We look at the progress thats been made and what still needs to be done. Part of the problem is that not only do we have people who are poor and unemployed, we have so many people who are employed and poor. Weve done well on the safety net part, but not well on helping people achieve success in america. Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by theres a saying around here you stand behind what you say. Around here, we dont make excuses, we make commitments. And when you cant live up to them, you own up and make it right. Some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where its needed most. But i know youll still find it, when you know where to look. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. 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. Ifill today, much of the u. S. Began easing out of the deep freeze thats claimed 21 lives since sunday. Temperatures in the midwest and east pushed into double digits, but still stayed well below freezing. That kept many school districts, including indianapolis and detroit, closed for a third day. In western new york, residents were under a state of emergency after 36 inches of lake effect snow fell overnight. The blizzard closed parts of two interstates and led to a travel ban. Ifill the state of utah will not recognize samesex marriages performed since december 20, at least, not for now. Governor gary herbert announced the decision today. It affects roughly 1,400 couples who married after a federal judge struck down utahs ban on gay marriage. The u. S. Supreme court has put the judges ruling on hold while the state appeals. Ifill the white house today rejected criticism criticism by former defense secretary robert gates. In a new memoir, he says the president wasnt committed to the afghan war, and that Vice President biden was wrong on nearly every key issue. In an apparent show of support for the Vice President , officials invited news photographers into the leaders usually private weekly luncheon. And, spokesman jay carney followed up. Joe biden has been oneofthe leading statesmen of his time and he has been an excellent counselor and advisor to the president for the past five years. Hes played a key role in every Major National security and Foreign Policy debate and policy discussion in this administration, in this white house. Ifill carney also dismissed the afghan war criticism. He said the president believes thoroughly in the mission. Well talk to a Washington Post reporter whos read an advance copy of the gates memoir, right after this news summary. Ifill the number of countries with the ingredients for Nuclear Bombs has dropped by almost a quarter in the last two years, to 25. The Nuclear Threat initiative reported today that seven more countries have given up all or most of their weaponsgrade material since 2012. The Advocacy Group also found the u. S. Ranks number 11 of the 25 nations on nuclear security. Ifill Prime Minister nuri almaliki vowed to eradicate al qaeda in his country, as the army prepared to assault militants holding the city of falluja. In a national broadcast, maliki also hinted at the possibility of amnesty for any gunmen who surrender. I call upon all those who are involved or who have been lured to take part in the terrorism machine lead by al qaeda to return to reason, and we will open a new chapter to settle their case. Ifill tribal leaders in fallujah also urged the alqaeda fighters to leave, and a special un envoy warned food and fuel supplies in the city are running out. The same Al Qaeda Group came under new attack today in syria by rival rebel groups. Activists reported a coalition of other fighters captured the main alqaeda base in the Northern City of aleppo. The infighting could pose even greater Security Problems for teams rounding up syrias chemical weapons. Well talk to the special coordinator of that effort, later in the program. Ifill new york state moved today to legalize medical marijuana on a limited basis, the 21st state to do so. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an executive order to let 20 hospitals dispense pot for victims of cancer and several other diseases. Cuomo previously opposed legalization, but came under political pressure to reconsider. Lastminute business helped boost holiday sales 2. 7 from a year earlier not counting online business. The data firm shoppertrak reported today it was slightly better than expected, in part because of heavy discounts. The number of shoppers who actually visited stores fell more than 14 . And on wall street today, Dow Jones Industrial avg. Down 68. 20 at 16,462. 74. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 68 points to close at 16,465. Nasdaq index up 12. 43 at 4,165. 61. The nasdaq rose 12 points to close at 4,165. Still to come on the newshour robert gates war stories; signs of progress in the destruction of syrias chemical weapons; a call to overhaul School Discipline; the war on poverty, 50 years later; plus, a new bipartisan push to invest in the future. Woodruff as secretary of defense for both president s george w. Bush and obama, robert gates oversaw critical moments in the iraq and afghanistan wars. He would emotionally address the troops in the field. But back home showed a stoic public face. Gates opens up about his frustration with the president s he served and the congress he had to testify before in a new book, duty memoirs of a secretary at war he writes of one meeting in 2011 with mr. Obama and general david petraeus, who then commanded military forces in afghanistan as i sat there i thought the president doesnt trust his woodruff we expect to interview the former defense secretary next tuesday, but for now, we turn to Washington Post staff writer greg jaffe, who covered robert gates and has read an advance copy of the book. Greg jaffe, good to have you with us. Thanks for having me. Woodruff so you did get the book early and you covered him for his entire five years under both president s. What mainly stands out in this book . Well, the thing that stood out to me most was just the emotional told that the wars took on him and that the casualties took on him. Are you really get an unvarnished sense of that. And we could see it in glimpses covering him. I wrote in the review of the book that i did about one of those kind of glimpses. But to really see it and hear it in his own voice kind of page after page is striking. And it is a burden that you could tell he still carries with him today and seems to be sorting through in this book. Woodruff and . Fact, i think you said in your review, the book reads in a way like an extended therapy session for him. Yeah, i kind of felt that yeah, yeah. In the sense that it can be a little bit sefer contradictory t kind of doubles back on itself. On the one hand if he think if he had given himself more time and distance it would be a more rational book, maybe a better argued book. But there is a power and emotion to writing it when he did, you know, its really it does read like a therapy session at times. Woodruff and you write not only the contradiction of himself, and the reviews of other people. On the one hand he praises president obama for being decisive, for being courageous. Woodruff bold to make the decision on Osama Bin Laden and then on the other hand, as we just heard, really being hard on him of his handling of afghanistan. I thought that thats with an example of an argument that he doesnt quite deliver as well as he should on. You know, he criticizes the president for not believing in the strategy. But also conceives that it was a courageous move to back the surge and that it was a politically unpopular move so its not completely rational to me. The president doesnt believe in it. Why does he do it. And part of what i kind of wondered was, i mean it seemed at types that guts felt like the president , his frustration with the president is that the president doesnt feel the same passion, the same sense of the same consuming guilt at times. And that therefore he must be missing something. Woodruff and gates of course had spent a lot of time or time when he could with the troops himself, when he was over there. Certainly. And certainly spent almost every night as his tenure as secretary of defense writing condolences, a task he took with great seriousness. Woodruff you also wrote you said you cant imagine between president obama and president george w. Bush too more two more different men, what does he say about president bush. Hes very complimentary of president bush, this is my recollection of it. He does concede that when he joins the bush administration, president bush has been president for six years. And that is, you know, a different mindset. But he is very hes very quick to praise president bushs decisiveness. And his passion, particularly with regard to the iraqi surge. He describes him as sort of having no second thoughts be on that surge nor on the iraq war overall. And thats something that i think gates finds commendable. Woodruff congress is very tough. Is that from having to go testify as often as he sdns i think so, sort of the devicive political nature of congress today. You know, i i think he longs for a day of 2k3wr5e9er bipartisanship. But i think part of it is just his own personal frustration that he is so engaged in these wars and i think he is just frustrated with congress that they dont feel the same, again, they dont feel the same passion, the same commitment that he does. Woodruff and his really tough comment about Vice President biden, he has been wrong on every Foreign Policy. For four decades. Woodruff for four decades. Yeah, its interesting on that, though, this is where i the therapy session stuff comes in. Hes critical of biden on that, hes very critical of biden for suggesting that there is discord between the president and the uniform military by sort of subjecting the president to chinese water torture, he calls it. That you cant trust your generals. But then at the end of the book, he also kind of comes around and says well, on iraq there really wasnt that much difference between my position and bidens position. You know, maybe 10,000 troops. And yet i should have done more to build bridges rather than be as defenlsive as i was. Woodruff finally, how does he judge himself. You know, thats a good question. I think he sort of thats why i thought he is kind of wrestling through it i mean he is critical of himself in the book and its written in his voice. He didnt use a ghostwriter in t its clear. And i mean that in a good way, in a sense that it sounds like him. And it feels like him. And i think he is still wrestling through with that. Hes very proud of the iraq surge. But i think he does feel a certain amount of guilt from the suffering that the war has caused. Woodruff greg jaffe with the washington most. And as we mentioned, well be talking with former defense secretary robert gates next tuesday, thank you. Yeah, thank you. Ifill chemical weapons are finally being shipped out of syria. But getting the stockpile of Raw Materials for poison gas and nerve agents destroyed has proven to be a uniquely complicated challenge. Ifill even as chemical weapons leave syria, the deadly, conventional war continues. Outside damascus today, men rushed to rescue children trapped in rubble after an air strike blasted a house. More explosions in latakia province, where military helicopters buzzed overhead, dropping possible barrel bombs. Miles away, in the port city of the same name, chemical weapon ingredients are arriving from across the country, brought by Russian Armored vehicles. But fighting has slowed the shipments, which were supposed to begin last month. A danish ship finally departed yesterday with the first batch, nine containers believed to hold about 700 metric tons of precursors for creating mustard and sarin gas. Were happy to see that there is finally movement. Ifill today, the Group Overseeing the effort, the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons noting the delay, urged the Syrian Regime to pick up the pace. Certainly we are exhorting the Syrian Government to intensify its efforts so that we can conclude this critical part of this mission absolutely as fast as the conditions allow. Ifill under a u. N. Plan, naval vessels from a number of countries will escort the chemical agents to an undisclosed port in italy. There, theyll be transferred to a u. S. Navy ship, the cape ray. Its been outfitted with a special chamber that heats chemical agents and renders them inert. The u. N. Has given syria until the end of june to destroy its chemical arsenal and Everything Associated with it. Ifill joining us to assess the challenges that remain, is sigrid kaag, the special coordinator for ridding syria of its chemical weapons. Thank you for joining us, it seems to me the challenges are military, they are diplomatic, they are logistical, lets start with the military challenge. How are you manning to get these chemical weapons out of syria when the country is still at war with itself . Absolutely. I mean the security challenge is the way i would describe it, of course s twofold, is the conditions in country overall what hinder access for us as joint Mission Staff, forverification and inspection, but also pose an imminent threat to the safety and securityofany convoy. Yesterday was the first such convoy of containers from two different sites, for transportation as you just described in the program. However the situation remains very volatile. And the security is the overall responsibility of the for public t with be a hindrance and can pose an ongoing tremendous risk both for the operation as well as for ourselves as staff. Ifill would a ceasefire be helpful or even possible . Obviously a ceasefires ultimately is very desirable. I think also from a human perspective to have access. What has often happened is that on a practical, by arrangement basis it is feasible that armed opposition groups may be advertised that a joint Mission Staff need to be in the area. And if obviously there could be a temporary ses says of facilities, the government of course needs to do its utmost to secure both the sites at all times to avoid any of the chemical agents falling in the wrong hands. And at the same time also secure the safety and security of joint Mission Personnel who come from both and the u. N. Hence the name the joint mission. Ifill how many countries are we talked about involved in this . Oh, its quite a huge and unique international effort. If you look at just the sheer donation site in terms of logistics or other physical items that are needed for packing, loading containers, a lot of european countries, United States, russian federation, people republic of china, denmark and norway in terms of the vessels. But a lot of other countries have donated financing as well. And of course when were looking at the the Construction Side that taked place, the vessel, the k brave but also the many other countries are involved it is unique t is also unprecedented. And as you just highlighted it is not without challenge. Ifill you mentioned a moment ago about the cooperation of the Syrian Government itself. And earlier today you described it as constructive. You can elaborate on that . Yeah, construct sieve a term weve used from the beginning. The secretarygeneral has often referenced that as well. And its basically a reflection of how the corporation has been going from the day the joint mission was established and the mandate was given also by the security council. At all levels we work at a technical level at a more political level, my level, looking at problems, advancing solutions, but always making sure that we from a joint mission perspective keep our eye on the ball which is very timely, safe and secure elimination of the Chemical Weapons Program it requires a lot of investments by the authorities, staff time, they need to secure the roots, they need to make sure the convoy does take off. Packaging and obviously readiness for transportation. Yesterday, for instance, we know my team was there, of course, we saw that the whole area had to be secured. The port authorities are involved. Many, many other National Staff members in syria are also engaged in this effort. So cooperation is measured in many different ways. Its very practical, very tangible. When you talk about we removing these weapons, first what kind of chemical weapons what kind of munitions are we talking about and how do you then destroy them . Actually, the types of reference im not privy to discuss because actually we are bound by confidentiality agreement. Syria has declared its Chemical Weapons Program including its arsenal to the ocbw. And all this is governed by a confidentiality agreement. So hi will speak on the generics. We all know from media reports that there are the worst kind, and then there are those products that if combined can do terrible and inflict horrible harm on human beings. There are, however, sort of the separate types of products. The destruction takes place in two ways. The worst possible kind of chemical agent will be taken to the u. S. Vessel it will be destroyed. The re reactive it reactive mass that remains after destruction will be taken off the ship again and will be transported to Different Countries who companies who have tendered for commercial destruction. And the second category of chemical ag