre dame star linebacker manti teo now says he kept saying hed had an online girlfriend, after learning she did not exist. In an interview, teo told Abcs Katie Couric that he thought lennay kekua had died in september. Instead, he said, he found out it was all a hoax, just days before the Heisman Trophy announcement. Katie, put yourself in my situation. This girl, who i committed myself to, died on september 12. Now i get a phone call on december 6, saying that shes alive, and then im going to be put on national tv two days later, and they ask me about the same questions. You know, what would you do . Sreenivasan teo ultimately did not win the heisman, but he did answer questions about his girlfriend, without ever saying thered been a hoax. Today, he insisted he played no part in the hoax. Wall street climbed again today, based partly on strong earnings at google and i. B. M. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained nearly 67 points to close at 13,779. The nasdaq rose ten points to close at 3,153. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to jeff. Brown and we pick up on secretary of state clintons testimony today and issues it raised about benghazi, the growing dangers in africa, and the challenges for u. S foreign policy. The attack on the u. S. Consulate were joined by former u. S. Diplomat Nicholas Burns who served in republican and democratic administrations, hes now with the Kennedy School of government and harvard university. And Danielle Pletka, Vice President for foreign and defense studies at the American Enterprise institute. With you and start with benghazi. Was there more light shed today. Where do things stand in terms of understanding what happened and the response to it . Well, jeffrey, i thought it was a commanding performance by secretary clinton. She was well informed. She was a master of the detail, and all the and she took responsibility, which was the right thing to do. She said that she will implement all the 29 recommendations of the accountability review board. Now, i think the republicans there obviously had a right and i think they had an obligation to ask tough questions because this was a disaster for the American Foreign service to lose four people in one day, including ambassador chris stevens. But i must say just watching it this morning and it went on this afternoon in the house of representatives, there were elements of partisanship that we really dont need any more. Its almost as if weve been transported back to september and october and the president ial campaign, and certainly the remarks will of senator rand paul were ugly. And they were very unwise to accuse secretary clinton of you can pability in the way that he did. I think weve got to move forward, jeffrey. There are two big issues. One is how do we protect our diplomats going forward. And part of that answer is for the state department to learn the lessons of what happened, what went wrong. Part of it is for congress to fully fund embassy security. Congress denied the state department 340 million it needed last year 2000 to fortify our embassies. And the second brown let me stop you there. Let me get Danielle Pletka in. First, what do you think of what unfolded today with secretary clinton . Well, i think nick was right. The secretary has, obviously, got a great command of the facts. Shes a good speaker. Shes authoritative. And she was a member of congress. But it really was a lot of sound and fury sig niifying not very much. She didnt really answer questions about what happened in the runup to the attack, why our response wasnt better, and all of these efforts to direct us to move forward and to learn these lessons really failed to understand that the way we move forward is by acknowledging exactly what went wrong. Just saying i take responsibility is admirable and sounds gutsy but it doesnt really mean youre taking responsibility glowr what about what mick today. Theres been this review. There are many recommendations and what shes saying, since thats the way to move forward is to implement it and learn from what happened. Well, its a very washington perspective. You know, we have our mr. Ribbon commission. The truth is what happened, and the reason this became a scandal is not just because of the absolutely dreadful murder by terrorists of four people serve, their country. It was because the white house and the state department and many others insisted for a full week after the attack that occurred on september 11 that it was the responsibility of a film. And the response to a film, and not a terrorist attack. The American People, not the congress, not the secretary, they deserve answers, and those answers really havent been forth coming and they were not on show today. Brown well, nick burns, respond to that, but also try to move this into the larger picture. The other part of what she was talking about of course today was the other parts of whats unfolding in north africa and how do we move forward . Well, jeffrey, i just say that secretary clinton does have 29 specific recommendations before her by a very serious panel, and shes in the middle of implementing all of them. I think thats the right thing for her to do. And, therefore, i did think she dealt directly with the questions that were asked today. Theres a much larger issue here. And were witnessing the two years into the arab revolutions, and the arab revolutions are entering a new and dangerous phase and were seeing it in north africa in this part of the world with the terrorist attack and00 taking in algeria of last week, with the destabilization of libya, and in some ways, egypt itself. And youre seeing now a radical terrorist group, Hillary Clinton<\/a> testified for the first time today about last septembers deadly attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya. Her testimony before senate and house committees was at times tense and even emotional. As i have said many times, i take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the state department and our country safer, stronger and more secure. Ifill from the start, secretary clinton made clear she accepts ultimate blame for security failings before the attack that killed ambassador Christopher Stephens<\/a> and three other americans. She told a Senate Hearing<\/a> this morning, its not just about policy, its personal. I stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flagdraped caskets off the plane at andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children. Ifill but sparks flew when Senate Republicans<\/a> accused the Obama Administration<\/a> of deceiving the nation by initially suggesting the benghazi attack was something other than terrorism. Senator ron johnson of wisconsin we were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that. And that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact. But could but, you know. And the American People<\/a> could have known that within days, and they didnt know that. And with all due respect, the fact is we had four dead americans. I understand. Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided theyd go kill some americans . What difference, at this point, does it make . It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. Now, honestly, i will do my best to answer your questions about this. But the fact is that people were trying in real time to get to the best information. Ifill republican john mccain pressed clinton on why u. S. Consular staff evacuated from libya to germany werent questioned sooner. I categorically reject your answer to senator johnson about, well, we didnt ask these survivors, who were flown to ramstein the next day, that they that this was not a spontaneous demonstration. To say that its because an investigation was going on the American People<\/a> deserve to know answers, and they certainly dont deserve false answers. So here we are, four months later, and we still dont have the basic information. Now, if you want to go out and tell the American People<\/a> what happened, you should at least have interviewed the people who were there instead of saying, no, we couldnt talk to them because an f. B. I. Investigation was going on. Well, senator, i understand your very strong feelings. You knew chris. You were a friend of chris. You were one of the staunchest supporters of the efforts to dislodge qaddafi and try to give the libyan people a chance. And we just have a disagreement. We have a disagreement about what did happen and when it happened with respect to explaining the sequence of events. We did get to talk to the d. S. Agents when they got back to this country. We did so. It was not before september 15. We had no access to the surveillance cameras for weeks, which helped to answer a number of questions. Ifill the challenges continued later in the day before the House Foreign Affairs<\/a> committee. Over and over and over again it was repeated that we had enraged the islamic terrorists, which by the way, whats that do . When you say that we enraged the islamic terrorists, thats means were at fault, theyre not at fault. I want to be clear that of course it was a terrorist attack. The very next day i called it an attack by heavily armed militants on our compound. I think there is still however questions about exactly what caused it, who the attackers were. Ifill in the senate, Kentucky Republican<\/a> rand paul said clinton, who is leaving office shortly, should have been fired first. Im glad that youre accepting responsibility. I think that ultimately, with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9 11. And i really mean that. Had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you of your post. I think its inexcusable. Ifill democrat dick durbin of illinois accused republicans of applying a double standard. I do want to make one point for the record here about whether the American People<\/a> are told everything right away, in the right way, so that they can be fully informed. And id like to refer to five words for them to reflect on iraqi weapons of mass destruction. We were told by every level of government here there were iraqi weapons of mass destruction that justified a war, the invasion of the United States<\/a>. We are still searching for those weapons. They didnt exist. Thousands of americans lost their lives. We could have a hearing on that if youd like. Ifill while the benghazi attack was the main focus, secretary clinton also turned her attention to upheaval elsewhere in north africa. Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum. The arab revolutions have scrambled Power Dynamics<\/a> and shattered Security Forces<\/a> across the region. Instability in mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we saw just last week in algeria. Ifill in mali, elements of al qaeda in the islamic maghreb, known as a. Q. I. M. , have seized a large swath of territory, prompting france to intervene militarily with air power and ground troops. The u. S. Military is providing transport flights to aid the french, and clinton said other assistance is under consideration. It is a necessary struggle. We cannot permit northern mali to become a safe haven. People say to me all the time, well, a. Q. I. M. Hasnt attacked the United States<\/a>. Well, before 9 11, 2011, we hadnt been attacked on our homeland since, i guess, the war of 1812 and pearl harbor. So you cant say, well, because they havent done something, theyre not going to do it. This is not only a terrorist syndicate; it is a criminal enterprise. Ifill the secretary also said the recent crisis at a natural gas plant in algeria is more evidence of the growing threat of a. Q. I. M. Islamist militants seized the site last week, and the algerian military struck back. The algerian government says at least 37 foreign hostages were killed, including three americans. Clinton acknowledged many questions remain about that incident. Let me offer our deepest condolences to the families of the americans and all the people from many nations who were killed and injured in that recent hostage crisis. We are in close touch with the government of algeria. We stand ready to provide assistance. We are seeking to gain a fuller understanding of what took place so we can Work Together<\/a> with algerians and others to prevent such terrorist attacks in the future. Ifill clinton is expected to be back before the Senate Foreign<\/a> Relations Committee<\/a> tomorrow, to introduce her likely successor, senator john kerry. Brown online you can watch some of the more heated exchanges from the hearing, as well as read the full testimony transcript. Still to come on the newshour the emergence of africa for u. S. Policymakers; combat roles for women in the military; the robotic planes known as drones and the way forward for the g. O. P. But first, the other news of the day. Heres hari sreenivasan. Sreenivasan an arctic storm system kept its grip on the midwest and northeast today. Subzero temperatures spanned a large swath of the nation, from the upper midwest into new england, and 15 states were under wind chill warnings. Fierce winds have blown across the great lakes for days, dumping more than a foot of snow on ohio, pennsylvania and new york. The deep freeze is forecast to stick around through the weekend. Marine general john allen is back on track to become Supreme Commander<\/a> of nato forces in europe. White house officials said today his nomination is no longer on hold. Thats after the pentagon Inspector General<\/a> cleared allen of any wrongdoing in email exchanges with a tampa, florida woman. Allen steps down as overall Coalition Commander<\/a> in afghanistan next month. The air forces top general vowed today to put an end to Sexual Misconduct<\/a> within the service. Figures for 2012 show some 800 reported incidents. Many of the cases stemmed from a scandal at Lackland Air Force<\/a> base near san antonio. An investigation there found 32 instructors allegedly engaged in Sexual Misconduct<\/a> with nearly 60 female Service Members<\/a>. At a house hearing, the air force chief of staff general mark welsh called the numbers appalling. There is no way we can allow this to happen again. The air force goal for Sexual Assault<\/a> is not simply to lower the number. The goal is zero. Its the only acceptable objective. The impact on every victim, their family, their friends, the other people in their unit is heartwrenching. And attacking this cancer is a fulltime job and we are giving it our full attention. So far, six Training Instructors<\/a> from lackland have been convicted on charges ranging from adultery to rape. Nine others are facing courts martial. 15 more instructors are still under investigation. Israeli Prime Minister<\/a> Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> began trying today to form a new governing coalition, after a weakerthanexpected showing in tuesdays elections. Nearfinal totals showed his bloc and its allies had only 60 of 120 seats in parliament. Netanyahu signaled hell reach out to a new centrist party that made a strong showing. It favors a new focus on making peace with the palestinians. This was election day in jordan. Voters cast ballots in the countrys first parliamentary elections since the arab spring. The new legislature will have more power, including the ability to choose the next Prime Minister<\/a>. Some two Million People<\/a> were eligible to go to the polls. Turnout estimates varied from a high of 56 to as low as 47 as the day went on. Several Islamist Groups<\/a> boycotted, saying the election was stacked against them. But the Prime Minister<\/a> dismissed their actions. translated the weakness of the turnout, if it exists, and i am not saying that, nobody should think that it is because of the boycott. It is not correct. Otherwise anyone would think if there was any hesitation for the elections its because people were neither convinced with past elections nor with the performance of the past parliament. And they are fed up. Sreenivasan European Election<\/a> observers were stationed across the country. But no major rules violations were reported. A suicide bomber in Northern Iraq<\/a> killed at least 25 people at a shiite funeral today. Among those hurt were a number of provincial officials who had been attending the service. The bombing today was the latest in a series of recent attacks, amid rising sunnishiite tensions. The suicide of a former pro football star became the focus of a wrongful death lawsuit today, against the National Football<\/a> league. The family of junior seau claimed his death was the direct result of a brain disease, caused by blows to the head during his playing days. Seau retired in 2009, and committed suicide last may at the age of 43. Posthumous tests showed that he suffered from c. T. E. , a degenerative brain illness. The n. F. L. Already faces scores of suits over player concussions. Notre dame star linebacker manti teo now says he kept saying hed had an online girlfriend, after learning she did not exist. In an interview, teo told Abcs Katie Couric<\/a> that he thought lennay kekua had died in september. Instead, he said, he found out it was all a hoax, just days before the Heisman Trophy<\/a> announcement. Katie, put yourself in my situation. This girl, who i committed myself to, died on september 12. Now i get a phone call on december 6, saying that shes alive, and then im going to be put on national tv two days later, and they ask me about the same questions. You know, what would you do . Sreenivasan teo ultimately did not win the heisman, but he did answer questions about his girlfriend, without ever saying thered been a hoax. Today, he insisted he played no part in the hoax. Wall street climbed again today, based partly on strong earnings at google and i. B. M. The Dow Jones Industrial<\/a> average gained nearly 67 points to close at 13,779. The nasdaq rose ten points to close at 3,153. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to jeff. Brown and we pick up on secretary of state clintons testimony today and issues it raised about benghazi, the growing dangers in africa, and the challenges for u. S foreign policy. The attack on the u. S. Consulate were joined by former u. S. Diplomat Nicholas Burns<\/a> who served in republican and democratic administrations, hes now with the Kennedy School<\/a> of government and harvard university. And Danielle Pletka<\/a>, Vice President<\/a> for foreign and defense studies at the American Enterprise<\/a> institute. With you and start with benghazi. Was there more light shed today. Where do things stand in terms of understanding what happened and the response to it . Well, jeffrey, i thought it was a commanding performance by secretary clinton. She was well informed. She was a master of the detail, and all the and she took responsibility, which was the right thing to do. She said that she will implement all the 29 recommendations of the accountability review board. Now, i think the republicans there obviously had a right and i think they had an obligation to ask tough questions because this was a disaster for the American Foreign<\/a> service to lose four people in one day, including ambassador chris stevens. But i must say just watching it this morning and it went on this afternoon in the house of representatives, there were elements of partisanship that we really dont need any more. Its almost as if weve been transported back to september and october and the president ial campaign, and certainly the remarks will of senator rand paul were ugly. And they were very unwise to accuse secretary clinton of you can pability in the way that he did. I think weve got to move forward, jeffrey. There are two big issues. One is how do we protect our diplomats going forward. And part of that answer is for the state department to learn the lessons of what happened, what went wrong. Part of it is for congress to fully fund embassy security. Congress denied the state department 340 million it needed last year 2000 to fortify our embassies. And the second brown let me stop you there. Let me get Danielle Pletka<\/a> in. First, what do you think of what unfolded today with secretary clinton . Well, i think nick was right. The secretary has, obviously, got a great command of the facts. Shes a good speaker. Shes authoritative. And she was a member of congress. But it really was a lot of sound and fury sig niifying not very much. She didnt really answer questions about what happened in the runup to the attack, why our response wasnt better, and all of these efforts to direct us to move forward and to learn these lessons really failed to understand that the way we move forward is by acknowledging exactly what went wrong. Just saying i take responsibility is admirable and sounds gutsy but it doesnt really mean youre taking responsibility glowr what about what mick today. Theres been this review. There are many recommendations and what shes saying, since thats the way to move forward is to implement it and learn from what happened. Well, its a very washington perspective. You know, we have our mr. Ribbon commission. The truth is what happened, and the reason this became a scandal is not just because of the absolutely dreadful murder by terrorists of four people serve, their country. It was because the white house and the state department and many others insisted for a full week after the attack that occurred on september 11 that it was the responsibility of a film. And the response to a film, and not a terrorist attack. The American People<\/a>, not the congress, not the secretary, they deserve answers, and those answers really havent been forth coming and they were not on show today. Brown well, nick burns, respond to that, but also try to move this into the larger picture. The other part of what she was talking about of course today was the other parts of whats unfolding in north africa and how do we move forward . Well, jeffrey, i just say that secretary clinton does have 29 specific recommendations before her by a very serious panel, and shes in the middle of implementing all of them. I think thats the right thing for her to do. And, therefore, i did think she dealt directly with the questions that were asked today. Theres a much larger issue here. And were witnessing the two years into the arab revolutions, and the arab revolutions are entering a new and dangerous phase and were seeing it in north africa in this part of the world with the terrorist attack and00 taking in algeria of last week, with the destabilization of libya, and in some ways, egypt itself. And youre seeing now a radical terrorist group, Islamic Terrorist Group<\/a> taking over the northern part of mali. This has consequences of the entire region, which extends from mortanya, mali, the southern parts of libya and tunisia and algeria. Its very important for american interests that we respond to this and go after those terrorists. And thank goodness for the french who have now taken up the lead with a lot of countries supporting them, by the way, to try to stop this greep grooup. Its very important that we meet this challenge. Brown so Danielle Pletka<\/a>, does your critique of benghazi extend to what is unfolding now when you see the administration responding or not responding . Not responding is the answer. I think benghazi was merely a symptom of a larger policy of retreat, of unwillingness to deal with the challenges that were facing from al qaeda. Because its not just in the mag reb. Its not just in libya and male and algeria. Its in yemen, its in sinai. Its in iraq. Its of course in brown in what ways do you see us rings, specifically in the north africa . I think its nice that nick said we should thank the french, and absolute the french have interests in mali as well. Apparently the administration is really struggling right now how much support to provide to the french, not on the ground but the question of refueling their flights. If were not willing to do that it begs the question of howing whether we will be to step up to the challenge in the mag reb. Brown you see a pullback . I think it is the signal we got from the president and in libya. The subcontracting of arming the forces in libya that were fiels the gaddafi to gulf countries meant that arms flowed not to people who we chose, not to people who nato chose but to people who were chosen by gulf countries. Thats one of the reasons we have this terrible blowback. Brown nick burns, thats larger question and were at the beginningave new administration, we heard the inaugural speech the other day, do you see the administration somehow pulling back from the easiests, particularly in africa . No, i dont at all. I think thats unfair criticism. First, the president has appointed both senator john kerry and chuck hagel, internationalists, capable people who really know what theyre talking about. Second, the administration began lifting by c17 aircraft french soldier swoz maulo monday. Were providing logistical and intelligence support. And third the administration i think has done very well in engaging egypt. And as we talk, jeffrey, about the stability of the middle east, egypt is the Keystone Country<\/a> and a lot is going wrong in egypt but a lot is going right. Elected government has kept the peace agreements, the camp david accords with israel and has a working relationship with the United States<\/a>. Im worried about a lot of these trends in the middle east we havent even talked about the civil war . Syria but i do think the administration is focused on this. The president has a working relationship with president mohammed morsi. Israel has to meet a lot of these tests. Theyll need american support. And i think we are seeing an engaged, sophisticate administration at work. Brown all this, of course, Danielle Pletka<\/a>, goes to the sort of continuing fallout from the arab spring. All of these countries that nick burns just talked about and the management of that. And thats reality challenge. I mean, these are the questions. You know all of these sort of bureaucratic ideals hes had a relationship, were maintaining this, we had a panel, were following recommendations this is really about the National Security<\/a> of the United States<\/a> and support for our allies in the region. And theyre looking to us and what they are seeing is not, gee, we have a great relationship with these people. Theyre seeing that were not engaged on the most pressing issues that are of importance to them, whether its the Iranian Nuclear<\/a> problem, it is the spillover from what is happening in syria. Its 80,000 people dead in syria. We have genuine threats that were facing and were not managing it by having a good diplomatic relationship with these people. We are not dealing with it. And we are going to pay. Brown Danielle Pletka<\/a> and Nicholas Burns<\/a>, thank you both very much. Thank you. Ifill now, two stories about the military. The pentagon confirmed today that defense secretary leon panetta has decided to lift the Armed Services<\/a> ban on woman serving in combat. That announcement, which will come tomorrow, could open up thousands of frontline jobs to women and it reverses a 1994 policy that kept women out of those positions. For more on what would be an historic change, im joined by James Kitfield<\/a> of the National Journal<\/a>. What has been has this been in the works for a while, james. A couple of years inge within last year, they opened up 14,000 additional jobs. So theyve been thinking about this. You know, wars are great levelers. Anyone who spent time in iraq or afghanistan knows that women are on the tip of the spear. There are no front lines in these counterinsurgency wars. If youre a logistic battalion that has women in it, and during the iraq invasion there was one that got captured that had women in it. There was artillery battalions led by female colonels during the invasion. Those artillery units ended up being foot patrols ifill it sounds like youre saying this is a difference without a distinction. Im saying wars have a way of making some of these distinctions meaningless. Women have been in combat, quite honestly. And men have seen they can hold up their own, and women hoput their lives on the line, in some cases more than 100 have paid the ultimate sacrifice, women are not willing to go through that and say, youre not allowed this promotion because you cant be in a combat unit. Hey, ive been in combat the last few years. The irfairness comes to the fore. Ifill there is a loophole, allowing individual services to decide where it makes sense and where it doesnt. There must be place wheres the parameters of debate are based on what women can and where they cannot be. I think thats true, and i think by defaulting to no ban at all it was probably pretty clever on his part because he knows there are going to be some exceptions carved out. The services have three years to do it. Think special forces, the guys who knock down the doors and shoot people. There are a lot of strength issues and that kind of thing involved in that. I would think that wouldnt most obvious place. The marine corps may have a slightly more difficult time than the army because it has the ethos of a few good men. But in general, hes saying you have to you know, the oans is on you to tell me why they cant serve here, prove to me they cant do this job rather than the way it was where women had to say, well, i should be able to do this job. I have strength. I have stamina. So i think the onus is now on the services to really think hard about where you can justify not having limits. Ifill assume for a moment the draft was to be reinstated. Does that change peopleee minds about the number of women who are affected. Right now its voluntary. But that would be different, wouldnt it . Of course there would. Its not going to happen politically. If of but if there was a draft, clearly if the military opened up all those roles to women, you would think the draft would include women. Ifill heres the other question, today we . Aw testimony on capitol hill, that the air force admitted there has been a great rise in the number of Sexual Assault<\/a>s, at least in some training bases. Is this something what has been part of the concern as well . It is. I was at lackland and i covered that story. The military has a huge sexual abuse problem. 19,000 Service Members<\/a> each year report theyre victims of sexual abuse and they had a very hard time getting their hand around it. You heard the testimony today called a cancer. Secretary panetta has called it an invisible cancer, an invisible epidemic. This is not unlike what we saw in the persian gulf war, women served in combat, some died, and there was the tail hook scandal, and this is an allmale, testosteronedriven ethos, and we are going to open up other positions to women. I suspect secretary panetta in thinking about this had two data point. One is hes got the sexual abuse problem pain lot of them disproportionately toward women, these attacks. And he thinks the ethos of the services may be somewhat the cause of that. Secondly, he looks at gays in the military. Theyve gone through a decade of dont ask, dont tell. Lifted the ban on gays openly serving in the military and the response from the rank and file was a collective shrug. I dont think they care anymore. They understand after a decade of war, these people are watching each others backs. There is not going to be a huge amount of blowback from the rank and file. They know these things are not important. What is important can these people have my back in a war zone . Theyve prove than they can. The rest of it kind of goes away. Ifill does that mean as secretary panetta leaves and goes back to the walnut farm as he describes is, does this mean he leaves a legacy opening up the armed forces. Hes probably thinks this is a legacy burning move ifill gays in the military, women in the military. The trend lines are clear on both of those social barriers. Again, a deckated of war has made things possible that are not possible before and i think theyre capitalizing on them. Ifill is there any way to quantify how many women will be affected by the lifting of this ban. Its hard to say. We dont know the services they will cut out that women can serve in. If you take out special forces, the very tip of the spear, you could open up hundreds of thousands of jobs to women in Ground Combat<\/a> units. And all the major 10 divisions in the army who do Ground Combat<\/a> theres no reason to say women cant serve in those. Ifill there has been just a few hours but has there been pushback from members will of the military or capitol hill joint chiefs support this. There will be some pushback from the hill. The question is how much . My reading of it is the momentum is clearly with those who would open up these jobs to women. I think it will be a rear guard action of a few really social conservatives saying women are not suited for these things but i dont expect it will get in the way of implementing this policy. Ifill James Kitfield<\/a> of National Journal<\/a> thanks a lot. Brown and to our second story about the military the turn to drone warfare in the hunt for terrorists. Tonights edition of nova explores this sophisticated technology, its uses and the controversy its stirred. This excerpt shows a u. S. Military Training Exercise<\/a> for those charged with directing drones to track and hit their targets. Training mission offers a rare glimpse into the mechanics of how the u. S. Use drones to support troops and prosecute its war on terror. The goal is to make it as realistic as possible so pilots can avoid mistakes when in battle. They should be check here, probably in the next 20 minutes or so. Its going to be an f29 reaper. Check. 25,000 feet, where they generally work, were not going to be able to see them at all troarpt tbaiks half an hour to reach the mock village. Drones like the reaper can fly on their own using autopilot and preset g. P. S. Locations. But the air force still keeps human hands on the controls at all times. People have this concept of either its a manned plane and the pilots doing everything on, or its an unmanned plane and its something out of the terminator movies. The reality is its in the middle right now for both the manned and the unmanned planes. Our mind tries to put it nerms of robot or human . But the reality is a mix. Reporter as chad pilots the reaper, his sensor operator, jay, controls the cameras and lasers. On the ground, the fake insurgents enter the village as the reaper hovers miles booch. 20, say status. We have eyes on the target. Reporter chad gets direction from the soldier, whose handheld receiver and computer allow him to see what chad sees. Chads call sign is bones. The soldier goes by really. Really, bones, we have two moving around inside the northwest corner of the compound. Reporter the soldier directs chad and jay to follow an hvi, or highvalue individual, dressed in black. Looks like the one individual wearing black is now getting on the motorcycle and departing the group. Reporter depending on the situation, the decision to kill comes from an Intelligence Officer<\/a> who could be anywhere, a battle commander on the ground, or sometimes the pilot. Brown since the Obama Administration<\/a> came to power four years ago, the United States<\/a> has vastly increased the number of drone strikes against suspected terrorists just today, reuters reported that six suspected al qaeda militants were killed in yemen. But their use has been highly controversial, on a number of levels and we move to that debate now, with seth jones, who worked for the commander of u. S. Special forces in afghanistan from 2009 to 2011 and is now a senior political scientist at the rand corporation. And chris anders, Senior Legislative Council<\/a> at the American Civil Liberties<\/a> union. The a. C. L. U. Has filed lawsuits against the government challenging the legal basis for the Drone Program<\/a>. Welcome to both of you. I want to start, seth, with the effectiveness question. How effective are drones strikes . I think on the one hand, drones have been effective in taking off the battle field several individuals that have been actively involved in plotting attacks against the u. S. Homeland. All of them plotting active attacks and the drone strikes severely disrupted those attacks. I would also say, though, that they are not sufficient. Strikes in and of themselves dont hold territory. They dont deal with the root causes of terrorism. So one should never argue or it would be incorrect to argue that they are sufficient to ending how terrorist dwriewps operate orinding terrorism. Brown do you dispute the effectiveness in taking out some of the top leaders . The truth is that no one really knows exactly whats going on with their effectiveness or not because this is a program that has been wrapped in secrecy. Every aspect of this program is secret, so secret, in fact, even members of Senate Intelligence<\/a> exphity, theyre supposed to be overseeing this program, are not able to see even the legal justification for the program. What we do know is that there have been over 300 strikes. There drone strikes. There are over 3,000 people who have died. Most are far from any traditional battle field. So we can point to some people that the administration has selectively leaked as successes, but what we dont know are the failures. Brown and one of the questions among those killed of course has the number of civilians, the unintended casualties. How much do we been that . Well, the data is not really that good on civilian casualties. It would be helpful to get a more transparent assessment of civilian approaches. I have talked tie range of human rights organizations in pakistans tribal areas who have argued from their perspective on the ground, civilian casualties are rather minimal. But other than some sporadic conversations ive had with people in the tribal areas, i think the data we have publicly is limited. Brown what does your data show, or people you talk to show . Two things. One is tomorrow the United Nations<\/a> is going to announce its appointing a special investigator into civilian deaths by drones, and through this targeted killing program. So we should be able to get some of the real facts through this u. N. Investigation. Its ridiculous that the United States<\/a> itself hasnt conducted this kind of investigation. Of or disclose its results. But that investigation will be done by the u. N. The second thing is general mcchrystal just earlier this month talks of talked about the Drone Program<\/a> and how how th the the attacks on civilians and the civilian casualties are cause, what he calls a vis viseral reaction of hatred in the affected countries, the very people were trying to win over to our side. Brown thats been one of the issues of course, is are we make more enemies than killing enemies by doing this . Well, my experience in particular in pakistan where most of these have happened is most pack takens are upset not that drones are being used but more apset that the Pakistan Government<\/a> isnt using them. Theyre upset that the u. S. Is doing them in pakistans territory. That is often more of the issue than the drones themselves. Brown you dont see it as creating, you know, unintended blowback because of i think thats the argument is that these drone attacks create a kind of unintended consequence of more people angry at us. I think there always is a danger of overusing them. Again, i think there have been several cases, ones im aware of which have disrupted people active involved in plotting. But i would also say why pack takens, for example are, unhappy with the americans. Its complicated. There are a raifnl of factors. Its not just drones. There have been a range of issues including the raid against bin laden that did so. Announcer is there evidence of more direct evidence that there is that kind of blowback that you think is happening . Well look i spend a lot of time lobbying congress and members of the hous house and se Armed Services<\/a> committee. There is a lot of worries there, especially about the c. I. A. Program and the possibility of repercussions and reprisals against american soldiers in these parts of the world and also the c. I. A. In particular pulling the United States<\/a> into conflicts that will be very difficult to get out of. Thats why, especially as you start looking into places like north africa, mali, mauritania, some other places now being discussed as possible other places for drones to be used. Theres a lot of worry in the military about whether we get sucked into that through drones and kind of easy, addictive tool, whether its going to end up costing the United States<\/a> a possible, you know, yearslong, decadelong conflict there. Brown whats the nut of the legal issue, want legal case against the use of drones . Well, the question every country has a right to defend itself. And defend itself against imminent, concrete, specific attacks that could cause death. Even if those are away from the battlefield. But what we dont know here is exactly how these rules are being applied. Now we know that the Washington Post<\/a> just reported over the weekend that theres a secret playbook thats being developed by the Obama Administration<\/a>, but from that playbook, the c. I. A. Program in pakistan, which is the biggest player in this whole thing, is entirely exempt. So you have a secret playbook on what the rules are, but the rules dont apply to the biggest player. To say we follow the rule of law, when we dont even know what the rules are, and the rules dont apply to the biggest player is a little bit of a joke, i guess. Brown what do you think about the legal issue here . Well, the legal issue in part hinges on the 2001 thanks, of the use of military force. Its worth noting both republican and democrat attorneys general since the Bush Administration<\/a> into the Obama Administration<\/a> have argued that it is legal in terms of selfdefense purposes to target individuals actively threatening the United States<\/a>. And brown in other countries. In other countries. Brown without declared wars. Yes well, thats part of the issue here. We have an ongoing conflict with a terrorist organization that has declared jihad or war against the United States<\/a>. What we dont know is we dont know to what extent this administration is relying on the 2001 report or nothing at all. The legal opinion drafted by the Justice Department<\/a> now a couple of years ago has been so tightly held, that even senator widen, the number three Ranking Member<\/a> of the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee which is supposed to have oversight is not allowed to see the opinion. And then the courts themselves are is not applying due process. Theyve declined to take want cases, the challenges to the program. So it means that there is a completely its checks and balances that it should be applying dont apply here. We dont have the courts having oversight and we basically have the committees. Theyre supposed to have oversight over this program be denied basic information on what the laws is. Brown the other question that comes up, what happens as other countries get this technology and use it against our allies and potentially against us and try to make the same legal case . Well, look, i think as we saw with nuclear plif raitionz, that at some point, the u. S. Has to spearhead an effort to begin to establish legal norms for the use of this, like the nonproliferation treat they dealt with nuclear weapons. At some point, sooner rather than later, the europeans have capabilities. The indians. The chinese. At some point we have to get a better ham on International Legal<\/a> limitations to this. Brown seth jones, chris anders, thank you very much. And theres more on our website, where you can read a background report from the council on Foreign Relations<\/a> on drones and targeted killings. Plus we have a link to pro publicas reporting on what we know and dont know about the unmanned planes. Ifill on monday, the president laid out his agenda for his second term in office. Today, House Republicans<\/a> took their first step to position themselves for a series of upcoming fiscal battles. On the house floor today, Speaker John Boehner<\/a> called the republican bill, pretty simple. It says there should be no long term increase in the debt limit until theres a Long Term Plan<\/a> to deal with the fiscal crisis that faces our country. Ifill today, the house opted for short term, temporarily lifting the debt ceiling until may 19, then resetting the cap to cover any borrowing over the current limit 16. 4 trillion. And for now, republicans will not force immediate spending cuts. The partys new strategy would achieve that goal by forcing congress to pass a budget. House Budget Committee<\/a> chair and last years Vice President<\/a> ial nominee paul ryan. Heres the point, we have a law, its called the budget act, it requires that Congress Passes<\/a> a budget by april 15. All were saying is, congress, follow the law, do your work, budget. And the reason for this extension is so we can have the debate we need to have. Ifill as added incentive, the house bill says, if there is no budget, then lawmakers wont get paid. After it passed today by a bipartisan vote of 285 to 144, Speaker Boehner<\/a> said hes optimistic that will happen. If both chambers have a budget. Democrat budget from the senate, republican from the house now youve got competing visions, for how we address this problem. Out of those competing visions, were going to find some common ground. Ifill but House Minority<\/a> leader nancy pelosi said linking the budget to congressional pay was a ploy, and 11 House Democrats<\/a> ended up opposing it. This linkage is a gimmick, is a joke. Its not right. Its designed to put people on the spot and say either you get dont get paid and in order to get paid, for member of congress to get paid, you must cut benefits for seniors, and their medicare guarantee, medicaid and the rest. Ifill ultimately, the House Republican<\/a> measure is aimed at the democratic controlled senate, which hasnt debated a budget since 2009. But unlike pelosi, Senate Democrats<\/a> said they would support the house bill, which they claimed as a victory president obama has consistently said hed refuse to negotiate around the debt ceiling. His strategy is vindicated now that the republicans have backed off their threats to take the nation into a default. The president stared down the republicans. They blinked. Ifill Congress Still<\/a> faces other fiscal fights. Automatic spending cuts are due to kick in on march first, and funding for the government runs out march 27. So, can the Republican Party<\/a> use fiscal issues to regain its footing . For more on the political fights ahead we turn to susan page, Washington Bureau<\/a> chief for u. S. A. Today. And Stuart Rothenberg<\/a> of the rothenberg political report and roll call. Chuck schumer just said the republicans brinked. Did they blink, susan, and does it matter if they did . I think a big recalbraigz on their part. They find themselves on the defensive when it comes to the debt ceiling issue. Remember how they vowed they would only raise the debt ceiling by a dollar for every dollar cut in spending. Now they said never mind. Well push that down the road. The big fight will be on the sweeping spending cuts that go into effect march 1 and on the government funding that runs out on march 27. March is going to be the month to watch, and its a month that could end in a Government Shutdown<\/a>. Ifill is it the kind of fight the republicans want to have to redefine themselveses . I think they do. Gwen, i think you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. Yes, the republicans folded on this wise wisely. Finally, i think they got some smart on this. You have to pick your fights. They need a breather now. Theyve been on the defense for a year on tax cuts for millionaires, on toughness, shutting down the government, theyre not going to compromise. They need to recalbright here, a reset button needs to be pushed and it seems like in every aspect of government. And fight on future spending, not on obligations already incur. Ifill in the inaugural address this week, we saw the president lay out his gold for what he wants the next four years or the next year at least to be. What is the republican counter to that . I think the republicans have recalbrighted their tactics but not their end goals. Theyre in favor of cutting spending without new revenues. Paul ryan this morning said no new revenues. The president has gotten all the revenues he will get. They have doubled down on spending cuts. They say they have a plan that will balance the federal budget in 10 years. You can only do that without revenues if you have really devastating cuts on all kinds of domestic programs and well see if theyre willing to deliver on that. Ifill one democrat today and republican paul ryan used the same term today about whats happening when is theyre buying time. I think thats right. You know, this is about positioning and symbolism and messaging. I think susans exactly right. Its not that the republicans are changing their principles here. Its that theyve decided they have lost these arguments because of the way they are making their case or not making it and theyve been outwitted by the dems. What thipt to talk about the next six months is deficits, debt, spending. And i think this gives themselves a chance to do that. Ifill but the possibility of sequestration, these unpopular croos the board tax cuts, i mean, spending cuts, or a Government Shutdown<\/a> looming i think the term that the democrat dick durbin used was confrontation fatigue. Do they run the risk of confrontation fatigue . I think some of the republicans danot have confrontation fatigue. I think it energizes them. This is a really conservative group, especially in the house they relish confrontation. If youre looking for places where theyre modifying their position, on immigration, yes, i think so. We could see a deal there that we have been unable to reach in this town for a decade. I think were in for a period of pitched warfare like the one weve had over the past year. I think for the republicans, you know, they have their own fights but its not over principal. Its not about where they want the country to go. Its over strategy and tactics. You have the folks at the club for growth and the n. A. Tax people and they want to dig in. I think republicans now realize eye dont know if they can carry the day on this but i think they now realize a smile, a lighter touch, talking about compromise, but staying tough to principle, repositioning themselves that could do a world of wonder. I think they just need a break now. I think they need the focus to be on the white house, the president and the democrats. Ifill what theyre counting on then youre saying not that the vision will change but the implementation will be so unpopular for the white house they will then be able to regain their footin footing there that . In fact, the country is very concerned about spending. Theyre concerned about these huge deficits and debt. Thats an argument that maybe republicans can get some traction on. I thought this was a good day for john boehner who has had a lot of bad days in leading the house. This was a crase where they had a retreat last weekend. People who were there said it was a very som bell retreat and they agreed to back the speaker. That wouldnt seem remarkable except in the past sometimes they have not been willing to do that. Ifill heres i guess the big question, when they say they want to reach across the aisle, when they say they want to talk to democrats, they want to engage, is that real . And is it even necessary . Well, i think i think they want to engage as a way as part of the process of achieving their ends. You know, this day andig, everybody says lets sit and talk. At the end of the day, wield talk and you agree with me and move on to the next subject and you can agree with me as well. Thats the way both parties operate. I think the democrats did it much better the last year. The democrats will got a lot of mileage about attacking the republicans for not compromising, and yet most members of the congress, democratic members, seem willing to go over the fiscal cliff to get what they wanted. At the end it was the white house was unwilling to do that but a lot of people on the hill democrats happy to go over the edge. Heres one possibility for the republicans. Did president obama overreach in his inaugural address . I think that was just about the most liberal, or progressive message ive heard him deliver in two terms na term and two elections and a term in the white house. Including talking about Climate Change<\/a>. Which is going to be a very tough battle. And i think some republicans think he did overreach that he now knows he doesnt have to run for another election this is something weve seen affect other secondterm president s. That might be a bit of an opening for the g. O. P. Ifill what i hear is democrats will saying here are these great sweeping things we can accomplish now and republicans saying here are these incremental accomplishments, notches we can get on our belt month after month after month, kind of a slog. I think youre right. I think the president is emboldened and well see whether he will overreach. The problem for the republicans is strategically and tactically they have been outsmart by democrats for an extended period here. And although they now have a breather, a chance to reset and reposition and begin with a new strategy, the democrats are not going to sit quietly and allow themselves to be rolled, the either. Somehow theyve always been able to be over the last couple of years a step ahead of the republicans. Ifill you mentioned strategy, its not its not its all going to be fiscal policy. Its not going to be Climate Change<\/a> necessarily or immigration or is it . I think these next three months are going to be all about fiscal policy by necessity. But i think immigration is going to get an early start. Well see what the state of the union graes, but i think the expectation is it will be immigration. Ifill that will be the next big fight. Thank you both very much. Susan page of usa today, Stuart Rothenberg<\/a>, political report. Brown again, the other major developments of the day secretary of state Hillary Clinton<\/a> told congress she takes responsibility for security failings before a deadly attack on u. S. Diplomats in libya. But she rejected republican claims that the administration misled the country about the incident. The pentagon confirmed that defense secretary leon panetta has decided to lift the militarys longstanding ban on woman serving in combat. And the bitter cold thats gripped the upper midwest, spread into new england, bringing subzero readings and wind chill warnings. And its called the dismal science, but online the economics jokes are flying. Hari sreenivasan explains. Sreenivasan weve featured the standup economist yoram bauman on the newshour before. You can watch his new routine, hyperinflation in hell, on our making sense page. And security at mondays inauguration was a major undertaking by some 50 agencies. On art beat, jeff talks to best selling author brad meltzer, whose novel the fifth assassin draws on some of the reallife issues involved in protecting a president s life. Plus, an online event not to miss tomorrow. Ill moderate a discussion with Vice President<\/a> biden and others on president obamas proposals to reduce gun violence. The conversation will be a googleplus hangout at 1 45 p. M. Eastern time. You can watch it on our site live and if you have questions for the Vice President<\/a> , you can find a link for submitting them by visiting newshour. Pbs. Org. Gwen . Ifill and thats the newshour for tonight. On thursday, well cover the confirmation hearings for senator john kerry, president obamas pick for the next secretary of state. Im gwen ifill. Brown and im jeffrey brown. Well see you online and again here tomorrow evening. Thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Support also comes from Carnegie Corporation<\/a> of new york, a foundation created to do what Andrew Carnegie<\/a> called real and permanent good. Celebrating 100 years of philanthropy at carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer<\/a> productions captioned by Media Access Group<\/a> at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org captioning sponsored by wpbt this is n. B. R. Tom good evening. Im tom hudson. Apple shares get bruised in extended hours trading after good, but not great quarterly results. Susie im susie gharib. From the debt fight in washington, to europes financial struggles, the International Monetary<\/a> fund cuts its Global Growth<\/a> outlook. Tom struggling to sell 500 handbags, coach wants to be a lifestyle brand, we look at whats troubling the luxury goods maker. Susie that and more tonight on n. B. R. tom big profits from the Biggest Public Company<\/a> in the u. S. , but not big enough sales for wall street. Apple sold almost 600 million a day of devices during the past three months. After the closing bell apple announced it earned 13. 81 per share. Thats down slightly from a year ago but well above estimates. Despite a record 54. 5 billion in revenues, that was just shy of expectations. 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