made any significant movement, wolf. do you have any sense what they re hoping to accomplish? one u.s. official said there will be nothing big from the meetings. they see it as a chance to set the agenda. to sit down and discuss a host of issues, such as human rights, such as trade, and the currency issue as well. white house spokesman robert gibbs today voted out and essentially admitted that nothing significant will happen overnight. it will all take time. this is a long road. and whether we re dealing with economic discussions, whether we re dealing with those in the security realm, or whether we re doing those with human rights, i think this is an argument that we have, and we ll continue to make to the chinese, and push them to do better. reporter: as for the tone for all these meetings, one u.s. official pointed out in the past face-to-face meetings that president obama has had with
of this is simply the potential for the pla to flex its muscle. the army. people s liberation army. i think there is a greater confidence within china when it comes to their foreign policy and i think there s a greater sense they want to control events outside their borders. it used to be enough to keep their head low, right? hide in obscurity. i think that is rapidly fading. and so, i think there s a sense now that in order to ensure china s domestic security and continued growth, it has to do more outside its own boundaries. whether economically or security realm or even in its media outreach. i think those are all things that the chinese government is reaching outward in a way they have not before. repeat that this was his famous and he applied it to foreign
do you believe that this is a violation in some ways or is the president within his rights to take the clearance away from a man who is no longer working in the security realm in any official capacity. is the president okay doing this? well, you know, i ll give you my lawyer answer first. the president can, would pull a clearance on anyone inside the executive branch. that s his prerogative. i was at the cia for over 30 years. i don t remember the president personally pulling security clearances on current or former officials. it s unprecedented. i don t get this. you know, john brennan, i agree he has become a political figure. he s a longtime friend and recently some of his rhetoric has been over the top.
most as i look at where we are, there is we re running out of trust in terms of how the american people see our key institutions of power. whether that s washington and congress, whether the executive branch, or whether wall street. and when you start running on empty in terms of trust, that puts our country in a very vulnerable spot. you know china well. herman cain said this week they didn t have nuclear capability. what does that say to you about a level of preparedness to be president on his part that has to be a factor in how he s evaluated? i think there needs to be a baseline level of knowledge from a foreign policy standpoint. but specific to china. as far as the eye can see into the 21st century the united states and china are on the world stage. and whether that s in the economic realm or whether it s in the security realm, we ve got to figure out how to make that relationship work. and it would be nice to have a president in office who actually had a head start and act