when it was 1.7 kilometers from the dwarf planet. the green shows unprecedented levels of ammonia surrounding a crater of the moon. it is now 3.1 billion miles from earth. more on the website. president obama is sending special forces to syria. the first full-time deployment of u.s. troops there. releasing exdrug offenders, thousands of federal prisoners are being set free starting today. why many will soon be deported. >> amen! >> amen! high school football assist important coach shows up at his teams latest game. how his stance is creating a

rift inside and outside of the school. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. u.s. commandos are heading to syria. officials say a small number of special operations forces will be deployed to the north of the country. fewer than 50 troops will work with local ground forces in the fight against isil. mike viqueira is live at the white house. good afternoon. this appears to be a shift from what president obama kept saying that he would never put boots on the ground in syria. >> reporter: it's clearly a shift, although the white house is going out of its way to down play that aspect of it. you are right, the president, this proposes a problem for him political and if you look at what is happening on the ground in syria, and you can see why they are making this move. the white house is going to play

this down as within the parameters of the policy that stands right now. they will point to a commando raid that happened in iraq that freed kurdish prisoners. but the failed policy of the administration to train and equip the moderate opposition in places like turkey and saudi arabia has largely failed. and you look at the standing still. for weeks they have been saying the fight against isil is at a stand still in both iraq and syria, and look at the entry of russia into the war in syria trying to bolster the assad regime, hitting targets in opposition to bashar al-assad that have been equipped, trained and aided by the american cia. the president has say how many times, that there will no boots on the ground, but this morning say they fewer tlan 50 u.s.

commandos will be working with the kurds, which presents another problem with the ally, turkey. so it is a gamble that is not being taken lightly at the white house. >> what more do we know about what the u.s. is planning in iraq? we know special operations forces at least supported an operation there recently. >> reporter: that's right. and they will continue to do so. the air strikes continue in iraq. the u.s.-lead coalition air strikes, even as they have abated in neighboring syria. the senior administration official says they are going to be culting with prime minister abadi on establishing a special operations task force. there are other reports that says u.s. commandos are going to be deploying to northern iraq inn

inn inner -- in erbil. turkey is going to be very suspicious of any u.s. moves to aid kurds whether they be in northern iraq or syria. >> anything else on what the white house is planning to do to up the anti-against isil. >> they are sending in more armaments. deploying to the nato air base on turkish soil, deploying a-10s the close air support -- i'm sorry they are known as the tank killers. air-to ground fighters. as well as more f-15s to carry the fight against isil within syria. >> mike viqueira from the white house. mike, thank you. the peace talks on syria have concluded in vienna at this hour. more than a dozen foreign ministers, including secretary

of state john kerry met today to discuss how to end the conflict. several leaders emerged saying they have agreed to resume talks two weeks from now also in vienna. activists say government missiles struck a busy market in a damascus suburb. mohammed jamjoom has more on those talks in vienna. >> reporter: we were expecting to see french foreign minister emerge from the hotel imperial behind us and give a briefing to the press two hours ago. we were told that was going to happen immeantly. so that that plenary is still going on. there are protesters here, syrian opposition activists, if we can just pan the camera over, johnny. they are waving freedom for syria flags, chanting anti-bashar al-assad chants. i have spoken to some of them.

they were moved by police from the outside the entrance of the hotel where all of the diplomats are, just about a half an hour ago. now they are behind these barricades. they say they are committed to staying out here as long as these talks happen. and a representative told me they could reject anything that would come out of these talks because they don't believe the diplomats in there have the best interests of the syrian people in mind even while they are trying to affect some sort of political compromise to what is going on in syria. one of the key factors is the fact that the iranians are here for the very first time. this is the first time they have been allowed to join these talks. they are one of the primary backers of president bashar al-assad along with the russians, and they are now inside a room, sitting across a negotiating table from saudi arabia, their regional arch

rival, saudi arabia. all of that being said, though, everybody who has come out and spoken to the press, there haven't been that many, but every one who has done so has struck a cautious, guarded optimistic tone lowering the diplomatic bar as far as what they think might be possible. and even while these talks are happening, today news of horrific attacks in syria. in duma a missile attack killing at least 40 people. so this seemingly is not having any impact on what is going on on any ground in syria. mohammed jamjoom with that angle from vienna. joining us now from washington is an al jazeera national security contributor, and senior fellow at the new american foundation. good afternoon. you heard us cover two angles,

the military angle, in which the obama administration is ratcheting up the pressure. and then you have the diplomatic angle. that doesn't seem to be going anywhere in vienna. what is your take about u.s. forces going to syria. >> reporter: we are going to deploy approximately 50 to work with the ypg kurds with the intent of assisting them in moving to raqqa. this is fraught. there are mine fields, both literal and figurative all over the place. as your piece brought out, the turks will be very, very concerned about u.s. special forces embedding with the kurds whom they say they is just as bad as isil. so as far as the turks are concerned, we're helping another

terrorist group. and then we have the people on the ground in raqqa, and how are they going to react when they see a largely kurdish force coming to clear raqqa even if they are not fans of the isil fighters. and then you have the danger of bombs dropping in this area, so there are mine fields all over the place. in that said, it was very clear the administration needed to do something, and they decided this was a risk worth taking. >> is this reactive to russia's military moves in syria? >> i think we can look at it both ways. even before the russians showed up, it's not like we were having a ton of success in syria. but yeah, the russians coming in may well have put some pressure on us to react in some way. >> is that a good way to form

late policy? >> no, it's not. but on the other hand you do still have to do it. you want to be independent. you want to be driving the agenda, on the other hand sometimes if your opponent makes a move, you have react. >> u.s. special forced assisted on a raid on a prison that isil had in iraq, a soldier was killed in that raid. what are the risks to these special forces going into syria? >> there are a lot of risks. i went through some of them. there is the risk of the soldiers getting killed in a fight with isil, and even if they are trying to stay back, there is always a danger of that. there's a danger of them being bombed by our allies the turks. even if we try to tell the turks where our soldiers are, and it's not clear we will do that, because the turks may want to

target the people we are with. there is always a danger of that, there are other groups running around. al-nusra is all over the place. they would love to kill american forces if they can find them. there are bombs planted all along the approach route to raqqa. there are 101 ways in which these soldiered as skilled as they are, there are still 101 ways in which things can go wrong. >> president obama says we're fine with budget. [ technical difficulties ]

many republicans are not happy with it. they forced a rare overnight senate session. >> i will not give this president any power to borrow unspecified amounts of money. our debt now equals our entire economy. >> rand paul was one of several republicans who voted against the measure. the deal suspends the nation's debt limit until early 2017 and boosts spending by more than $80 billion over the next two years. the largest one time release of federal prisoners in history is getting underway today. it is part of a justice department program in response to resourced mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. >> reporter: this is just todd being todd. he is also having fun. >> reporter: charles ford is a man who really likes to talk about his brother todd.

>> he demands the room. always has. >> reporter: his pictures show an inseparable pair always smiling. but this is where the pictures stop, at 24 years old, todd foster in his first run in with the law was found guilty of a non-violent crime, dealing crack cocaine, along with seven moors they possessed a combined 15 kilograms and that meant life in prison no chance of parole. >> life without parole for something you can put in your pocket, no i would never see that in a million years. >> reporter: federal law requires mandatory minimum sentences, basically it's a formula that looks at the type of drug, quantity, circumstances, and that adds up to the sentence. the independent commission that oversees sentences just changed

the formula. shaving an average of two years of prison time for drug offenses, but for people sentenced to life, it means they will know freedom. part of the reason, money. the u.s. spends $80 billion a year on prisons. almost half of the inmates are there on drug charges. congress is considering lowering the penalties further. >> that will drive the crime rate up, because thelgz people are -- unfortunately they are going to go back -- many of them to what they did previously, and that is victim miez the public by selling a poison. they are all in fact poisons that destroy people's lives. >> reporter: the vast majority of prisoners that get out end up being sent back to prison. >> with me in his life, his support system will be -- he can go anywhere. so you want to say, hey, you can call somebody, i'm there.

so i'm going to be tied like this. i got to make sure he's right. he is definitely going to be good, i promise you that. >> reporter: after 21 years of thinking there was no hope of freedom, now he'll have a chance to find out. the last british resident being held at guantanamo bay has arrived back in the u.k. the u.s. released the saudi national after 13 years. another detainee was sent home on thursday. neither man was ever charged with a crime. aaron alexis emma hayward tells us, this case in particular drew international attention. >> reporter: he had been held at guantanamo bay for more than 5,000 days. never charged, never convicted. he last british resident to be detained at the u.s. base. his supporters have always

maintained his is an innocent man. and his family has been robbed of a father, husband, and friend. the campaign for his release has been a long one. >> 14 years of torture. i mean torture is bad enough, but when someone has never been charged and therefore assumed innocent, it's just intolerable. >> reporter: he was picked up in afghanistan in 2001. his family says he was doing charity work. u.s. authorities alleged he was leading a unit of taliban fighters. in his 13 years as an inplait in the world's most notorious prison, he was never charged. he did go on hunger strike several times, one of the many prisoners who's only form of protest was through their stomach. campaigners say he was held in appalling conditions, sometimes in solitary confinement and beaten. early in his president obama

promised to close guantanamo. so far, though, it remains open and is still the subject of human rights allegations. his release comes after 13 years. it's expected he will be reunited with his family, including one child born during the initial stage of his incarceration. there are 112 detainees still being held at the prison in guantanamo bay. 52 of those have been approved for transfer. today a fourth u.s. citizen is said to be in an iranian jail. a family friend tells the "washington post" that he was visiting relatives in tehran earlier this month when security forces arrested him. he is a businessman who lives in dubai. he is also a descendant of a prominent iranian family. the state department says it is look going the reports.

off of the field but still praying. a suspended high school coach goes back to watch his team. why his suspension has created a rift over religion on and off the field.

president obama is sending you are looking live at the white house press room where white house press secretary josh earnst will address the reports that a small number of u.s. operations forces will be deployed to syria. the group will reportedly work with local ground forces in the fight against isil. we're update you as soon as we learn more on that development. the philippines has won a

ruling against china over disputed parts of the south china sea. a hague court says it has the authority to hear territorial claims the philippines filed against china two years ago. the decision would force a solution over the disputed waters. beijing is boycotting the decision claiming the court has no jurisdiction in the matter. a washington state high school football team is getting ready for the playoffs after a big win last night without a coach. he was suspended for praying with his players on the field, so he sat in the stands and says he will not give up his fight. john henry smith reports. >> reporter: this high school assist important coach, joe kennedy, was back praying thursday night as his team fought for a playoff spot, but he prayed from the stands, not from the field. >> i never wanted any legal stuff. i didn't want any problems. i just wanted to give things for

my team out there. >> reporter: the school district suspended kennedy the day before after he repeatedly ignored a school mandate to stop leading on field prayers. >> i don't know why america has come to this when i thought it was so pure. and hopefully we'll get it straightened out. >> this group of self-described satanists were there to, protesting the practice of praying on the field. >> protecting one coach's right to pray, protects everyone person's right to pray. >> reporter: in the standings the opinion was more mixed. >> i support his right to pray. it's just not the right venue. >> separation of church and state, i guess that, but that's not really not what he is doing. >> he is not forcing prayer on the kids. he is just doing it on his own. and if the kids want to join in, i think that's acceptable. >> reporter: kennedy's lawyers

are with the conservative liberty institute group, they say they will file a federal discrimination charge on kennedy's behalf. >> i'm willing to take this as far as it can go to the end. if it comes back one way or another, i fought a good fight. >> we love you, jesus! a warning today for drivers of some suvs built by fiat chrysler, the air bags may inflate for no reason. that's the problem with more than 300,000 jeep grand cherokees and liberties from 2003 and 2004. ♪ the president spoke today -- >> we'll listen in on the white house press conference now with josh earnst. >> -- in its fight against isil. the president commended the

recent progress the iraqi forces have made. and noting that the united states -- that the united states in partnership with the iraqi government will intensify its support for iraqi security forces in these efforts. he also voiced support for president's abadi's proposals. emphasizing that both the united states and iraq are fully committed to partnering with the international community to degrade and ultimately destroy isil and reaffirmed their commitment to the strategic partnership between the united states and iraq. this is part of the discussion that -- part of this discussion was some of the efforts that the united states will begin to ung take to intensify those elements of the u.s. strategy and our coalition strategy against isil

that have yielded some progress. i know there has been some reporting on this already today. kathleen, we can go ahead and get started on whatever topic you would like. >> reporter: i'll start there. >> okay. >> reporter: so you -- the white house is saying fewer than 50 forces are going to be deployed. initial reaction calling this tinkering around the edges, a band aid on a huge wound. what do you hope to accomplish? >> i certainly wouldn't underestimate the capability and capacity of our special forces to be a qualifier anywhere they are deployed around the world. and the president expects they can have an impact in intensifying our strategy for billing the capacity of local forces inside of syria to taking the fight on the ground of isil

within their own country. that has been the core element from the beginning. building the capacity of local forces on the ground. in that was the essence of the call that the president just completed with prime minister abadi. the united states and our coalition partners have worked effectively with the central government of iraq. they have got command and control over iraqi security forces in that country, and because of trained a r advise and assistance that we have been able to offer to those iraqi security forces, we built them up to be more effective on the battlefield inside of iraq. the situation in syria is quite different. the united states and our coalition partners do not have a central government with whom we can partner. the assad regime has actually used the military to attack innocent civilians. so what we have been focused on doing is enhancing the capacity of moderate opposition forces on

the ground. there are a variety of ways you already know about. we have offered assistance to those forces. some efforts have included carrying out military air strikes in support of their operations on the ground. in some cases those fighting forces have been enhanced through decisions that the president has made to resupply them. offering military equipment and ammunition that they have used to effectively make progress against isil. when it comes to northern syria in particular, we have seen moderate opposition forces inside of syria who have driven isil out of kobani, you recall a few months ago some of these opposition forces were under siege in kobani. after being resupplied by the u.s. military, these forces drove them out of kobani and the broader region. and now there's a 500-mile long

boarder that is secure. we have seen these forces make progress in the direction of raqqa. this is the solve declared capital of the islamic state. so there has been important progress that has been made in this area. and the decision that the president has made is to further intensify our support for those forces that have made that progress against isil. and all along we have indicated that the president is prepared to intensify those elements of our strategy that are showing promise. obviously our support for moderate opposition forces in northern syria have made progress against isil. they have shown promise and that progress would not have been possible without our support. we have also demonstrated a willingness to scale back our investment in those aspects of the strategy that have not yielded progress. there was a lot of discussion a few weeks ago about the train

and quip program that wasn't yielding the kind of results that we would like. and the president announced that we would change that element of our strategy. i just want to give you the full context of the -- of this latest decision that the president has made to intensify this element of our strategy that has already shown promise. >> and you think it will have an impact -- it doesn't sound like it's a big game changer? >> i think you are astute to make that observation. i think what -- what -- the president has been quite clear that there is no military solution to the problems that are plaguing iraq and syria. there is a diplomatic one. the president has put in place a multifaceted strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy isil and this military component of that strategy is an important part of

the president's top priority which is the safety and security of the american public. and because of this strategy, we have taken extremists off of the battlefield inside of syria who were hoping to use a safe haven inside of syria to attack the united states and our interests. so we know that we need a political transition inside of syria in order to address the route causes -- the route cause of so many of the problems that we have seen in syria, and those problems range from hundreds of thousands of syrians who have lost their lives in the civil war in that country, millions of syrians who have had to flee their homes to escape violence. some of those syrians have unfortunately died trying to flee their country, and it's a tragedy both in terms of the human toll that it has had on the syrian people. it's also significant in terms of the