legislature this month, one man is hoping things will change. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy the news continues next from doha. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, i'm jane doeston. coming up, barack obama to announce that u.s. troops will stay in afghanistan. government forces launch a major offensive in syria. it will be a huge blow to opposition fighters if they win. europe's refugee crisis back on the agenda in brussel. the e.u. has a plan. i'll have all of the day's

sport including suspended uefa chief finds out if he still has the support of his own organization, and the governing body meets to decide his future. ♪ is due to announce that american military presence in afghanistan will be extended. it is a dramatic shift in strategy. he originally aimed to withdraw most of the forces by the end of next year, but military leaders have been pushing for more support especially after taliban captured kunduz city. since then they continue to fight in several areas in afghanistan. the u.s. is expected to keep 5,500 troops in the country when obama leaves office in 2017.

jennifer glasse is in kabul, and patty culhane in is washington. let's first go to jennifer. how is this going to work. >> reporter: we'll see the 9,800 forces that are here remain here through 2016, and then they'll make the decision on how and when to draw down to 5,500 for 2017. but the big difference is that the forces will remain in bases around afghanistan not only here but in ja jalalabad, in the east and south. so it's not only in terms of numbers, but the fact that forces will remain a presence around afghanistan through 2017. >> and obviously the take overof the taliban spooked them slightly, but what does this say

about the overall security situation right now? >> reporter: an u.n. official told al jazeera that the taliban probably control more areas now since they were driven from power in 2001. the taliban has had a presence around kunduz city for quite a long time, in gozny, the governor said the taliban had been harassing his city. and they controlled the main highway between kabul and kandahar stranding thousands of people along that road. the taliban fighting resurgence around the country, not only in the south and east where they have been strong, but also in the north. the taliban treated from kunduz saying it was doing so to minimize civilian casualty and

to preserve its fighters for future operations, and warned it could go back at anytime. so afghans very much on edge about a resurgent taliban arrange the country. ♪ i'm del walters live in new york city. we are going to take it back from our partners in doha, that is because president obama as you can see by the shot that you are looking at right there will be making an announcement soon involving troop withdrawal from afghanistan. here now, the president of the united states, as you can see flanked by the vice president and defense secretary ash carter. >> good morning. last december more than 13 years after our nation was attacked by al-qaeda on 9/11, america's combat mission in afghanistan came to a responsible end. that milestone was achieved thanks to the courage and the skill of our military, our intelligence, and civilian personnel.

they served their with with -- extraordinary skill and valor, and it's important to remember the more than 2200 who made the ultimate sacrifice. i visited our troops in afghanistan last year. i told them they could take great pride in the progress that they helped achieve. they struck devastating blows against the al-qaeda leadership, delivered justice to osama bin laden, prevented terrorist attacks, and saved american lives. they pushed the taliban back to the afghan people could reclaim their communities, send their daughters to school, and improve their lives. our troops trained afghan forces so they could take the lead for their own security and protect afghans as they voted in historic elections, leading to the first democratic transfer of power in their country's

history. today american forces no longer patrol afghan villages or valleys. our troops are not engaged in major ground combat against the taliban. those missions now belong to afghans, who are fully responsible for securing their country. but as i have said before, while america's combat mission in afghanistan may be over, our commitment to afghanistan and its people endures. as commander in chief, i will not allow afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again. our forces, therefore remain engaged in two narrow but critical missions. training afghan forces, and supporting counter terrorism operations against the remnants of al-qaeda. of course compared to the 100,000 troops we once had in afghanistan, today fewer than 10,000 remain in support of

these very focused missions. i meet regularly with my national security team, including commanders in afghanistan to continually assess, honestly, the situation on the ground, to determine where our strategy is working and where we may need greater flexibility. i have insisted that our strategy focus on the development of a sustainable afghan capacity and self-sufficiency, and when we have needed additional forces to advance that goal, or needed to make adjustments in terms of our timetables, then we made those adjustments. today i want to update the american people on our efforts. since taking the lead for security earlier this year, afghan forces have continued to step up. this has been the first fighting season where afghans have largely been on their own, and they are fighting bravely and

tenaciously. afghan forces continue to hold most urban areas, and when the taliban has made gains as in kunduz, afghan forces, backed by coalition support have been able to push them back. it has come at a very heavy price. thousands of afghan troops and police have lost their lives this year alone, as have many civilians. at the same time, afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be. they are developing critical capabilities, intelligence, logistics, aviation, command and control. and the taliban has made gains, particularly in rural areas, and can still launch deadly attacks in cities including kabul. much of this was predictable, we understood as we transitioned that the taliban would try to exploit some of our movements out of particular areas, and

that it would take time for afghan security forces to strengthen. pressure from pakistan has resulted in more al-qaeda coming into afghanistan, and we have seen the emergence of an isil presence. in key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile, and in some places there is risk of deterioration. fortunately in the president and chief executive, there is a national unity government that supports a strong partnership with the united states. president ghani and i agreed to continue our counter terrorism cooperation, and he has asked for continued support as afghan forces grow stronger. following consultation with my entire national security team, as well as our international partners and members of congress, president ghani, and chief executive abdullah, i'm

therefore announcing the following steps, which i am convinced offer the best possibility for lasting progress in afghanistan. first, i have decided to maintain our current posture of 9800 troop through most of 2016. their mission will not change. our trips will continue to pursue those two narrow tasks that i outlined earlier, training afghan forces and going after al-qaeda. but maintaining our current posture through most of next year, rather than a more rapid drawndown will allow us to sustain our efforts to train and assist afghan forces as they grow stronger. not only this fighting season, but into the next. second, i have decided that instead of going down to a normal embassy presence in kabul by the end of 2016, we will

maintain 5500 troops at a small number of bases, including the east and the south. again, the mission will not change, our troops will focus on training afghans and counter terrorism operations. but these bases will give us the presence and the reach our forces require to achieve their mission. in this sense, afghanistan is a key piece of a network of counter terrorism partnerships that we need to deal more broadly with terrorist threats more quickly and present attacks against our homeland. third we will work with allies and partners to align the steps i'm announcing today with their own presence in afghanistan after 2016. in afghanistan we are part of a 42-nation coalition, and we can continue to play an indense

penceable role in helping afghanistan strengthen its security forces, including respect for human rights. and finally, because governance and development remain the foundation for progress in afghanistan, we will continue to support the president and the government as they pursue critical reforms. new governors have been appointed, and the president is working to strengthen institutions and uphold rule of law. as i told president ghani and the chief executive yesterday, efforts that deliver progress and justice for the afghan people will continue to have the strong support of the united states. and we cannot separate the importance of governance with the issues of security. the more effective these reforms happen, the better off the security situation is going to be. we also discussed american

support of an afghanistan-lead reconciliation process. by now it should be clear to the taliban and all who oppose afghanistan's progress, the only real way to chive the drawdown of troops from afghanistan is through a lasting political settlement with the afghan government. and likewise, sanctuaries for the taliban and other terrorists, must end. next week i'll host the prime minister of pakistan and continue to urge all parties in the region, to press the taliban to return to peace talks and to do their part in pursuit of the peace that afghans deserve. in closing, i want to speak directly to those who's lives are most directly affected by the decisions i'm announcing today. to the afghan people, who have suffered so much, americans' commitment to you, and to a

secure, stable, and unified afghanistan, that remains firm. our two nations have forged a strategic partnership for the long term, and as you defend and build your country, today is a reminder that the united states keeps our commitments. and to our men and women in uniform, i know this means that some of you will rotate back into afghanistan. with the end of our combat mission, this is not like 2010 when nearly 500 americans were killed and many more injured, but still, afghanistan remains dangerous, 25 brave americans have given their lives there this year. i do not send you into harm's way lightly. it's the most solemn decision that i make. i know the wages of war and the wounded warriors i have visited in the hospital, and the grieved

families. but as your commander in chief, i believe this mission is vital to our national security interests, in preventing terrorist attacks against our citizens and our nation. and to the american people, i know that many of you have grown weary of this conflict. as you are well aware i do not support the idea of endless war, and i have repeatedly argued against marching into open-ended military conflicts that do not serve our core security interests. yet given what is at stake in afghanistan and the opportunity for a stable and committed ally that can partner with us in preventing the emergence of future threats, and the fact that we have an international coalition, i'm firmly convinced that we should make this extra effort. in the afghanistan government we have a serious partner who wants our help, and the majority of the afghan people share our

goals. we have a bilateral security agreement to guide our cooperation. and every single day, afghanistan forces are out there fighting and dying to protect their country. they are not looking for us to do it for them. i'm speaking of the afghan army cadet who grew up seeing bombings and attacks on innocent civilians who said because of this i make the decision to join the army to try to save innocent people's lives. or the police officer training to diffuse explosives. i know it's dangerous work, he says, but i have always had a dream of wearing the uniform of afghanistan, serving my people, and defending my country. or the afghan commando, who said if i start telling you the stories of my life, i might start crying. he serves, he said, because the faster we bring peace, the faster we can bring education

and the stronger our unity will grow, only if these things happen will afghanistan be able to standing up for itself. my fellow americans, after so many years of war, afghanistan will not be a perfect place. it's a poor country that will have to work hard on its development. there will continue to be contested areas. but afghans like these are standing up for their country. if they were to fail, it could endanger the security of us all. and we have made enormous investment in a stable afghanistan, afghans are making difficult, but genuine progress. this modest but meaningful extension of our presence while sticking to our current narrow missions can make a real

difference. it's the right thing to do. may god bless our troops and all who keep us safe, and may god continue to bless the united states of america. >> you have been listening to the president of the united states. >> this decision is not disappointing, continually, my goal has been to make sure that we give every opportunity for afghanistan to succeed, while we're still making sure that we're meeting our core missions, and as i have continually said, my approach is to assess the situation on the ground, figure out what is working, figure out what is not working, make adjustments where necessary. this isn't the first time those adjustments have been made, this won't probably be the last. what i'm encouraged by is the fact that we have a government that is serious about trying to

deliver security and the prospects of a better life for the afghan people. we have a clear majority of the afghans who want to partner with us and the international community to achieve those goals. we have a bilateral security arrangement that ensures that our troops can operate in ways that protect them, while still achieving their mission. and we have always known that we have to maintain a counter terrorism operation in that region, in order to tamp down any reemergence of al-qaeda or other networks that might do us harm. so this is consistent with the overall vision that we have had, and frankly, we anticipated, as we were drawing down troops that there would be times where we might need to slow things down or fill gaps in afghanistan

capacity, and this is a reflection of that. part of what we're constantly trying to balance is making sure that afghanistans are out there, doing what they need to do, but that we are giving them a chance to succeed, and that we're making sure that our force posture in the area for conducting those narrow missions that we need to conduct, we can do so, relatively safely. there's still risks involved, but force protection, the ability of our embassies to operate effectively, those things all factor in, so we have got to constantly review these approaches. the important thing i want to emphasize, though, is that the nature of the mission has not changed, and the cessation of our combat role has not changed. now the 25 military and civilians who were killed last year, that always weighs on my mind and -- and 25 deaths are 25

too many, particularly for the families of the fallen. but understand relative to what was involved when we were an active combat role, and actively engaged in a war in afghanistan was a very different scenario, so here you have a situation where we have clarity about what our mission is. we have a partner who wants to work with us. we're going to continually make adjustments to ensure that we give the best possibilities for success, and i suspect that we will continue to evaluate this going forward as will the next president and as conditions improve, we'll be in a position to make further adjustments, but i'm absolutely confident this is the right thing to do, and my view has always been how do we achieve our goals while minimizing the strain and expose

sure on our men and women in uniform, and make sure we are constantly encouraging and sending a message to afghan people this is their country and they have got to defend it. thank you everybody. >> that is the president of the united states, flanked by ash carter and joe biden, unexpectedly pausing for a question there. but the obvious question which is whether or not he believes this is going to be costly for him politically , the president announcing the drawdown of u.s. troops will be less than expected; that 9,800 troops will say through 2016, and then a contingency of some 5500 will be left behind. our pentagon correspondent jamie mcintyre is joining us now. jamie, the pentagon has been pushing for this for quite sometime, the president saying what they have been saying behind closed door for quite

sometime. >> well, the administration would say this has been a process that has been going on for months, and a lot of people are looking at the recent takeover by the taliban of kunduz as something that might have been a tipping point. pentagon officials are steering us away from that idea, insisting this had its germ nation months ago when general martin dumpsy broke with the president that his plan was not meeting with the harsh realities of what was going on on the ground. as the president said, they have been reassessing the mission for months now, and perhaps that taliban takeover of kunduz was one factor. but it was pretty clear that the -- that the afghan force were going to need additional

help. the president did want to leave the next president with a clean slate in afghanistan, just a small embassy force there, but he has agreed to -- to the best advice of not just the u.s. military, but also requests from the afghan government. and that's a key point that the president wanted to make. unlike the situation in iraq -- and although he didn't mention iraq specifically -- he has been sharply criticized from bringing all of the troops home from iraq. the president has argued the u.s. didn't really have an option because the iraqi government simply didn't want a u.s. presence there. this time, he says they have a strong partner in the unity government in the president and the chief executive who do want a u.s. presence, and he also makes the point that the mission hasn't changed.

they will still be advising and assisting the afghan forces and going after remnants of al-qaeda. so the plan has two parts, one is to slow down the withdraw, and then to leave over 5,000 troops there. now i have to say that's not satisfying his critics. john mccain has already released a statement saying he thinks it's a mistake to cut down to 5500, he thinks all 10,000 should stay there until the next president takes office to make sure that the u.s. doesn't risk losing the gains it has made in afghanistan in its longest war ever. >> jamie even though he said he was talking to the people of afghanistan and to the united states and future troops, it also seemed clear he was talking to the people and leadership of iraq saying that had this been done there, there might have been more troops

behind in iraq, but the status of forces arrangement was a major linchpin of the decision to pull troops out. >> the president says the u.s. would not have been able to negotiate that agreement with the government of iraq at the time. but then they point out, look, we don't have a status of a forces agreement now, and now we have more than 3,000 troops in iraq, so they are saying look, it would have been entirely possible to leave u.s. troops there even without that formal agreement. so i think one of the thinks they are trying to see here is not repeat the mistake that might have been made in iraq, del. >> we're going to take a break and continue this discussion, because obviously there will be political implications to what the president just announced. when we come back, we'll go to the white house and talk to mike viqueira. stay with us.

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attacks there. seven on the israeli side have been killed and as many as 31 palestinians in the latest outbreak of in that country. and also president obama addressing the american people, changing his stance on the situation in afghanistan, saying that beginning next year, there will still be a large contingent of u.s. troops there through 2016 and then 5500 beyond that. the president said this. >> while america's combat mission in afghanistan may be over, our commitment to afghanistan and its people endures. as commander and chief i will not allow afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again. our forces remain engaged in two narrow but critical missions. training afghan forces and supporting counter terrorism

operations against the remanents of al-qaeda. of course compared to the 100,000 troops we once had in afghanistan, today fewer than 10,000 remain in support of these very focused missions. >> let's go now to washington, d.c. that is where mike viqueira is standing by live for us. mike, i'm reminded of the old phrase in washington that the man does not change, the office, the office changes the man, this is not what candidate obama campaigned on. a very difficult political pill to swallow. >> it was not what president obama campaigned for in 2012 either. you heard him say the commitment to afghanistan endured. here is what he said in may of last year. he said we may have to recognize afghanistan may not be a perfect

place, and it is not america's responsibility to make it one. so whatever the opposite of a victory lap is, i think you are seeing that today. the cat was out of the bag a couple of weeks ago, when general john campbell testified before the senate armed services committee, saying he presented president obama with options to extend plans in afghanistan. but then he said the afghan forces simply cannot stand on their own, not yet anyway, and he thought that more troops should stay in that role beyond 2016, then as a political matter, it was very difficult for president obama not to heeded that a -- advice. as jamie mcintyre reported the administration has been considering this for quite sometime. martin dempsey said a 5,000 level. you saw his successor flanking

president obama in the roosevelt room, the new marine, general of the joint chiefs of staff, clear that president obama now faced with a choice of leaving a mess in afghanistan and a possibly resurgent taliban to say nothing of isil presence now in afghanistan and taliban forces in pakistan crossing the border, driving them out of the tribal regions and into afghanistan, obviously still a very dangerous place. forcing him to make this change today, del. >> mike, it is safe to say we're seeing what might be considered the obama doctrine, which is there will be military force used but only when it constitutes a threat to the national security of the united states? >> reporter: it has been a rough go for the obama doctrine over the last few weeks, if you want

to call it that. when the train and equip portion of the president's syria policy, to train and equip the so-called moderate vetted opposition within syria has fallen flat, that an abject failure, if we can put to form the obama doctrine, it's just that, to have allies take the lead to help them. clearly this is something getting out of afghanistan -- getting out of afghanistan was a part of the president's policies, his military policy, you heard him say he doesn't want to be involved in an endless war, it is the longest military conflict in history, the longest war. this was clearly a speech he did not want to make, del. >> mike stand by. let's go live to afghanistan where jennifer glasse is standing by live in kabul.

afghanistan the graveyard of empires should the united states now be added to that equation with the british and the soviets, does it now look like we are bogged down in afghan affairs and can't get out? >> reporter: well i don't think that's how it is seen here, and certainly that's not how the president sees it. there is a very large army here. a very ambious effort to stand up a 300,000 strong army here. but president obama saying the afghan forces just are not as strong as they need to be. there is certainly a concern that the u.s. presence could spark more conflict. the taliban say the reason they continue to fight is because there are national forces here in afghanistan and on the ground, so if you talk about getting bogged down that is the kind of thing that could be a problem. but as we saw in kunduz, with

the taliban taking over that city, the first they have taken over since they were driven from power in 2001. the afghans needed american support to drive the taliban from the city. four critical areas, intelligence, logistics, air support, as well as command and control. there has been a lot of problems with afghan security forces being able to communicate with each other effectively on the ground especially in active military operations, so this will be very welcome news here in afghanistan. president obama said he spoke to afghan president and chief executive about this. we know the chief executive requested this extension in new york at a sideline at the u.n. general assembly last month. the president saying this is extra effort to give the afghan forces the time and support they need. >> jennifer, i'm curious,

because whenever afghanistan is discussed in the united states it is usually in conjunction with the conflict in iraq and now the conflict in syria. in afghanistan, how did they view the iraqi army cutting and running in the face of -- of isil, and do they see their situation there as being somewhat different? and does that make them proud? >> reporter: i think we have seen afghan security forces fight very hard against the taliban. del, they are taking punishing casualties, about 22 soldiers a day in early september before the fight in kunduz. so the afghan army has fought very hard, there as have been uneven perceptions among the afghan people about some of the other security forces here. but the afghan people are very proud of their fighters.

i think they look at iraq as a cautionary tail. when you leave a security vacuum, then you have these groups come in. and he did mention the offensive in pakistan -- movements there have driven some al-qaeda back into afghanistan, and u.s. forces say they along with afghan forces in the south last week, helped drive -- sorry bomb al-qaeda bases in southern ba afghanistan. so certainly, i think that they -- they viewed iraq as possibly a warning, that they don't want to so any security vacuum here and the taliban very much resurgent around the country, in the north, and in the south along the main highway, and that's just this week. so certainly afghanistan security forces have been battling very hard, but the

government recognizes that the fall of kunduz they say wasn't necessarily a sign of the strength of the taliban, but more a demonstration of the shortcoming of the afghan security forces, and they will welcome the extra help. >> jennifer thank you very much. again the president pointing out the numbers that jennifer talked about 22 socials each and every day in that conflict. 25 u.s. soldiers lost their lives that year, but that was very different than the 2200 that lost their lives the year before. but the president saying that 9800 troops will remain through 2016 and then 5500 after that. we're going to take a break, because we're all awaiting word from benjamin netenyahu on the security threat to his country. stay with us, you are watching

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the united states is going to stay in afghanistan much longer than candidate obama wanted, saying that close to 10,000 troops will be there through the end of 2016. >> meanwhile the taliban has made gains, particularly in rural areas, and can still launch deadly attacks in cities, including kabul. much of this was predictable, we underthat as we transitioned, that the taliban would try to exploit some of our movements out of particular areas, and that it would take time for afghan security forces to strengthen. pressure from pakistan has resulted in more al-qaeda coming into afghanistan, and we have seen the emergence of an isil presence. the bottom line is in key areas of the country, the security

situation is still very fragile, and in some places, there's risk of deterioration. >> let's go to jamie mcintyre right now, who is at the pentagon. jamie, as i heard the president speak i was thinking about washington, d.c. as it exists now, and what the public may not know, which is surrounding you there is this incredible military machine, this mechanism that extends in all directions, and in the middle of it all, the white house and civilian rule, walk us through that balance of power, and when there is so much noise for the pentagon to say stay, the president saying leave, and then to change his mind. >> reporter: well, we do have civilian control of the military, it's a bedrock principle in the united states, and the president is the one who makes the final decision, but of course, he gets a lot of advice from his military commanders and what the president has said all

along is that this is a very deliberate process, where he wants to weigh the costs, the benefits, and when this idea was floated that maybe he needed to rethink his plan to wrap everything up in afghanistan months ago, by the outgoing chairman, general martin dempsey, the president came back and said i want to know what the real costs are of that. what is it going to cost in money, in commitment, and what is the risk before he made that decision. i think it's also important to understand what the troops will be doing. the president made a point of saying the time line has changed but the mission hasn't. these troops will not be in combat, and you heard the description that the u.s. assisted in those afghan security forces retaking kunduz. that's true, but it's also interesting to note the limits of what the u.s. is doing. for instance, with air power,

the u.s. can use air power to protect its troops on the ground, and use that air power to go after remanents of al-qaeda, but other than that, they are not authorized to use air strikes to assist the afghan army on the ground. when we saw those air strikes, it was either to protect u.s. troops or if afghan forces are in extreme danger, they can come to the rescue with those air strikes. that's what happened with the tragic incident with the doctor's without borders hospital. that was designed supposedly to protect afghan troops on the ground. but u.s. air power is not being used in an offensive way, the same way it has being used in iraq, for example. so the president has -- has made the point that the u.s. troops

will not be in a combat role. they will be in an advise and assist role, and counter terrorism mission. very limited mix -- missions, we'll be slowing down the withdrawal and leaving some troops there. and it will be up to the next president to make another evaluation of whether those troops should stay, come home, or additional troops should be sent. >> jamie, i have about 30 seconds left, but i need to ask the question, one of the president's critics, senator john mccain has been sharply critical of the president all along, saying he telegraphed its punches. did he? and if he didn't, how do you not do that in a free society when the press wants to know when are we getting in and when are we

getting out? >> reporter: well, his bone of contention was that the president said at the end of 2016, we're out of here, and he felt like that was telegraphing to the enemy. and now the president has had to come back to mccain's decision, this is going to be based on conditions on the ground. >> jamie mcintyre for us at the pentagon. thank you very much. we're going to take a break. we'll be back with the rest of the day's headlines. stay with us. you are watching al jazeera america.

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taking a look at some of the other stories we're following, the israeli president accusing the palestinian of inciting violence. 32 palestinians and 7 israelis have been killed in violence over the last two weeks alone. in prones that the israeli government is implementing increased security measures. forces are also setting up roadblocks especially those close to the dividing line between east and jewish west jerusalem. mike hanna has the latest on the tense security situation. >> reporter: there is increasing tension in israel, in some cases hiser toia. there were scenes of tannic in a jerusalem mall overnight when the threat was per received of

an imminent attack. also on a train that was brought to a stop because passengers believed an attack was about to occur. many of the roads have been blocked in neighborhoods, check points have been establish established -- around the perimeter of most cities. there is a picture on social media, of a dark-complexed man wearing a t-shirt saying relax, i'm an yemenite. there have been a tabb -- attacks on israeli citizens by fellow israelis. day-to-day life has been utterly altered by the action of a few

individuals armed with knives. police have been on high alert in tel-aviv throughout the day. e.u. leaders are meeting in brussels trying to find a solution to europe's growing refugee crisis, the summit will focus on working with country's outside europe's borders trying to stem the flow of people coming into the continent. as neave barker explains, the e.u. wants to make sure the refugees turkey is hosting stay there. >> reporter: on tuesday the european commission published its detailed turkey action plan, a list of requests and requirements in the hopes they will fulfill to help reduce the strain on the european union. it is being described as one of the most challenging tests on the e.u. since it was formed in the 1950s. the european commission really

hopes that turkey will reduce the so-called push factor, the very reasons why refugees, rather than stay in turkey, continue to head through the country in the direction of the european union. the hope is this money will be used to improve the conditions for refugees living in camps, and repatriate tens of thousands who arrive in turkey. 350,000 have passed through turkey, but only 50,000 have stayed on there in the last nine months alone. so the real request here from europe is that all of that changes to kind of make sure that some of the -- the strain continues to be shared by turkey, of course the nation bordering the likes of syria as well. >> that is neave barker in brussels. turkey right now hosting almost 2 million refugees. there is new trouble for volkswagen this morning as it deals with the fallout from that emission scandal.

germany ordering the company to recall almost 2.5 million cars. john henry smith has more. >> reporter: volkswagen officials say this new suspect software is in 2016 model year vehicles, the same ones the auto maker has now pulled from the market. the software makes the pollution control catalyst heat up faster, improving performance. many cars have sim systems, but vw never disclosed its existence to regulators, which all car makers are expected to do if they want to receive certification to sell their cars in the u.s. this is different than the so-called defeat devices. the presence of those devices, designed to fool emissions test, has the company facing billions of dollars in recalls, fines, and civil lawsuits. the company insists its top

executives never signed off on on the devoiceses. >> to my best knowledge today, no board member has authorized this, this was a couple of software engineered who put this in for whatever reasons. >> reporter: but the man who will become the new leader has retired rather than take the job. he had just taken the post in september. in a statement the company said, quote: vw's ceo was forced out shortly after the scandal came to light. john henry smith, al jazeera. there are new suspects today in the bombing of the passenger jet that went down almost 30 years ago. american and scottish investigators saying they identified two men from libya in connection to the 1988 bombing of pan am flight 103. 270 people were killed when the

plane crashed. the only person so far that has been tried and convicted in the case died in 2012. they plan on interviewing the new suspects in tripoli in libya. we want to bring you up to date on the breaking news at the top of the hour, the president announcing the current force of just under 10,000 troops stationed in afghanistan will be there through 2016. and a con tin genth of 5500 troops will be there by the time the president's term ends in 2017. the earlier strategy left only a thousand in place. now he says times have changed, and so has his policy. thanks for joining us. i'm del walters in new york. the news continues from london. and a reminder you can check us out on our website, aljazeera.com. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter.

and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> these people have decided that today they will be arrested. >> i know that i'm being surveilled. >> people are not getting the care that they need. >> this is a crime against humanity. >> hands up... >> don't shoot. >> hands up... >> don't shoot. >> what do we want? >> justice. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> explosions going on... we're not quite sure - >> is that an i.e.d.? >> "faultlines". al jazeera america's award-winning investigative series. monday, 10:00 eastern. on al jazeera america.

afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be. >> in a dramatic shift of strategy, president obama says u.s. troops will stay in afghanistan to combat a resurgent taliban. ♪ good to have you with us. i'm david foster, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also in the next 30 minutes . . . the syrian army launches a major offense north of the city of homs. heads of states in