>> welcome to aljazeera america, i'm del walters, and these are the stories we're following for you. an effort to limit filibusters in the u.s. senate. how it could bring about major change. the u.s. security agreement with afghanistan could be on hold. what it could mean for american forces. and the story behind this, the final resting place of jfk. there could be a game changer considering that security agreement between the u.s. and afghanistan. it involves the issue of trust. afghan president, karzai,

indicating that he does not trust the u.s. the well is so tainted, that president obama sent a letter to karzai promising to respect his nation's laws and sovereignty withdrawing with caution. and mike, the leadership that the president needs right now, is to be broadsided by karzai. >> one more thing from karzai to this president in particular. you're right, the president has written a letter to him, saying that yes, we have come to an agreement on the bilateral security agreement. and the united states is on questioned to ending the combat mission of american forces in afghanistan. the longest war in american history. the president writes that karzai will be cooperating and training and advising and assisting forces, and it would be a residual force. after 2014, that's the last year of american forces.

addressing a significant concern of the afghan people and the karzai government. the president wrote, i know you've been concerned for sometime to limit the conflict on the afghan people, with the sense five issue of the safety and privacy of people in their home. we will make every effort to make concessions for afghans in their homes and daily lives. that's in direct reference to nateo forces, nighttime raids looking for terrorists and the taliban, and that has not set well for many people in afghanistan. you can imagine that karzai, he got together his elders, 25 individuals, and launched them broadside at the united states and this issue of trust. >> my trust with america is not good. i don't trust them. and they don't trust me. in the past ten years, i've

argued with them on the searching of my people's houses >> reporter: karzai -- in afghanistan, that will set the american timetable back. the american forces believe that they need at least a year to set the residual forces in place. and an election wouldn't take place until next year for the election of a new afghan president. >> karzai, there have been attempts on his life inside of the borders of afghanistan and trust can't be described as strong. >> officials in the united states say when you hear karzai making inflammatory statements about the lack of trust, american politics are complicated and you can imagine what afghan politics are as well. he made a joke being reference

to whatever the united states does, i hope they send plenty of money. and that's not going to set well with members of congress. >> one last thing, what has been the reaction in washington to this letter? there was a lot of talk that the united states was apologizing, and nsa said it was not, and what does that letter constitute? >> i think that karzai forced the hand, in the speech, citing the letter and verse of the council of elders, at 7:00 this morning, we received an email in a the president's national security press team, saying that we don't normally release this kind of correspondence, but since karzai said it, we're going to tell you that it's accurate. you have to look back at the context, del, of the administration's failure to get an agreement, just like the one that's been agreed to now in

iraq, trying desperately to not have a replay. >> thank you very much. and from make mckara at the white house, we turn to capitol hill with renewed talk on the so-called nuclear option with the showdown over the filibuster. harry reed said that he may move today to change the rules so that republicans can no longer block president obama's judicial 234078 nation, it's a move that's referred to as the nuclear option. will they pull the trigger this time? >> reporter: it looks likely, dell. this is a move that democrats have lorded over republicans enter months, but now they're closer than ever. harry reid is going to look for the vote for the nuclear option, and he needs 50 senators to get in line with this. there are 55 in the senate. and they're concerned about

preparation dent. and if they do it this time around, there's nothing to stop the republicans from doing it when they're in power. >> the american people believe congress is broken. the american people believe the senate is broken, and i believe the american people are right. during this congress, the 113th congress, the united states has wasted an unprecedented amount of time on proceed ral hurdles. and the work of the country goes undone. congress should be working on protecting american families, and instead, we're burning wasted hours and days between fill busters. >> so this would need 51 votes, and at the heart of this are

judicial nominations. some are upset because the courts have been held up by republicans. there are no reasons for filibusters. we think of ted cruz a couple of weeks ago or rand paul doing the same thing over on the summer,. but this is not about the laws, but just about judicial nominees and branch nominees, and it excludes the supreme court. that's what the democrats are most upset about. and i want to give you a response. senator john cornyn of mexico, we heard from the top republican leader, mitch mcconnell. and he said this is a big deal over nothing. >> at capitol hill, we're looking now at senator minority

leader, harry reid, talking about the situation. and let's just listen for a moment. and we're not hearing anything, so we won't listen any long home run. we want to return to the situation in afghanistan. a lot of afghan citizens are proposed to any deal with the united states. they said that they want all foreign troops out of their country. wthey have been maintaining jurisdiction over u.s. troops. >> reporter: his family walls plurallewasmurdered by an ameri. they were all killed, along with 12 other afghans, by u.s. army staff saturday, robert bales, and now he wants all of the u.s. forces out of his country. >> they will not give military

bases and we don't want them. they killed our people and destroyed our villages. they came at 4:00 in the morning in the house, and my children were sleeping in the room, my own family. >> reporter: the majority of american forces are due to leave next year. but first, washington wants certain conditions met. under the proposed security agreement, the u.s. government wants its soldiers immune from afghan law. the u.s. puts it's own soldiers on trial in military courts. here in kandahar, which has seen some of the worst fighting, people say it's unacceptable. >> they should be put on trial in afghanistan because they will be living in afghanistan. if they commit a crime in afghanistan, then a few after should try them no one can see what happens in their courts. there should be open trial. >> reporter: it's a point of

contention that could cripple afghanistan financially. that's because until now, the u.s. government has been paying the salaries of the afghan security forces. if the agreement isn't signed, that flow of money could stop. it's an annual bill of more than 3 and a half billion dollars. >> when we get enough money, the national revenue for afghanistan, the most hopeful, the most optimistic figures that we have is something around $3 billion in 2015. now, that $3 billion couldn't even take care of our ordinary budget let alone the security budget. so this is not a matter of choice. it's a matter of necessity for afghanistan. >> afghan president, karzai, has pushed for a guarantee 234 thate u.s. will support his country

for armed groups operating in afghanistan. >> afghanistan in the past few decades has been experiencing property waters, so we have been looking to the u.s., hoping to have a kind of definition for foreign aggression, which would include proxy war as well as traditional aggression. >> reporter: the heated debate over the security agreement shows that it's not just the matter of a few military bases. if the afghan government signs, they want it to be specific. the years of negotiations has brought the two sides closer, but there's no final agreement. now the afghan president is turning it over to debate in the nation's capital to see if the community leaders can give it their support. aljazeera, afghanistan. >> meanwhile, the war in

afghanistan has claimed thousands of american lives. the number of forces killed at 2,290. of that number, 1,797 u.s. troops were killed in action, 493 were killed in non-hostile incidents, and 19,494 are listed as wounded in action. the son of a korean war vet said that his father is being held against his will in north korea. his son said that the authorities took his 85-year-old father off of a plane last month. newman was about top leave after being a tourist. he talked to the korean officials will his military service. the negotiations in iran and six world powers are back at the bargaining table in geneva, trying to end the long standoff

over iran's nuclear program. phillip joins you us live from geneva, and where are we today? >> reporter: well, del, we're well into the second day, the first full day of negotiations. they're behind closed doors, and folks are keeping their cards very close it their chests. we know there's apparently a draft resolution that's being passed around and the language of it is being discussed, and not the content. it's a very positive sign. we know that there are still outstanding issues, not the least of which iran is demanding that it has the right to develop nuclear program for civilian purposes. and we also know that on the western side of things, the international group, they're still very much concerned about the water plants in iran and the

standing surplus of enriched uranium. but it's heartening to know there's a draft resolution being passed around for fine-tuning >> so what's the response of these hardliners, specifically france, russia and israel? >> well, the hard liner petition on both sides of the equation has very much been present here, and a lot of statements that have come out are obviously aimed at domestic consumption. and certainly, we have heard very strong language from the iranian delegation, and we have thought that that's primarily for domestic consumption. nobody wants to come away from these talks, even if there's an agreement, thinking that they gave away too much or too easily. so there's a sense here that they want to let their people know back home that they're fighting for the interests of

their constituency, and perhaps that's why we're hearing such language coming out of the iranian delegation. >> phil is joining us live from switzerland. janet yellen, the vote, 14-8. and now she moves to the final vote. coming up on aljazeera, homeowners getting relief from the massive jpmorgan deal may pay more at tax time.

>> by now you've heard of that massive deal between jpmorgan chase and the government. $15 billion to fix the ruin by the financial meltdown, but

here's something that you may not know. some of those who get that settlement may be in for a surprise come tax time. >> reporter: in 2010, wells fargo bank reduced the size of elizabeth's mortgage by $2,000 so she could afford her monthly mortgage payment. >> we're about 1274 right now. >> under ordinary circumstances, her $200,000 mortgage would be taxed for income, and. >> if a creditor forgives your debt and they say, okay, you don't owe this to us anymore t. that's normally taxable income. >> reporter: but for elizabeth and all of those having the size of the mortgage reduced were spared. but president george w. bush signed the mortgage debt relief act in 2007. >> this bill will create a

three year window for homeowners to refinance their mortgage and on any debt they may receive. and it's a really good piece of legislation. >> a good piece of legislation that may not be able to help the billions in debt relief provided by jpmorgan. it expires at midnight on december 31, and it could be a nightmare for struggling homeowners. the jpmorgan settlement can't address this problem. while they may be able to afford their mortgage payment, they may be stuck with a tax bill that they can't afford. and it may wind them up in default again or in foreclosure. >> say yo you get a mortgage of $100,000. that's considered income by the

irs, and many people may have a tax bill of $30,000. it's extremely important that congress may extend this tax cut. >> but it sounds like it could be business as usual in washington. they told aljazeera: >> considering how dysfunctional of how congress has been, how difficult it is to pass the simplest of bills, i near that congress will not be able to get it done. >> reporter: it could have broad implications for the entire committee. >> the jpmorgan settlement, it's port to extend the law. >> consumers have to look to congress to fulfill. stacy tisdale, aljazeera, new york. >> it's one of the most visited sites in washington. the eternal flame for jfk, but

was it supposed to be that way?

>> welcome back to aljazeera america, i'm del walters, and these are today's headlines. a showdown in the senate. democrats are fighting to change filibuster rules, democrats have been using them as a tool of obstruction. afghan president, karzai said that the u.s. doesn't trust him and he doesn't trust the u.s. nevertheless, he told a meeting of afghan supporters that he supports a security agreement. and that would allow them to be in his country until 2014. iran could use the technology to develop a bomb. and behind closed doors, the power players could be in the final stages of an historic

agreement. tomorrow marks 50 years since president john f. kennedy was assassinated in dallas. we're hearing stories about what happened before and after his death. it's the story of how kennedy came to be buried at arlington national cemetery. >> the eternal flame now draws visitors from around the world. but it was supposed to burn in boston. aset nation reallied from tragedy, so did the kennedy family, when jfk was laid to rest in massachusetts. but it was a stranger who played a rohl. in 1963, paul was a part-time tour guide at arlington house. one day, eight months before dallas, he had an unexpected visitor. >> it was in the late afternoon, early evening, and cars pulled up.

a gentleman with ear phones hopped out and said the president is here. >> almost unthinkable now, the president was out on a lark. >> he said he and his friends were driving around town looking at the city. and they thought to come up here. >> he led them on a tour of the house. >> then we came out here, and the city is incredible. >> the word kennedy spoke next grew large in november. >> he paused a little bit longer and the city is beautiful. and he said, this is so lovely, i could stay here forever. >> i could stay here forever. a friend with. president that day remembered those words as the family remembered the site of the burial, he told them the story. and soon, he had mere vip visitors. >> robert kennedy asked if that would could be done, could that be a gravesite? and secretary macnamara said,

yes, that was army. and he could convert that to that. and that was it. >> the day came. kings, queens from around the world joining the grieving widow, jackie kennedy. in a coretage half a mile long. full honors for the commander in chief. [ ♪ playing "taps" ] >> but not all of the military that day was american. two irish men found themselves at arlington. straight from dublin, irish cadets, members of the drill team. in june of that year, they had impressed jfk, during his visit to ireland, his ancestral homeland.

>> we were very much in awe of this man, this leader of the free world. >> the president often spoke of them to jackie. when the time came, she sent for them. >> as stunning as it was. get here as quickly as possible, get your gear in order, we're going to the funeral in the morning. >> once in position, they were anxious. astonished to find themselves literally at gravesite. >> a fantastic occasion, what if something goes wrong, and what if your minds wander and you have to go back. do the job. 50 years later, we're here, and it still is something that i will never ever forget. >> a young tour guide and a team of irish cadets, both with a mentalry of the young president, both playing an unexpected role in laying him to rest.

aljazeera, washington. >> and meteorologist, we have snow coming down. this is snow around denver, a drom yesterday in the upper 50s, and now only into the teens and dropping. you can see there's a storm developing. where the cold air is coming down as snow. and the problem is, that cold air is moving south. but a couple of thousand feet up, it's above freezing, so now you get rain and the air below freezing. that's where you get sleet and freezing rain. the cold air moving south. and all of the snow in the tip of the panhandle of oklahoma. but here's the mist and you get the rain falling into cold air, freezing when it hits the ground, and that could be freezing rain. so slippery rois, and wintry mix happening.

it's this evening and tomorrow morning. rush hour could be slippery. it will begin 20 clear out and move in as rain, but it's tomorrow morning where the temperatures will be dropping. right now, in the 60s in wichita, but look how they drom hour-by-hour. close to freezing. and the rain and the cold air. icy roadways by tomorrow morning. below freezing and it stays there as the cold air moves south. rain and a mix in dallas. as the temperature drops, it clears out on sunday. temperatures into the upper 40s. very cold air moving south. and arctic care as it moves east and it will be in chicago and new york by the weekend. >> thank you very much. the alabama patrol board has granted long overdue pardons to the scott boys. nine black males were accused of raping a white woman. one man was pardoned in 1976.

all three men pardoned are dead. thank you for watching. story." >> it's a terrible problem in search of a better solution for victims. the number of reported sex yum assaults in the military jumped 50% in the last year. and the pentagon estimates the real number is much, much higher. the president has ordered the military to solve the problem, but it's not that easy.