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[ technical difficulties ] >> it's by no means over yet. there is still that street-to-street, house-to-house fighting that needs to happen.

>> it's not a conventional battle. it's more like guerrilla war fair. >> yeah it's a war of attrition. isil is very good at putting snipers in placeses. but the iraqis seem to be very confident. >> if the iraqi army are able to push isil out of tikrit what happens next? you talk about the people of tikrit being very angry at the shia dominated government in baghdad. >> we have seen this in other places before over the years, but they are taking out revenge attacks. that's a big problem for the iraqis. one of the shia clerics have come out and said any of the shia militias who are found guilty will be investigating.

they are says isil booby trapped buildings, and we need to destroy them to move along. you have an irane general, the head of the irgc that is really leading that battle. that has got a lot of people particularly the sunni community in iraq very angry that somebody outside is coming in. he has had some real successes against isil. and he is on the ground and fighting. >> all right. imran many thanks indeed. there's been a large explosion in the iraqi city of kirkuk. plumes of smoke are being seen over the skyline. kurdish fighters are gathering before beginning an offensive in that city.

>> in ramadi soldiers have been killed a suicide bomber has blown themselves up. and in northern syria, isil fighters have taken control of a city which lies close to the turkish border. fighting has been going on for two weeks now. islamic state of iraq and the levant has released footage reportedly showing a young boy shooting a palestinian captive. the captive is identified as a 19 year old. israeli authorities say he traveled to syria in october to fight for the group, but isil accused him of working as a spy. his father say he was killed because he tried to leave isil. in washington, d.c. the

secretary of defense and top advisors are about to testimony before the senate. let's go live now to washington rosiland jordan is there for us. ros what are we expecting to happen today? >> we are expecting a very contentious hearing. that's because the aumf -- you will hear those letters a lot today, is just two pages long. and it is very very brief. it says the limited use of u.s. troops would only last three years. there would not be any use of u.s. ground forces although there would be provisions made for things such as rescue operations and intelligence gathering. but the big prohibition is against the use of u.s. ground troops. there are many conservatives here who think that though u.s.

should be standing up a very robust challenge to isil. >> all right. many thanks indeed. seven u.s. marines and four soldiers are missing after their hospital crashed in the u.s. state of florida. saudi arabia is recalling its ambassador to sweden. the two countries are in the midst of a diplomatic spat. sweden canceled a long-standing defense cooperation agreement with saudi arabia. one of the suspects charged with the murder of the russian politician boris nemtsov confessed after being tortured. there were several wounds on his body. he was arrested on saturday.

the other suspect also maintains his innocents and says he was beaten with a bag over his head. for more on this we're joined by the read of the international committee against torture. thanks for being with us. what do you make of these allegations of torture. >> hello, adrian. the allegation is more or less typical to many implications we receive from suspects arrested by police in different regions of russia. the people are kidnapped and sometimes they prefer not to be aggressive but blow themselves up like one of the suspects that police didn't succeed to arrest because he used some -- some weapons to suicide himself. so -- well the allegation that the persons you are talking

about were tortured should be properly and effectively investigated by the investigators not involved in the investigation of the murder case. but it looks typical. >> how widespread is the use of torture in russia in criminal investigations? >> extremely widespread. not only in criminal investigations. a couple of years ago there was research that showed up that one fifth of persons questioned were subjected to illegal actions by the police officers despite the fact where the question was taken place. so it is widespread in different regions of russia. there are problematic regions with torture is popular, and there are regions where torture is not common.

>> what do we mean by torture, and who is pur traiting these acts? >> the perpetrators in torture case can only be a person that represents the state. it's a police officer, sometimes it's teachers in school sometimes it's doctors in hospital, sometimes it's officers of the administration [ inaudible ] and colonies. the torture -- well the typical understanding of the terminology that is presented [ inaudible ] against torture. >> you talk about there needing to be an investigation, who would investigate this case? how would that investigation affect the criminal case against the man who's alleged torture? >> the case should be investigated by investigators of the investigative committee of the russian federation. and the investigator who will be working on the case of torture

should not be connected to those investigators who work with the murder investigation. and if they come to the conclusion that torture was used, it meaned that all of the statements extracted under torture should not be used against the suspected murders. >> thank you for being with us. russia has reit rated its right to move nuclear missiles to crimea. they have also pulled out of the arms control treaty signed with europe at the end of the cold war. it comes as the west is becoming increasingly concerned over what it calls russian aggression in eastern europe. the u.s. government says

that tanks and heavy weapons are also being brought across the border. >> reporter: as a tenuous ceasefire holds, dennis and a handful of separatists soldiers follow a trial of explosives to render them harmless with controlled blasts. as they do traumatized locals tally their losses. >> translator: you see how everything is destroyed. we didn't have rebel troops here. the ukrainian army aimed their tanks at us. >> reporter: the afternoon begins with shells on a school roof and in the fields of debaltseve a city taken by rebel fighters. a russian soldier who says he is fighting here as a separatists volunteer has lost three colleagues so far. >> translator: we all walk under god.

man proposes god disposes. if it's my destiny, maybe i'll be more needed in heaven. >> reporter: we were driving down this dirt road and the rebel troops ran across this long-range rocket. there's no safe way to deal with it, so they are going to blow it up right here. with a timed fuse already set raven spots a civilian ambling towards the bomb and stops him first with a yell then with gunfire. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: and then . . . [ explosion ] >> reporter: all that is left is a tail fin. the work will take months even the fighting doesn't start anew. but separatists troops feel a sense of victory. >> translator: a big hello to barack obama. >> reporter: a community that has largely condemned them.

john hendren, al jazeera, dee, eastern ukraine. >> all right. still to come on the news hour for years iran's government said that two children were enough. now it's no longer enough. we'll ask why. and columbia's government suspends air strikes on farc rebels. and why this man was no match for his scottish opponents at cricket world cup. ♪ the under-sunday struggling to get libya's two rival governments to attend talks. hashem ahelbarra joining us from rabat. the undervery optimistic about

the prospects for these talks when they got underway. was that optimism perhaps misplaced. >> reporter: they said they made significant progress in rabat yesterday. and as you said there is still some uncertainty about what might happen in the coming days. we know from our sources that delegations from tobruk and triply have arrived here. but we're still having issues here. some of the planes will take off from different places and pick up members of the delegations before all arriving together in the capitol, and this is one of the issues that explains the delay we have. and we have heard from our sources at the same time that the delegation from the government of tobruk is going to ask the united nations for a

delay, so they can discuss some of the details of the general agreement. the united nations has its own schedule and it wants to maintain the momentum. they want to make progress in the coming days. very delicate situation. >> hashem many thanks. hashem ahelbarra live in the moroccan capitol, rabat. in pakistan the army has raided the headquarters of the ruling party. according to pakistani security forces the troops acted on information that the movement was hiding criminals. they seized weapons and arrested dozens of party workers. they deny the claims and are calling for a nation-wide strike. iran has announced plans to ban volunteer sterilization.

the supreme leader has condemned the practice and called for the population to be doubled. human rights groups say it will set women back decades and reduce them to baby-making machines. what do you make of this move? is iran's population growth falling enough to justify a move like this? >> reporter: well, for two decades, iran had effective program on family planning. we -- including -- including volunteerary sterilization, and free condoms, affordable contraceptive. there was around the country good program, educational

program about family planning and health issue, but what happened that things happened -- these things happen and now we have two bills in parliament, which actually one banned free voluntary sterilization -- >> the government says it wants to halt a population decline in iran. do you suspect that there is more to it than that? >> i mean i think the policy behind this law is only to ask women to stay home. to keep women at home. there is not only this one, there is -- other laws came out, and i think the main reason is because the government -- the system are afraid for women to

be active in society. >> so you think the iranian government wants to discriminate against women. >> at the moment there are many discriminating laws against women in iran. we have in our civil and criminal court discriminating laws. but women manage to become active in society, and in public life. and they are in society. we have large amount of -- you know, women in universities, in public positions. this is not a you know -- the government don't like this. and they want to ask women to go back to their private life. they go back to private sphere and to stay at home. that's why they are bringing all of these diskrim nating laws against women. what is the purpose of all of these family protection. what is the purpose of these two

bills in parliament? i think the only reason is to restrict women's rights. they want to promote the culture of, you know ignoring women's right. they want to promote the culture that -- there is no place for women in public sphere. women should stay home and take care of the babies and family. >> many thanks indeed. good evening, australia. the weather forecast not just for you, but starting with you. everton fox is here. it's looking pretty clear across most of australia, or is it? >> as you can see there's not too much showing up. but look further north. three tropical cyclones in the forecast here. up towards the far northwest. that's the first one, and it's running down and will sink it way across parts of australia

over the next couple of days. other side of the country, yep, we have another one, and this one is going to make its way -- well it will gradually push away. but it is already bringing some very, very wet weatherer into the far northeast of australia, queenstown seeing some big downpours here. sustained winds of 165 kilometers her pour. it will make its way further east eventually pulling out towards the open waters for a time there. and then we have our next one here. we have seen some very heavy rain making its way across the salmon islands. certainly something to watch out for here. flooding rains, damaging winds, and some very destructive seas moving in across the area.

sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour gusting to 300 kilometers per hour. this is a powerful system and look at the sort of rainfall we're looking at. 303 millimeters. and we saw a staggering 425 millimeters of rain in 24 hours. we're going to see that wet weather continue to sink its way further south. it will be bisexting the two. french military police are searching for a team of jewel themes. at least two men ambushed a truck carrying millions of dollars of jewels. live out of paris, jacky rowland is there. >> reporter: the robbery was

clearly very well planned. the thieves must have had intelligence over the way that the jewels and the artworks were being transported and also the route that they were taking. what happened was when these two armored trucks stopped at a toll booth to pay the toll that's when the thieves struck. about 50 men wearing face mask phrased gas into the faces of the men driving the trucks and then made off with the vehicles which was later bound abandoned. about $10 million worth of jewelry and artworks have been stolen. it is thought that the thieves somehow made their way back in the direction of paris. this took place about 200 kilometers to the southeast of

the city. in recent years there has been a rash of thefts against luxury stores in paris and also in the city. on some occasions police have been able to solve the burglaries, but on other occasions, the jewelry and the thieves have never been found. hillary clinton has defended her use of a personal email account while serving as u.s. secretary of state. republicans have accused her of trying to block transparency. kristen saloomey has more. >> reporter: former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton was at the u.n. to speak on women's issues but the big draw was outside of the event. the media deskrengded in throngs to her explanation of using personal email as secretary of state. >> when i got to work as secretary of state i opted for

convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the state department because i thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and for my personal emails instead of two. >> reporter: the state department says it asked all former secretaries of state to hand over any emails on personal accounts last october of more stringent guidelines on the use of personal emails had come into effect. secretary clinton wasn't the only one to use her personal emails so did her predecessor. >> he used his personal emails he has no record of the emails he used with the account being closed for many years. >> reporter: mrs. clinton handed over 55,000 pages of emails and a committee investigating

clinton's handling of the attack on benghazi libya, is questioning her transparency. they want her to provide access to her private email server. secretary clinton says she is happy to make her official emails, but not her server public. hillary clinton came here to talk about empowering women, an issue she has worked on for years, and one she likely highlights in a presidential campaign, but now all of the focus is on her email, and wlonth having a private account could derail her candidacy. kristen saloomey al jazeera.

a jury in the u.s. has decided one of the best-selling tracks of all time is a rippoff. ♪ >> the court decided the mega hit copies elements of a 1977 marvin gay hit, "got to give it up." gay's children have been awarded more than $7 million. we're approaching the midway point on this news hour. still to come on the program -- >> people were just dropping in left and right. >> we'll report from one u.s. town where people say heroin is everywhere. the south korean airline executive tive is now being sued by the man who served her.

and jo will be here with the sport in around 20 minutes. ♪

♪ hello again, you are with the news hour here on al jazeera. the iraqi army has been making gains in tikrit. they are trying to take the city back from isil. both suspects charged with the murder of the russian opposition politician boris nemtsov, confessed after being tortured.

nemtsov, a fierce critic of president putin was gunned down in central moscow last month. french police are searching for at least 15 men accused of hijacking and robbing security vans holding millions of dollars of art and jewels. the columbia government is going going to halt air strikes to support peace talks. our correspondent is live for us in columbia. the government has been giving a press conference within the last hour. what did it say? >> reporter: yes, adrian he chief peace negotiator for the government spoke to the press just minutes ago, and what he wanted to do was give more details of the announcement made by the president on tuesday. and what he said is that while

the government has decided for a month as you were saying to suspend arreal bombardment, this does not mean this is bilateral ceasefire. he said this is not a bilateral ceasefire in disguise. he said that the military operations on the ground will continue. the military will still be able to capture rebel fighters that they find that the intelligence work will continue and that finally if the farc resumes hostilities, they will also restart the bombings. for the first time since the columbian peace talks got underway in 2012 the president has agreed to a reduction in the military operations against the farc rebels. >> translator: to help de-escalate the conflict i have decided to order the defense ministry and the leaders of the

armed forces to cease bombardment over farc camps for one month. >> reporter: a surprise move by a president who had been steadfast in saying that the war would continue until a full agreement was signed. but tangible results seem to have convinced him to change his mind. the farc announced a indefinite ceasefire. putting an end to their attacks on camps and infrastructure. another step towards reducing the impact of the conflict while negotiations continue in cuba. >> so this is not a bilateral ceasefire as you say, but it is a sign that the negotiations bode well. how much scope is there for optimism? >> reporter: well that's another point that he made in his speech this morning. he said that he has always been

cautiously optimistic about these peace negotiations and that he feels more optimistic now. and i think that's the feeling that the government as a whole has, and that's also what president santos expressed in his speech on tuesday. and that's why we're seeing this that it is the biggest step so far in trying to de-escalate the conflict in the country. plus remember just last saturday another big announcement came out which was historic and is the fact that the military the government and the rebels will work together to rid the country of land mines. so we're seeing important steps forwards that are giving space and renewing optimism. on the other hand though conservative opposition in this country is already attacking the president, and they say that this move might demoralize the army or give breathing space to

the rebels. >> many thanks indeed. further north in the americas, this heroin industry is a deadly one. it has managed to take hold following a much larger wave of prescription pill addiction -- hello, i'm del walters in new york. key members of the president's national security team are set to testify on using force against isil. we're going to take you live to where that hearing is takes place. last month you may recall the president authorized a three-year plan with limitations on ground troops against isil. today's hearing is the first step before that plan. it would need to be fully cleared by congress. joining us now is al jazeera's

mike viqueira. and mike the national security team set to lay out their plan on dealing with isil what do we know about that plan so far? >> reporter: well, it's exactly as you reported del. congress is now deliberating the so-called authorization for the use of military force. and what is interesting about that is while the obama administration insists that it already has all of the authorization that it needs from the 2001 and 2003 authorizations in the wake of the afghanistan attacks -- or i should say prestaging the afghanistan war and the iraq war, they are now coming to congress. the day after the election president obama went before the press and announced he would be seeking approval of congress through a new outlined use of force. no american combat troops on the ground that phrase of course del is something that has been a

subject of controversy. it has enough wiggle room in it and you will see a lot of close questioning on what that means. there are hawks on the republican side who have said we do need troops in iraq if we're going to turn back isil. their stunning lightning strike last summer across sections of western syria and eastern iraq. and now as the united states continues its training exercises with elements of the iraqi army and the iraqi army is going to be taking the lead in the spring offensive, but the principle goal to retake the second largest iraqi city of mosul, that will be a subject of close questioning as well. a lot of people will want to know what role are american troops going to be deployed. will that be called for more air

strikes. on the democratic side you are going to hear a lot of reluctance and trepidation about the direction of this and a lot of bought about the syrian aspect of this. the president wants to train the so-called moderate opposition in syria. saudi arabia has volunteered to host these training sessions. but that opposition now in complete disarray according to many reports in syria. they are on the run against isil and against al-nusra within syria itself and so the shape of that policy the shape of that fighting force as it were also going to be a subject of this hearing, del. >> is there an issue of trust? this hearing? i go back to that letter concerning the iranian nuclear proposal that is being worked on. is there a sense that everybody

is on one page when it comes to isil? >> reporter: well, 47 of them are one particular page and that is something that has drawn the scorn of many. you are referring to a separate issue, of course and that is this letter lead by tom cotton. 47 republicans signed on to iran telling them sort of a civics lesson, that any deal -- of course this deal being negotiated as we speak between the p5-plus-1, and iran to try to curtail iran's nuclear ambitions and ensure they are purely for a civilian energy purpose, this letter was written to let them know essentially whatever the president enters into is going to be null and

void as soon as there is another president or if the senate and congress has anything to say about it. you are looking at bob corker, who is the newly installed republican chairman of the foreign relations committee. he was not a signatory. he is pushing legislation that he has authored to require the administration to get approval of any deal and the administration still says chances of a deal are somewhat less than 50/50. and now we move to bob menendez but in any event, corker wants the administration to come forward and get approval or disapproval from the senate. so no shortage of contention on a host of issues. let's not forget ukraine, where

the president is exhibiting some reluctance to arm the ukrainian military as he is being pressed to do including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff who is sitting at that table, along with the secretary of defense and secretary of state. >> mike lyons is our national security contributor here at al jazeera america. forces are said to be making gains in tikrit. can the u.s. defeat isil with those boots on the ground? >> well, we have left out the iranians, and that's the key. they are very involved in this mission. and i think that's a problem right now for the united states because now you have iraqi security forces becoming closer tied with these iranian forces. those ties get formed and bonded in combat are usually means for

success later on and it might be difficult to insert americans or peshmerga forces into that process in the future. >> yes, it is a separate topic, but it is also the issue of trust. among the people that you talk to in the pentagon the fact that these 47 senators write this letter saying regardless of what is reached with regards to this iranian nuclear deal it still has to clear congress. is there a sense that this administration has lost the support of congress and those in the defense industry as well. >> reporter: well people i talk to in the pentagon have no trust whatsoever for iran. it has been a disaster since the revolution. the commander is running that operation now in tikrit according to the pentagon. he is responsible for americans being killed inside iraq while we were there. >> is that cold-war thinking?

is that thinking that dates back to the 1950s, and the overthrow and installation of the shaw or based on a current assessment of the iranian people today? >> reporter: i think it is based on the iranian regime del. they could stop their rhetoric with regard to the destruction of israel. we know they are a state sponsor of terrorism. there are lots of things they could do that shows a goodwill gesture on their part. >> the united states says it is going to launch that offensive to retake mosul. you heard mike viqueira talk about it sometime within the next few months. some say that is giving away the farm, but now we find out about this defensive against tikrit is there a strategy that is not being communicated to the american people? >> reporter: i'm not sure why

the united states said that about mosul. i think they tried to push back from that -- those comments and again, whether or not there's another strategy there could be something where you have two of our enemies fighting each other, they are killing each other, perhaps deep down that's what people in washington want to have happen. but at some point it's kind of like a gang two gangs in the neighborhood are fighting each other, eventually one of those wins and it's going to go out to the suburbs. and that's what the united states has got to be concerned about. >> mike lyons thank you very much. this is secretary of state john kerry. let's listen in. >> we're pleased to be here. i'm pleased to return particularly in the distinguished company of defense secretary ash carter and our chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, marty dempsey. from my 29 years of service on this committee, i have nothing

but respect for the committee's prerogatives, and particularly the role that it can play on a critical issue like this. we are very simply looking for, as i think both of you -- mr. chairman the ranking member, have said the appropriate present day authorization, not, as you said sensor menendez 2001 but 2015 statement by the united states congress about the authority with my we should be able to go after, degrade, and destroy, as the president as said the group known as isil or daesh. in our democracy, there are many views about the challenges and opportunities that we face and that's appropriate. that's who we are, but i hope we believe that there is a

overwhelming consensus that daesh has to be stopped. our nation is strongest, always has been when we act together. there's a great tradition in this country of foreign policy having a special place that politics ends at the waters edge and that we will act on behalf of our nation without regard to party ideology. we simply cannot allow this collection of murders and thugs to achieve in their group their ambition which includes by the way, most likely the death or submission of all those who oppose it. the seizure of land the theft of resources, the incitement of terrorism across the globe. the killing and attacking of people simply for what they believe or for who they are. and the joint resolution that is

proposed by the president, provides the means for america and its representatives to speak with a single powerful voice at this pivotal hour. when i came here last time i -- i mentioned that -- >> american people are speaking out secretary kerry. we're tired of an end less war -- >> committee will be in order. >> -- another endless war and killing of innocent people. >> okay. if that happens again, i would ask the police to escort immediately people out of the room. >> -- creating more terrorism. killing more innocent people. >> killing more innocent people. i wonder how our journalists who were beheaded and the pilot who was fighting for freedom who was burned alive, what they would have to say to their efforts to

protect innocent people. isil's momentum has been diminished mr. chairman. it still is picking up supporters in places. obviously we -- we have all observed that. but in the places where we have focused, and where we are asking you to focus at this moment in time it is clear that even while savage attacks continue there is the beginning of a process to cut off their supply lines, to take out their leaders, to cut off their finances to reduce the foreign fighters to counter the messaging that has brought some of those fighters to this effort. but to ensure its defeat we have to persist until we per vail in the brood-based campaign along multiple lines of effort that have been laid out in the course of the last months.

the president already has statutory authority to act against isil. but a clear and formal expression of this congress's backing at this moment in time would dispel doubt that might exist anywhere that americans are united in this effort. approval of this resolution would encourage our friends and partners in the middle east. it would further energize the members and perspective members of the global coalition that we have assembled to oppose daesh. and it could constitute a richly deserved vote of confidence for the men and women who are on the front lines prosecuting this effort on our behalf. your unity would also send an unmistakable message to the leaders of daesh. they can't divide us. don't let them. they cannot intimidate us and they have no hope of defeating

us. the resolution that we have proposed would give the president a clear mandate to prosecute the armed component of this conflict against daesh and associated persons or forces which we believe is carefully delineated and defined. and while the proposal contains certain limitations that are appropriate in light of the nature of this mission, it provides the flexibility that the president needs to direct a successful military campaign, and that's why the administration did propose a limitation on the use of quote, enduring offensive ground combat operations. i might add that was after the committee -- then committee chair senator menendez, and the committee moved forward with its language and we came up here and responded to the dynamics that were presented to us within the

committee and the congress itself. so the proposal also includes no geographic limitation, not because there are plans to take it anywhere but because -- because -- >> we want -- >> it would be a mistake to communicate to isil -- >> -- the united states and all over the world! the united states is killing innocent civilians with drones -- >> i would just ask those in the audience. we live in a country where people have the opportunity to express themselves and democratic ways we would hope that you would allow this hearing to proceed in an orderly way and respect other citizens rights to be here and to observe what is happening in a civil manner. i would say that i don't think you are helping your cause at all. i would say you are hurting your cause, and hopefully you will remain in an appropriate manner.

thank you. >> mr. chairman thank you, the point of the no geographic limitation is not that there are any plans or contemplation. i think the president has been so clear on this. but what a mistake it would be to send the message to daesh that there are safe havens. that there are somehow just a two country limitation and then we go through months and months of deliberation again. we can't afford that. that's why there's no limitation, and we know that there are groups in the world, affiliated terrorist groups who aspire to harm the itself our allies our partners. daesh is however, very distinctive in that because it holds territory, and it will continue if not stopped to seize more. because it has financial resources, because of the debilitating impacts in the

middle east, and it pro tensions to worldwide leadership, and i don't need to preview for this committee the full litany of the outrages that are committed by daesh, but let me just say that just among them scratching the surface are atrocities against syrian christian and yazidis religious groups the hideous murder of captors from as near as jordan and distant as japan, the plunder and destruction of cities and towns in which followers of islam worship and raise their families. now i testified before this committee just a couple of weeks ago, regarding our strategy for

disrupting and defeats isil. that strategy continues to move forward on all fronts. secretary carter and general dempsey will touch on the military elements but i can say from a diplomatic perspective that the world is strongly united in seeking daesh's defeat. our coalition is receiving help from governments throughout and beyond the middle east. governments that may disagree on other issues but not about the need to take decisive action against daesh. and to date we have a coalition of some 62 members, including 14 nations that are contributing directly to the operations against daesh in iraq or in syria. 16 of which have committed to help train or otherwise assist iraqi security forces. since the coalition came together less than half a year ago, we have stopped isil's surge. we have degraded its leadership. we have forced it to change its communications, movements, and

tactics, and heavily damaged its revenue generating oil facilities. we continue to see progress in governance in iraq where new leaders are working to strengthen and reform the country's security forces through corrupt officers and the more extendingive inclusion of sunni fighters. in tikrit right now there are nearly a thousand sunni taking part and a cross section of engagement. so mr. chairman just to respond to move rapidly here -- >> we're not moving that rapidly actually -- >> that's why i'm going to cut to the chase. >> okay. good. >> responding to the threat posed by isil is just not a partisan issue. at least it shouldn't be. it's not even a bipartisan

issue. it's really a test that transcending political affiliations, and it's a tremendous challenge to the security of our nation and to the values of our citizens so it's really the kind of challenge that this committee is here to deal with. >> yeah. >> and my hope is that we will live up to the tradition that we have never failed to meet in the past that when we had this kind of challenge, the congress came together, the senate particularly i think in this format, and i'm confident that we can do so here again today and in the next few days. i'm happy to respond to your questions, but first i'll turn to secretary carter. >> thank you. >> thank you all for giving me the opportunity to be with you all today on this important subject. before i begin, i'm sure you are all aware that a blackhawk

helicopter was involved in an accident last night, near eggland air force base in florida. we know there were four air crew army from a national guard unit in hammond, louisiana, and seven marines assigned to north carolina on board that helicopter. and our -- know with me are thoughts and prayers are with them and their families as the search and rescue continues. just as i know we're all proud to have the finest fighting force the world has ever known, that is why at the end of my first week as secretary of defense i travelled to afghanistan and kuwait where i thanked our men and women in uniform. d in kuwait i talked with our ambassadors and military leaders in the region about the

campaign against isil. the trip confirmed for me that isil represents a serious and complex threat especially in our interconnected and networked world. but it also confirmed to me that the enemy can be defeated. we will deliver isil a lasting defeat, and i'm happy to share my thoughts about that campaign with you, but let me turn to the subject of this hearing, which is the authorization for the use of military force and in reviewing the president's proposed aomf as secretary of defense, i asked myself two questions. first does it provide the necessary authority and flexibility to wage our campaign allowing for a full range of likely military scenarios? and second will it send the message to the people i'm responsible for, our brave men and women in uniform, and

civilian personnel who will wage this campaign that the country is behind them? i believe the president's aumf does both --

>> -- conducted in iraq and afghanistan, because our strategy does not call for them. instead local forces must provide the enduring presence needed for an enduring victory against isil. and fourth and finally, the proposed aomf expires in four years. i can't tell you that our campaign against isil will be defeated in three years. but i understand the reason. it derives from the important

principle, stemming from the constitution, that makes the grave matter a shared responsibility of the president and congress. the president's proposedd authorization, affords the american people a chance to assess our progress in three year's time. and provide the next president and congress the opportunity to reauthorize it if they find it necessary. to me this is a sensible provision of the aomf. in addition to providing the authority and flexibility, i said i had another key consideration. and that is sending the right signals most importantly to the troops. passing the proposed aomf will demonstrate to our personnel that their government stands behind them.