join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america hello, i'm del walters, boston still being hit by that terrible snow storms millions of americans elsewhere still need to worry. rebecca has the latest. >> good morning, dell. a lot of places are still in that heavy snow from maine, new hampshire, vermont, and connecticut, when we look at parts of long island and manhattan, new jersey we don't have a blizzard warning anymore. but you can still see some heavier bands rolling through parts of long island and we're also getting powerful winds blasting through. so temperatures now, philadelphia for instance 28, 13 in albany it feels a lot colder than that because the

winds are blasting towards low-pressure as it's tracking up the coast. it's making it feel like temperatures are zero in new york right now. dell? >> thank you very much. i'm del walters in new york. you are watching al jazeera america. reminder you can check us out on aljazeera.com. in greece raising big concerns for europe and the u.s. also secretary kerry threatens to pull military support from nigeria even though the threat grows from boko haram terrorists. i'm antonio mora, we'll have more on those straight ahead. >> the stage appears to be set for a political battle against the prime ministers. >> saying no to all of these. >> in a hill overlooking kobani. the flag of the kurdish protection unit. >> battle against the islamic state of iraq and the levant.

>> through a more than half dozen villages people killing and looting. >> we will continue to support the nigerian military in its fight against boko haram. >> we begin with developments in two of the world's important democracies. one greece is the oldettes but it suffered from a full depression and now the country has elected a left wing government. the other, india, is the world's most populace democracy with a growing economy that's growing to address the needs of more than a million people. in greece wh where where democracy was born, elected a new government alexis tsipras, sworn in as prime minister, european lenders including german chancellor angela merkel say they expect greece to honor the terms of its bailouts. mike

ingram marketing analyst of bgc explains. >> if they don't pay their debt they must be punished. although, the greeks would argue they've been punished enough. there's no sign from any movement at all from germany at this point in time. >> meanwhile in new delhi, barack obama was an honored guest at india's republic day parade. including an important agreement on civilian nuclear energy. for more we are joined from cambridge massachusetts, by nicholas burns. led negotiations on the u.s. india civil nuclear agreement. he currently serves as the faculty chair for the middle east, and asia. ambassador, good to have you

with us, especially on this snowy day. let's start with greece. dire figures, 50% youth unemployment. 25% unemployment overall, an economy clearly still on the ropes. and now on this vote it seems to reflect the anger of the are geek people. they have elected a left wing party, likes of which europe hasn't seen in a long time. how different is this new governing party? >> it is quite a dramatic moment in modern greek history. this is a decisive victory by the syriza party. obviously, the greeks have gone through a terrible experience with depression and 50% youth unemployment over the past several years and syriza has a lat form to return the social welfare state and the programs this were done away with during the period of austerity. that ambition of the new greek

government is going to clash of course with the germans and the others in the european union, who say the greeks must adhere to their debts. and right now it looks like two immovable forces are going to meet each other. which is going to blink, which is going to compromise, one would hope but it's not absolutely sure. >> how does it work to, you know, be basically brument bankrupt have been bailed out and major promises of a social welfare state, where do they get the money from? >> well, i think the syriza party and the new prime minister agrees, alexis tsipras will argue that austerity has actually hurt the greek economy. there's no chance to grow out of the economy, gaining jobs and wealth, until government returns to social welfare spending.

however, the europeans, imf will argue that the only way for greece to many recover is to play by the rules and pay its debts. positions. this is the first time greece has been ruled by a radical left party. and this has all the l previews of a disaster ahead. you've heard from the greek prime minister and the germans have been very tough statements, unyielding statements indeed. >> so what are the implications for europe for the world if this turns into a confrontation where grease says hey we're not going to pay back these loans and the germans and the rest of the europeans say you have to? >> well, i think syriza's election over the past 24 hours has now set up perhaps a major european debate.

if you look at some of the rise of leftist parties in spain, for instance, look at what's happening in the politics of france and even in the united kingdom, people are beginning to debate the wisdom of austerity and this greek election will fuel that debate. secondly, the worst case stereo here is there's no movement on the european union, the greeks refuse to pay off their loans or the probability, possibility, that it could lead to the possibility of the ouster ever greece from the euro zone. >> let's start first with the economic issue. if greece doesn't pay back and goes into default or if the lenders say okay, we'll give you even more concessions, will that encourage other european

countries, spain, italy that are much bigger economies and have big debt problems of their own to say hey, you've got to give us the same kind of deal? >> i think that is the concern of the lenders of the european commission european central bank the imf the german government, if you give in to greece now the better wishes of those lenders it will simply encourage some in italy and france and spain, to ask for a better deal. they cannot afford that. that is danger. i think the germans have convinced themselves that they could sustain an exit from the euro zone. have greece is just 3% of the entire gdp, one of the smallest economies of the european union. i think in 2010, 2011 and

2012 that any withdrawal could lead to market instability. there are some that feel that will not be the case. so i would expect a very tough line from the creditors. i don't think they will give in to the demands of this new greek government. >> and tsipras has said he doesn't want to leave the euro zone, the european union or the euro, the majority of greeks feel that way but if greece ends up either dropping out or being pushed out of the euro zone we are talking about the economic cracks in europe. there are significant contraction that go beyond the economy in other parts of the continent. >> well, this is the big question that the europeans are now going to have to consider. do they take the chance that, by maintaining a tough, unyielding line on greek debt that they set off uncontrollable political and social forces or economic forces

that might leak in the european union? i believe some germans believe that won't be the case but that will be a risk. that is essentially the leverage that the greek government has in this. on the other hand, the greek government cannot point to substantial deeply seeded reformed that have been sustained over time. the privatization program in greece has not gone as far as the prior greek government have committed and i think the european lenders will say you need to adhere to these economic reforms because in the long term, that was -- that is what will get you out of this economic more as. morass. now, you have very strong forces opposing each poarpt it is other. it is going to be a major confrontation between the greek government and others. >> certainly there are others that threaten the european union, other issues that are problems in other parts of the

continent so in the grand scheme here what does this mean for united states? if we start seeing the euro zone disintegrating? >> there is an impact on the united states for sure in that scenario because europe is our largest trade partner and investor. the european union countries altogether. europe is also home of the nato alliance. the future of the united states and canada are inextricably bound up with europe given the close economic political and societal ties. if there's a problem in europe and the euro currency that is bound to have an impact on the united states. >> let's turn to india, another area of your expertise, great pictures in the last couple of days. clearly a budding friendship prime minister modi and president obama. good for both countries to get closer.

is china the main motivator behind this? >> in a way yes. there are lots of motte vacations why the united states and india should be strategic partners. we are the two largest diffraction in the world. a natural bridge between us. our strategic interests are congruent. you mentioned one of them. both of us have important pivotal ties with china but neither india or the united states wansdz to wants to see china emboldened. not only united states but japan in that situation. i think president obama had a very good trip to japan. to see that they have renewed the ten year defense agreement to see that they've made some progress in resolving the impasse of the civil nuclear

negotiations in which i was involved 10 years ago. involving president bush and consdz condoleezza rice, i think it was a stancheonly important visit and a symbolism of president obama being invited to be the chief guest at republic day, today on january 26th, that is a powerful symbol from the indian government. i think it was a powerful statement for both countries. it is a cub of 1.2 billion people, is the problem mostly on india's side that the numbers are so low that it's just a regulatory mess? >> well, you know the trade in goods and services has reached $100 billion. it's quadrupled over the past

several years. there has been progress made. but we have stronger trading partners including china around the world. but here's why president clinton, president george w. bush and now president obama we're going to have a much bigger rip over the next several decades. we are bound to have a major trade relationship with india given the high tech connections alone between the two countries. given the fact that india will i think emerge as a manufacturing power over the next several decades. and so for president obama to be positioning the united states strategically to be closer to india is of great interest to us and it's of great importance for our long term security as well as trait interests in south and east asia. >> ambassador nicholas burns good to have your perspective, thank you for your time. >> thank you so much. >> major progress against ebola.

plus chris christie makes a run for and our social media producer, hermela aregawi what's trending. >> day of celebration in indiana, a hashtag in pakistan sparks controversy. let us know what you think @ajconsiderthis and on our facebook page. facebook page.

>> secretary of state john kerry visited nigeria this weekend in the midst of an expanding war the country faces with the boko haram terrorist group. secretary kerry warned nigeria's presidential candidates that future military support from the u.s. will be dependent on peaceful and transparent elections set for february 14th. >> the desire of the united

states to be able to engage even more so in the effort to push back against boko haram or any other violent extremist group, but the quality of the democratic process is important to contributing to our ability to do so. and that's exactly why i'm here today. >> kerry's visit to lagos on sunday corresponded to a bold attack by boko haram. on monday nigerian troops moved to recapture a town after 5,000 fled. for more, we're joined by ambassador john campbell who served as ambassador to nigeria from 2004 to 2007. fellow on africa studies, the author of the book nigeria dancing on the brink and the editor for the council on foreign relations security tracker. ambassador good to have you with us.

>> good to be with you. >> boko haram last been on a tear recently, it has taken over towns military base conducting one massacre after another. now the news that it had gone after mitaguri this weekend, has now seized enough weapons to annihilate the whole country. some soldiers fighting them are saying they are facing superior fire power. how can that be? >> that's a very good question especially given the fact that the total security budget for the nigerian government is somewhere between five and $6 billion u.s. >> and the u.s. cooperated after the terrible kidnapping of the girls last year. we sent more people to help the nigerians. so why has the fight been so ineffective? >> the assistance that the u.s. provided in the aftermast of the chibok schoolgirl

kidnapping was essentially surveillance. here was a small-scale u.s. training program to train a nigerian unit in counterterrorist activities. but that training program was unaccountably terminated by the nigerian government with virtually no explanation. >> right, that just happened recently. now but you again spent time there. you just talked about how much money goes into that, the nigerian military, are you at all surprised that this has gotten to this point? because now this is not just a few militants here and there. these are guys who are being able to mount serious offensives. you'd think they would be able to be attacked from the air and be surveilled by aerial in some sort of aerial form. >> the nigerian military has been greatly reduced over the past decade.

in addition, there are concerns by many that boko haram has in fact infiltrated the nigerian military . or as a senior military officer remarked to me, the issue is that many of the same internal divisions that playing nigerian society in general also affect the military. >> is it -- you know, it is unusual to have a u.s. secretary of state visit before an election. now we see secretary kerry. he came with this warning for president goodluck jonathan who has been ineffective in fighting boko haram and his opponent bahari. he has basically said future help from the u.s. is dependent on the elections.

what do those threats really mean do you think the u.s. under these circumstances will actually pull military aid? >> well now again, we have to go back to the point that there is very little military aid to start with right now. with respect to the revocation of u.s. visas for those who advocate or foment violence, that indeed can be done. and i would expect that it will be done. with respect to the quality of the upcoming elections, that are to take place on february 14th, there are a great many challenges. there are practical questions. for example, the distribution of voter cards. a significant percentage of them have yet to be distributed. or how do the internally displaced persons in northern nigeria who may number some 2 million, how are they going to be able to vote?

or, how do you conduct elections in areas where boko haram is active? these are difficult questions, and they are difficult questions that demand the attention of the nigerian government. to secure that attention may have been one of the reasons for the secretary's visit to lagos. and as you say, it is unusual for a secretary of state to visit a foreign country immediately before elections. >> how do you see american relations with nigeria moving forward? >> well, the quality of these upcoming elections will be important. so too will be important is how the nigerian government responds to postelectoral violence. there's a long trash in nigeria of relatively peaceful polling

followed by widespread violence once the results are announced. in some cases that violence has been stimulated or promoted by the security services. how the security services behavior, will also be an important element here. >> a lot of important things going on in the most populace country in africa and the biggest economy so it's important for the united states and the rest of the world that there gets under control. ambassador john campbell, really a pleasure for having you. >> thank you for having me. >> that comes up. right after "consider this," my interview with flemming rose. move pro provoked deadly riots across the muslim world. is he still dealing with death threats nine years layered. we'll discuss the charlie hebdo

paris tragedy with him. you can tweet me @amoratv. we'll see you next time. see you next time. >> this week on "talk to al jazeera" danish editor and author flemming rose. in 2005 he commissioned cartoons of the prophet muhammed. >> that cartoon is not targeted muslims it's targeting a . >> in juldz posten. >> that's what makes them so difficult to handle. >> the ongoing debate over freedom of the press is back in the headlines after 12 people were murdered on the attack of a french satirical newspaper, charlie hebdo.