What Happens When a Man Wears Something Worth a Million Dollars in the Ghetto?

By Michael Douglas Carlin

There are things which can easily be known simply based upon chain reactions. I used to mix baking soda and vinegar as a child to watch the reaction. It doesn't take too long before there is an explosion when the two ingredients are mixed in a bottle and the cap is screwed on.

Walk through the hood with a million dollar medallion and see how long you survive. Now picture walking through the ghetto with five hundred times that around your neck and you come to understand what Suge Knight was doing back in 1996. There were many forces beyond his control at work.

Saying this was about money doesn't really paint the picture. Money is a down payment on a house or what we use to pay the rent. This was about millions and millions of dollars - about living on eazy-street for generations. This was about life altering amounts of cash and everybody wanted Suge Knight dead so the looting of Death Row Records could begin and that looting is still going on today.

Chaos Merchants takes us through the evidence that Death Row Records was in play and that Tupac and Suge Knight were both greenlit for murder on the night of September 7, 1996. Chaos Merchants was what Russell Poole was working on when he passed away on August 19th 2015 pitching the Sheriff's Department on solving the two biggest mysteries in the history of music. Russell was in effect apologizing to Suge Knight for all of those years he shouted from the rooftops that Suge Knight was behind the murder of Tupac Shakur.

Think about the change that Russell made in his viewpoint. He believed for nearly 20 years that Suge Knight was behind Tupac's murder because so much of the evidence pointed toward Death Row Records. When the evidence started pointing toward Suge as a victim that night and the people implicated were those around Suge it all began to make sense.

The recent allegations that Sean Puffy Combs was behind Tupac's murder were fully debunked in Tupac:187. The gaping holes were exposed. That book was the catalyst that lead to additional clues coming in that painted the clear picture of what happened that night. Russell and I were assembling those clues to present to investigators and what resulted from our investigation became "Chaos Merchants."

Looking at the MGM footage yielded clues that the entire Orlando Anderson incident had been staged to set up a motive for what would happen a few hours later. The clues have been here all this time. Russell was going to meet with Sheriff's knowing that an off-duty Compton Cop was supervising the Orlando Anderson incident. That same cop was absorbed into the Sheriff's Department when Compton Police were disbanded. Russell was also going to talk about an off-duty Sheriff letting shooters into the 1Oak Nightclub the night Suge Knight was shot six times on August 24th, 2014. That same Sheriff was caught on video dropping the shooters off at the airport the next day. Russell was going into the den of the lion to ask Sheriff's to do the right thing.

We did not know at the time that the Sheriff supervising the Orlando Anderson incident had only retired in 2014 from the Sheriff's a month before Suge was shot at 1Oak. We did not know that the LAPD cop caught hiding evidence in his desk drawer during the first Wallace Civil Trial was now the Captain of Homicide at the Sheriff's. That trial was ruled a mistrial when thousands of pages of information implicating Rampart Scandal officers in the murder of rapper Christopher Wallace were found hidden in the desk drawer and kept from the plaintiffs in the case. We also did not know that four of the investigators in the Suge Knight cases were waiting to meet with Russell instead of the lone promised homicide investigator who feigned interest in reopening the cases.

Russell was walking into a very explosive situation.

Russell Poole three days before his death. He had a spring in his step as I spoke to him that morning. He was meeting with investigators to solve the two cases that haunted him every day for nearly 20 years. He was hiking six miles a day and was confident that he was armed with the truth. Years before, Russell was fearful that LAPD was gutting the murder books in the cases and he made photocopies of all of the case files before he left the department. He was moved off of the investigation and his fears were confirmed as the files were all purged to derail any future investigation. Russell preserved history by making photocopies. The book Labyrinth by Randall Sullivan is about Russell Poole and the Rampart Scandal. 

Reggie Wright Sr. from the movie Biggie and Tupac. By the time the movie was shot Reggie Wright Sr. was a Los Angeles County Sheriff. He retired from the department in 2014 just a month before Suge Knight was shot six times in the 1Oak Nightclub. That venue was chosen because Sheriff's would respond and that response could be controlled by those close to Wright Sr. The altercation at Tam's in Compton was also responded to by LA County Sheriff's and the same investigator who handled the shooting at 1Oak also handled the Tam's investigation. Russell was convinced this was a conflict of interest.

Reggie Wright Sr. captured on the MGM Surveillance tape the night Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight were shot in Las Vegas. It was necessary to ensure that Orlando Anderson was not detained for too long or they could not pin the murder of Tupac and Suge on him... at least that was the plan. The hit was a complete failure. Tupac looked like he would survive and Suge was only grazed. They would use the exact same tactics on the Biggie Smalls hit with an experience modification of a professional shooter and armor piercing ammunition. In effect they learned from their mistakes. 

This is a rare photo of Reggie Wright Jr. back at the height of Death Row Records. He was Suge Knight's personal bodyguard and the head of Death Row Security. He disarmed all of the bodyguards that night and was in control of where everybody would be and controlled all assignments including many off-duty Las Vegas Police working security that night. Death Row Records had learned that compromising investigations by hiring off-duty cops was a lethal way bury the truth. It worked at the El Rey beating of Kelley Jamerson and it worked in the beating of Mark Anthony Bell. Bodyguard Michael Moore was standing next to Reggie Wright Jr. at the time of the shooting of Tupac and Suge. Moore heard "got-em" come over Wright's radio. With 13 bullets fired it really looked like they "got-em!!!"

Reggie Wright Jr. leads Orlando Anderson away the night Tupac and Suge were shot in Las Vegas. Russell Poole was going to Sheriff's with all of the above photos as well as the information that an off-duty Sheriff was involved in the plot to kill Suge Knight on August 24th 2014. The photos were highly troublesome for Sheriff's who had just weathered a storm that led to 20 indictments. Russell was pitching the Sheriff's on solving the murders of Tupac and Biggie that he felt could be solved. Russell died in that meeting. Less than two hours after Russell's death Reggie Wright Jr. released a YouTube video gloating about Russell's death and threatening RJ Bond's life and any others that would investigate him. Reggie Wright Jr. revealed that he knew all of the intimate details of the meeting investigators had with Russell. He knew for weeks that the meeting would happen. In fact, the meeting had been scheduled for three weeks prior to the meeting occurring. How does a suspect in two murders know the details of a meeting with Sheriff's investigators to reopen those specific murder cases?

Tupac:187 debunks the myth that Sean Puffy Combs had anything to do with the murder of Tupac Shakur. That myth first surfaced as a rumor planted by Death Row Records management while Suge Knight was behind bars. It was meant to send investigators down the wrong path.

Chaos Merchants is the book Russell Poole and Michael Carlin were collaborating on at the time of Russell's death. The first section of the book was what Russell took to the meeting with the LA County Sheriff's investigators the day he died. The day before Russell's meeting the Sheriff Investigator called to talk about what they would be meeting about and confirmed to Russell that an off-duty Sheriff had let the shooters into the 1Oak Nightclub the night Suge Knight was shot six times on August 24th 2014. Russell insisted that each fact be documented with the source. There are over 300 footnotes in the book and many of those lead to a link of the source.

What happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar in a closed container? Find out in Chaos Merchants and Tupac:187. Find out why Russell Poole believed the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls could be solved.

Chaos Merchants
http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Merchants-Murders-Shakur-Notorious-ebook/dp/B01A2VYJTO

Tupac:187
http://www.amazon.com/Tupac-187-Richard-RJ-Bond/dp/0692317848/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

© 2016 Michael Douglas Carlin. All Rights Reserved.

No Reprints allowed unless permission is granted in writing.

Russell Poole’s Chaos Merchants Released as Mystery Surrounds His Death (Ruled Natural Causes)

The murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace are still classified as unsolved. Russell Poole continued to investigate those murders even after he was pushed out of the Los Angeles Police Department six months before his 20^th anniversary with the department. Poole pursued the killers until his dying breath under mysterious circumstances.

Chaos Merchants, the book Poole was working on at the time of this death, with writer Michael Douglas Carlin, has finally been released on Amazon. Poole and Carlin previously teamed up on Tupac:187 with documentarian filmmaker, RJ Bond. RJ Bond returns to write the foreword for Chaos Merchants.

Russell Poole died August 19^th 2015, mysteriously in a meeting with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s about reopening the investigations into the murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace. At the meeting Poole suffered a massive heart attack and died at Sheriff Headquarters in Monterey Park, California. The death made national headlines in media outlets including Rolling Stone, BET, The Independent, among others.

The death of Poole was ruled “natural causes” by the Los Angeles County Coroners Office but what makes this fishy is that Poole was meeting with Sheriff’s about possible department corruption in both of the Suge Knight cases: the shooting at 1Oak on August 24^th 2014, and the homicide investigation at Tam’s in Compton.

Suge Knight is currently facing possible life in prison from murders charges resulting from the Sheriff’s Investigation.

Poole, who for years held the view that Suge Knight was behind the Shakur and Wallace murders, uncovered a 1998 confession letter to the murder of Tupac that recast everything he believed. When Poole, Bond, and Carlin reexamined Poole’s original case files in light of the letter it was a game changer. Poole had come to believe that Suge Knight was a victim on September 7^th 1996 when Shakur and Knight were attacked in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas. Knight was the primary target of that attack because of the value of Death Row Records and those that stood to gain from the potential death of Death Row Records sole shareholder. At the time, Death Row Records was worth half a billion dollars. When Poole died he was meeting with Sheriff’s Investigators to convince them to abandon their cases against Suge Knight due to conflict of interest and potential corruption and to enlist Suge Knight in solving the murders of Tupac and Biggie. Poole was, in effect, apologizing to Suge Knight.

The book examines all of the original case files that were purged from the LAPD murder books shortly after Russell Poole left the department by “Department Brass” in their effort to derail the investigations. Two civil suits brought by the family of Christopher Wallace were also derailed by the LAPD. The first case was ruled a mistrial when it was discovered that Detective Steven Katz had hidden thousands of documents from the plaintiffs. Steven Katz is the Captain of Homicide at the LA County Sheriff’s Department (is it the same Katz?) and was “in the loop” about Russell’s meeting. Russell talked to an investigator the day before his meeting who confirmed that corruption had been uncovered in the Suge Knight shooting at 1Oak. That information is likely to surface in the coming Suge Knight murder trial.

Russell Poole, the LAPD Detective credited with solving the murder of Ennis Cosby, always felt that the Tupac and Biggie cases could be solved and he never stopped meeting with the D.A.’s office or law enforcement investigators in spite of the danger. He continued to investigate literally until his dying breath.

“Russell was adamant that every fact be footnoted,” says writer Michael Douglas Carlin. “Chaos Merchants has sources for every single detail in the investigations.” Both Tupac:187 and Chaos Merchants are a combination of all available video interviews with relevant witnesses, a confession letter to the murder of Tupac, and Russell’s original case files. The books paint the clearest picture of everything known about the murders and what actually transpired.

Chaos Merchants, listed under True Crime, is available at Amazon in a Kindle version and at Smashwords.

Michael Douglas Carlin is available for interviews at michaeldouglascarlin@gmail.com.

Kennedy Inaugural Address 20 January 1961

Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy, fellow citizens:      We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.     The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.     We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.     Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.     This much we pledge--and more.     To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.     To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.     To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.     To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.     To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.     Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. 

     We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. 

     But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war. 

     So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. 

     Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. 

     Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. 

     Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce. 

     Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the oppressed go free." 

     And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved. 

     All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. 

     In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. 

     Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. 

     Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? 

     In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. 

     And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. 

     My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. 

     Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

Chaos Merchants

Part One

https://youtu.be/044s9EEet3g

Part Two

https://youtu.be/oHw3Ekc02Rw

Part Three

https://youtu.be/BkTYanlgyBw

Part Four

https://youtu.be/XMngRdPRsrw

Part Five

https://youtu.be/PftRXI7963A

Part Six

https://youtu.be/VtXJkyBgnFM

Part Seven

https://youtu.be/EpB9I4opJNk

Part Eight

https://youtu.be/CuTji46RrqY

Part Nine

https://youtu.be/tIi98JUy4kI

Part Ten

https://youtu.be/7gjAaGh4YbQ

Find out what happened to Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls

Read Russell Poole's final words on #Tupac & #Biggie murders 
smashwords.com/books/view/602470

Russell Poole discovered the truth and he was murdered because of it!

Official: Coalition Forces Continue to Battle ISIL in Syria, Iraq

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2015 — U.S.-led coalition forces continue to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremists in Iraq and Syria across the breadth and depth of the battlefield, Operation Inherent Resolve Spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters today via satellite feed from Baghdad. “The Iraqi security forces continued clearing operations in Beiji to eliminate pockets of resistance,” he said, adding the operational main focus is north of the city in the Makhmour Mountains.  Coalition forces in Sinjar supported peshmerga fighters in clearing operations with “dynamic airstrikes,” Warren said. Iraqi security forces also moved several brigade-sized units into positions around Fallujah and are isolating ISIL with several brigade-sized units into positions around the city. ISIL command and control continues to be disrupted in the city of Hit by airstrikes, he said. Operations between Hit and Haditha by joint ISF and Sunni tribal forces operations also helped isolate Ramadi, Fallujah and the entire Euphrates River Valley, Warren said, calling the area the Hit-Haditha corridor. The Syrian Democratic Forces are marshalling in the city of Hawl to prepare for its push into Shaddadi, he said. With tough fighting in the past week around Syria’s Mar’a line where Iraqi forces have traded punches and terrain with ISIL fighters, the coalition continues to support vetted Syrian Opposition Forces with airstrikes, Warren said. Deep Fights Shape Future Ops “Our deep fights continue to shape the battlefield for future operations,” Warren noted. “In Deir ez-Zor, [Syria] we continue disrupting revenue by striking oil infrastructure that supports ISIL's illicit oil activities,” and Operation Tidal Wave II struck another gas and oil separation plant in that area, Dec. 13, he added. Turning back to Iraq operations, Warren said training, equipping, advising and assisting Iraqi security forces continues, adding that nearly 16,000 Iraqi troops have been trained and equipped since the start of building partner capacity operations and more than 4,300 are in training this week. “This effort continues while the [Iraqi] army is engaged in combat operations, so it is truly -- it is like building and airplane while in flight,” he said. ISF Destroys VBIED There were significant fights in Ramadi and northern Iraq this week, Warren said. “In each place, ISIL was able to muster an offensive effort, which tells us that they have still got some fight left in them,” he said. An ISIL attack in Ramadi, Dec. 15, allowed the enemy to temporarily push the Iraqi security forces off the Palestine Bridge, he said. “After seizing the bridge, ISIL sent vehicle-borne improvised explosive device truck bombs, supported by infantry toward the Anbar ops center to retake that key objective. The ISF, using U.S.-provided AT-4s were able to destroy the VBIED, killed the infantry, supported and repelled the attack,” Warren said. The coalition’s air power “bought time” for the ISF to organize a counter attack and the force regained the Palestine Bridge, he said. Coalition aircraft from five nations responded to the ISIL attack, and expended nearly 100 precision munitions during the overnight battle, Warren said. ISIL used several construction vehicles such as excavators, to breach the berms and defensive emplacements around the forward line of own troops, he said, adding that coalition aircraft destroyed every vehicle. Key ISIL Infrastructure Destroyed in Attack During the ISIL attack, coalition B-1 bomber aircraft surged, assisting peshmerga’s success by simultaneously attacking ISIL “in the heart of their so-called Caliphate [headquarters] in Raqqa,” Warren said. Also during ISIL’s attack, coalition aircraft “simultaneously struck multiple targets in Raqqa against [ISIL] headquarters, training camps and another building,” he said. “So while ISIL was trying to strike in the flank of the ISF, [the coalition] knocked the attack back by striking right into ISIL’s heart.”

Discussion on Global Security in the 21st Century with Secretary Carter at the Wall Street Journal Chief Executive Officer Council Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

Discussion on Global Security in the 21st Century with Secretary Carter at the Wall Street Journal Chief Executive Officer Council Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. 11/17/2015 06:32 AM CST Presenter: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter; Wall Street Journal Washington Bureau Chief Gerald F. Seib November 16, 2015  MODERATOR: Let's move straight on with our program. As you know, obviously the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday have really changed the security picture, not only for Europe, but for the United States and for the rest of the world, and we're very fortunate and privileged to have with us tonight the person who can take us through this and take us through the implications for U.S. and for the rest of world -- for U.S. policy and for the rest of the world. So ladies and gentleman, please join me in welcoming Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and my colleague Gerry Seib. GERALD SEIB: Thank you, Mr. Secretary for being here. Busy day I can only assume. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER: It was indeed. MR. SEIB: You know, I would say at the outset that Secretary Carter comes to this job well equipped he was deputy secretary of defense. Before that was undersecretary of defense. Before that was assistant secretary of defense. But more importantly, for me, we had lunch I think together after you left your post as deputy secretary of defense, and it was encouraging to me because you're a physicist by training. My son is a physics graduate, and you led me to believe that you can actually get a degree in physics and have a productive job. (Laughter.) So I'm very grateful for that. You know, whatever we were going to talk about a week ago obviously it changed on Friday because of what happened in Paris.  So let's start with that. I'm curious what you have learned about ISIS in the last three our four days that you didn't know a week ago? SEC. CARTER: Well, I wouldn't say that anything that happened over the last few days is surprising to me -- shouldn't really be surprising to anyone. This is an enemy that needs to be defeated -- will be defeated. Stands for the opposite of everything that we stand for and civilized people stand for. Obviously I'm sad that it happened. That's a terrible tragedy for the French people. It has had the effect of galvanizing our cooperation with France, and that's one of the things we've been doing over the weekend, strengthening our intelligence cooperation with them. They took some strikes last night. They'll take some strikes again this morning. I hope that other European nations in the same light - you know, we've been at this now for a year. We're looking to do more. We're looking for every opportunity we can to get in there and go at ISIL. But we need others to -- you know, we can help those who help themselves. We need others to get in the game as well. So I'm hoping that that this tragedy has the effect of galvanizing others as it has galvanized the French, and really throughout Europe. Because remember, Europe has been participating in part in operations against ISIL, but not notably, most of them in Syria so far. Also of course as separately but related, not in my judgment spending enough in general on their defense, and that's important. They need to get in the game also. They share civilized values with us. They share a history with us. And they need to get in the game of protecting our people from this kind of thing. But I wasn't surprised by it. Obviously I'm disappointed. We're determined that we defeat ISIL, and we will. MR. SEIB: There's obviously been a change in the French attitude if not -- and the French strategy in dealing with this threat. What's changed in the U.S. approach in the last 72 hours? How has this changed what we're going to do? SEC. CARTER: Well, it's a little easier to say what's changed in the last several weeks. And this isn't because of a change of mind or a change of policy or a change of heart; it's because we're looking for opportunities. So, I'll give you some examples just in the last few weeks. We got Jihadi John. We got the head of their nest, their metastasized nest in Libya. We started some sustained strikes on oil infrastructure, which is one of the ways they get revenue in both Syria and Iraq. We are identifying and aiding able and capable and motivated ground forces there. This is an important point, Gerry, because the -- if it were just us versus ISIL, we could defeat ISIL. The problem, as we've learned in Iraq previously and in Afghanistan is sustaining the defeat. For that purpose we need capable and motivated local forces who can keep the place running without extremism after ISIL has been defeated. Now they're hard to come by in Syria an Iraq, but they do exist, so in Iraq we have the Kurds in the north, who have been very effective, and we've been helping them. There are elements of the Iraqi Security Forces, the counter-terrorism forces, certain elements of the Iraqi army that are effective. Not nearly enough Sunnis in the fight there.  Over in Syria -- obviously there's a civil war going on, but there are Syrians there, some Arabs down in the south. Some along the Jordanian border. So in all of those places we are enabling them and they're making progress. I'll give you an example, the road that connects Mosul over in Iraq and Raqqah in Syria for those who know the geography, those -- that's the heart of ISIL respectively in those two key countries. With our help some Kurdish forces have managed to seize that road. That's an important piece of strategic geography. Over in Syria, we're aiding some forces that are actually heading toward Raqqah, and from the air we continue to intensify that. Our intelligence gets better with time. So just in the last few -- and you'll see us continue to do this. We're looking for opportunities to get at them, and we'll continue to do that until they're defeated. MR. SEIB: But defeating them ultimately means defeating them on the ground, and the ground forces that you have to work with now seem weak and problematic. I mean, the Syrian moderates, a weak force. The Iraqi army has been disappointing in some ways. The Kurds, while very effective, create problems for others in the region including -- and especially -- the Turks. Shiite militias look like stalking horses for Iran in some cases. How do you create a ground force of Sunnis who have a stake in the outcome here, and who can effectively, as you say, defeat ISIS or ISIL, and keep them down in the long (inaudible). Where do you get that ground force? SEC. CARTER: This is one of the sad realities with Iraq and Syria, so they're harder to find than you would like. In the case -- so let me take Iraq, since those situations have some similarities but are different in the following respect. Iraq still remains an integral state. It's a multi-sectarian, and testily so.  But we are supporting Prime Minister Abadi in his efforts to govern it in a way that keeps Sunni, Shia, and Kurd in some -- in a phrase he uses, decentralized or federated union, simply because the alternative is sectarian war.  We know where that path leads.  That said, Prime Minister Abadi, and I've spoken to him a number of times, is trying to do the right thing, but Baghdad is a complicated place. And in particular we have not gotten from the Iraqi government to date all of the authorizations for Sunni forces there that we need.  And it really needs to be -- remember it's the Sunni areas where ISIL is. So those communities and those people need to decide that they need to participate in this fight, and then hold that territory.  We can enable them, we can help them. They need the will to fight. And the will, we can embolden them, but we can't create will. We can definitely create the capability and the conditions under which they can succeed.  But we can't substitute for that. We know what that -- because otherwise we'll be there forever. So we need to enable them. That's basically our strategy. Our strategy is to destroy ISIL in its heart of Iraq and Syria, which also protecting our people, protecting our borders, working their finances, foreign fighters, lone wolves, the whole deal. It is, because it metastasizes worldwide, including to our own country. We have to not only destroy it in its heart, which we must do, that's necessary but not sufficient. We need to do (inaudible) around the world also. MR. SEIB: Can you -- the Russians are obviously engaged in Syria, as we are. But they're engaged for what seemed to be a dramatically different purpose. They're engaged to protect the Assad regime and preserve it. We're engaged to defeat ISIS and to get rid of Assad.  How do we and the Russians come together in a common strategy in the midst of this threat that we've seen so dramatically displayed in Paris. SEC. CARTER: Well, they've made a mistake. And I've told this very clearly to my -- said it publicly but also to my Russian counterpart. Their strategy is doomed to fail because it has the effect of, as you said, supporting Assad, which fuels the very civil war that produces the extremism, which they rightly fear. I mean, they rightly fear it. They've had the history in the Caucuses, with the Chechens, and so forth. They have tasted this form of terrorism. Now they said they were going to come in to fight ISIL, which by itself would be fine. But that's not what they did. They went in and propped up Assad. It's possible, just possible, Gerry, but I'm not sure, and the secretary of state is discussing this with them, that they can get on the right side of things here, which is promoting a political transition in Assad -- in Syria, which has to include some of the very people they started to bomb when they came in.  These people who have to be part of the -- were moderate opposition, who have to be part of the future of Syria. And then it's fine if they get in the game of actually fighting ISIL.  But they came in saying they're going to fight ISIL. That's not what they did. They fought moderate opposition. And so they were way off, way off track, and basically a strategic error on their part.  We could not associate ourselves with that, which is why we didn't cooperate or coordinate with them except to -- dealing with making sure we didn't have any incidents in the airspace over Syria, because they were wrongheaded and backwards in how they're approaching it. MR. SEIB: From our point of view, from the American point of view, can we grit our teeth and just put up with Assad for a while as the lesser of two evils in Syria in order to defeat Islamic State? SEC. CARTER: Well, there has to be a transition. And that means Assad receding. He has to be willing enough to not, you know, keep slogging it out here, and slaughtering people, and creating refugees, and all this stuff. We do want there to be enough of the structures of the Syrian state so that the place isn't a complete mess at the end of this civil war. So we want something of the government of Syria to perdure here. That's important. Assad himself, no.  Now who can persuade him to go? And this is where the Russians could actually be helpful. So if they, you know, get on the right side of this, it would be trying persuade Assad to move aside, keep the structures of the state going, move the moderate opposition into that. And try to put some decency back in this -- what is a mess in Syria now. That's the path we're behind. And we hope that since they have such influence, and they'll use to good... (CROSSTALK)  MR. SEIB: So is their commitment to Assad or to the regime? Is it to Assad personally? Is it to the regime? In other words, can they envision a Syria they're happy about with Assad gone? SEC. CARTER: Well, you know, they say, Gerry, that they do not have a commitment to him personally. And they share the desire to keep some structures of the state, very Soviet phrase, is the way they put it going.  And if their actions match those words, then that would be something we could associate ourselves with. But they need to see that they're on the wrong side of things, get on the right side, and then -- because they could be persuasive with Assad, no doubt about that.  They and the Iranians are the two that have the most influence with Assad. MR. SEIB: Gauge for us, if you could, the level and the trajectory of the Islamic State terrorism threat here as you see it. Obviously what we saw in Paris raises a whole new set of concerns, not just for people in Europe, but for people in the U.S.  What's your own view of the trajectory of that threat? SEC. CARTER: Well, obviously we've been concerned about it since it started last summer because they say they have the aspiration to come here. Their capability is not what it is in Europe. There isn't that -- that much is eased geographically in movement of people.  We don't have some of the population that has longstanding terrorist inclinations that are in some of the European countries. So the most immediate danger we face is more of the lone wolf. And I'll give you an example. I was down in Chattanooga two months ago. And we all remember that incident. That was a very serious matter for me, because they were six of our service members who were killed.  Now, who did that? Well, this is a kid who was born in Chattanooga, grew up there, his parents were engineers. And he went on -- you know, one of these sort of losers, lost kids, went on the Internet, got all frizzed up, and then went out and bought a firearm, went out and killed people. Now, you know, we can't have that. So we can't have -- some of that is just protecting our people and the kind of protection you do against aberrant people all the time anyway. But here you have a particular cause. And we need to show that that's not a successful cause, and that civilized people are determined to defeat it.  And at the same time, you know, while I'm at it, I've been talking a lot about what we do in Syria and Iraq. But since this is a time when people are really focused, as they need to be, on defeating ISIL, I said it has to be a multipronged thing. We have to take care of it at its heart there. But we also have to do the, yes, surveillance and intelligence work that I know has been controversial.  But, you know, we're trying to protect our country and protect our people. And we need to be reasonable about that. And the use of social media by these guys, the use of encryption by these, we need to find a way that is consistent with a free and open Internet, but which also allows us as public officials to protect our people. We need to stop these -- we need to watch our borders for the foreign fighter flow. We have to pay attention to the financing that they guys are getting. We need to get others around the world to join in, because these guys -- there are guys in Southeast Asia. I was in Southeast Asia a couple of weeks ago. And not many, but there are little nests of these characters in Southeast -- it's the metastasis of this has to be taken care of as well as the parent tumor, which is in Syria and Iraq.  We've got to do all of that.  MR. SEIB: I guess the broader question, if you rise above the details, is whether something is now going to change, not just in the way France is approaching this threat, but in the way the U.S. is approaching this threat.  In other words, are we now on a path to simply do more of the same, or is there an inclination to do something more and different? SEC. CARTER: No, well, certainly an inclination to do more. And consistent with the strategy I described, which is at the end of the day there have to be people in Syria and Iraq who are keeping the lid on after the war is won.  And consistent with that, we're looking for new ways of doing things all the time. So an example of -- I won't get into any detail on this, but I told you we were going after oil infrastructure there.  Well, one of the -- we're finding clever ways of doing that. We get better and better at this all the time.  MR. SEIB: Find a clever way for me. (CROSSTALK)  SEC. CARTER: I want to be careful, because I don't want these guys to know what's going on. But, you know, we're thinking -- well, I think "Jihadi John" probably overestimated his safety, to put it... (CROSSTALK)  MR. SEIB: It's seems safe to say. SEC. CARTER: Let me put it that way.  MR. SEIB: And those guys driving the oil trucks over the weekend seem to have overestimated their safety too.  SEC. CARTER: Yes. Although that was an example I'm loath to use because we want to do it again. So I don't want to say exactly how we did that. But so we're thinking -- and I'm just one guy, right, but I've got 2.8 million people who are there for a reason. They care about the mission. And particularly those who get to the top, like -- I was just telling Gerry on the way in, I've had the opportunity to name and recommend to the president five new joint chiefs since I've been secretary of defense. The bench is amazing. You know, I mean, these guys didn't get to the top, like none of you did, without ability. There's tremendous experience, tremendous ability there. And if you think back, you know, whatever you think about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I was, all the time I've been all-in for them, right?  We have people fighting there and people -- so I'm all in. But I've got to tell you, the ingenuity of our people in those -- those were new kinds of war, this counterinsurgency thing.  You'd see a captain, a kid in his 20s, running a town, sophisticated political, economic, social issues, as well as his military craft. And plying his military craft in a -- with an art form, counterinsurgency, which is different from all the others kind of military -- you know, more traditional military things, which they're good at as well. I'm so proud of them. I just think there's no other military in the whole world that is adaptive as ours is. And so they're going to adapt also to this ISIL thing, while we're adapting to everything else going on: Russian activity in Ukraine; Asia-Pacific, we haven't talked about that, but I said I was out there a couple of weeks ago. We've got lots of things to do. But this is a pretty capable crowd. MR. SEIB: Yes, I wanted to talk to you about those other areas. Let me ask one final question in this ISIS-ISIL space, which is, I wonder whether you -- net-net whether we underestimated the reach and the ability of ISIS, A.  And, B, whether these ISIS guys, based on what we just saw over the weekend, are better at avoiding detection by Western intelligence agencies than maybe we thought?  SEC. CARTER: Well, there's no question about the second part. I think as far as the first part is concerned, they represent a new phenomenon. And I'm not the first one to say this. But, you know, al Qaeda was the first Internet terrorist group.  These are the first social media Internet group. So just like, you know, people are amazed at how things go viral and crazes happen, and so forth. In the terrorist space, this has turned out to be a very ugly capability for people like this to have.  Now we're trying to climb on top of that in every way that we possibly can. There's no question that it represents a new phenomenon. An organized, civilized society has to figure out how to protect itself from this kind of stuff.  And is that a work in progress? You bet it is. We'll do it. But, you know, that is a new phenomenon.  MR. SEIB: You mentioned Asia. I wanted to pivot at least for a bit to China. You've spent more time than most thinking about this issue in the last couple of months. And in particular the Department of Defense has decided in recent weeks to challenge this Chinese claim to the artificial islands it has created in the South China Sea, which you did by obviously running ships through what they claim to be territorial waters.  What I wonder is whether you have, since you did that, detected any change in Chinese behavior or any change in the kind of dialogue, if that's the right word, that you have with the Chinese on this subject. SEC. CARTER: What we did and will continue to do isn't new at all. We have been sailing, the United States Navy, in the South China Sea for decades and decades and decades.  And so we did that. We're going to continue to do that. Why is anybody even noticing that? They're not noticing it because the United States is doing anything new, they're noticing it because China is doing something new. What is China doing? China is making extravagant claims for the South China Sea. By the way, they're not the only ones who are doing that. There are other claimants as well, longstanding disputes, but trying to settle those claims not by talking about them but by going out to reefs, dredging them, and then building airstrips on top.  That has gotten a lot of attention, and in turn has caused people to notice that we're still doing what we've been doing. So I just want to be clear, you called it a challenge, we're doing what we've been doing for 70 years. Why is that important? And here's why. When we talk about the Middle East, so the Middle East is in the newspapers every day, and the Asia-Pacific, where half of humanity lives, half of the economic activity, which is far more consequential for America's future than any other single region in the world, including the Middle East, where most of the growth markets for all of the businesses in this room will reside. Hugely consequential to America, now why isn't that in the newspapers? Well, thank God that there isn't conflict there. Why is that? Well, the single most influential factor for seven decades has been the pivotal role of American military power.  There's no NATO. There's nothing that automatically keeps the peace. It has been the stabilizing presence of the U.S. military forces. We aim to keep that going.  Now if the Chinese think about it, they -- and many Chinese do think about it this way, they'll say, that is the environment of peace and stability in which they've been able to do their thing. Remember, like the Japanese, Japanese miracle, then there was the South Korean miracle, then the Taiwan miracle, then there's a Southeast Asian miracle, and now India and China. We're all in favor of that. We think that's good. But it isn't a birthright to have peace. You have to work at it. And there has to be some system of that. And you can't -- so we talk about something we call the "rebalance," which is to make sure that we continue in the era after Iraq and Afghanistan, when we begin to rethink where we put our defense resources, that we make sure we're putting enough resources in that region to keep a good thing out there. That's what we're doing. That's the meaning of our presence in the South China Sea. MR. SEIB: But if the Chinese benefit from that atmosphere of stability that you just referred to, why do they seem so eager to challenge it in various ways right now? In other words, isn't there a contradiction there in the way they behave and their interests? SEC. CARTER: Well, there is no question about it. Look, I'm not one of these people who believes that conflict with China likely. It's certainly not desirable. But, again, this is not -- peace is not birthright. It's something we've got to all work at. And there are two thoughts that coexist in Chinese strategic thinking. One is, look, things have been pretty good for us. We've been able to develop politically and economically in a remarkable way, free from anybody -- nobody has molested them as they've done this. So that's a pretty good deal. And so that's one thought. The other thought is we've been down for hundreds of years, in particular for the last 150 years at the hands of what they call "a hundred years of humiliation," and all that. And now it's our time to rise and shine. And that kind of hubris is dangerous. And if that, you know, gets out of hand, so to speak, it will lead China in a direction that's not good obviously for the region. And we will check that. But also, not good for China in the long run. I don't think that's the preponderant trend or strand in Chinese strategic thinking. But there's no question it's there.  So our policy is to, as far as China is concerned is to encourage the better strand, but, and this is important, China is not the only audience here. Remember, everybody else lives there.  I just came back from the region. I was in meetings with virtually everybody in the region. Chinese behavior is having the effect of driving everybody to seek more relationship with the United States, military-to-military, other security relationships. We have incredibly strong allies out there that are all getting stronger: Japan, South Korea; Philippines want to do more; Australia; Thailand; we're doing more with India; we're doing more with Malaysia. I was out on the Teddy Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier, with the Malaysian defense minister. A few months ago I was in Haiphong Harbor, those of you who are old enough to remember, Haiphong Harbor is Vietnam. Vietnam is asking for more from the United States, the single thing that is galvanizing that drive to us is concern about China's future. That's not smart either of China to -- and, of course, we're not trying to divide. We're not trying to divide into our camp/their camp.  That's not -- our policy is an inclusive one. That's what we've been doing 70 years. MR. SEIB: But to go back to the starting point about the South China Sea and the islands there. In a way, I think what you're saying is that the challenge -- and that's my word, not yours, and I accept that, but what the action that you took seems to have not produced a response from the Chinese. And that, in a way, is a response, right? SEC. CARTER: Well, we'll see. We'll see. But, again, that's not the only audience.  MR. SEIB: Yes. SEC. CARTER: It's everybody else as well. And I think that -- not only do I think, I observe, I experience the strong and growing desire, and as secretary they come to me all the time. Will you exercise with us? Will you train with us? Can we buy your equipment? Can we send people to your academies? That is an enormous demand signal out there for what America has provided for 70 years, because they know that's what has kept the lid on in an area where the wounds of World War II never healed, animosities are still -- I mean, just look.  You don't have to scratch very hard for -- and not just between China and other countries, among our friends and allies it's no secret, for example, that things have been tense over time between our Korean allies and Japanese allies.  They're both allies of ours, but they have a tough history with respect to one another. So the region is filled with unresolved historical claims, of which the South China Sea is just one.  MR. SEIB: Let me touch on a couple more areas and then I want to leave time for a couple of questions from the audience.  But, you know, we were talking a second ago about Russia and President Putin in the Syrian context. But let me ask you more broadly. I mean, you have a president in Russia now who has embarked on a strategy that clearly the U.S. government is unhappy with in Syria. Obviously the intimidation factor in Ukraine has been a continuing problem for a couple of years. There is a sense that there is a challenge under way. Part of it's political but part of it's military from the Russians.  How do you respond to the challenge? SEC. CARTER: Well, we've got to respond to it. And we are. You know, this is something that for a quarter century we had not -- since the Cold War ended -- been as concerned about.  So we are making adjustments in our own investments and our own posture to take into account Russian moves, and make sure we stay ahead. And we're also working with NATO to strengthen NATO's posture.  And that involves a number of things. We're positioning heavy equipment in NATO allies, working on new schemes of defense, both of territory and against the little green men phenomenon, so-called hybrid warfare. And I think you've used that phrase here.  It's not just the old Fulda Gap, for those who remember the Cold War issue of tanks crossing over. It's the little green men phenomenon as well. We need to fortify our European allies. And this is a new playbook. This isn't the Fulda Gap of old.  This is a new playbook. And it's to maintain peace and stability in Europe.  (CROSSTALK)  MR. SEIB: Hybrid warfare being proxy forces, misdirection plays, propaganda, a different way of exerting power? SEC. CARTER: Exactly right. And we need to counter that too. And we need to fortify our European allies to counter that. So we've got a lot to do, and that's just another way of saying that we need to continue to be innovative.  We innovated a lot when it was -- came for Iraq and Afghanistan. They were new kinds of -- one of the things I'm really proud of in our Defense Department is a long history of innovation.  It goes back -- you know, I started my career in science and technology. As you said, we were doing stealth at that time. We were doing a whole lot of stuff in space. Missile defenses, all those were new capabilities.  And those of you who are in high technology industry know I'm trying to reach out to our industry, building those bridges. MR. SEIB: I wanted to ask you about that, as a final thought before we take questions. But you have spent a lot of time in Silicon Valley, which is not a normal place for a secretary of defense to go, necessarily. You want to build bridges for the benefit of the Defense Department to Silicon Valley. It's not a place that has traditionally been comfortable with either big government bureaucracies in general or, dare I say, your government bureaucracy in particular. Are you knocking down those walls? SEC. CARTER: Yes. We've got to knock down those walls. The wall is too big between defense and non-defense. And it has gotten that way over time. And when I started in my career, it was much of a reflex for people to consider the defense -- and I understand that's not -- believe me, I'm not going to ask anybody to adapt to us.  We've got our own issues to deal with in terms -- I ask our -- tell our people, we've got to think outside our five-sided box. We do need to think. We need to be less bureaucratic. They don't need to be more like us. I'm trying to make us connect to them. But you have to understand there's a generation of people who haven't been subject to the draft. And they need -- but my experience is they understand the mission. They're inspired by the mission. We've just got to give them a way to connect with us. Maybe they don't want to join the military, maybe they do, maybe they're willing to come in for a year or two. When I started my career, I thought I was just going to do it temporarily.  And then I found that it was one of the most meaningful things that I can be doing. There are lots of people like that. I'm looking for ways of giving people the opportunity to come in and out, to make us more permeable.  And so that this new generation, and these new technologies are something that we are user-friendly for. That is going to require us to change. I don't expect the big world of technology out there to change. We don't control that anymore.  When I started my career, we were the big dog. Now we're a big dog. But not all technology comes out of the government. And not all technology comes out of the United States.  (CROSSTALK)  MR. SEIB: It's kind of reversed in fact, right? I mean, they used to need the products of your research, you now need the products of their research. SEC. CARTER: Right. And so -- and we're not going to get that by standing there with our arms crossed across our chest and asking people to do it our way. And so we've got reach out.  So I want to create those channels that allowed our people to learn from one another, allow people to go back and forth, allow careers to be different, including careers in government. You know, for those of you who have older companies, you remember the old HR department of vintage days, right? Everything done in paperwork, they decided where you were going to go, then they sent you there.  Life was, you know, kind of an escalator where you got on and then you waited and it took you up. Kids don't want to live that kind of life now -- oh, it was also, by the way, and this is worth noting, it was the place -- one of the only places where female executives could get ahead. That was the HR department of old. Well, we can't have that in the uniformed or the civilian side and still have what we have, because we talk about technology, but the thing that makes us the finest fighting force the world has ever known isn't our technology, it's our people. Our people are amazing. And I've got to make sure -- now I got that from my predecessors as secretary of defense. I've got to leave to the people after me, 10 years, 20 years from now, as good a group of people and as good at connection to American society as I enjoy today. And like everything else, I've got to work on the future. I'm working on ISIL. I work on Russia. I work China. But I've got to be thinking 20 years ahead also because I've got to hand this treasure over to the future so that we are still protecting our people, we're still sticking up for the things that we think ought to be stuck up for. MR. SEIB: I've got time for a couple of questions, and Secretary Carter has agreed to take them. We can do one there and one there.  QUESTION: Yes. Secretary, my name (inaudible) from Germany. What do you think about German policy or more their policy maybe of Angela Merkel concerning the refugees? Especially that we encouraged them to come to Germany, also against national security?  SEC. CARTER: Well, to answer that, you would need to unpack the refugee flow a little bit. The picture you get casually, I'm sure you know better, is that they all come from Syria, they don't.  They're coming from a lot of places. They're not all women and children, although tragically there’s women and children in there. Most of them are young men looking for work.  Now, you ask about Germany, and Germany, there are differences of opinion, I think, is the honest way. And Chancellor Merkel is trying to balance these. There's a view that we can't absorb many more of these people, that they're a welfare burden, they're possibly a terror burden. But there's another view also which is that Germany is demographically aging and needs young professional people. And whether they're coming from Syria or Libya or Afghanistan, sadly, these are some of the most best professionals in those societies, who have decided to bail, that there's no future for them, which is a whole other problem for those societies. But for Germany, I talked to a German executive a few months ago. I won't name the company, but they had recruiters at the train station. And they were taking people off and bringing them in to their company. So this is complicated. And I think that Chancellor Merkel is trying to work all of that. I think Europeans are having to rethink in general the EU policies. And, you know, how open "open" can be and still be safe and do right by the people who do come. I was down in Italy, take another example, so not just to single out Germany, because all the countries are -- I was down in Italy with my counterpart, the Italian defense minister down in Sigonella, where we happen to have a base, and we work with the Italians and others out there. I was visiting our folks, our guys down there. But I went with her, the Italian defense minister. And we were looking at what was happening in the Mediterranean. Now there they are. You know the boot.  It pokes right out there in the Mediterranean. Libya is not far away. Libya is obviously in turmoil. And there are plenty of people who are just getting on a boat in Libya and going over to Italy.  Now on your one hand, your heart goes out to these people. And you don't want somebody just floating up and saying, well, go away, you know, and try to get home. So you have to do the humane thing. At the same thing, there's a limit -- at the same time, there's a limit. And so (inaudible) the Europeans are trying to strike that -- a balance. But I do observe in Germany that in the business community there is some ambivalence about this because there is a side to it which meets labor needs that German business has because it's an aging society.  The United States doesn't have the same demographic challenges that many do: Japan; China; Russia; Europe. And these are places where demography, which is, how we say? There's the one predictable aspect of human life is demography?  And demography is a big issue for lots -- unfortunately our society, generally speaking, doesn't labor under the same burdens going forward.  MR. SEIB: We'll take one other question here.  QUESTION: Thank you, Gerry.  (Inaudible) from (inaudible) Holdings. Thank you, Secretary Carter. As you were going back to you observations on the war on terrorism and Islamic terrorism, American leadership is going to be pivotal in this time which is an era of extraordinary opportunity and of perils. The question I have for you and want your thoughts on is, if this leadership is entirely characterized or driven, to a certain extent, by fear at the perils, and not focusing enough on the opportunity and in the process giving short shrift at times to what I think are critical Judeo-Christian value systems of humanity and compassion.  I think we might win in the short term but perhaps weaken ourselves in the medium term.  SEC. CARTER: Well, I mean, sure, I mean, fair point. I -- one of the reasons why we are popular partners, magnetic in terms of being able to build and have that leadership role is because of what we stand for. There is no question about it.  You see that from Asia to Europe to the -- and I'm incredible proud of that on behalf of the United -- so I think we do operate out of more than fear. We operate out of loyalty to our friends and to what they stand for, to what we have stood for -- talked about the Asia Pacific and peace and security in the long run.  So it's not just fear, and it's not just about us. And the fact that we don't just operate out of fear; we don't just (inaudible) us, is one of the reasons why people want to work with us. They don't want to work, I mean, with some of the other countries I've named. They're not attracting new partners; they're attracting anxiety. The United States isn’t like that. I think that's a fantastic thing. And I'll just close on one thing, is I am also very -- even though you'd say, well, you're in the business of dealing with threats -- I'm also in the opportunities -- I feel great opportunities for our country, you know, I really do. We have lots of things going for us. We have this tremendous innovative culture. I mentioned we have good demographics. We have strong character and value built into lots of -- we have problems, sure, in our society, and -- so I -- you know, my -- really, all of our roles as leaders is, you know, is not just to protect what we have, which has to be done, but it's also to capitalize on the really bright opportunities that our country has and our people have.  And if you get people to feel that as well as the fear -- and a lot of folks do that. You know, that's why they join. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to want to wake up every morning and say, you know, wow, I was, you know, part of a great cause. That's why I hope a lot of folks will work with – now our traditional defense industry folks do feel that way. And I always tell them, you're part of the force, as far as I'm concerned. You know, we don't do -- I always tell people, we don't build anything in the Pentagon, right. You can go in there, you know, we're not building -- no airplanes being built in the Pentagon. We buy all this; that's the American way.  The Soviet Union tried a different way, and didn't work out very well for them. And so we depend on private industry, but at the same time a lot of those people get inspired to come in and be part of this great future opportunity. So I'm not a pessimist at all; we've got a lot going for us. And so it's not all a defensive game at all. MR. SEIB: Secretary Carter, it's been very nice to spend some time with us on a busy day and a busy week. And I appreciate it very much.  SEC. CARTER: I appreciate you having me. MR. SEIB: And we're blessed to live in these interesting times is all I can I say. So anyway, thank you again. SEC. CARTER: Thank you. MODERATOR: Thank you you all. Good to be with you. Appreciate it. Thank, Gerry.

BeMyDD Brings Complimentary Designated Drivers

BeMyDD Brings Complimentary Designated Drivers to All Greater Orange County Residents with Partners Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack Whiskey and Total Wine & More

24-City Designated Driver Tour comes to Orange County. The tour provides complimentary rides for 24-cities over 12-months; a new city every other week  LOS ANGELES, CA (September 28, 2015) – BeMyDD (Be My Designated Driver), the nation’s largest designated driver service, today announced it will be offering free designated drivers to residents of Southeast Florida on Saturday, October 10, 2015 to get them and their cars home safely. The 24-City Designated Driver Tour, presented by BeMyDD and program partners Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack Whiskey and Total Wine & More, provides free drivers to take both the customer and his/her car home safely. During the event, customers can request a car pickup at no charge from any location within a 50-mile radius from the city center with the BeMyDD smartphone app, available for iOS and Android devices. A team of drivers will arrive at the customer’s location, one to drive the customer and their car home safely, and the other to retrieve the driver afterwards. The program continues a long-term initiative from BeMyDD to lower the rate of drunk driving deaths and promote social responsibility throughout the 76 markets it serves. “Social responsibility is a huge priority for us” said Arthur Simanovsky, BeMyDD president and CEO. “We’re always looking for ways to make finding a designated driver easier than getting behind the wheel. The 24-City Designated Driver Tour is our biggest opportunity yet to positively impact communities all over the United States, and we are excited to make Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Anaheim, and the rest of Orange County an important stop on our tour across the country.” According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, a drunk driver kills someone every 52 minutes. Targeted specifically for people in the suburbs, for whom taxi rides downtown can quickly get expensive, BeMyDD aims to give consumers an affordable and safe transportation alternative by using the customer’s own vehicle. Fully screened and insured drivers with over 10 years of professional experience are available on demand for a variety of driving services, including event transportation and hourly personal drivers. In addition to the potential lives saved through the use of designated drivers, services like BeMyDD also help avoid the expense of getting a DUI, which can cost around $16,000, according to AAA. “The 24-City Designated Driver Tour is an excellent opportunity to promote responsible consumer enjoyment, which is one of our core brand values,” said Rob Frederick, Director of corporate responsibility at Jack Daniel’s parent corporation Brown-Forman. “This is a unique campaign that has our full support.” Likewise, Matt Indre, Senior Manager of Public Affairs & Corporate Responsibility at Total Wine & More, points out the program’s potential for having a positive impact. “We strive to be a responsible corporate citizen and make a difference in our communities through our corporate philanthropy and social responsibility programs,” he says. “We are committed to responsible enjoyment of alcohol and the 24-City Designated Driver Tour supports that goal.” Orange County residents can learn more about the program, see the other cities on the tour schedule, and read instructions for receiving free car pickup on October 24, 2015 by visiting www.BeMyDD.com/DDTour. Free pickup service will be available between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on the specified date and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As an added bonus, new customers anywhere in the country can get $20 off their first ride on any day by using promo code DDTOUR through the BeMyDD mobile app.  About BeMyDD BeMyDD (Be My Designated Driver) is the nation’s largest designated driver service, currently operating in 76 markets in 31 states. A subsidiary of HiredDriver.com, BeMyDD has provided a convenient, safe, and affordable alternative to drinking and driving since 2010. Professionally dressed and fully-screened drivers with at least 10 years of experience drive customers wherever they need to go in the comfort of the customer’s own automobile, offering chauffeur-like services at a discounted rate. The company has national partnerships with leading liquor and wine companies to promote social responsibility, including Brown-Forman and Total Wine & More. To schedule a professional driver, go to BeMyDD.com, call +1 (877) U-BeMyDD (823-6933), or download the BeMyDD mobile app. To learn more, visit BeMyDD.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, and Twitter.

Rogers Discusses NSA Reorganization, National Security Threats

09/25/2015 04:08 PM CDT

Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers speaks to cadets and faculty at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Jan. 9, 2015. He is the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency. Photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Bunkley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution imageavailable. Rogers Discusses NSA Reorganization, National Security Threats By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON September 25, 2015 — Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, previewed an upcoming NSA reorganization and discussed a range of national security threats with members of a Senate panel here yesterday. Rogers, also commander of U.S. Cyber Command, testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Rogers began his testimony by describing the work of “the nation’s cryptologic arm” and its 40,000 civilian and military employees in 31 states and worldwide. “NSA now plays a key role in cyberspace, assisting U.S. government efforts to see, mitigate and deter cyber security threats. In concert with public, private and foreign partners, our work helps to ensure that users, operators and administrators maintain control of their systems and data,” Rogers said. “NSA also gives our leaders unique insights into the hostile activities of foreign powers and their agents,” he added. Reorganizing NSA The agency does its work in accordance with the law and within strict guidelines, Rogers said, and only by collecting foreign intelligence in response to specific requirements from U.S. policymakers and senior U.S. commanders. Rogers has been in the job at NSA and Cybercom for 18 months, the first part of that time spent focused on the aftermath of the Edward Snowden media leaks and ensuring that NSA’s collected data was secure, he told the panel. Over many months, Rogers and the NSA workforce have been crafting a strategy for reorganizing the agency for a changing world. “Our structure reflects a series of changes and choices that have been made over the last 20 years. The last major organizational change at NSA on a wide swath was 1999 or 1998 … and I want to make sure we're optimized to meet the future,” the admiral said. Optimized for the Future Rogers posed questions to the workforce about NSA capabilities and its evolving mission, and received more than 200 recommendations. From those, Rogers said he chose three areas on which he asked them to spend more time. These included the military part of the workforce, a more far-reaching view of cyber, and the NSA organizational structure, he explained, adding that he would receive final input back on those areas by Oct. 1. In his testimony on national security challenges for NSA and the nation, Rogers mentioned the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and similar groups, their technology capabilities and an issue known as “going dark,” and the potential Oct. 1government shutdown. On the shutdown, Rogers answered yes to a question from the panel: Would a shutdown of the federal government next week compromise national security? Retaining the Workforce “And if I could just go beyond that -- in the last five days or so, as we now are publicly talking about this possibility,” Rogers said, the reaction of the workforce at NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, who could easily get jobs on the outside and earn significantly more money there, is one of real concern. “This instability [is a] message to the workforce that … you are a secondary consideration in a much larger game,” Rogers added, noting that he spoke this week to the leadership about how to “figure out how we're going to keep these men and women.” On another national security issue, without going into the details of NSA’s work, Rogers said the agency broadly uses its ability to work communications in the foreign space to generate insights [about] what ISIL and other groups are doing largely through NSA’s cyber and signals intelligence expertise. In the counterterrorism mission set, whether it's ISIL, al-Qaida or al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Rogers said, “I've seen more changes in their behavior in the last two years probably than any other target.” They actively reference some of the data compromises that have occurred over the past couple of years, he added, “and we know that they have achieved a level of insight as to what we do, how we do it, and the capabilities we have that … they didn't have in the past.” Going Dark Rogers said that, as a result, combined with broader changes in technology, it has become harder to achieve insight into what such groups are doing. “The nation's networks, communications and data are increasingly at risk from diverse and persistent threats,” he said. “These include rogue states, organized criminal enterprises and terrorists who are showing a willingness and an aptitude to employ sophisticated capabilities against us, our allies and indeed anyone who they perceive as a threat or lucrative target,” the admiral added. Such capabilities include going dark, or the use of encrypted communications by terrorists and criminals, the use of apps that offer end-to-end encryption, and more complicated attempts to hide in the “broader set of noise out there,” Rogers said, adding that the motivated men and women of NSA are the nation’s edge. Working Together This also poses a national security threat, Rogers told the panel. “I am concerned that the direction we're going -- if we make no changes -- effectively represents a significant challenge for us in terms of our ability to generate insight that the nation is counting on,” the admiral said. He added, “We have got to collectively get together among the private sector, government, industry, policy, and the technical side, and sit down and figure out how we're going to work our way through this.”