>> hundreds of days in the middle east has loft reason an influential leader. king abdullah dead at the age of 90. conflicting assessments over america's fight against i.s.i.l. in syria and iraq. and the man behind the controversial cartoons depicting prophet muhammad will join u despite being marked for death by al qaeda. i'm david shuster in more antonio mora welcome to "consider this". those stories and more straight

ahead. >> king abdullah of saudi arabia passed away. >> king abdullah was a powerful alwry of u.s. -- ally of u.s. >> degrade and defeat i.s.i.l. >> the battle against i.s.i.l. is not confined within the borders of iraq and syria. >> it's a huge task with no short cuts. >> 13 killed in donetsk after shelling hit a bus. the region's airport falling no the hands of pro-russian rebels. >> it's a blatant land grab. >> the numbers of whim edge murdered is -- women murdered is happening fast. >> grieving families of dead women is stunned that little is down it bring the killers to justice. >> sometimes the sword a mightier than the pen. >> there are times the freedom

of speech is mightier than the sword we begin with the death of saudi king abdullah. he passed away after a lengthy hospital visit. he was a powerful ally of the united states and a reformer. he opposed the arab springs. president obama praised the king writing: the president continued: the king's 79-year-old brother will take over the throne. king abdullah will be laid to rest form. let's bring in bernard hakkel a director of studies at princeton, and director for transregional studies. how would you describe king

abdullah's legacy in the region? >> he's certainly food for stability in the kingdom. in the region he wanted to make sure iran's power was contained as much as possible. he liked hosni mubarak of egypt a lot. and did not want to see him toppled. definitely he today for a strong saudi arabia-u.s. relationship. he was a conservative monarch who was deeply concerned about the survival of his regime in saudi arabia. >> as part of that interest, he offered to crack down. they haven't made much progress in terms of women's rights but was liberal with saudi aria's billions

billions in gas and spreading it around. >> his crackdown in the kingdom ha a lot to do with fighting elements of al qaeda, and cracking down on shi'ites who were demonstrating or active against the regime or calling for greater rights. >> he seemed to have been liked by the saudi arabia people. the evidence for this is largely anecdotal. not an idea logically - ideological person. he'll be much missed because he was seen as a kind of emblem of stability at a turbulent time in the region. >> does that stability continue with prince ar man, a king that the united states knows well. they are not expecting drama. what are the challenges that they'll have to face.

>> the most immediate regional challenge that prince arman has to face is turbulence in yemen. it's on the verge of becoming a failed state with possibly sa major still war erupting. domestically it's the same. it won't be the same in terms of oil or cutting production. there'll be a strong informs on the strong american relationship with the united states. he is known to be pro-american. >> as far as domestic challenges that the new king will have. half the population of 20 million people is under the age of 25. seeking jobs seeking to push the boundaries. how does the saudi arabia monarchy deal with that? >> with difficulty.

i don't think the answers - they have sent 100,000 overseas. many are coming back. it will be a challenge finding jobs for he is people. and oil is less than it was a few weeks ago. the saudi budget will be indefinite. >> how will the news be greeted in jerusalem, given that israel was on the same side of saudi arabia. are and there was back door discussions. >> alleged back door discussions. i think the israelis will see the new monarch as much of the tame. that it will be an anti-iranian

country. one that would contain the influence of iran. >> professor. thank you for coming on. we appreciate it. >> let's turn to a reality check in the fight against i.s.i.l. thursday members of the u.s. coalition provided starkly different assessments for how the effort was going. it comes amidst a growing risk. speaking at a coalition conference john kerry said it had been halted or reversed. the foreign secretary said that why there's reason for optimism it could take two years to ex-pell i.s.i.l. from iraq. >> we said this would take time but they would be capable and ready to push back against tassaduq hussain jillani. >> meanwhile the u.s.

ambassador, stuart jones made a claim that air strikes devastated i.s.i.l.'s ranks, killing more than 6,000 fighters in syria and iraq. secretary of defense chuck hagel said thousands had likely been killed but he had no way to verify the number. he weighed in on complaints that the international community left the country vulnerable. >> we expect much much more from the international community to side with iraq. there's a lot of things said and spoken and little. we are thankful for the air campaign but you cannot achieve victory without a real fight. we are on this on our own. >> defense secretary chuck hagel strongly disagreed. >> i do disagree with the prime minister's comments. i would say further, i don't

think they are helpful. we have a coalition of 60 countries that have come together to help iraq. i think the prime minister might want to be a little more mindful of that. >> joining us from austin texas, a special former agent with the state department and vice president from stratford for analysis of security scott was involved in hundreds of terrorism investigations good to have you with us. a lot of conflicting medicine. i.s.i.l.'s advances can be halted. iraq needs more help they are complaining about it. iraq's prime minister was more conciliatory in london. what do you make of all of this? >> i think we'll always have tension. certainly the iraqis will ask for more. i don't think there's any doubt about that. there'll be a reluctance to provide more from the u.s. and

allies. you can only go so far. we are not going to see a situation like the surge in 2007 where you have tens of thousands of n.a.t.o. troops coming into iraq. basically the iraqis are going to be left to do most of the ground fighting while they are supported, trained and equipmented by the international coalition. >> given the iraqis asked for more did that prompt them to claim 6,000 i.s.i.l. fighters have been killed. is there any way to verify the number? >> when you talk about 2,000 bombing runs. they probably have killed a large number of people. it's hard. especially without of the ground troops out there to go through the rubble after an attack. you can try to do what you can using aerial assets whether it's satellite or uavs. it's hard to count all the

bodies after an air strike. doubtlessly they have been hit hard. and we have seen a lot of video from all corners of a lot of i.s.i.l. fighters killed. not only in kobane. but closer to mosul. >> what do you make. situation on the ground and how do you describe the progress against i.s.i.l. and some of the weaknesses that coalition force are are having? >> we are seeing this movement to cut off mosul, and surround and besiege it. the problem is, you know while that is progress and people that are optimistic can point to it as progress. on the other side we know looking at fallujah twice in 2004 it will be difficult to clear a large urban area of the

islamic state. they are hoping as they cuff off mosul, it will withdraw from the si. and it looks like the islamic state troops are ready to die in place in mosul. that looks like it will be a long drawn out, ugly fight. will it be difficult to get them out of mosul, even two years from now, do e get the sense -- you get the sense that iraq has the appetite for that war? they will have to. they are better trained units. they have faired well in direct combat. i anticipate that they'll be able to do it. especially as the units in places like mosul are cut off. we see they are having problems

with recruits pressing people into military services. and we are seeing disessential among the forces with them executing their own people. other for cowardice or accusing them of being spies. there are bright spots. as we talk about victory over the islamic state of iraq and levant and syria. it's not just a conetic thing -- kinetic thing. we have forces on the ground we have terrorist networks extending beyond there. as long as the ideology is there, the group lives and thrives and attracts new adherence. the important battle is - the kinetic battle is important. the more important battle is the idea logical one. that's a place we are seeing

progress made. >> what do you make. crisis in yemen, i.s.i.l. possibly recruiting there - what do you make of it? >> we need to be careful of claims of islamic state presence in yemen. if there is any, it's limited. al qaeda in the ar ab yaens r is one of the -- ar ab yen peninsula is one of the closest. they are closely tied and the interpersonal ties are close. things in yemen now are looking bad. the sad part is it's not going to get better no matter what happens. whether the parliament accepts the president's or the prime minister's resignation or it relates it. either way you continue to have a civil war going. between the houthis, and the

tribal militias out there. you'll have the conflicts in the south. the civil war will continue and whether or not have you a facade of government. of president hardy over the houthi hand or not. they'll be there and in conflict with others. >> thank you for joining us. thank you for your time. >> and now for some more stories from around the world. we begin in the nation's capital. a night an after pulling a bill that would have banned after 20 weeks much pregnancy, the house passed a bill prohibiting funding for abortions. 242 to 179 was among party

lines. the vote was scheduled to coincide with a decision row versus wade. it faces an uncertain future. president obama threatened to veto the bill and republicans do not have the votes to override a veto. next to new york state where state assembly speaker has been indicted on corruption charges, accused of using political power to obtain millions in bribes and kickbacks. the 70-year-old was charged with mail fraud, extortion and others. he faces 20 years imprison on each count. he turned himself in to the fbi op thursday and is confident he'll be found not guilty. "the economist" has been named,

taking over for the editor heading to bloomberg news. he'll be the 17th editor. he's the business affairs minister and worked for the international monetary fund. she described the economist as a great institution with an extraordinarily talented staff. that is some of what is happening around the world. coming up, there has been more bloodshed in ukraine. violence is escalating and the russian-backed rebels is making gapes. >> and a dannish editor that published cartoons of prophet muhammad in 2005 and the death threats he still faces. harmeli aregawi is tracking the web. >> video of a police shooting sparked a lot of anger. a lot say the officers were in

the right. let us know what you think. real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon came ashore. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

the latest violence in the ukraine appears to have eliminated hopes for peace. 13 killed and dozens injured after a bus stop was struck in donetsk. both blame each other. amnesty international raised concerns about ukranian

prisoners of war paraded through the streets. russian-backed rebels encouraged locals to beat the prisoners. >> most of the prisoners were captured by rebels during the battle for control of the donetsk airport, which has been destroyed by the fighting. ukranian president petro porashenko said fighting in areas was more intense in some places than before the september ceasefire, and russia has nearly 9,000 troops and equipment in this country. >> if the enemy does not want to adhere to the ceasefire regime and the proposal residents of ukranian villages towns and cities will not suffer. those that violate it will be pumped in the teeth. ambassador william courtney

to kazakhstan and others. he is an adjunct senior fellow at the rand corporation. good to have you with us. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, samantha power says the peace proposal is an occupation plan. what if anything can the government do now. >> the situation is escalating beyond what was envisaged in september. when a ceasefire accord was believed. ukraine was strong enough. now the russians gained territory. the peace plan allowed russia to take additional territory. petro porashenko was right to

refuse that and power was correct to call it an occupation plan. >> ukraine and russia pointed blame at each other. sergey lavrov said the ukranian government did it. and said it's obvious that the party and foreign patrons are not stopped by fatalities. your reaction? >> it's too early to assess origins origins. observers assessed that including direction of fire and concluded it came from rebel territory. the russians denied in that case. i picture in this there'll have to be examples. if it's similar to the past one rebels are likely responsibility. ukraine

ukrainy television says it's seen vehicles on their side of the border. propels systems and rocket launchers. air defense systems have been observed in ukraine. do you think russia will go full bore? >> with the russian military build up. it looks like they are making an effort to seize mariupol. from areas in eastern ukraine. it's important because that has to be seized if wush re wands to go further. up to now russia has been reluctant to do that for a

couple of reasons. it would be hard for them to tell people that crops are not fighting. the ground is soft. the heavily armoured vehicles are likely to be more useable in seizing mariupol at the north or going further down to crimea. sanctions are hurting the economy also. european leaders will decide in march whether to renew for another year. they said there was no chance that the syncs would be lifted.

does any of this have impact on vladimir putin. it may. the russian government is going down for several reasons. we were actions discouraged vestment. most of the wounds are self-inflicted. russia has said if they decide to take mariupol. that the sanctions will not be ended, but the additional concern is western policy is looking at using some of the tools of the cold car containment and deterrent. russia has five conflicts where forces are occupying.

so the evidence will step back and take a look. >> what can be done doesn't back down. can the united states as hillary clinton suggested, provide more help to ukraine. >> secretary has made those calls. we can expect greater pressure on pam owe to do that. it's likely the west will organise a tougher coalition against russia. something like in the cold war. i think we'll see a combination of deterrent measures to deal with a broader threat. >> you are welcome. >> time to see what is trending on the webment let's check in

with harmeli aregawi. >> footage of shooting is raising questions. man was pulled over for running a stop sign by bridge tonne police. this is a warping that the video you are about to see is graphic. >> show me your hands. don't you [ bleep ] move. get them out the car. we've got a gun. >> at this point officer days pulls what appears to be a silver gun out of the car. >> you reach for something, you'll be dead i'm telling you keep your hands there. you reach for something you'll be[ bleep ] dead. show me hour hands. don't move. >> seconds later, despite the officer repeatedly saying not to

move reed steps out of the car with his hands up at which point he's shot dead. >> don't you [ bleep ] move. >> it's unclear in the video who aped the door. >> both officers have been placed on leave. our viewers say: there are people on social media that thinks this is a matter of police brutality and race. the officer shot is black, partner while the. the two in the car was white. the majority said officers had a

reason to feel threatened. >> gripping video. >> straight ahead. a man targeted for death by al qaeda, after publishing cartoons for mary snow a decade ago. we tare thoughts on the paris terror attacks. >> also the deadly war waged by drug cartels. the government failing to prosecute the murders. debate gate may have americans talking. but one has prays for good sportsmanship.

welcome back to "consider this", i'm david shuster, in for antonio mora. europe is reeling from a massacre of 12 people at the headquarters of a satirical newspaper "charlie hebdo" in paris for publishing cartoons depicting prophet muhammad. our next guest could have met the same fate. in 2005, fleming rose authorise theictures for a book. rose outlines the experiences and death threats he faces in his book "the tyranny of silence." antonio mora sat with him in a new eddize of "talk to al jazeera". . >> i was shocked. i was grieving. i knew some of these people.

in 2006 when danish embassies burnt i was shocked and surprised. it was unreal i couldn't reality to it. this time it hit me very hard because it couldn't come as a surprise to anyone following event in the past nine years. >> you are on the same al qaeda hit list. inspire magazine as was the editor of "charlie hebdo". and rushdie after he published his book. what is it like for you to have to worry about this constant threat. >> i try not to think about it. i put effort into doing exactly the same as i have done without being on the list. if i start to change then i would hand those that would like

to come after me a victory. i don't want to do that. >> let's go back a decade when you thought about publishing the cartoons of prophet muhammad. you wrote: so you asked that question. was there self-censorship. would there be this violence. you didn't expect that you would see the kind of violence that killed hundreds of people? >> of course not. >> even experts on islam were telling me in the fall of 2005, that this would never turn into an international scandal. it is a rationalisation of the fact, to say, you know you - you should have known. >> there were people in denmark who were concerned and worried

that you were making the country a target back then. >> even now things have changed, there's a different attitude to all this. >> absolutely. this week. a poll was published in the danish newspapers. 49% of danish population said it was the wrong thing. 43% said yes. today 65% says it was the right thing to do. and only 17% say it was the wrong thing to do. you see a sea change in the attitude to the attitude of the publications after what happened in paris. and you can't say that that cartoon is saying something about every muslim like you cannot say if you depict carl marx with blood on his hand that every marx is a bloody killer

or jesus christ on the cross. that all christians are drunkards. >> let's talk about if there are double standard. he draw something critical. the french president's son, getting married to a jewish woman, this was attempted to be anti-sematic. is there a double tender where this guy is forward for that. there is a double sting. there is a problem. i will say this. i don't think that mocking a religious doctrine is the same as mocking the memory of 6 million people killed during the world war ii. france has hate speech laws and

holocaust denial is a criminal offense. i do think we had to get rid of hate speech and it's given some muslims a reason for accusing france of exercising the standards. how is it possible that "charlie hebdo" can do what they are doing, being taken to court and acquitted. and you have a french comedian saying something seen as anti-semitic and is taken to court and convicted. >> what do you say to pope francis who said you can't provoke or instalment the faith of others. you cannot make fun of the faith of others. he's arguing that there should be a limit to freedom of speech and mocking prophet muhammad is seen as an insult to many muslims. >> the pope who is chairing a church should be very careful

talking about the right to answer mocking with violence. >> that was 500 years ago. >> nevertheless. >> is there such a thing as appropriate self censorship where we as journalists can make certain decisions saying "some things should not be put out there." if you look at what happened with the cartoons most american news outlets have not shown what "charlie hebdo" published, including this one. and your book publication in the united states do not have the cartoons you published in denmark. >> everywhere has the right to exercise a rhetorical line. what i'm skeptical about is motivation. we did not republish "charlie hebdo"'s cartoons in my newspaper. we wrote an editorial saying violence works.

it was not a journalistic judgment, but a security judgment. there has been some confusion among editors in western europe about what is the real motivation because we want to be nice. publiation is not endorse: there's right to freedom of religion speech. right to vote for different parties, but the only right you should not have is a rite not to be defended. the price we pay is that from time to time people public or say something we may find extensive. instead of sending people in sensitivity draining we should

send to sincive. you said what you were going was not so much striking a below from freedom of peach butt battling self-sensor have been. >> i'm not an activist. for me it's to raise the issues. we succeeded in focussing on a serious problem. and nine years later the problem has not got away it's worse. >> are we losing the battle. >> i don't know. depends what you and i do in our daily work. dependents whether people support the right to freedom of

expression or not out there. it's a question of how individuals will react to this. it's not predetermined how this will play out. i'm more pessimistic today. >> antonio mora's interview will air on "talk to al jazeera", monday night. "tieranie of silence" is available online and in book stores. >> straight ahead a start lipping number of women are -- startling number of women are killed in mexico. why have they prosecuted no cases. >> a ban an the tennis court has women pointing to charges of sexism.

violence against women is a serious problem. some of the worst violence is having on the doorstep. according to the national citizen, six women are murdered every day in mexico. a fraction of the killings are investigated. fewer than 2% of cases - the perpetrator is sentenced for the crime. >> with the government and police force immersed in corruption the u.n. lists mexico among the 20-worst countries for violence against women. antonio mora had a chance to talk with a teacher at the columbian school of journalism. she was a 2-time scholar.

aljazeera.com, a contributor, she wrote about the problem of film -- filmy side in mexico. >> in that context, how do you know there's a more serious problem. >> i think the problem with women has been a problem. but with more endemic violence they have been caught into that two. there's two sides. one is domestic partners who may account for a third or a half of the men who attacked these women. the rest is probably related to the wider system of criminality which exists. the women can be used in human trafficking, and they don't make their - you know their final - the time - or they are used up by drug gangs, and are no longer useful so they are chop the up and thrown into the sewage canal. >> you have horrible stories

like that and you describe the case of a woman married to a police officer, subjected to domestic abuse. she is found dead all bruised on a bed and somehow the police called it a suicide. and then later the husband is promoted as a police officer. you hear cases like that and think how can this be. i know that you poison out that most of the women victims much filmy side - the reality is this is a problem across the country and mexican society. the fast majority is cases documented by the national observatory are women who are not well educated. not wealthy. so they don't brief sources. >> the families don't have the resources to pursue the criminals. and the system is doing little. >> exactly. >> if you look at the numbers,

it's shocking. 24% of murders investigated. also than 2% being actually sensed. why is that happening. part of it is that the judicial system is disfunctional. when you look at the statistics of male homicide the degree of progress is the same. when you look at male homicide. there's 10 times a greater incidence of cases. what makes the female the filmy side troubling is there's a gender based sexually based element to it. it's not districtly one man shooting another man because he wants money or a fight or the cartels are in battle. >> a misonly ni endemic to the system. we become aware of how bad things could be for the women in

mexico because there's an explosion on the border. sometimes attributed to the drug cartels, not clear if that's the case or not. again, the drug cartels are a big part of the problem, they are not the only problem. >> definitely. in the case of women, definitely. what spoke to me when i spoke to the women. as well as the national observatory. as well as the social posterior appointed by the government to deal with crimes against women. they said the same thing. it's a germ ms only ni against women, and particularly in a working class situation, a woman doesn't have the resources to confront it. i met the parents of the woman married to the police officer. the family said they couldn't go to the authorities because he's a policeman. they did nothing. >> you mentioned a special

prosecutor. who told you she prosecuted not one case in 2014. that begs the question how does it happen. >> it begs the question why have 70,000, 100,000 been killed in the last eight years. the judicial system does not work. it's a failed state. you'd have to - you have to blow up the institution and start it from scratch. corruption is to endemic, patriotism is epidemic and in the case of women, it is so low. >> and in 2002, it hasn't come up with anything to help women. >> no. >> how much worse is it getting. >> according to the figures of

the national observatory, they are bag. >> it's a horrible situation, not getting worse, but a horrible situation. >> you point out that he was the governor of the state of mexico and the number of murders there was higher. >> it continues to be. when he was the governor of that state the figures were explosive. >> why aren't they speaking out? >> i think it's not a priority for the government and it goes back to the role of women in that society. i might want to add. i don't want to be seen as mexico bashing. mexico is one of 20 countries that are bad. it's a problem for women in many countries. it is shocking. >> it's an alarming piece you wrote. raising issues for one of the

most important issues. thank you very much. >> difference in sportsmanship. how the kind gesture of one competitor at the australian open offered a stark contrast to accusations facing the new england patriots. >> i'm john siegenthaler in new york. coming up after "consider this" king abdullah in saudi arabia died today. >> regime changes in yemen after resignations. i.s.i.l. threatening to kill two hostages. >> the president changes stories about the death of a prosecutor. all that and more coming up after "consider this".

if you think good sportsmanship is dead you may not be alone. new england patriots won a chompianship with under-inflated balls, but the coach and tom brady said they this no idea how it happened. good sportsmanship is alive, at least on the tennis court. >> american smychc granted

rafael nadal an extra serve after a spectator shouted out during his swing. upped the rules he didn't have to. but later said it was the right thing to do. >> joining us is a member of the tennis writer's association, former sports come uppist and blogger, greg great to have you here. let's start with the american tennis player and what he did. let's watch. >> boo boo >> are you kidding me. i would not let this person back in the car park. >> replay the point. >> to explain what happened there. why is it so significant from a tennis perspective? >> it's more significant than people are crediting semicheck

with. this man is a journeyman player from milwaukee, he's not in a position to play rafael nadal on the main court in four maimers in the world. here he was fighting him for four hours even gets to the end, barely losing has a chance to win. nadal hits the surge, the crowd yells, should have been a second, smychek says no no give him another chance it's only fair. >> a guy in a big moment in his defining moment in his career. it did define him has a human being. >> you wrat a piece tennis at smychek's and football has deflate-gate. which do we report. >> i fear we respect where it's coming from. >> does that mean you think most

americans have respect for bill belichick who was the history of pushing pt bounds of sport and maybe crossing the line and what smychek did was a mistake if he wants to win at the highest levels of the tennis world. >> yes we'll never ha of him again in -- hear of him again in the next two days. you have two dies in the super bowl sneaky and breaking the rules. we say we respect sportsmanship and we cry out when we see bad sportsmanship. what we respect is seeing anything to win, fight to the death. i wrote in the m that i -- column that i taught my son to do something without being caught. >> crowds were not allowed to wave behind in some matches.

doesn't that exist? >> to some extent. but i don't think it's the thing that we teach our kids. sportsmanship takes a back seat. almost like graduating for college football players. we talk about graduation. it's not that big of a deal. we want to win. we'll do the other stuff later. >> is this all about money now. has sports lost its humanity. is it strange that this tennis moment is getting, as you pointed out, a lot less attention than bad sportsmanship spicted by the paitry -- exhibited by the patriots much. >> it's mostly about the money and winning. winning is important. we want our kid to behave and athletes to behave as long as they win and behave. >> and moving on to other news and involves eugenie bouchard who during an interview after her win.

she was asked by the interviewer to give the crowd a twirl. watch. >> last night you tweeted that you loved serena williams's outfit. she gave us a twirl. can you give us a twirl? >> a stwirl. into a pirouette. here we go. >> now, that moment provoked a backlash with charges of sexism the question arrived - would a male tennis be asked to do such a thing. what is your take on this whole thing? is it a fair criticism? >> well i can under why people are critical. billie-jean king said it's sexism. i disagreed. i'm not sure she means it. look maria sharapova designs a little black dress, forbes calls it saucy. fashion is part of women's's tennis. i went to a tennis conference at

the open and venus williams explained why she designed under wear that was skin colour. women's tennis tried to put a red carpet on the tennis court. we watched the golden globes and academy awards and they ask women to spin to show off the dresses. this guy that asked eugenie bouchard to twirl said twirl and talk about your outfit. he didn't say we want to look at your backside. he was talking about fashion, and that is part of women's tennis. if that is a problem. women's tennis needs to think about what they are selling. the players have no problem about how much they love serena williams death. >> i think it was creepy the way

the interviewers handled that. thank you for being with us. that is all for now. the conversation continues on the website. aljazeera.com. we are also on facebook and twitter @ajconsiderthis and tweet me at david shuster. thanks a lot. see you next time. hi everyone this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. the death of the saudi arabia king. a former ambassador tells us what is next for the region. the u.s.-backed president rescience, the chaos in a stronghold of al qaeda. political intrigue. a president under investigation. the prosecutor turns up