WORLD SPANISH FLU

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH:6.40

SHOTLIST:

UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL

(EDITORS NOTE : dates and locations uncertain, some events may have been reconstructed for camera, details unknown)

++MUTE++

Dates and locations unknown

1. Mid of tank firing shots

2. Wide of church under attack gas rising

3. Various soldiers in trenches with gas masks, gas rising

4. Mid of barbed wire

5. Soldiers in trenches with gas masks

6. Soldiers in trench firing rifles

7. Wide of large explosion

8. Wide of a squadron of war planes in air (unidentified)

9. Close up pilot in cockpit

10. Various of explosions on the ground

Associated Press

Etaples, France - 30 October 2018

11. Mid of war graves in front of the entrance to the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Etaples

12. Various of war graves at Etaples

13. Wide of people walking to graves

Associated Press

United States - 17 December 2006

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) 94 year old William Sardo, Jr. Spanish Flu survivor speaking in 2006 (start of soundbite overlaid by previous shot)

"All of a sudden as I recall it, out in Kansas one soldier got the Spanish flu and from there it gradually spread to various parts of the country."

AP Television

Photo

18. Various of black and white photos showing army hospital full of soldiers sick with flu

Associated Press

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – 24 October 2018

19. Various of historian John Maxwell Hamilton of Louisiana State University, working in his office

20. SOUNDBITE (English) John Maxwell Hamilton/Louisiana State University

“So, the Spanish flu is a misnomer. In fact, eight million Spaniards did die of the flu, but it wasn’t a Spanish flu. The reason it was called Spanish flu is because Spain was a neutral country, and it didn’t have censorship. The belligerent countries – the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, and so forth – they did have censorship, and they didn’t want a lot of news about the flu to disrupt the war effort."

AP Television

Photo

21. Black and white photo showing mid of sick soldiers in army hospital

Associated Press

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – 24 October 2018

22. SOUNDBITE (English) John Maxwell Hamilton/Louisiana State University

"The prime location for it is often thought of by historians as being Kansas where there was a military installation and in fact when it got to Europe military installations were a major incubator for the disease."

Associated Press

London UK - 22 November 2018

23. Various of Chris Chiu infectious diseases consultant working in office

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Chiu, infectious diseases consultant, Imperial College London

"The first cases appeared around a similar time in different parts of the world including Europe and the US. In the US it was particularly well documented and so there were large outbreaks in military institutions and that allowed them to really identify that there was this outbreak of a disease which had a very characteristic set of symptoms and seemed to be causing a lot of deaths."

Associated Press

Etaples, France - 30 October 2018

25. Various of war graves in cemetary at Etaples

Associated Press

London UK - 22 November 2018

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Chiu, infectious diseases consultant, Imperial College London

"A lot of the inflammation and the things which normally try and dampen down a viral infection actually were too extreme and caused a lot more damage to the lungs than helped. Then there are also all of the human factors, so this was at the end of the First World War people had gone through a lot of hardship, there were many people who were malnourished."

British Movietone

No date, or location available

British Movietone is an historical collection. Any views and expressions within either the video or metadata of the collection are reproduced for historical accuracy and do not represent the opinions or editorial policies of the Associated Press.

++MUTE++

27. Various of soldiers in trenches

Associated Press

London UK - 22 November 2018

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Chiu, infectious diseases consultant, Imperial College London

"If you've previously been exposed to a similar strain of flu, then you are likely to have some immune protection and so in 1918 this new strain of virus, people really didn't have any protection pre existing and so the effects of the disease were much more severe."

Associated Press

Etaples, France - 30 October 2018

29. Wide of Peter Francis and a colleague from the Commonwealth War Grave Commissionn (CWGC) looking at headstones

30. Mid of headstones

31. UPSOUND: (English): Peter Francis, Commonwealth War Grave Commissionn (CWGC)

"So if you have a look at the date of death here you can see 29th November, 28th November, 29 November, 29 November, 28 November. All long after the armistice, men who were dying of Spanish flu."

32. Wide of cemetary at Etaples

33. Various of headstone for Florence Grover wife of Private A. Grover who died at Etaples on 26 November 2018

34. Close of two stones one engraved: Private A. Grover, The Queen's, 17 December 1918

35. Wide of three headstones, including Private Grover's centre

Associated Press

Maidenhead, UK - 8 November 2018

36. SOUNDBITE: (English) Peter Francis, Commonwealth War Grave Commissionn (CWGC)

"There's a very tragic story of a soldier called Private Grover, who is wounded on the Western Front and taken to the military hospitals at Etaples for treatment. His young bride comes out to visit him, to make sure he's okay. She contracts the disease and within 48 hours she's passed away, and the nursing sisters have to break that terrible news to her husband, who himself succumbs from the disease."

Associated Press

Photos

37. Black and white photo of people waiting for a tram with their faces masked to prevent infection of the Spanish flu

38. Black and white photo of police wearing masks to prevent infection of the Spanish flu

Associated Press

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – 24 October 2018

39. SOUNDBITE (English) John Maxwell Hamilton/Louisiana State University

"Movie theatres were closed, churches were told not to meet, in Phoenix Arizona there was a rule passed that you weren't allowed to shake hands, so people knew there was a problem."

Associated Press

Photos

40. Black and white photo of child crying by woman on a sick bed (circa 1918-19)

Associated Press

London UK - 22 November 2018

41. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Chiu, infectious diseases consultant, Imperial College London

"If a completely new strain came and hopped over again from birds, or from pigs, then it's possible again to have a pandemic and for the virus to infect the majority of the world's population because it's changed so much that no-body recognises that as a strain that they've seen before."

Associated Press

Photos

42. Wardens from ambulances carrying stretchers  

LEADIN:

A hundred years ago in 1919 the world's battlefields were silent, but a killer was on the loose. More people died during the third and final wave of the Spanish flu than in World War One.

Fifty million people perished in the pandemic and as the centenary of the world's deadliest virus draws near, scientists are working to develop a universal vaccine.

STORYLINE:

It was the biggest mobilisation of forces the world had ever seen, millions of men shipped from one part of the globe to another.

Many arriving on Europe's Western Front in France and Belgium. But it wasn't the guns, or the chemical weapons which took the most lives, it was an influenza virus doctors hadn't seen before.

Vast numbers of men were being transported in crowded vessels, they ended up in narrow trenches and living in close quarters.

The virus was indiscriminate and it was allowed to spread by the allied and German armies whose generals were keen to keep the spreading sickness a secret from their enemy.

Exactly where the virus began is still disputed. Many believed it actually began in Kansas among the troops who were stationed to go to Europe.

In 2006, when he was 94 years old, influenza survivor William Sardo Jnr. remembered how he first heard about the outbreak.

"All of a sudden as I recall it, out in Kansas one soldier got the Spanish flu and from there it gradually spread to various parts of the country," said Sardo.

Although the Spanish flu was named as such, historian John Maxwell from Hamilton Louisiana State University explains that Spain was unlikely to have been the main source of the pandemic.

“So, the Spanish flu is a misnomer. In fact, eight million Spaniards did die of the flu, but it wasn’t a Spanish flu. The reason it was called Spanish flu is because Spain was a neutral country, and it didn’t have censorship. The belligerent countries – the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, and so forth – they did have censorship, and they didn’t want a lot of news about the flu to disrupt the war effort," says Maxwell.

According to Maxwell the war accelerated the spread of the flu in a way it could not have done in peace time when there was little travel.

"The prime location for it is often thought of by historians as being Kansas where there was a military installation and in fact when it got to Europe military installations were a major incubator for the disease."

Scientists weren't able to source the identity of the strain the virus Spanish flu came from until the 1990s.

They tested samples taken from postmortems of soldiers who'd died of the infection.

Although doctors at the time didn't know it, the flu virus was in those samples of lung tissue.

When scientists came to look at them the entire virus was no longer in the the samples, but after investigating lots of them, it was possible to piece together the virus' genetic code.

Looking at the sequence of that genetic code scientists could compare it with other strains that they knew, and it is from that comparison that they concluded the Spanish flu did originate from birds.

With the benefit of hindsight and army documents though, today's scientists say it's not so easy to source the original location for the outbreak.

Chris Chiu is an infectious diseases consultant at Imperial College London, he also runs the Imperial Vaccine Network which aims to investigate new preventative treatments and get them to market.

Chiu says: "The first cases appeared around a similar time in different parts of the world including Europe and the US. In the US it was particularly well documented and so there were large outbreaks in military institutions and that allowed them to really identify that there was this outbreak of disease which had a very characteristic set of symptoms and seemed to be causing a lot of deaths."

According to Chiu: "A lot of the inflammation and the things which normally try and dampen down a viral infection were actually too extreme and caused a lot more damage to the lungs than helped. Then there are also all of the human factors, so this was at the end of the First World War people had gone through a lot of hardship, there were many people who were malnourished."

Because there was no previous experience of the strain of Spanish flu in 1918, that meant people had no immunity and they quickly succumed to it.

"If you've previously been exposed to a similar strain of flu, then you are likely to have some immune protection and so in 1918 this new strain of virus, people really didn't have any protection pre existing and so the effects of the disease were much more severe," he says.

Etaples in France was one of the biggest staging posts for the allied soldiers, so it's not surprising that many of them died in the field hospitals here.

Look closely at the engravings on the headstones and you begin to realised that not everyone buried here died on the battlefield.

Peter Francis is the spokesman for the Commonwealth War Grave Commission (CWGC) which ensures the upkeep of these graves, not just on the Western Front, but all over the world.

"So if you have a look at the date of death here you can see 29th November, 28th November, 29 November, 29 November, 28 November. All long after the armistice, men who were dying of Spanish flu," says Francis.

In one of the graves lies Florence Grover and a short distance away is the grave of her husband Private Grover.

According to Francis their story is one of many sad tales: "There's a very tragic story of a soldier called Private Grover, who is wounded on the Western Front and taken to the military hospitals at Etaples for treatment. His young bride comes out to visit him, to make sure he's okay. She contracts the disease and within 48 hours she's passed away, and the nursing sisters have to break that terrible news to her husband, who himself succumbs from the disease."

In America the authorities may not have been discussing the virus publicly, but they took it very seriously.

Maxwell says it was impossible for people not to be aware of it: "Movie theatres were closed, churches were told not to meet, in Phoenix Arizona there was a rule passed that you weren't allowed to shake hands, so people knew there was a problem."

Since 1918 there have been other flu pandemics, notably the spread of the H1N1 strain of the virus in 2009.

In 2012 the Lancet medical journal published a report estimating the number of deaths caused by infection at between 151,700 and 575,400.

According to Chiu a new strain shows up roughly every three decades and he says it's not inconceivable that an event like the Spanish flu could happen again.

"If a completely new strain came and hopped over again from birds, or from pigs, then it's possible again to have a pandemic and for the virus to infect the majority of the world's population because it's changed so much that no-body recognises that as a strain that they've seen before."

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The engagement at Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands proved to be one of the bloodiest battles of the war. When the US Marines closed the beach-head at Betio, they found it well protected and desperately defended. The capture of Tarawa clinched the American occupation of the Gilbert group.

Disclaimer: British Movietone is an historical collection. Any views and expressions within either the video or metadata of the collection are reproduced for historical accuracy and do not represent the opinions or editorial policies of the Associated Press.

SHOTLIST:

Cut story - KS. GS of convoy with destroyer in fore. LS of convoy on horizon. In cabin aboard ship, CU Rear Admiral Hill, & CU Major General JC Smith of US Marines. LS of bomber flying in formation overhead. Various shots of naval craft firing broadsides etc. GS of guns firing broadsides. GS of machine gun fire hitting sea close to ship. Look down shot of marines on rafts making for beaches, also LCI pulling away from ships & various of battle in progress as they approach the beaches. Various shots of explosions. Smoke screen on beach, explosions, Royal Marines wade ashore, off LCI. Marines crawl forward up the beach. Various shots of advance action, troops being given medical attention. Firing small artillery. Troops along beaches, shots of explosions caused by our planes. Various pans of battlefield, shows wreckage complete, includes shots of coastal guns which are of British origin, captured at Singapore, panning shots of coastal gun. Captured Korean labourers seated on beach. Marines working to repair airfield, bulldozers etc. Jeep loaded with Marines across aerodrome to first plane to land, carrying pilot shoulder high, finishing on GS of pilot with Marines grouped around him. SEE STORY NUMBER 44374/2 FOR CUTS

SHOTLIST:

AP Television

Hollywood, 20 January 2010

++++VIDEO ORIGINAL 4:9 PILLARBOXED++++

1. Zoom out of front desk in lobby with dog

2. Wide of dogs on the bed in suite

3. Set up of Alissa Cruz, owner of D Pet Hotels in Hollywood, playing with dogs

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Alissa Cruz, Owner D Pet Hotels in Hollywood

"Pets are a part of the family. And I know I don't have children. My dogs are my kids, as a lot of people we find nowadays, especially in the Hollywood area."

5. Zoom out of dog in suite

6. Close up of fresh chicken and broccoli human-grade food being prepared

7. Zoom out of employee playing with dogs

8. Mid of small dog being held

9. Pullout of D Pet Hotel logo and exterior

AP Television

Rome, Italy, 19 February 2010

10. Pan of Roman ruins in Largo Argentina, Rome

11. Wide shot of cat walking amidst roman ruins

12.External pet hotels

Rome, Italy, 22 February 2010

12. Wide Roman ruins to pan left

13. Various cats

14. Pan Iil Messaggero' newspaper headline reading "'Cats are good to eat.' Bigazzi suspended from RAI "

15. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Beppe Bigazzi, Gastronomy journalist:

"It tasted good. Because everything that my mother used to cook tasted good. Because it was met with a hunger that was never completely erased".

16. Top shot cats in roman ruins

AP Television

Shimokitazawa district, Tokyo, Japan - 8th March 2010

17. Cat looking through the window of "Cat Caf� Prince"

18. People outside looking at the cat through the window

19. Various of cats and people petting them

20. Various of all 21 cats being fed, customers watching

21. Various of cats and people petting them

Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan - 29 April 2010

22. Various of poodle in cage waiting to be rented

23. Shot from below of mother and daughter choosing which dog to rent from photos.

24. Pan from mother taking photo to daughter with small white papillon dog on street.

25. Pan inside dog cafe from tables to girl and mother sitting with dog.

26. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Rin Yoshida, Dog lover:

"I have 50,000 yen ($540) saved up right now. I want to save up this money to buy a dog."

27. Medium of mother and daughter petting white papillon dog on street.

28. Close of girl with papillon dog.

29. Papillon dog walking on leash followed by girl.

AP Television

Los Angeles, United States - 25 May 2010

30. Various of chefs feeding dogs sushi

31. Dog sushi on plate

32. Dog and owner eating sushi

AP Television

Beijing, China - June 14, 2010

33. Close of turtle-lookalike dog, tracking shot of dog walking to other dyed dogs in Ruowen Pet Spa

34. Close of dog with dyed bikini on its body

35. Mid of Queenie Yang, dog owner with her dog, Kung Fu dyed to look like a panda

36. Close of dog's face, tilt down to dog's feet

37. Close of Kung Fu's photo taken before dyeing

38. Close of Kung Fu's panda-lookalike face

39. Low shot of dyed dogs playing together

40. Mid of dyed dogs

41. Close of dyed dog

AP Television

Tokyo, Japan - 28 June 2010

42. Close up of dog's face

43. Yokota putting CD onto CD player

44. Yokota sitting down on the sofa and the dog jumping over the sofa

45. Various of dog looking sleepy

46. Cutaway CD player

47. Various of dog and owner looking sleepy

AP Television

Colorado Springs, United States - 29 July 2010

48. Wide shot "Gina" the dog running through obstacle steps

49. Close-up of Gina

50. SOUNDBITE (English) Master Sgt. Eric Haynes, Kennel Master, Peterson AFB:

" Vehicles in her convoy were hit by IEDs (improvised explosive device), which spooked her a little bit. And then as they started going into the buildings, the army was throwing flash banks and using door poppers which messed her up to the point where she was terrified of any loud noises and she became scared of people because all of those loud noises always were associated with the people."

51. Gina playing with unidentified soldier

AP Television

Melbourne, Australia, 2 June 2010

52. Various of surgery at clinic

53. Mid shot dog on IV drip in cage

54. Wide shot Sumo the cat on the CT scanning tray

55. Close up X-Ray sign

56. Various close ups of dogs being treated

LEADIN

Economic crisis ? What crisis ?

Pet owners across much of the developed world seemed to be prepared to continue to spend money on their beloved animal companions throughout 2010 on anything from luxury dog hotels in LA to cat cafes in Japan.

STORYLINE :

It's a dog's life in Hollywood.

In a city that loves luxury no wonder dog owners want only the best for their canines, including five star kennels.

One kennel even describes itself as a luxury resort for the distinguished dog.

Pampered pooches get the five star treatment at Los Angeles' most exclusive boarding kennel.

At the D Pet Hotel, dogs live the life of luxury with ultimate pampering, including a Chauffeured Service that picks up your dog from your home or office.

Alissa Cruz, Owner D Pet Hotels in Hollywood says "pets are a part of the family. And I know I don't have children. My dogs are my kids ."

At the top end dogs can stay in luxury rooms complete with flat screen TV's

Suites range from the standard Bow Wow suite with Kuranda dog beds and a flat screen TV which costs $65 per night to the uber suite with queen size bed and 42 inch flat screen TV and modern accessories, which costs $110 per night.

However in Italy one chef caused controversy this year when he suggested to TV viewers that stewed cat makes a tasty meal.

TV chef Beppe Bigazzi was suspended from his TV slot, and he's sparked off a national debate about feasting on felines.

Animal rights groups called for his head. Even the undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Health harshly chimed in calling the chef's comments a "terrible act".

Criticism has focused on the fact that eating cats is immoral.

While it is not illegal, as such, to eat cats in Italy there are strict laws aimed at protecting both domesticated and stray cats.

The law protects pets from cruelty, maltreatment and abandonment.

Also, stray cats can only be legally destroyed if they are seriously ill or have an incurable illness.

It is also illegal to sell or buy stray animals.

Bigazzi justifies the olden-day consumption of cat by saying it was a matter of either eating it or starving.

In the 1930s Italy was hit hard by the great depression, and the financial crisis of 1932.

Bigazzi says that cat tasted good, but puts this down to his mother's culinary skills, and his hunger.

"It tasted good. Because everything that my mother used to cook tasted good. Because it was dressed with an hunger that was never completely erased".

Bigazzi claimed cat stew was a Tuscan specialty near the Arno river valley in the 1930s.

Cats are not on the menu at the Cat Cafe in Toyko which offers feline fanciers a chance to unwind after a hard day in the company of a four-footed friend.

Some customers even come back day after day and year after year to see their favourite cat.

The first cat cafe opened in Osaka in 2004. Nowadays, you can find more than 30 of them in Tokyo alone.

The advent of user-friendly internet blogs about 4 years ago started what's referred to in Japan as the "Neko Boom". Neko is Japanese for cat.

The cafe offers free drinks to customers and a variety of moderately priced cakes are on the menu, but few take advantage of these bargains. It's the snacks for the cats the guests spend their money on.

A highlight of the day is feeding time at around 15:30pm, when all 21 cats get together, much to the delight of the customers.

Entry fees range from 1200 Yen ( approx. $13 USD)for one hour to up to 3000 Yen ( approx $32 USD) for 3 hours.

But you can't take a cat for a walk....... so another Japanese business has sprung up to fill that niche...dog rental.

If you haven't got the resources to care for a dog full time, how about hiring one by the hour?

Eight year-old Rin Yoshida and her mother Shinobu have waited eagerly for the weekend.

They're both dog lovers, and until they can move to a bigger apartment, they say they will keep renting pooches an hour at a time.

Today they've picked out a friendly papillon dog. After snapping a few photos and taking a stroll, they head to the puppy cafe next door for a drink and more time with the small, floppy-eared mutt.

Renting a dog is fun, but Rin still dreams of one day owning her own pet.

"I have 50,000 yen ($540 US) saved up right now," she says. "I want to save up this money to buy a dog."

All together, there are some 13.1 million pet dogs in Japan, compared to 52 million dogs in the United States. Five years ago, there were 410,000 dogs registered in Tokyo alone according to Japanese research site 'facts and details.com'.

Japan's domestic pet industry is worth $10 billion a year and was relatively unaffected by the global recession.

Shops in Tokyo and other parts of Japan sell dogs for as much as $10,000. Outside Japan, similar breeds sell for much less.

Believe it or not, but the latest trend in the LA pet world is dog sushi.

In Los Angeles, dogs dine at special pooch sushi bars and spend the day mixing with other dogs...and humans.

Pet owners drop by as if bringing their pets to a fine dining restaurant, and treat their dogs to raw delicacies like sushi and chicken wrapped in sweet potato.

At the PawBar, pets go crazy for their made to order meals, while their owners are told about what each meal has in it, including where the raw food comes from, and how it should be served.

Food includes sweet potato wrapped in free range chicken breast, carrot wrapped in free range chicken breast, chicken with tiger prawns, and doggie organic burgers.

According to the 2009/2010 National Pet Owners Survey, 62% of U.S. households own a pet, which means 71.4 millions homes.

The (APPA) says 13% of dogs and 21% of cats are considered obese or overweight.

Dogs are omnivores, they need meat, fibre and other nutrients.

The diet trend when it comes to raw food is called the BARF Diet (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones and Raw Food).

This diet consists of raw meaty bones, vegetables, offal (the organ part of the animal), recreational bones, and proteins like cottage cheese and eggs with the shells.

Having a bad hair day?

Spare a thought for the unfortunate pets that are the subject of a new craze sweeping China.

Not content with fur clipping, dog massage and claw filing, pet owners in Beijing are clipping and dyeing their dog's coats to make them look like other animals.

The Ruowen Pet Spa in downtown Beijing caters to wealthy Chinese who are fuelling a booming pet craze in China.

The dogs seem oblivious to their unique looks, but enjoy the attention of onlookers.

Old English Sheepdog, Kung Fu is 10 months old. He was once well known in his neighbourhood for being a cute puppy. Now he's famous for his panda-like appearance.

His owner, Queenie Yang took Kung Fu to the parlour to be dyed to look like China's most famous animal.

Kung Fu's front and hind leg sections have been dyed black, fur trimmed short and patches of hair on his head dyed black and fastened with elastics to look like panda ears.

This year (2010), the Year of the Tiger in China, has brought an interest in the dyeing trend, with tigers being the most-sought-after look.

The 21st century has many stresses and strains , but how does your pet dog chill out?

Well, a CD packed full of calming music and dog-friendly sounds is said be able to relax any high maintenance pooch.

Chachamaru is a six year old toy poodle, with plenty of energy.

But now Chachamaru's owner, Kanae Yokota, has found the perfect way to calm her canine.

A CD of classic music, chosen with dogs in mind, has a meditative affect. The dog's eyelids get heavier and soon he's being lulled to sleep.

Japanese music label, Hats Unlimited, released the CD, "Dreams for Dogs", earlier this year and it has already sold more than 150 thousands copies in just three months.

Many dogs in Japan are locked inside all day while their owners are out, which can cause them anxiety.

"Dreams for Dogs", includes Debussy's "Prelude a l'Apres mid d'un Faune", Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers" from the Nutcracker, and peaceful pieces from Chopin and yes, Bach.

The recording also includes doggy noises, some on a frequency which only canines can hear, which Yokota says helps reassure Chachamaru.

Japan's pet industry is growing and in 2009 was estimated to be worth 1 trillion yen (approx US$100 billion), according to the Japanese Environment Ministry which is responsible for animal welfare.

The CD costs 2,600 yen (US$26) and it is currently only sold in Japan.

Post traumatic stress disorder is well documented among military servicemen and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but its existence in animals is less clear-cut.

Some veterinarians say animals do experience it, or a version of

Gina was a playful 2-year-old when she went to Iraq as a highly trained bomb-sniffing dog with the US military, but months of door-to-door searches and the noise of explosions left her cowering and fearful.

The German shepherd was based in Iraq from December 2008 to June 2009.

Her former handler Master Sergeant Eric Haynes says Gina used to be a lovable and vivacious puppy before her assignment in Iraq.

"Vehicles in her convoy were hit by IEDs (improvised explosive device), which spooked her a little bit. And then as they started going into the buildings, the army was throwing flash banks and using door poppers which messed her up to the point where she was terrified of any live noises and she became scared of people because all of those loud noises always were associated with the people."

A military veterinarian at Peterson Air Force Base, Gina's home, diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a condition that has plagued thousands of US soldiers after long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But after some meticulous training and hard work, Gina seems to have made a comeback.

Gina has resumed some of her duties - such as searching cars for explosives - at Peterson and other nearby military facilities.

It is undecided whether she will ever return to active duty in a war zone.

Australia's newest cancer treatment centre is a state-of the-art facility, but humans can forget about getting on the waiting list.

The Southpaws Specialty Surgery Centre in the city of Melbourne is dedicated just for our furry friends.

These days animal medicine isn't far behind human healthcare and pets can be treated for cancer, given blood transfusions, kidney transplants, hip replacements and even fitted with heart pacemakers.

As pets take a more important place in the family moving from the backyard onto beds and sofas families are willing to go to great lengths to prolong their lives.

Eight-year-old Sumo the cat is here to have a tumour removed from his ear.

First he'll be scanned using the fastest CT scanner available in Australia to provide the surgeons with a three-dimensional scan for diagnosis.

The clinic uses specialist diagnostic equipment that rivals the top human hospitals in the world. That includes CT scans, advanced imaging, high-definition video feeds for consulting overseas experts and the first deep-therapy radiation unit for animals in Australia.

Ninety percent of their work is on dogs and the rest on cats.

But cancer treatment for pets doesn't come cheap with bills of AUD $5000 to $7000 ($4,700 - $6,700 USD) common for surgery plus radiation therapy. Most pet owners agree, it money worth paying.

And there is no limit to what they'll pay because to them, their furry friend is a member of the family.

Fortunately for many owners, fees can be covered by pet insurance.

keyword animals wacky

The invasion of Sicily has begun - anxiously we heard the news that day; then with proud relief we learned of the operation's success. ® ® First pictures of the great Allied achievement.

Disclaimer: British Movietone is an historical collection. Any views and expressions within either the video or metadata of the collection are reproduced for historical accuracy and do not represent the opinions or editorial policies of the Associated Press.

SHOTLIST:

CUTS FOR STORY NUMBER 43855 - HAS of troops in a swimming pool on board ship. Scrambling to opearte pom-pom guns. LS of prow of ship from on board high angle. Lots of men on deck. Pan to show shores of Sicily and other ships in convoy. RNBC flag raised. VS troops on shore smoking cigarettes, smiling at camera, our boys and Sicilians? VS soldiers talking to each other. POWs give "v for victory" sign. Ducws coming ashore. VS ships, explosions, convoy, troop carriers, LCTs and men on board various vessels. Instructions given through loud hailer. Rope is thrown from one ship to another. Man is swing from one ship to another. VS of ships - cruisers, destroyers etc. Officers and men looking at maps of Sicily. Men seen doing their washing, smoking, mending shoes. Convoy. Destroyer passing island of Sambra (?). Signalling equipment being used. Pan to Sambra. VS ships in convoy. Something is passed from ship to ship via ropes. Letters possibly. Troop carrier - lots of men on deck. LS ship moving away from camera. CU of officers on deck.

Major-General Urquhart, the commander of the First Airborne Division has returned home. He had been captured but escaped. The Airborne Forces had put up a terrific fight against heavy odds and withdrawn at night through enemy lines.

Disclaimer: British Movietone is an historical collection. Any views and expressions within either the video or metadata of the collection are reproduced for historical accuracy and do not represent the opinions or editorial policies of the Associated Press.

SHOTLIST:

CUTS FOR STORY NUMBER 45149 - In Corridor, North of Eindhoven, firing 25 pounders, self propelled guns, stacking, passing ammunition etc. Tracks of guns as they move to new positions. Some good clear shots of the guns being fired. Officers and men look at plans. Pan of tanks, troop and vehicle movements, Dutch civilians waving as pass, tanks on fire, possibly the 2nd Army going forward to link up with Arnhem men (most of this section is poor visual quality). Gliders coming in to land. Crashed USAAF aircraft. POWs being marched. CUs of allied troops. VS CUs of soldiers from various regiments. Hip hoorah is given - VS of victorious soldiers. Various of Airborne troops sorting out mud covered arms. Gunners use gliders as command post. Troops having a cup of tea. First British gunner to fire from German soil into Germany. Gun fire into Germany. Tanks on the move. CU of soldier giving the command "Fire!". Spent shells. CU front of tank named "Lili Marlene". Tanks on the move through village. VS artillery fire - big guns. Shells being prepared and stacked. Views from nose of glider. CUs of pilots. VS views of other aircraft. Supplies dropped by parachute. Aerial shots - mostly of cloud cover. CUs of pilots, co-pilots. Men inside aircraft (one sticks up two fingers to the cameraman). Aerial shots of landscape below. Army camp (blurred shots) radio operator, troops with rifles, digging trench, soldier on guard, aircraft overhead.

The invasion of Sicily has begun - anxiously we heard the news that day; then with proud relief we learned of the operation's success. ® ® First pictures of the great Allied achievement.

Disclaimer: British Movietone is an historical collection. Any views and expressions within either the video or metadata of the collection are reproduced for historical accuracy and do not represent the opinions or editorial policies of the Associated Press.

SHOTLIST:

CUTS FOR STORY NUMBER 43855 - Various shots of ships in convoy off coast of Sicily including cruisers. LS of convoy on horizon. VS of ships moving through open seas. VS ship - high angle shot of sailors on deck - some look out to sea, some sleep on deck. VS ships. Night shots of tracers going up. Ship and men on it in silhouette. Men in LCT arriving on beach - in silhouette. VS equipment being offloaded onto beach. VS men on beach. Troops wave to camera. Shells unloaded by hand and by crane. VS shells being rolled along quayside. Dog in army jeep. VS of American army jeep being reversed towards camera. Jeeps with men aboard being reversed towards camera. LS of large number of men with kit bags and supplies on their backs walking up to board a ship. Embarking. They go aboard ship. VS military vehicles and men going aboard ship. HAS of harbour. Signal is given to ships - semaphore. Signal is returned from ship in distance. LAS of man giving semaphore message. Second semaphore man gives message to captain of ship and he speaks through loud hailer. Semaphore messages are sent from ship to ship - we see one man in foreground sending message to neighbouring ship, we then see him send it to another ship. VS of sailors preparing to leave harbour - ropes hauled, messages sent, chocks away etc. Field Marshal Montgomery inspects parade of honour then speaks to troops. CU pan across smiling faces of the troops. VS Monty and men.

HEAD ON

Remarks by the President in State of Union Address

United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.

9:12 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. (Applause.) And as we mark this occasion, we''re also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and we pray for the health of our colleague -- and our friend -- Gabby Giffords. (Applause.)

It''s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that''s a good thing. That''s what a robust democracy demands. That''s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there''s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passion and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater -- something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.

That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation. (Applause.)

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won''t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. (Applause.)

I believe we can. And I believe we must. That''s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they''ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all -- for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.

At stake right now is not who wins the next election -- after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It''s whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It''s whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but the light to the world.

We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.

But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children.

That''s the project the American people want us to work on. Together. (Applause.)

We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans'' paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of new investments that they make this year. And these steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year.

But we have to do more. These steps we''ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we''ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.

Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn''t always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you''d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck and good benefits and the occasional promotion. Maybe you''d even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company.

That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I''ve seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts on once busy Main Streets. I''ve heard it in the frustrations of Americans who''ve seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear -- proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game.

They''re right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there''s an Internet connection.

Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They''re investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became the home to the world''s largest private solar research facility, and the world''s fastest computer.

So, yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn''t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember -- for all the hits we''ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. (Applause.) No workers -- no workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We''re the home to the world''s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth.

What''s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That''s why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It''s why our students don''t just memorize equations, but answer questions like "What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can''t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement." Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

And now it''s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit and reform our government. That''s how our people will prosper. That''s how we''ll win the future. (Applause.) And tonight, I''d like to talk about how we get there.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn''t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do -- what America does better than anyone else -- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We''re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn''t just change our lives. It is how we make our living. (Applause.)

Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it''s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout our history, our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That''s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That''s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs -- from manufacturing to retail -- that have come from these breakthroughs.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn''t even there yet. NASA didn''t exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn''t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

This is our generation''s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven''t seen since the height of the Space Race. And in a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We''ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology -- (applause) -- an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.

Already, we''re seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert''s words, "We reinvented ourselves."

That''s what Americans have done for over 200 years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we''ve begun to reinvent our energy policy. We''re not just handing out money. We''re issuing a challenge. We''re telling America''s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we''ll fund the Apollo projects of our time.

At the California Institute of Technology, they''re developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they''re using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. (Applause.)

We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I''m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. (Applause.) I don''t know if -- I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but they''re doing just fine on their own. (Laughter.) So instead of subsidizing yesterday''s energy, let''s invest in tomorrow''s.

Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they''re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America''s electricity will come from clean energy sources. (Applause.)

Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all -- and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen. (Applause.)

Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America''s success. But if we want to win the future -- if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas -- then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.

Think about it. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren''t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us -- as citizens, and as parents -- are willing to do what''s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It''s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it''s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. (Applause.) We need to teach them that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.

Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don''t meet this test. That''s why instead of just pouring money into a system that''s not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all 50 states, we said, "If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we''ll show you the money."

Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than 1 percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. And these standards were developed, by the way, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that''s more flexible and focused on what''s best for our kids. (Applause.)

You see, we know what''s possible from our children when reform isn''t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities. Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado -- located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97 percent of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their families to go to college. And after the first year of the school''s transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said, "Thank you, Ms. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it." (Applause.) That''s what good schools can do, and we want good schools all across the country.

Let''s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child''s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as "nation builders." Here in America, it''s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. (Applause.) We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. (Applause.) And over the next 10 years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math. (Applause.)

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who''s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child -- become a teacher. Your country needs you. (Applause.)

Of course, the education race doesn''t end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within the reach of every American. (Applause.) That''s why we''ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. (Applause.) And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit -- worth $10,000 for four years of college. It''s the right thing to do. (Applause.)

Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today''s fast-changing economy, we''re also revitalizing America''s community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she''s earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams, too. As Kathy said, "I hope it tells them to never give up."

If we take these steps -- if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they are born until the last job they take -- we will reach the goal that I set two years ago: By the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. (Applause.)

One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.

Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. (Applause.) I know that debate will be difficult. I know it will take time. But tonight, let''s agree to make that effort. And let''s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation. (Applause.)

The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information -- from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet. (Applause.)

Our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation''s infrastructure, they gave us a "D."

We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, constructed the Interstate Highway System. The jobs created by these projects didn''t just come from laying down track or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town''s new train station or the new off-ramp.

So over the last two years, we''ve begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. And tonight, I''m proposing that we redouble those efforts. (Applause.)

We''ll put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We''ll make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based [on] what''s best for the economy, not politicians.

Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. (Applause.) This could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying -- without the pat-down. (Laughter and applause.) As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.

Within the next five years, we''ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This isn''t just about -- (applause) -- this isn''t about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It''s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It''s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It''s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

All these investments -- in innovation, education, and infrastructure -- will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success.

For example, over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change. (Applause.)

So tonight, I''m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years -- without adding to our deficit. It can be done. (Applause.)

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 -- because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs here in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, Democrats and Republicans -- and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible. (Applause.)

Now, before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers and promote American jobs. That''s what we did with Korea, and that''s what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks. (Applause.)

To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I''ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. (Applause.) But I will not hesitate to create or enforce common-sense safeguards to protect the American people. (Applause.) That''s what we''ve done in this country for more than a century. It''s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It''s why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It''s why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. (Applause.) And it''s why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients. (Applause.)

Now, I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. (Laughter.) So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. (Applause.)

What I''m not willing to do -- what I''m not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a preexisting condition. (Applause.)

I''m not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I''m not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business man from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their patients'' -- parents'' coverage. (Applause.)

So I say to this chamber tonight, instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let''s fix what needs fixing and let''s move forward. (Applause.)

Now, the final critical step in winning the future is to make sure we aren''t buried under a mountain of debt.

We are living with a legacy of deficit spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people''s pockets.

But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.

So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. (Applause.) Now, this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was President.

This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we''ve frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I''ve proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without. (Applause.)

I recognize that some in this chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I''m willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let''s make sure that we''re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. (Applause.) And let''s make sure that what we''re cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may make you feel like you''re flying high at first, but it won''t take long before you feel the impact. (Laughter.)

Now, most of the cuts and savings I''ve proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12 percent of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won''t. (Applause.)

The bipartisan fiscal commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don''t agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it -- in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. (Applause.)

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. The health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I''m willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year -- medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits. (Applause.)

To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. (Applause.) We must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans'' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. (Applause.)

And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply can''t afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. (Applause.) Before we take money away from our schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It''s not a matter of punishing their success. It''s about promoting America''s success. (Applause.)

In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. (Applause.) This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed an interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them. (Applause.)

So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future.

Let me take this one step further. We shouldn''t just give our people a government that''s more affordable. We should give them a government that''s more competent and more efficient. We can''t win the future with a government of the past. (Applause.)

We live and do business in the Information Age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black-and-white TV. There are 12 different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different agencies that deal with housing policy. Then there''s my favorite example: The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they''re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they''re in saltwater. (Laughter.) I hear it gets even more complicated once they''re smoked. (Laughter and applause.)

Now, we''ve made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We''re selling acres of federal office space that hasn''t been used in years, and we''ll cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote -- and we will push to get it passed. (Applause.)

In the coming year, we''ll also work to rebuild people''s faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you''ll be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done -- put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren''t larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it. I will veto it. (Applause.)

The 21st century government that''s open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that''s driven by new skills and new ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.

Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West. No one rival superpower is aligned against us.

And so we must defeat determined enemies, wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. And America''s moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom and justice and dignity. And because we''ve begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America''s standing has been restored.

Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. (Applause.) American combat patrols have ended, violence is down, and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America''s commitment has been kept. The Iraq war is coming to an end. (Applause.)

Of course, as we speak, al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we''re disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family. (Applause.)

We''ve also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan security forces. Our purpose is clear: By preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.

Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home. (Applause.)

In Pakistan, al Qaeda''s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe havens are shrinking. And we''ve sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: We will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you. (Applause.)

American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists. (Applause.)

Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher sanctions, tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean Peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons. (Applause.)

This is just a part of how we''re shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO and increased our cooperation on everything from counterterrorism to missile defense. We''ve reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, built new partnerships with nations like India.

This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances across the Americas. Around the globe, we''re standing with those who take responsibility -- helping farmers grow more food, supporting doctors who care for the sick, and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.

Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power -- it must also be the purpose behind it. In south Sudan -- with our assistance -- the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. (Applause.) Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life," he said. "Now we want to be free." (Applause.)

And we saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: The United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. (Applause.)

We must never forget that the things we''ve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. (Applause.)

Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they''ve served us -- by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country -- they''re black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. (Applause.) And with that change, I call on all our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation. (Applause.)

We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit -- none of this will be easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The costs. The details. The letter of every law.

Of course, some countries don''t have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they build a railroad, no matter how many homes get bulldozed. If they don''t want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn''t get written.

And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn''t a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth. (Applause.)

We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything is possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.

That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working-class kid from Scranton can sit behind me. (Laughter and applause.) That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father''s Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)

That dream -- that American Dream -- is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It''s what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher.

Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania, that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. And one day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them.

But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile.

Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000-foot hole into the ground, working three- or four-hour -- three or four days at a time without any sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. (Applause.) But because he didn''t want all of the attention, Brandon wasn''t there when the miners emerged. He''d already gone back home, back to work on his next project.

And later, one of his employees said of the rescue, "We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things." (Applause.)

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That''s how we win the future.

We''re a nation that says, "I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company." "I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree." "I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try." "I''m not sure how we''ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we''ll get there. I know we will."

We do big things. (Applause.)

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it''s because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END 10:13 P.M. EST

SWITCHED

Remarks by the President in State of Union Address

United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.

9:12 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. (Applause.) And as we mark this occasion, we''re also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and we pray for the health of our colleague -- and our friend -- Gabby Giffords. (Applause.)

It''s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that''s a good thing. That''s what a robust democracy demands. That''s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there''s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passion and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater -- something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.

That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation. (Applause.)

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won''t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. (Applause.)

I believe we can. And I believe we must. That''s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they''ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all -- for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.

At stake right now is not who wins the next election -- after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It''s whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It''s whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but the light to the world.

We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.

But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children.

That''s the project the American people want us to work on. Together. (Applause.)

We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans'' paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of new investments that they make this year. And these steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year.

But we have to do more. These steps we''ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession, but to win the future, we''ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.

Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn''t always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you''d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck and good benefits and the occasional promotion. Maybe you''d even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company.

That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I''ve seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts on once busy Main Streets. I''ve heard it in the frustrations of Americans who''ve seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear -- proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game.

They''re right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there''s an Internet connection.

Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They''re investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became the home to the world''s largest private solar research facility, and the world''s fastest computer.

So, yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn''t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember -- for all the hits we''ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. (Applause.) No workers -- no workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We''re the home to the world''s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth.

What''s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That''s why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It''s why our students don''t just memorize equations, but answer questions like "What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can''t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement." Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

And now it''s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. (Applause.) We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit and reform our government. That''s how our people will prosper. That''s how we''ll win the future. (Applause.) And tonight, I''d like to talk about how we get there.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn''t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do -- what America does better than anyone else -- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We''re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn''t just change our lives. It is how we make our living. (Applause.)

Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it''s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout our history, our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That''s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That''s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs -- from manufacturing to retail -- that have come from these breakthroughs.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn''t even there yet. NASA didn''t exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn''t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

This is our generation''s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven''t seen since the height of the Space Race. And in a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We''ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology -- (applause) -- an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.

Already, we''re seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert''s words, "We reinvented ourselves."

That''s what Americans have done for over 200 years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we''ve begun to reinvent our energy policy. We''re not just handing out money. We''re issuing a challenge. We''re telling America''s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we''ll fund the Apollo projects of our time.

At the California Institute of Technology, they''re developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they''re using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. (Applause.)

We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I''m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. (Applause.) I don''t know if -- I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but they''re doing just fine on their own. (Laughter.) So instead of subsidizing yesterday''s energy, let''s invest in tomorrow''s.

Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they''re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America''s electricity will come from clean energy sources. (Applause.)

Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all -- and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen. (Applause.)

Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America''s success. But if we want to win the future -- if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas -- then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.

Think about it. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren''t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us -- as citizens, and as parents -- are willing to do what''s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It''s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it''s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair. (Applause.) We need to teach them that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.

Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don''t meet this test. That''s why instead of just pouring money into a system that''s not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all 50 states, we said, "If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we''ll show you the money."

Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than 1 percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. And these standards were developed, by the way, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that''s more flexible and focused on what''s best for our kids. (Applause.)

You see, we know what''s possible from our children when reform isn''t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities. Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado -- located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97 percent of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their families to go to college. And after the first year of the school''s transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said, "Thank you, Ms. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it." (Applause.) That''s what good schools can do, and we want good schools all across the country.

Let''s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child''s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as "nation builders." Here in America, it''s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. (Applause.) We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. (Applause.) And over the next 10 years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math. (Applause.)

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who''s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child -- become a teacher. Your country needs you. (Applause.)

Of course, the education race doesn''t end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within the reach of every American. (Applause.) That''s why we''ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. (Applause.) And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit -- worth $10,000 for four years of college. It''s the right thing to do. (Applause.)

Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today''s fast-changing economy, we''re also revitalizing America''s community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she''s earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams, too. As Kathy said, "I hope it tells them to never give up."

If we take these steps -- if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they are born until the last job they take -- we will reach the goal that I set two years ago: By the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. (Applause.)

One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.

Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. (Applause.) I know that debate will be difficult. I know it will take time. But tonight, let''s agree to make that effort. And let''s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation. (Applause.)

The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information -- from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet. (Applause.)

Our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation''s infrastructure, they gave us a "D."

We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, constructed the Interstate Highway System. The jobs created by these projects didn''t just come from laying down track or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town''s new train station or the new off-ramp.

So over the last two years, we''ve begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. And tonight, I''m proposing that we redouble those efforts. (Applause.)

We''ll put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We''ll make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based [on] what''s best for the economy, not politicians.

Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. (Applause.) This could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying -- without the pat-down. (Laughter and applause.) As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.

Within the next five years, we''ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This isn''t just about -- (applause) -- this isn''t about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It''s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It''s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It''s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

All these investments -- in innovation, education, and infrastructure -- will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success.

For example, over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change. (Applause.)

So tonight, I''m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years -- without adding to our deficit. It can be done. (Applause.)

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 -- because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs here in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, Democrats and Republicans -- and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible. (Applause.)

Now, before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers and promote American jobs. That''s what we did with Korea, and that''s what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks. (Applause.)

To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I''ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. (Applause.) But I will not hesitate to create or enforce common-sense safeguards to protect the American people. (Applause.) That''s what we''ve done in this country for more than a century. It''s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It''s why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It''s why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. (Applause.) And it''s why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients. (Applause.)

Now, I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new health care law. (Laughter.) So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. (Applause.)

What I''m not willing to do -- what I''m not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a preexisting condition. (Applause.)

I''m not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I''m not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business man from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their patients'' -- parents'' coverage. (Applause.)

So I say to this chamber tonight, instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let''s fix what needs fixing and let''s move forward. (Applause.)

Now, the final critical step in winning the future is to make sure we aren''t buried under a mountain of debt.

We are living with a legacy of deficit spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people''s pockets.

But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.

So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. (Applause.) Now, this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was President.

This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we''ve frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I''ve proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without. (Applause.)

I recognize that some in this chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I''m willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let''s make sure that we''re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. (Applause.) And let''s make sure that what we''re cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may make you feel like you''re flying high at first, but it won''t take long before you feel the impact. (Laughter.)

Now, most of the cuts and savings I''ve proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12 percent of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won''t. (Applause.)

The bipartisan fiscal commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don''t agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it -- in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. (Applause.)

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. The health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I''m willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year -- medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits. (Applause.)

To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. (Applause.) We must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans'' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. (Applause.)

And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply can''t afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. (Applause.) Before we take money away from our schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It''s not a matter of punishing their success. It''s about promoting America''s success. (Applause.)

In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. (Applause.) This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed an interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them. (Applause.)

So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future.

Let me take this one step further. We shouldn''t just give our people a government that''s more affordable. We should give them a government that''s more competent and more efficient. We can''t win the future with a government of the past. (Applause.)

We live and do business in the Information Age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black-and-white TV. There are 12 different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different agencies that deal with housing policy. Then there''s my favorite example: The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they''re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they''re in saltwater. (Laughter.) I hear it gets even more complicated once they''re smoked. (Laughter and applause.)

Now, we''ve made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We''re selling acres of federal office space that hasn''t been used in years, and we''ll cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote -- and we will push to get it passed. (Applause.)

In the coming year, we''ll also work to rebuild people''s faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you''ll be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done -- put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren''t larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it. I will veto it. (Applause.)

The 21st century government that''s open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that''s driven by new skills and new ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.

Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West. No one rival superpower is aligned against us.

And so we must defeat determined enemies, wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. And America''s moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom and justice and dignity. And because we''ve begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America''s standing has been restored.

Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. (Applause.) American combat patrols have ended, violence is down, and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America''s commitment has been kept. The Iraq war is coming to an end. (Applause.)

Of course, as we speak, al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we''re disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family. (Applause.)

We''ve also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan security forces. Our purpose is clear: By preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.

Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home. (Applause.)

In Pakistan, al Qaeda''s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe havens are shrinking. And we''ve sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: We will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you. (Applause.)

American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists. (Applause.)

Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher sanctions, tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean Peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons. (Applause.)

This is just a part of how we''re shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO and increased our cooperation on everything from counterterrorism to missile defense. We''ve reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, built new partnerships with nations like India.

This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances across the Americas. Around the globe, we''re standing with those who take responsibility -- helping farmers grow more food, supporting doctors who care for the sick, and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.

Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power -- it must also be the purpose behind it. In south Sudan -- with our assistance -- the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. (Applause.) Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life," he said. "Now we want to be free." (Applause.)

And we saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: The United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. (Applause.)

We must never forget that the things we''ve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. (Applause.)

Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they''ve served us -- by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country -- they''re black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. (Applause.) And with that change, I call on all our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation. (Applause.)

We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit -- none of this will be easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The costs. The details. The letter of every law.

Of course, some countries don''t have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they build a railroad, no matter how many homes get bulldozed. If they don''t want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn''t get written.

And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn''t a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth. (Applause.)

We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything is possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.

That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working-class kid from Scranton can sit behind me. (Laughter and applause.) That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father''s Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.)

That dream -- that American Dream -- is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It''s what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher.

Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania, that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. And one day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them.

But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile.

Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000-foot hole into the ground, working three- or four-hour -- three or four days at a time without any sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. (Applause.) But because he didn''t want all of the attention, Brandon wasn''t there when the miners emerged. He''d already gone back home, back to work on his next project.

And later, one of his employees said of the rescue, "We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things." (Applause.)

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That''s how we win the future.

We''re a nation that says, "I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company." "I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree." "I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try." "I''m not sure how we''ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we''ll get there. I know we will."

We do big things. (Applause.)

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it''s because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

TAPE NUMBER: OA 272

DATELINE: September 10, 2010 Washington, DC

Press Conference by President Obama

11:02 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Have a seat, everybody. Good morning. Before I take your questions, I just want to talk a little bit about our continuing efforts to dig ourselves out of this recession and to grow our economy.

As I said in Cleveland on Wednesday, I ran for President because I believed the policies of the previous decade had left our economy weaker and our middle class struggling. They were policies that cut taxes, especially for millionaires and billionaires, cut regulations for corporations and for special interests, and left everyone else pretty much fending for themselves. They were policies that ultimately culminated in a financial crisis and a terrible recession that we're still digging out of today.

We came into office with a different view about how our economy should work. Instead of tax cuts for millionaires, we believe in cutting taxes for middle-class families and small business owners. We've done that. Instead of letting corporations play by their own rules, we believe in making sure that businesses treat workers well and consumers friendly, and play by the same rules as everyone else. So we've put in place common-sense rules that accomplish that.

Instead of tax breaks that encourage corporations to create jobs overseas, we believe in tax breaks for companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America. And so we've begun to do that. We believe in investments that will make America more competitive in the global economy: investments in education and clean energy, in research and technology. And we're making those investments.

So these are the principles that have guided us over the last 19 months. And these are the principles that form the basis of the additional economic proposals that I offered this week. Because even though the economy is growing again, and we've added more than 750,000 private sector jobs this year, the hole the recession left was huge and progress has been painfully slow. Millions of Americans are still looking for work. Millions of families are struggling to pay their bills or the mortgage. And so these proposals are meant to both accelerate job growth in the short term and strengthen the economy in the long run.

These proposals include a more generous, permanent extension of the tax credit that goes to companies for all the research and innovation that they do here in America. And I've proposed that all American businesses should be allowed to write off all the investments they do in 2011. This will help small businesses upgrade their plants and equipment, and will encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits to work in our economy.

We also announced a six-year plan to rebuild America's roads and railways and runways. Already our investments in infrastructure are putting folks in the construction industry back to work. And this plan would put thousands more back to work, and it would help us remain competitive with countries in Europe and Asia that have already invested heavily in projects like high-speed railroads.

But one thing we can do next week is end a month-long standoff on a small business jobs bill that's been held up in the Senate by a partisan minority. I realize there are plenty of issues in Washington where people of good faith simply disagree on principle. This should not and is not one of those issues.

This is a bill that does two main things: It gives small business owners tax cuts, and it helps them get loans. It will eliminate capital gains taxes for key investments in 1 million small businesses. It will provide incentives to invest and create jobs for 4 million small businesses. It will more than double the amount some small business owners can borrow to grow their companies. It's a bill that's paid for, a bill that won't add to the deficit. It has been written by Democrats and Republicans. It's a bill that's been praised by the Chamber of Commerce. And yet a minority of Republican senators have been using legislative tactics to prevent the bill from even getting to a vote.

Now, I was pleased to see that yesterday, Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio said he would refuse to support this blockade any longer. Senator Voinovich said, "This country is really hurting," and "We don't have time anymore to play games." I could not agree more.

I understand there's an election coming up. But the American people didn't send us here to think about our jobs. They sent us here to think about theirs. And there are small businesses right now who are putting off plans to hire more workers because this bill is stalled. That's not the kind of leadership this country deserves. And I hope we can now move forward to get small business owners the relief they need to start hiring and growing again.

And while we're on the subject of economics, I also want to make an announcement about my economic team. This week, Christina Romer returned to Berkeley after a tireless, outstanding tenure as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Christy is brilliant, she is dedicated, and she was part of the team that helped save this country from a depression. So we're going to miss her dearly. But today, I'm happy to announce Austan Goolsbee as her replacement.

Austan has been one of my good friends and close economic advisors for many years. He's one of the finest economists in the country, and he's worked as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers since we arrived here in Washington. He's not just a brilliant economist, he's someone who has a deep appreciation of how the economy affects everyday people, and he talks about it in a way that's easily understood. He already knows and works with the rest of the team very well. I have complete confidence he's going to do an outstanding job as CEA Chair.

And finally, tomorrow we will commemorate not only the heartbreak of September 11th, but also the enduring values and resilient spirit of America. Both Michelle and I will be joining our fellow citizens in remembering those who were lost on that day and honoring all who exhibited such extraordinary heroism in the midst of tragedy. I'll have further remarks tomorrow, but for now let me just note that tomorrow is a National Day of Service and Remembrance and I hope each of us finds a way to serve our fellow citizens -- not only to reaffirm our deepest values as Americans, but to rekindle that spirit of unity and common purpose that we felt in the days that followed that September morning.

And now I'd be happy to take some questions, and I'm going to start with Darlene Superville of AP.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. You said this week that Democrats wouldn't do well in the November elections if it turns out to be a referendum on the economy. But with millions of people out of work and millions of people losing their homes, how could it not be a referendum on the economy and your handling of it, and why would you not welcome that?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, the -- what I said was that if it was just a referendum on whether we've made the kind of progress that we need to, then people around the country would say we're not there yet. If the election is about the policies that are going to move us forward versus the policies that will get us back into a mess, then I think the Democrats will do very well. And here's why.

As I just indicated, middle-class families had been struggling for a decade, before I came into office. Their wages and incomes had flat-lined. They were seeing the cost of everything from health care to sending their kids to college going up. Job growth was the weakest of any economic expansion between 2001 and 2008 since World War II. The pace was slower than it's been over the last year.

So these policies of cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans, of stripping away regulations that protect consumers, running up a record surplus to a record deficit -- those policies finally culminated in the worst financial crisis we've had since the Great Depression. And for 19 months, what we have done is steadily worked to avoid a depression, to take an economy that was contracting rapidly and making it grow again; a situation where we were losing 750,000 jobs a month, and now we've had eight consecutive months of private sector job growth; and made investments that are going to strengthen the economy over the long term.

But we're not there yet. We lost 4 million jobs in the six months before I was sworn in, and we lost 8 million jobs total during the course of this recession. That is a huge hole to dig ourselves out of. And people who have lost their jobs around the country and can't find one, moms who are sending out resumes and not getting calls back, worried about losing homes and not being able to pay bills -- they're not feeling good right now. And I understand that.

And I ran precisely because I did not think middle-class families in this country were getting a fair shake. And I ran because I felt that we had to have a different economic philosophy in order to grow that middle class and grow our economy over the long term.

Now, for all the progress we've made, we're not there yet. And that means that people are frustrated and that means people are angry. And since I'm the President and Democrats have controlled the House and the Senate, it's understandable that people are saying, what have you done.

But between now and November, what I'm going to remind the American people of is that the policies that we have put in place have moved us in the right direction, and the policies that the Republicans are offering right now are the exact policies that got us into this mess. It's not a situation where they went and reflected, and said to themselves, you know what, we didn't do some things right and so we've got a whole bunch of new ideas out here that we want to present to you that we think are going to help put us on the path of strong growth -- that's not what happens. The chairman of their committee has said, we would do the exact same things as we did before Obama took office. Well, we know where that led.

And a perfect example is the debate we're having on taxes right now. I have said that middle-class families need tax relief right now. And I'm prepared to work on a bill and sign a bill this month that would ensure that middle-class families get tax relief. Ninety-seven percent of Americans make less than $250,000 a year -- $250,000 a year or less. And I'm saying we can give those families -- 97 percent permanent tax relief. And by the way, for those who make more than $250,000, they'd still get tax relief on the first $250,000; they just wouldn't get it for income above that.

Now, that seems like a common-sense thing to do. And what I've got is the Republicans holding middle-class tax relief hostage because they're insisting we've got to give tax relief to millionaires and billionaires to the tune of about $100,000 per millionaire, which would cost over the course of 10 years, $700 billion, and that economists say is probably the worst way to stimulate the economy. That doesn't make sense, and that's an example of what this election is all about.

If you want the same kinds of skewed policies that led us to this crisis, then the Republicans are ready to offer that. But if you want policies that are moving us out, even though you may be frustrated, even though change isn't happening as fast as you'd like, then I think Democrats are going to do fine in November.

Caren.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. You're looking for Republican help on the economic proposals that you unveiled this week, and you also mentioned the small business bill. But you're at odds with them over tax cuts. Is there room for a middle ground whereby, for example, the tax cuts on the wealthy could be extended for a period of time, and then allowed to expire?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, certainly there is going to be room for discussion. My hope is, is that on this small business bill that is before the Senate right now, that we actually make some progress. I still don't understand why we didn't pass that two months ago. As I said, this was written by Democrats and Republicans. This is a bill that traditionally you'd probably get 90 percent or 100 percent Republican support. But we've been playing politics for the last several months. And if the Republican leadership is prepared to get serious about doing something for families that are hurting out there, I would love to talk to them.

Now, on the high-income tax cuts, my position is let's get done what we all agree on. What they've said is they agree that the middle class tax cut should be made permanent. Let's work on that. Let's do it. We can have a further conversation about how they want to spend an additional $700 billion to give an average of $100,000 to millionaires. That, I think, is a bad idea. If you were going to spend that money, there are a lot better ways of spending it. But more to the point, these are the same folks who say that they're concerned about the deficits. Why would we borrow money on policies that won't help the economy and help people who don't need help?

But setting that aside, we've got an area of agreement, which is, let's help families out there who are having a tough time. As I said, we could, this month, give every American certainty and tax relief up to $250,000 a year. Every single American would benefit from that. Now, people who make $250,000 a year or less, they'd benefit on all their income. People who make a million dollars would benefit on a quarter of their income. But the point is, is that that's something that we can all agree to. Why hold it up? Why hold the middle class hostage in order to do something that most economists don't think makes sense?

Q So are you ruling out a deal with Republicans on tax cuts for the wealthiest?

THE PRESIDENT: What I'm saying is let's do what we agreed to and that the Americans -- people overwhelmingly agreed to, which is let's give certainty to families out there that are having a tough time.

Chip Reid.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. On the economic package that you rolled out earlier this week, first on the business tax cuts. Why did you wait until this superheated campaign season to roll it out? A lot of your critics and even some Democrats say, well, clearly he's just using this for political purposes, he doesn't have any expectation it's actually going to be passed, it's a political weapon. Why did you wait so long to bring that out?

And on the stimulus part, we can't get people in the White House to say it is a stimulus -- $50 billion for roads and other infrastructure, but they avoid the word "stimulus" like the plague. Is that because the original stimulus is so deeply unpopular? And if so, why is it so unpopular?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, let me -- let me go back to when I first came into office. We had an immediate task, which was to rescue an economy that was tipping over a cliff. And we put in place an economic plan that 95 percent of economists say substantially helped us avoid a depression.

A third of those were tax cuts, by the way. A third of that economic plan was tax cuts for individuals and for small businesses. So we haven't -- this notion that we waited until now to put forward a series of plans, Chip, we've -- just on the small business issue alone, we have cut taxes for small businesses eight times during the course of the last 18 months. So we're hardly Johnnie-come-latelys on this issue.

Now, when you put all the things we've done together, it has made a difference. Three million people have jobs that wouldn't have them otherwise had we not taken these steps. The economy would be in much worse shape. But as I said before, we're not where we need to go yet -- which means that if we're not there yet, what else can we do?

And the proposals that we've put forward are ones that historically, again, have garnered bipartisan support: a research and development tax credit so that companies that are investing in research here in the United States -- which is part of what's going to keep us growing and keep us innovative -- let's make sure that companies are strongly incentivized to do that. Making sure that their expensing accelerated business depreciation is happening in 2011, so that if companies are sort of sitting on the sidelines right now, not sure whether they should invest, let's give them incentive to go ahead and invest now to give that a jumpstart.

On infrastructure, we've got a highway bill that traditionally is done every six years. And what we're saying is let's ramp up what we're doing, let's beef it up a little bit -- because we've got this infrastructure all across the country that everybody from governors to mayors to economists to engineers of all political stripes have said is holding us back in terms of our long-term competitiveness -- let's get started now rebuilding America.

And in terms of paying for some of these things, let's stop giving tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas, let's stop incentivizing that. Let's give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in the United States of America.

Those are all common-sense approaches. Historically, as you know, you've been around this town for a long time -- usually, Republicans and Democrats agree on infrastructure. Usually, Republicans and Democrats agree on making sure that research and development investments are made right here in the United States. And so let's get it done.

It has nothing to do with the notion that somehow what we did previously didn't work. It worked. It just hasn't done as much as we need it to do. We've still got a long ways to go and we're going to keep on doing it.

Q So this is a second stimulus? (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Here's how I would -- there is no doubt that everything we've been trying to do -- everything we've been trying to do is designed to stimulate growth and additional jobs in the economy. I mean, that's our entire agenda. So I have no problem with people saying the President is trying to stimulate growth and hiring. Isn't that what I should be doing? I would assume that's what the Republicans think we should do, to stimulate growth and jobs. And I will keep on trying to stimulate growth and jobs for as long as I'm President of the United States.

Hans Nichols.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. (Inaudible) -- I'll ask my real question. It's now been more than two months since the financial reg reform bill has passed. A centerpiece of that was what you talked about as a consumer financial protection bureau. And yet you haven't named a head. Is Elizabeth Warren still a leading candidate? And if not, are you worried about some sort of Senate hurdle for her confirmation? Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: This is a great opportunity to talk to the American people about what I do think is going to be hugely helpful to middle-class families in the years and decades to come, and that is an agency that has been set up, an independent agency, whose sole job is to protect families in their financial transactions. So if you are getting a credit card, we are going to have an agency that makes sure that that credit card company can't jack up your rates without any reason -- including on old balances. And that could save American consumers tens of billions of dollars just in the first couple of years.

If you are out there looking for a mortgage -- and we all know that part of the problem with the financial crisis was that folks were peddling mortgages that were unstable, that had these huge balloon payments that people didn't fully understand well. Now there's going to be some oversight in terms of how mortgages are shaped, and people are going to actually have to know what they're getting and what they're buying into. That's going to protect the economy, as well as individual consumers.

So this agency I think has the capacity to really provide middle-class families the kind of protection that's been lacking for too long.

Now, the idea for this agency was Elizabeth Warren's. She's a dear friend of mine. She's somebody I've known since I was in law school. And I have been in conversations with her. She is a tremendous advocate for this idea. It's only been a couple of months, and this is a big task standing up this entire agency, so I'll have an announcement soon about how we're going to move forward. And I think what's fair to say is, is that I have had conversations with Elizabeth over the course of these -- over these last couple of months. But I'm not going to make an official announcement until it's ready.

Q Are you unofficially concerned about a Senate confirmation?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm concerned about all Senate confirmations these days. I mean, if I nominate somebody for dog catcher --

Q But with respect to Elizabeth Warren, are you --

THE PRESIDENT: Hans, I wasn't trying to be funny. I am concerned about all Senate nominations these days. I've got people who have been waiting for six months to get confirmed who nobody has an official objection to and who were voted out of committee unanimously, and I can't get a vote on them.

We've got judges who are pending. We've got people who are waiting to help us on critical issues like homeland security. And it's very hard when you've got a determined minority in the Senate that insists on a 60-vote filibuster on every single person that we're trying to confirm, even if after we break the filibuster, it turns out that they get 90 votes. They're just playing games. And as I think Senator Voinovich said very well, it's time to stop playing games.

All right. Chuck Todd.

Q Given the theme, I think, of all of your answers, I've just got a short question for you. How have you changed Washington?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'll tell you how we've changed Washington. Prior to us getting here, as I indicated before, you had a set of policies that were skewed toward special interests, skewed towards the most powerful, and ordinary families out there were being left behind. And since we've gotten here, whether it's making sure that folks who can't get health insurance because of preexisting condition can now get health insurance, or children who didn't have coverage now have coverage; whether it's making sure that credit card companies have to actually post in understandable ways what your credit card rates are and they can't jack up existing balances in arbitrary ways; whether it's making sure that we've got clean water and clean air for future generations; whether it's making sure that tax cuts go to families that need it as opposed to folks who don't -- on a whole range of issues over the last 18 months, we've put in place policies that are going to help grow a middle class and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth.

Now, if you're asking why haven't I been able to create a greater spirit of cooperation in Washington, I think that's fair. I'm as frustrated as anybody by it. I think part of it has to do with the fact that when we came into office, we came in under very tough economic circumstances, and I think that some of the Republican leaders made a decision, we're going to sit on the sidelines and let the Democrats try to solve it. And so we got a lot of resistance very early.

I think what's also true is that when you take on tough issues like health care or financial regulatory reform, where special interests are deeply entrenched, there's a lot of money at stake for them, and where the issues are so complicated that it drags on for a long time, you end up having a lot of big fights here in town. And it's messy. And it's frustrating.

Q (Inaudible) --

THE PRESIDENT: Well -- and so there is no doubt that an option that was available to me when I came in was not to take on those issues. I mean, we could had decided, you know what, even though we know that the pace of accelerating health care costs is going to bankrupt this economy and bankrupt businesses and bankrupt individuals, and even though we know that there are 30 million people, and that's a growing number of people, who don't have health insurance, we could have said, you know what, that's just too controversial, let's not take it on. And we could have said with respect to financial regulatory reform, you know what, we're just going to get too much resistance from Republicans, we shouldn't take that on.

I don't think that's the kind of leadership that the American people would want from their President. And are there things that I might have done during the course of 18 months that would at the margins have improved some of the tone in Washington? Probably. Is some of this just a core difference in approach in terms of how we move this forward between Democrats and Republicans? I'd say the answer is a lot more the latter.

Anne Kornblut.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Nine years after the September 11th attacks, why do you think it is that we are now seeing such an increase in suspicion and outright resentment of Islam, especially given that it has been one of your priorities to increase -- to improve relations with the Muslim world?

THE PRESIDENT: I think that at a time when the country is anxious generally and going through a tough time, then fears can surface, suspicions, divisions can surface in a society. And so I think that plays a role in it.

One of the things that I most admired about President Bush was after 9/11, him being crystal-clear about the fact that we were not at war with Islam. We were at war with terrorists and murderers who had perverted Islam, had stolen its banner to carry out their outrageous acts. And I was so proud of the country rallying around that idea, that notion that we are not going to be divided by religion; we're not going to be divided by ethnicity. We are all Americans. We stand together against those who would try to do us harm.

And that's what we've done over the last nine years. And we should take great pride in that. And I think it is absolutely important now for the overwhelming majority of the American people to hang on to that thing that is best in us, a belief in religious tolerance, clarity about who our enemies are -- our enemies are al Qaeda and their allies who are trying to kill us, but have killed more Muslims than just about anybody on Earth. We have to make sure that we don't start turning on each other.

And I will do everything that I can as long as I am President of the United States to remind the American people that we are one nation under God, and we may call that God different names but we remain one nation. And as somebody who relies heavily on my Christian faith in my job, I understand the passions that religious faith can raise. But I'm also respectful that people of different faiths can practice their religion, even if they don't subscribe to the exact same notions that I do, and that they are still good people, and they are my neighbors and they are my friends, and they are fighting alongside us in our battles.

And I want to make sure that this country retains that sense of purpose. And I think tomorrow is a wonderful day for us to remind ourselves of that.

Natasha Mozgovaya of Haaretz. Is she here? Natasha -- there you are back there.

Q Mr. President, back in the region, the Palestinian and Israeli leaders, they sound a bit less ready for this historic compromise. President Abbas, for example, said the Palestinians won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The question is, if these talks fail at an early stage, will this administration disengage? Or maybe you're ready to step up and deepen your personal involvement.

THE PRESIDENT: President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu were here last week, and they came with a sense of purpose and seriousness and cordiality that, frankly, exceeded a lot of people's expectations. What they said was that they were serious about negotiating. They affirmed the goal of creating two states, living side by side in peace and security. They have set up a schedule where they're going to meet every two weeks. We are actively participating in that process. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be flying to the Middle East for the first series of next meetings on September 14th and 15th.

And so what we've done is to bring the parties together to try to get them to recognize that the path for Israeli security and Palestinian sovereignty can only be met through negotiations. And these are going to be tough negotiations. There are enormous hurdles between now and our endpoint, and there are going to be a whole bunch of folks in the region who want to undermine these negotiations. We saw it when Hamas carried out these horrific attacks against civilians -- and explicitly said, we're going to try to do this to undermine peace talks. There are going to be rejectionists who suggest that it can't happen, and there are also going to be cynics who just believe that the mistrust between the sides is too deep.

We understood all that. We understood that it was a risk for us to promote these discussions. But it is a risk worth taking. Because I firmly believe that it is in America's national security interests, as well as Israel's national security interests, as well as in the interests of the Palestinian people, to arrive at a peace deal.

Part of the reason that I think Prime Minister Netanyahu was comfortable coming here was that he's seen, during the course of 18 months, that my administration is unequivocal in our defense of Israel's security. And we've engaged in some unprecedented cooperation with Israel to make sure that they can deal with any external threats. But I think he also came here understanding that to maintain Israel as a Jewish state that is also a democratic state, this issue has to be dealt with.

I think President Abbas came here, despite great misgivings and pressure from the other side, because he understood the window for creating a Palestinian state is closing. And there are a whole bunch of parties in the region who purport to be friends of the Palestinians and yet do everything they can to avoid the path that would actually lead to a Palestinian state, would actually lead to their goal.

And so the two parties need each other. That doesn't mean it's going to work. Ultimately it's going to be up to them. We can facilitate; we can encourage; we can tell them that we will stand behind them in their efforts and are willing to contribute as part of the broader international community in making this work. But ultimately the parties have to make these decisions for themselves.

And I remain hopeful, but this is going to be tough. And I don't want anybody out there thinking that it's going to be easy. The main point I want to make is it's a risk worth taking because the alternative is a status quo that is unsustainable.

And so if these talks break down, we're going to keep on trying. Over the long term, it has the opportunity, by the way, also to change the strategic landscape in the Middle East in a way that would be very helpful. It would help us deal with an Iran that has not been willing to give up its nuclear program. It would help us deal with terrorist organizations in the region. So this is something in our interest. We're not just doing this to feel good. We're doing it because it will help secure America as well.

Jake Tapper.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. A couple questions. First, were you concerned at all when you -- when the administration had Secretary of Defense Gates call this pastor in Florida that you were elevating somebody who is clearly from the fringe?

And then more substantively, on health care reform, this is six months since health care passed. You pledged, A, that you would bend the cost curve, and B, that you Democrats would be able to campaign on this. And CMS reported yesterday that the cost curve is actually bending up, from 6.1 percent to 6.3 percent, post-health care legislation. And the only Democrats I've seen talking about health care legislation are running TV ads saying that they voted against it.

Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: With respect to the individual down in Florida, let me just say -- let me repeat what I said a couple of days ago. The idea that we would burn the sacred texts of someone else's religion is contrary to what this country stands for. It's contrary to what this country -- this nation was founded on. And my hope is, is that this individual prays on it and refrains from doing it.

But I'm also Commander-in-Chief, and we are seeing today riots in Kabul, riots in Afghanistan, that threaten our young men and women in uniform. And so we've got an obligation to send a very clear message that this kind of behavior or threats of action put our young men and women in harm's way. And it's also the best imaginable recruiting tool for al Qaeda.

And although this may be one individual in Florida, part of my concern is to make sure that we don't start having a whole bunch of folks all across the country think this is the way to get attention. This is a way of endangering our troops -- our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives who are sacrificing for us to keep us safe. And you don't play games with that.

So I hardly think we're the ones who elevated this story. But it is, in the age of the Internet, something that can cause us profound damage around the world, and so we've got to take it seriously.

With respect to health care, what I said during the debate is the same thing I'm saying now and it's the same thing I will say three or four years from now. Bending the cost curve on health care is hard to do. We've got hundreds of thousands of providers and doctors and systems and insurers. And what we did was we took every idea out there about how to reduce or at least slow the costs of health care over time.

But I said at the time, it wasn't going to happen tomorrow, it wasn't going to happen next year. It took us decades to get into a position where our health care costs were going up 6, 7, 10 percent a year. And so our goal is to slowly bring down those costs.

Now, we've done so also by making sure that 31 million people who aren't getting health insurance are going to start getting it. And we have now implemented the first phase of health care in a way that, by the way, has been complimented even by the opponents of health care reform. It has been smooth. And right now middle-class families all across America are going to be able to say to themselves, starting this month, if I've got a kid who is under 26 and doesn't have health insurance, that kid can stay on my health insurance. If I've got a child with a preexisting condition, an insurer can't deny me coverage. If I get sick and I've got health insurance, that insurance company can't arbitrarily drop my coverage.

There are 4 million small businesses around the country who are already eligible and in some cases will be receiving a 35 percent tax break on health care for their employees. And I've already met small businesses around the country who say, because of that, I'm going to be able to provide health care for my employees, I thought it was the right thing to do. So --

Q -- the CMS study from February predicted a 6.1 percent increase, and now, post-health care, 6.3 percent. So it seems to have bent it up.

THE PRESIDENT: No, as I said, Jake, the -- I haven't read the entire study. Maybe you have. But if you -- if what -- the reports are true, what they're saying is, is that as a consequence of us getting 30 million additional people health care, at the margins that's going to increase our costs, we knew that. We didn't think that we were going to cover 30 million people for free, but that the long-term trend in terms of how much the average family is going to be paying for health insurance is going to be improved as a consequence of health care.

And so our goal on health care is, if we can get, instead of health care costs going up 6 percent a year, it's going up at the level of inflation, maybe just slightly above inflation, we've made huge progress. And by the way, that is the single most important thing we could do in terms of reducing our deficit. That's why we did it. That's why it's important, and that's why we're going to implement it effectively.

Q Sorry, and then the House Democrats running against health care -- if you could comment on that.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, there are -- we're in a political season where every candidate out there has their own district, their own makeup, their own plan, their own message. And in an environment where we've still got 9.5 percent unemployment, people are going to make the best argument they can right now. And they're going to be taking polls of what their particular constituents are saying, and trying to align with that oftentimes. That's how political races work.

April Ryan.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. I want to ask a couple questions. On the economy, could you discuss your efforts at reviewing history as it relates to the poverty agenda, meaning LBJ and Dr. King? And also, since Senate Republicans are holding up the issue of Cobell and Pigford, too, can you make any assurances before you leave office that you will make sure that those awards are funded?

THE PRESIDENT: Let me take the second question first. For those who aren't familiar, Cobell and Pigford relate to settlements surrounding historic discrimination against minority farmers who weren't oftentimes provided the same benefits as everybody else under the USDA.

It is a fair settlement. It is a just settlement. We think it's important for Congress to fund that settlement. We're going to continue to make it a priority.

With respect to the history of fighting poverty, I got my start in public service as a community organizer working in the shadow steel plants that had been closed in some of the poorest neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. That's what led me to want to serve. And so I am constantly thinking about how do we create ladders for communities and individuals to climb into the middle class.

Now, I think the history of anti-poverty efforts is, is that the most important anti-poverty effort is growing the economy and making sure there are enough jobs out there -- single most important thing we can do. It's more important than any program we could set up. It's more important than any transfer payment that we could have. If we can grow the economy faster and create more jobs, then everybody is swept up into that virtuous cycle. And if the economy is shrinking and things are going badly, then the folks who are most vulnerable are going to be those poorest communities.

So what we want to focus on right now is broad-based job growth and broad-based economic expansion. And we're doing so against some tough headwinds, because, as I said, we are coming out of a very difficult -- very difficult time. We've started to turn the corner but we're not there yet.

And so that is going to be my central focus: How do I grow the economy? How do I make sure that there's more job growth?

That doesn't mean that there aren't some targeted things we can do to help communities that are especially in need. And probably the most important thing we can do after growing the economy generally is how can we improve school systems in low-income communities. And I am very proud of the efforts that we've made on education reform -- which have received praise from Democrats and Republicans. This is one area where actually we've seen some good bipartisan cooperation.

And the idea is very simple. If we can make sure that we have the very best teachers in the classroom, if we can reward excellence instead of mediocrity and the status quo, if we can make sure that we're tracking progress in real, serious ways and we're willing to make investments in what goes on in the classroom and not the school bureaucracy, and reward innovation, then schools can improve. There are models out there of schools in the toughest inner-city neighborhood that are now graduating kids, 90 percent of whom are going to college. And the key is how do we duplicate those?

And so what our Race to the Top program has done is it's said to every state around the country, instead of just getting money based on a formula, we want you to compete. Show us how you are reforming your school systems to promote excellence, based on proven ideas out there. And if you do that, we're going to reward you with some extra money. And just the competition alone has actually spurred 46 states so far to initiate legislation designed to reform the school system.

So we're very proud of that, and that I think is going to be one of the most important things we can do. It's not just, by the way, K-12. It's also -- it's also higher education. And as a consequence of a battle that we had -- and it was a contentious battle -- in Congress, we've been able to take tens of billions of dollars that were going to banks and financial intermediaries in the student loan program and said we're going to give that money directly to students so that they get more help going to college. And obviously poor kids are the ones who are going to benefit most from those programs.

Helene Cooper.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Two questions. One on Afghanistan. How can you lecture Hamid Karzai about corruption when so many of these corrupt people are on the U.S. payroll?

And on the Middle East, do you believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should extend the settlement moratorium as a gesture to peace? And if he doesn't, what are you prepared to do to stop the Palestinians from walking?

THE PRESIDENT: Okay. On Afghanistan, we are in the midst of a very difficult but very important project. I just want to remind people why we're there -- the day before September 11th. We're there because that was the place where al Qaeda launched an attack that killed 3,000 Americans. And we want to make sure that we dismantle al Qaeda, and that Afghanistan is never again used as a base for attacks against Americans and the American homeland.

Now, Afghanistan is also the second poorest country in the world. It's got an illiteracy rate of 70 percent. It has a multiethnic population that mistrusts, oftentimes, each other. And it doesn't have a tradition of a strong, central government.

So what we have done is to say we are going to, after seven years of drift, after seven years of policies in which, for example, we weren't even effectively training Afghan security forces, what we've done is to say we're going to work with the Afghan government to train Afghan security forces so they can be responsible for their own security. We are going to promote a political settlement in the region that can help to reduce the violence. We are going to encourage a Afghan government that can deliver services for its people. And we're going to try to make sure that as part of helping President Karzai stand up a broadly accepted, legitimate government, that corruption is reduced.

And we've made progress on some of those fronts. I mean, when it comes to corruption, I'll just give you an example. Four years ago, 11 judges in the Afghan legal system were indicted for corruption. This year, 86 were indicted for corruption. We have seen Afghan-led efforts that have gone after police commanders, significant business people in Afghanistan. But we're a long way from where we need to be on that.

And every time I talk to President Karzai I say that, as important as it is for us to help you train your military and your police forces, the only way that you are going to have a stable government over the long term is if the Afghan people feel that you're looking out for them. And that means making sure that the tradition of corruption in the government is reduced.

And we're going to keep on putting pressure on them on that front. Is it going to happen overnight? Probably not. Are there going to be occasions where we look and see that some of our folks on the ground have made compromises with people who are known to have engaged in corruption? We're reviewing all that constantly and there may be occasions where that happens.

And I think you're certainly right, Helene, that we've got to make sure that we're not sending a mixed message here. So one of the things that I've said to my national security team is let's be consistent, in terms of how we operate, across agencies. Let's make sure that our efforts there are not seen as somehow giving a wink and a nod to corruption. If we are saying publicly that that's important, then our actions have to match up across the board. But it is a challenging environment in which to do that.

Now, with respect to Prime Minister Netayanhu and the Middle East, a major bone of contention during the course of this month is going to be the potential lapse of the settlement moratorium. The irony is, is that when Prime Minister Netanyahu put the moratorium in place, the Palestinians were very skeptical. They said this doesn't do anything. And it turns out, to Prime Minister Netanyahu's credit and to the Israeli government's credit, the settlement moratorium has actually been significant. It has significantly reduced settlement construction in the region. And that's why now the Palestinians say, you know what, even though we weren't that keen on it at first or we thought it was just window dressing, it turns out that this is important to us.

What I've said to Prime Minister Netanyahu is that, given, so far, the talks are moving forward in a constructive way, it makes sense to extend that moratorium so long as the talks are moving in a constructive way. Because, ultimately, the way to solve these problems is for the two sides to agree what's going to be Israel, what's going to be the state of Palestine. And if you can get that agreement, then you can start constructing anything that the people of Israel see fit in undisputed areas.

Now, I think the politics for Prime Minister Netanyahu are very difficult. His coalition -- I think there are a number of members of his coalition who've said, we don't want to continue this. And so one of the things that I've said to President Abbas is, you've got to show the Israeli public that you are serious and constructive in these talks so that the politics for Prime Minister Netanyahu -- if he were to extend the settlements moratorium -- would be a little bit easier.

And one of the goals I think that I've set for myself and for my team is to make sure that President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu start thinking about how can they help the other succeed, as opposed to how do they figure out a way for the other to fail. Because if they're going to be successful in bringing about what they now agree is the best course of action for their people, the only way they're going to succeed is if they are seeing the world through the other person's eyes. And that requires a personal relationship and building trust. Hopefully, these meetings will help do that.

Ann Compton.

Q Mr. President, what does it say about the status of American system of justice when so many of those who are thought to be plotters for September 11th or accused, suspected terrorists are still awaiting any kind of trial? Are you -- why are you still convinced that a civilian trial is correct for Sheikh -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? And why has that stalled? And will Guantanamo remain open for another year?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we have succeeded on delivering a lot of campaign promises that we made. One where we've fallen short is closing Guantanamo. I wanted to close it sooner. We have missed that deadline. It's not for lack of trying. It's because the politics of it are difficult.

Now, I am absolutely convinced that the American justice system is strong enough that we should be able to convict people who murdered innocent Americans, who carried out terrorist attacks against us. We should be able to lock them up and make sure that they don't see the light of day. We can do that. We've done it before. We've got people who engaged in terrorist attacks who are in our prisons, maximum security prisons, all across the country.

But this is an issue that has generated a lot of political rhetoric and people, understandably, are fearful. But one of the things that I think is worth reflecting on after 9/11 is this country is so resilient, we are so tough, we can't be frightened by a handful of people who are trying to do us harm, especially when we've captured them and we've got the goods on them.

So I've also said that there are going to be circumstances where a military tribunal may be appropriate, and the reason for that is -- and I'll just give a specific example. There may be situations in which somebody was captured in theater, is now in Guantanamo. It's very hard to piece together a chain of evidence that would meet some of the evidentiary standards that would be required in an Article III court. But we know that this person is guilty; there's sufficient evidence to bring about a conviction. So what I have said is the military commission system that we set up -- where appropriate for certain individuals that would make -- it would be difficult to try in Article III courts for a range of reasons -- we can reform that system so that it meets the highest standards of due process and prosecute them there.

And so I'm prepared to work with Democrats and Republicans. And we over the course of the last year have been in constant conversations with them about setting up a sensible system in which we are prosecuting where appropriate those in Article III courts. We are prosecuting others where appropriate through a military tribunal. And in either case, let's put them in prisons where our track record is they've never escaped. And, by the way, just from a purely fiscal point of view, the costs of holding folks in Guantanamo is massively higher than it is holding them in a super maximum security prison here in the United States.

Q How long for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? Will that trial ever happen?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it needs to happen. And we're going to work with members of Congress -- and this is going to have to be on a bipartisan basis -- to move this forward in a way that is consistent with our standards of due process, consistent with our Constitution, consistent also with our image in the world of a country that cares about rule of law. You can't underestimate the impact of that.

Al Qaeda operatives still cite Guantanamo as a justification for attacks against the United States. Still to this day. And there's no reason for us to give them that kind of talking point when, in fact, we can use the various mechanisms of our justice system to prosecute these folks and to make sure that they never attack us again.

Ed Henry.

Q Mr. President, you were talking about some of the al Qaeda leaders that you have captured. One that you have not is Osama bin Laden. Tomorrow is going to be nine years since he was the mastermind of 3,000 Americans being killed. And what you said -- obviously, the last administration had seven years and couldn't do it. But what you said as President-elect to CBS is, "I think capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out al Qaeda. He is not just a symbol. He is also the operational leader of an organization planning attacks against the U.S."

Do you still believe it's a critical part of your policy to capture or kill him? And do you think -- isn't it a failure of your administration that here it's almost two years in -- you campaigned saying you were going to run a smarter war on terror than the Bush administration. You haven't captured him and you don't seem to know where he is.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Ed, I think capturing or killing bin Laden and Zawahiri would be extremely important to our national security. It doesn't solve all our problems, but it remains a high priority of this administration.

One of the things that we've been successful at over the last two years is to ramp up the pressure on al Qaeda and their key leaders. And as a consequence, they have been holed up in ways that have made it harder for them to operate. And part of what's happened is bin Laden has gone deep underground. Even Zawahiri, who is more often out there, has been much more cautious.

But we have the best minds, the best intelligence officers, the best special forces, who are thinking about this day and night. And they will continue to think about it day and night as long as I'm President.

Q But, sir, do you think Americans are going to face another nine years of this terror threat, another generation? What's your message to them?

THE PRESIDENT: Here's what I think. I think that in this day and age, there are going to be -- there is always going to be the potential for an individual or a small group of individuals, if they are willing to die, to kill other people. Some of them are going to be very well organized and some of them are going to be random. That threat is there. And it's important, I think, for the American people to understand that, and not to live in fear. It's just a reality of today's world that there are going to be threats out there.

We have, I think, greatly improved our homeland security since 9/11 occurred. I am constantly impressed with the dedication that our teams apply to this problem. They are chasing down every thread not just from al Qaeda but any other actor out there that might be engaging in terrorism. They are making sure that even a -- what might appear to be a lone individual who has very little organizational capacity -- if they make a threat, they follow up.

But one of the things that I want to make sure we do as long as I'm President, and beyond my presidency, is to understand America's strength in part comes from its resilience, and that we don't start losing who we are or overreacting if, in fact, there is the threat of terrorism out there.

We go about our business. We are tougher than them. Our families and our businesses and our churches and mosques and synagogues and our Constitution, our values, that's what gives us strength. And we are going to have this problem out there for a long time to come. But it doesn't have to completely distort us. And it doesn't have to dominate our foreign policy. What we can do is to constantly fight against it. And I think ultimately, we are going to be able to stamp it out. But it's going to take some time.

MR. GIBBS: Last question.

THE PRESIDENT: Wendell.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. I wonder if I can get you to weigh in on the wisdom of building a mosque a couple of blocks from Ground Zero. We know that the organizers have the constitutional right. What would it say about this country if they were somehow talked out of doing that? And hasn't the Florida minister's threat to burn a couple hundred copies of the Koran, hasn't the threat itself put American lives in danger, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, on the second -- on your second question, there's no doubt that when someone goes out of their way to be provocative in ways that we know can inflame the passions of over a billion Muslims around the world, at a time when we've got our troops in a lot of Muslim countries, that's a problem. And it has made life a lot more difficult for our men and women in uniform who already have a very difficult job.

With respect to the mosque in New York, I think I've been pretty clear on my position here, and that is, is that this country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal; that they have certain inalienable rights -- one of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely. And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site.

Now, I recognize the extraordinary sensitivities around 9/11. I've met with families of 9/11 victims in the past. I can only imagine the continuing pain and anguish and sense of loss that they may go through. And tomorrow we as Americans are going to be joining them in prayer and remembrance. But I go back to what I said earlier: We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam to engage in their destructive acts.

And we've got to be clear about that. We've got to be clear about that because if we're going to deal with the problems that Ed Henry was talking about, if we're going to successfully reduce the terrorist threat, then we need all the allies we can get. The folks who are most interested in a war between the United States or the West and Islam are al Qaeda. That's what they've been banking on.

And fortunately, the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world are peace-loving, are interested in the same things that you and I are interested in: How do I make sure I can get a good job? How can I make sure that my kids get a decent education? How can I make sure I'm safe? How can I improve my lot in life? And so they have rejected this violent ideology for the most part -- overwhelmingly.

And so from a national security interest, we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. It's a handful, a tiny minority of people who are engaging in horrific acts, and have killed Muslims more than anybody else.

The other reason it's important for us to remember that is because we've got millions of Muslim Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country. They're going to school with our kids. They're our neighbors. They're our friends. They're our coworkers. And when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?

I've got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan in the uniform of the United States armed services. They're out there putting their lives on the line for us. And we've got to make sure that we are crystal-clear for our sakes and their sakes they are Americans and we honor their service. And part of honoring their service is making sure that they understand that we don't differentiate between them and us. It's just us.

And that is a principle that I think is going to be very important for us to sustain. And I think tomorrow is an excellent time for us to reflect on that.

Thank you very much, everybody.

END

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Thematic Clipreels - Vietnam War Tape 2 - : UPI Syndicated Reports

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0:58

South Vietnam

Various shots showing buildings inside a South Vietnamese army barracks in a rural district either damaged or completely destroyed by Viet Cong mortars. Various shots of a circular concrete firing pit for an 81mm mortar, with discarded bottle-like objects and used artillery shell cases laid out on the rim. Various shots of Vietnamese soldiers and foreign journalists inspecting the perimeter defences and several bodies of Viet Cong fighters killed while trying to breach them. Various shots of the journalists and two US army advisors armed with M-14 rifles viewing the scene. A shot showing a US military advisor listening to a South Vietnamese army describing the battle to him.

STORYLINE:

Foreign journalists and US military advisors inspect the aftermath of an unsuccessful attack by Viet Cong guerrillas on a South Vietnamese army barracks in the countryside.

06:01:06

F07011

S.Vietnam bomb

Viet Cong bomb attack in Saigon

29/04/1966

00:01:00

Saigon, South Vietnam - 29/04/1966

1. Various shots taken in a street market in Saigon showing armed civilian policemen and South Vietnamese soldiers and military police

armed with M-1 carbines on duty after a Viet Cong bomb attack (no sign of any destruction or loss of life occasioned by the attack)and stopping

traffic from approaching the scene.

2. Various shots showing a Vietnamese policeman getting irritated by children who have gathered to watch events and South Vietnamese soldiers in the back of a covered truck smiling at the camera.

3. A shot of the policeman encouraging local people to move away.

STORYLINE:

Saigon, South Vietnam - 29/04/1966. While Saigon is in the grip of yet another political crisis involving Buddhist opposition to the Ky-Thieu regime, Viet Cong bomb attacks add to the mood of insecurity in the city.

06:01:50

F03645

Vietnam pagoda

Besieged pagoda in Saigon

22/06/1966

0:56

Saigon, Vietnam

Various shots showing the gateway to a Buddhist monastery, with both big heavy metal doors closed, a Buddhist monk in traditional saffon robes staring at the camera at the narrow pedestrian entrance to the monastery, various shots showing a jeep leading a column of South Vietnamese army lorries towards the monastery gateway, a small crowd of young people at the gateway watching policemen drag coils of barbed wire off the back of a lorry and erect an improvised barrier near the monastery''s front gate, a soldier armed with an M-1 Garand rifle stands watch over the scene, shots of mischievous looking youngsters staring at the camera from the other side of a coil of barbed wire, the big doors of the monastery gates being closed shut.

STORYLINE:

South Vietnamese soldiers and police surround a Buddhist monastery in Saigon during a wave of anti-government protests.

06:03:03

F07012

S.Vietnam troops

Aussie troops complete a sweep for Viet Cong guerrillas

24/07/1966

00:01:00

Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam - 24/07/1966

1. Various shots from a moving M113 armoured personnel manned by men from the 1st Armoured Personnel Squadron heading down a road

through a rubber plantation past Vietnamese peasants going about their business and the APC commander on top of the vehicle next to his Browning .50 calibre machine gun mounting.

2. Various shots of a Bell 47G Sioux helicopter flying low over a column of 1st APC Squadron APCs carrying men from the 6th Battalion Royal Australian Rifles who prefer to ride on top of their M113s rather than inside them, an Australian 3-inch mortar position bombarding Viet Cong positions and the M113 APCS deploying in the countryside. (38 seconds)

3. Various shots showing Vietnamese peasant women going about their business, oxen-drawn farm waggons, market traders selling small amounts of fruit and vegetables.

STORYLINE:

Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam - 24/07/1966. In "Operation Brisbane" (16-18th July 1966), Australian troops conduct a sweep for Viet Cong guerrillas in Phuoc Tuy province between Nui Dinh and Nui Thi Vai. Scenes of everyday life for Vietnamese peasants in Phuoc Tuy province.

06:04:02

F04979

Vietnam parade

Victory parade in Saigon celebrates recent military succeses

04/11/1966

1:00

Saigon, Vietnam

Various shots filmed from one of the stands overlooking the parade route in downtown Saigon of a South Vietnamese army divisional or regimental colour party and Australian troops in bush hats marching along. Various shots of US Army military vehicles - an M-48 Patton tank, an M109 155mm self-propelled guns, 2-1/2 ton trucks towing Hawk surface-to-air missiles, several M113 armoured personnel carriers and a 4x4 armoured car, 2-1/2-ton trucks towing 155mm howitzers - taking part in the parade.

Various shots of the crowd of spectators and the band of the 25th US Infantry Division marching past. A shot of two army engineer earthmovers taking part in the parade, releasing balloons into the air from their scraper blades. A shot of war elephants and Vietnamese warriors in traditional dress carrying the insignia of the South Vietnamese army II Corps on parade. STORYLINE:

US and ANZAC troops take part in a South Vietnamese army military parade in the centre of Saigon in celebration of South Vietnam''s National Day on 1st November 1966.

06:05:10

F07015

Laos Holt

Australian PM arrives in Laos

03/04/1967

00:01:00

Vientiane, Laos - 03/04/1967

1. Various shots of Mr Harold Holt stepping off his RAAF Vickers Viscount onto the tarmac at Vientiane airport and, accopanied by his wife, Zara,

being greeted by the prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos, a Laotian army 105mm howitzer battery firing salutes in honour of their visitor at the edge of the airport tarmac.

2. Various shots of a Royal Laotian army band playing, Mr Holt and the Laotian premier standing to attention and inspecting an Laotian Army Guard of Honour.

3. Various shots of Mr and Mrs Holt being greeted by a line-up of Laotian government officials and army officers and receiving floral bouquets from Laotian girls.

STORYLINE:

Vientiane, Laos - 03/04/1967. Mr Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australian and a keen supporter of the US war in Vietnam, continues his tour of South East Asia by visiting the Kingdom of Laos, a nation currently undergoing a civil war between the CIA-backed Royal Laotian army and the Pathet Lao communist guerrillas.

06:06:12

F07014

Cambodia Holt

Australian PM arrive in Cambodia

31/03/1967

00:01:00

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 31/03/1967

1. Various shots filmed at Phnom Penh airport showing a Cambodian government delegation led by the Cambodian deputy prime minister (?) preparing to greet their visitors and the gangway on an Royal Australian Air Force Vickers Viscount automatically unfolding itself onto the tarmac, the Australian prime minister, Mr Harold Holt and his wife, Zara, disembarking as its turbo-props gradually spin to a stop.

2. Various shots of Mr and Mrs Holt being welcomed by the Cambodian government delegation and receives a floral garland around his neck, Mrs Holt receives a floral bouquets etc.

3. A shot of Harold Holt and the Cambodian deputy prime minister (?) walking across the airport to a low saluting base, a large Australian flag flying above it.

STORYLINE:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 31/03/1967. In a tour of South East Asia, Mr Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia and a keen supporter of US President Johnson''s policies in the region, visits South Vietnam''s neighbour, the Kingdom of Cambodia whose ruler, Prince Sihanouk, is determined to stay out of the conflict.

06:07:06

F07013

S.Vietnam demonstration

Catholic demonstration staged in Saigon

02/04/1967

00:01:00

Saigon, South Vietnam - 02/04/1967

1. Various shots of young Vietnamese Roman Catholics parading through the centre of Saigon and holding prayers outside the National Assembly building.

2. Various shots of a Bell Huey helicopter flying overhead and landing in

the grounds of the Presidential Palace.

3. Various shots of Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky (a Buddhist) meeting a delegation from the Catholic demonstrators outside the Presidential Palac and stepping up onto the roof of a truck and addressing the large crowd with the aid of a microphone.

STORYLINE:

Saigon, South Vietnam - 02/04/1967. Vietnamese Roman Catholics demonstrate their loyalty to the Ky-Thieu regime in the centre of Saigon.

06:08:06

F07016

Vietnam troops

Australian reinforcements arrive in South Vietnam

05/04/1967

00:01:00

Phouc Tuy, Vietnam - 05/04/1967

1. Various shots showing Canadian-built de Havilland Caribou transport aircraft belonging to No. 30 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force taxying

along the dirt airstrip at Vung Tau and soldiers from the 7th RAR disembarking with their weapons - Australian-made copies of Belgian NATO-standard FN semi-automatic rifle called the Lithgow SLP and the Australian-designed F1 9mm sub machine-gun - via the back loading door of a Caribou transport plane.

2. Varous shots showing some of the new-arrivals chatting to fellow Australian soldiers, possibly from the 5th Battalion Royal Australian

Rifles.

3. Various shots of lines of soldiers unloading kit bags and other personal belongings from the back loading door of a Caribou transport plane.

STORYLINE:

Phouc Tuy, Vietnam - 05/04/1967. The advance party for the 7th Battalion Royal Australian Rifles arrives by air at Vung Tau in Phuoc Tuy province to relieve the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Rifles at the end of its tour of duty in Vietnam.

06:08:43

F07017

S.Vietnam troops

Aussie troops airlifted to Phouc Tuy

23/04/1967

00:01:00

Cape St Jacques, Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam - 23/04/1967

1. Various aerial shots showing warships lying off the South Vietnamese coast in the South China Sea near Cape St Jacques, and the flight deck of HMAS Sydney, an ex-Royal Navy light aircraft carrier converted into a troop transport, as the cameraman''s helicopter comes in to land.

2. Various shots of a US Army Boeing CH-46 Chinook landing on HMAS Sydney''s flight deck and soldiers from the 7th RAR, keeping their heads low to avoid the wash from the rotor blades, boarding the helicopter on the carrier flight deck and seated in two rows inside the Chinook while it is in flight.

3. Various shots showing a US Army Chinook hospital coming into land at Nui Dat, a sign put up to welcome the 7th RAR and soldiers from the battalion disembarking from the Chinook''s big rear door carrying their Lithgow SLRs (Australian-made copies of the NATO Belgian FN rifle) and shouldering their kit bags.

4. Various shots showing the new arrivals boarding a 3-ton truck and headin off on a dirt road to the battalion lines a short distance away.

STORYLINE:

Cape St Jacques, Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam - 23/04/1967. The main body of the 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, the first Australian combat unit to be deployed in Vietnam with a high percentage of conscripted servicemen, is airlifted into Phuoc Tuy province to replace a sister battalion, the 5th, coming to the end of its tour of duty in Vietnam.

06:09:42

F07018

Vietnam Westmoreland

Westmoreland holds informal press conference

04/05/1967

00:01:00

Vietnam - 04/05/1967

1. Various interior shots of General William Westmoreland, senior US Army commander in Vietnam,seated on a sofa with Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker in a building somewhere inside the US Embassy in Saigon (?), speaking to a small number of Vietnamese and foreign press and radio journalists.

2. Various shots showing Westmoreland leaving the building accompanied by arious US military and embassy (?) officials including Ellsworth Bunker and a senior general in the Military Assistance Command Vietnam(MACV).

STORYLINE:

Vietnam - 04/05/1967. At a time when he was both claiming that the war in Vietnam could be won but that he needed more troops to win the war, General William Westmoreland, the officer commanding the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), gives an informal press conference to journalists.

06:10:29

F07019

France demonstration

Anti-Vietnam War demonstration held in Paris

04/05/1967

00:01:00

Paris, France - 04/05/1967

1. Various shots, probably taken on 1st May 1967, showing a mass of demonstrators taking part in an anti-Vietnam War march in Paris'' Left Bank that is entirely peaceful and lacking almost any kind of police presence; the placards many of the marchers are carrying demand peace, a halt to US crimes, an end to US aggression in Vietnam and label President Johnson as a murder.

2. Various shots of the slow-moving mass of marchers shouting slogans and hand-clapping rhythmically and carrying the National Liberation Front for Vietnam (Viet Cong) flag.

STORYLINE:

Paris, France - 04/05/1967. Demonstrators take part in a peaceful anti-Vietnam War march along Paris'' Left Bank.

06:11:41

F07020

Sweden crimes

Vietnam International War Crimes Tribunal meets in Stockholm

04/05/1967

00:02:00

Stockholm, Sweden - 04/05/1967

1. A shot from the back of a university lecture hall showing the International Tribunal in session.

2. A shot of an unidentified American witness addressing the tribunal:

"In North Vietnam, the US military is making widespread use of the cluster bomb weapon. The use of this weapon constitutes a wilful and systematic attack on the civilian population. Attacks are made against schools, churches, hospitals and factories, irrespective of whether the latter are engaged in military operations. Hamlets and villages are subjected to indiscriminate attacks often with a variety of different types of bomb".

3. Shots of members of the tribunal listening to the testimony and examples of US cluster bombs on display in the courtroom.

4. A shot of an unidentified French-speaking Vietnamese speaking, condemning US actions and calling on public opinion throughout the world, especially in the United States, to halt the war.

STORYLINE:

Stockholm, Sweden - 04/05/1967. In Stockholm, the International War Crimes Tribunal on the war in Vietnam, an independent body established by British philosopher and pacifist Bertrand Russell, hears evidence of alleged US war crimes.

06:13:32

F07022

W.Germany demonstration

Anti-Vietnam War demonstration staged in Munich

10/05/1967

00:01:00

Munich, West Germany - 10/05/1967

1. Various shots of a night time anti-Vietnam War demonstration in the centre of Munich holding burning tapers, parading with Nazi Swastika emblems, a Viet Cong flag and placards in German which read '' 1937 - the Nazis murder in Spain/1967 - the Yankees murder in Vietnam'' and ''Johnson...genocide is genocide''.

2. Various shots of the US Consulate building in Munich and demonstrators chanting slogans and waving their placards outside it.

3. Various shots of a lorry being held up by the marchers and West German police trying to remove sit-down demonstrators.

4.Various shots of a police van fitted with loudspeakers and demonstrators struggling with the police who try to drag them out of the way, with several press photographers recording the disturbances.

STORYLINE:

Munich, West Germany - 10/05/1967. West German anti-Vietnam war protesters stage a night-time march through Munich.

06:14:47

F07023

S.Vietnam troops

US troops sweep the Mekong Delta

10/05/1967

00:01:00

Mekong Delta, South Vietnam - 10/05/1967

1. Various shots of South Vietnamese soldiers armed with M-2 carbines and M-1 Garand rifles moving very carefully and slowly through jungle undergrowth.

2. Shot of a smoke flare burning in tall grass in order to attract the attention of an incoming helicopter.

3. Various shots showing Vietnamese soldiers carrying a battle casualty in his poncho.

4. Various of a Vietnamese medic applying anti-septic paste and an elastoplast bandage to the shrapnel wounds on the torso of a wounded soldier.

5. Various shots of South Vietnamese soldiers carrying two badly-wounded soldiers to a US Army Bell Huey helicopter and put them on board.

6. Interior view inside the Bell Huey helicopter in flight, its US doorgunner on lookout duty with his M60 light machine-gun next to two wounded Vietnamese soldiers lying on stretchers next to him.

STORYLINE:

Mekong Delta, South Vietnam - 10/05/1967. Scenes from a typical sweep for Viet Cong guerrillas mounted by the the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) - as the South Vietnamese army is officially known - in the Mekong Delta.

06:15:56

F07021

N.Vietnam plane

North Vietnamese civilians recover remains of US plane

11/05/1967

00:01:00

Hanoi, North Vietnam - 11/05/1967

1. Various shots showing a tall plume of black smoke climbing into the sky beyond a village in the foreground.

2. Various shots of large numbers of North Vietnamese people gathered in groups over broken, cratered ground at the edge of cultivated fields and gazing into a deep, water-filled crater where patches of burning aviation fuel are burning.

3. Various shots of North Vietnamese civilians salvaging scraps of aluminium from the water-filled crater and putting them into a

wheeled handcart; one of the larger pieces of aircraft wreckage has stencilled words in English on it including "Caution".

4. Various shots of happy, smiling North Vietnamese men and women manhandling the handcart filled with aircraft debris across muddy, uneven ground.

STORYLINE:

Hanoi, North Vietnam - 11/05/1967. North Vietnamese civilians recover the remains of a shot-down US military jet near Hanoi (?) as a war trophy.

06:17:18

F07024

N.Vietnam bombing

Press conference on US bombing held in Hanoi

13/05/1967

00:01:00

Hanoi, North Vietnam - 13/05/1967

1. Various exterior shots taken at night showing Vietnamese and foreign journalists and photographers - presumably from Soviet bloc countries but also possibly from western nations not directly involved in the Vietnam War on America''s side - listening to a briefing by a North Vietnamese army officer.

2. Various night time shots of an unidentified object - part of a jet engine - lying on the ground and being examined by North Vietnamese army

personnel.

3. Various shots of the journalists examining a mass of papers and personnel effects (including an escape kit) belonging to a shot-down US Air Force pilot laid out on the ground for display, with a man holding a hurricane lamp for illumination,:clearly visible are a pilot''s helmet, dollar bills, a .38 revolver and Thai bank notes.

4. A shot of a covered body lying on a stretcher, with bandaged legs - belonging to the US pilot who died of his battle injuries while in North

Vietnamese captivity.

STORYLINE:

Hanoi, North Vietnam - 13/05/1967. As part of its propaganda war against the American bombing campaign, Hanoi puts on display the personal effects of a US pilot killed when his aircraft was shot down over North Vietnam.

06:18:20

F07026

Laos parade

20th anniversary parade celebrated in Laos

14/05/1967

00:01:00

Vientiane, Laos - 14/05/1967

1. Various shots showing the Laotian monarch and ruler of ''the Land of One Million Elephants'', King Savang Vatthana, seen wearing a splendid white uniform, inspecting a Guard of Honour of the Royal Laotian Army drawn up on parade in the centre of Vientiane and riding in a jeep with the army chief-of-staff past Laotian troops on parade, followed by a second jeep carrying Crown Prince Vong Savang (?).

2. Various shots showing the Laotian prime minister (?) making a speech, with King Savang Vatthana and Queen Kampkoui listening.

3. Various shots of the monarch making a speech, being received by his ministers, who kneel before him and kiss his hand, and being welcomed by his ministers, decorating the French ambassador ( wearing his summer diplomatic uniform) and pinning a medal to the colours of the association of Laotian ex-servicemen who fought for the French.

4. Various shots showing a Royal Laotian Army military band taking part in a march-past.

STORYLINE:

Vientiane, Laos - 14/05/1967. King Savang Vatthana of Laos celebrates the anniversary of the creation of his kingdom by the French in 1947.

06:19:37

F07027

S.Vietnam Ky

Marshal Ky test flies US jet

21/05/1967

00:01:00

South Vietnam - 21/05/1967

1. Various shots showing Air Vice Marshal Ky, looking trim in a dark-coloured flying jacket and baseball cap with his insignia of rank and accompanied by several senior South Vietnamese Air Force officers, inspecting the nose wheel of a two-seater training version of the Northrop F-5 Freedom fighter at Bien Hoa air force base (?) and checking a bomb pylon on the port wing. (19 feet)

2. Various shots of Ky climbing into the instructor''s cockpit in the two-seater F-5, sitting in the cockpit with his flying helmet perched on

the cockpit rim. (26 feet)

3. Various shots of the two-seater F-5 Freedom fighter taxying out of its blast shelter out onto the perimeter track with its two cockpits still in

the open position, watched by a small number of South Vietnamese air force officers (39 feet)

4. A shaky hand-held shot of Ky''s Northrop F-5 Freedom fighter heading down the runway and taking off. (48 feet)

STORYLINE:

South Vietnam - 21/05/1967. Air Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky, chief of the South Vietnamese air force as well as prime minister, test flies a Northrop F-5 Freedom fighter.

06:21:08

F07025

S.Vietnam village

Ky opens "New Life" village for homeless peasants

14/05/1967

00:01:00

South Vietnam - 14/05/1967

1. Various shots showing the pavilion and ceremonial entrance to the ''New Life'' village established by the South Vietnamese army''s civil

affairs administration and Air Vice Marshal Ky being met by senior South Vietnamese army officers in command of the II Corps district

after his arrival in a Bell Huey helicopter.

2. Various shots of Ky inspecting the colour party from the 5th South Vietnamese Army Division and standing to attention saluting (as the national anthem is played).

3. Various shots showing a line of Vietnamese villagers, clutching patriotic banners, shouting in unison greetings to their distinguished visitor and guest - and being faced by several armed policemen whose prime duty is to keep a very close eye on them, a senior army officer making a welcoming speech for Ky and all the other VIPs sitting in the stands of the grand pavilion behind him.

4. Various shots of Ky, wearing a baseball cap and trim tan military tunic and slacks, making a speech and, flanked by two young and attractive Vietnamese women, cutting with scissors the ribbon at the entrance to the "New

Life" village.

5. Various shots showing Ky, looking relaxed, talking to two villagers, one an old woman, while surrounded by officials.

STORYLINE:

South Vietnam - 14/05/1967. Air Vice Marshal Ky, the South Vietnamese premier, is the guest of honour in II Corps'' area of operations at the inauguration of a new village for homeless peasants driven from their homes by the fighting as part of a propaganda effort by the Saigon regime to show that it is committed to improving the living conditions of the population under its nominal control.

06:22:59

F07028

N.Vietnam aftermath

Aftermath following Operation ''Rolling Thunder''

31/05/1967

00:01:00

North Vietnam - 31/05/1967

1. Various shots showing a North Vietnamese school or a hospital, once owned and run by the Roman Catholic Church, almost completely

obliterated by US bombing. (7 feet)

2. A shot of a large bomb crater, with lots of small round objects - unexploded US cluster bombs - lying on the ground, possibly after

being placed there by the North Vietnamese authorities. (21 feet)

3. Various shots of a modern three-storey building badly damaged by bombing and a large bomb crater nearby and one corner of the building that has collapsed. (38 feet)

4. Various shots of a bomb-blasted telegraph pole and factory buildings badly damaged by US bombing. (51 feet)

STORYLINE:

North Vietnam - 31/05/1967. By early 1967, Operation ''Rolling Thunder'', the US bombing campaign against North Vietnam had reduced many of its towns and cities to rubble.

06:24:34

F07029

Vietnam troops

Australian and New Zealand troops land at Nui Dat

01/06/1967

00:04:00

Nui Dat, Vietnam - 01/06/1967

1. Various shots showing soldiers from the 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, standing by their weapons and luggage, waiting at a helicopter landing zone at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province and a US Army Boeing Chinook helicopter coming into land.

2. Various shots of the 6 RAR soldiers, each man carrying several bags full of the possessions he has acquired after nearly a year ''in-country'', making their way towards the helicopter as the new comers, the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, disembark onto Vietnamese soil for the first time from the Chinook''s big rear cargo door. (24 feet)

3. Various shots of the 6 RAR soldiers carrying their personal effects boarding the Chinook helicopter by its big rear cargo door under the supervision of the US Army cargo handler and the Chinook ready to take off from the landing zone. (35 feet)

4. Various shot showing the new arrivals, armed with the Lithgow SLR, the Australian copy of the NATO Belgian FN self-loading rifle and, in one or two cases, with another Australian-produced weapon, the F1 9mm sub machine-gun, loading their kit bags into the back of a three-ton truck and climbing aboard. (61 feet)

5. Various shots of an Australian army major and three other men, keeping their heads low to avoid the backwash from the Chinook''s rotor blades, newly-arrived soldiers climbing into the back of a three-ton truck and being driven to their base past other soldiers from the 6 RAR waiting to begin their journey home, a Land Rover following a trauckload of soldiers from 2 RAR. (77 feet)

6. Various shots of 6 RAR soldiers waiting at the Landing Zone for their turn to leave, several M113 armoured personnel carriers crewed by the 1st APC Squadron on guard duty at the landing zone, a group of officers standing around. (91 feet)

Out-takes (97 - 175 feet)

7. Six RAR soldiers waiting at the landing zone at Nui Dat with their personal weapons and suitcases and bags, the US Army Chinook helicopter landing, people lowering their heads to avoid the backwash from the rotor blades, the 6 RAR soldiers crossing the landing zone to board the helicopter and the new arrivals from 2 RAR passing them as they arrive on Vietnamese soil for the first time, the Chinook helicopter taking off, the new arrivals climbing into the back of a three-ton truck which then drives off, 6 RAR soldiers at the landing zone standing around near the M113 armoured personnel carriers on guard duty.

STORYLINE:

Nui Dat, Vietnam - 01/06/1967. A combined Australian-New Zealand unit, the 2nd Battalion Australian Regiment complete with two companies of New Zealanders, arrives by air at Nui Dat to replace the 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment after its year of combat duty in Vietnam.

06:29:31

F07030

N.Vietnam mine

US river mine removed from North Vietnamese canal

29/06/1967

00:01:00

North Vietnam - 29/06/1967

1. Various shots filmed by the side of a canal showing four Vietnamese men watching another man dive under water to retrieve parachute lines recovering part of a US parachute mine from the water and together dragging a metal cylindrical object out of the water (9 feet)