paris, gunmen storm a luxury hotel in the capital city of bamako. scores were taken hostage before the military moved in, and at least 19 people killed including a u.s. citizen. a group affiliated with al qaeda is claiming responsibility. nadim baba has more. >> reporter: soldiers help an employee of the raddison blu out of the building after a hostage situation that lasted many hours. gunmen managed to get inside shouting god is great in arabic before taking around 170 people hostage. as the full extent of the attack became clear, many here were in shock. as the malian president cut short a trip to chad and flew home, the government tried to reassure people. >> translator: this morning at 7:00 a.m. the radisson hotel was attacked. according to the information we have, there are two or three armed men with military armament walked into the hotel.

we activated our crisis at the civil security and protection. it includes heads of military. >> reporter: following an assault involving reports started to come in of dead bodies being found inside the hotel. one of those who did make it out alive told state television that it took awhile. at the beginning he said i thought it was firecrackers and didn't think afters a hostage situation and then it continued and continued and we heard it around the hotel. an armed group that split from al qaeda'north africa braufrj said it cared out the attack. the group known as al mourabitour want it wanted fighters freed from the prison and the attacks against northern malians to stop. it's been a political crisis

since a coup three years ago followed by an armed rebellion in the north that led to french military involvement. many inside the hotel with national airlines. friday's deadly events raise new questions about how stable this country really is. nadim baba, al jazeera. >> the u.s. this no american military personnel was involved in ending the siege, but it has a history of involvement in mali as we hear from mike viqueira. >> mali has a strategic cross roads in west africa, a position that made it critical to the widening fight against these rebel groups fighting in the region. a reminder that all the focus against isil and the situation in syria, west africa is a region that can't be forgotten or ignored. among the residents in bamako when the attack came, five are with the department of defense including one service member who helped move civilians to safety.

why is the u.s. military in mali to begin with? much of northern mali came under the control of religiously motivated rebels in 2012. the french military offenses soon pushed them out. the u.s. is now backing a u.n. force called in to help keep the peace. in the wake of friday's attacks, u.s. officials say that won't change. >> we still believe it's an important mission. two, we continue to support it. >> the u.s. has humanitarian concerns, more fighting could learn to more refugees, and a mali controlled by the rebels could have dire repercussions for the united states. just this week attacks in nigeria killed dozens of people and wounded more than 120. much of west africa is beset with movements with the u.s. and allies and they're working with allies to rein them in. >> they're playing a quiet role in supporting the french in 2013 in terms of providing logistics and intelligence reconnaissance

for the fefrj force that went in, and then there's a supporting role in terms of training and equipping and preparing peacekeepers for the roles they're playing right now north of country. >> in late 2011 mercenaries fighting for libyan leader moammar gaddafi fled libya after he was ousted from power. known as the mla, the fighters went to northern mali seeking to form a break-a way state. >> islamic groups came into northern mali and took over. they pushed them away, and they decided that they wanted install sa rhea law in northern mali. from that point on, northern mali has been a big mess. >> reporter: that led to a military coup in the capital. the u.s. sees the instability as a threat to a key region and in niger and chad, the u.s. is assists counterterrorism forces battle boko haram and other militant groups. the attack friday in bamako

raises the stakes. >> up until the beginning of this year, mali and the u.n. mission there and the u.s. and the french were all working with mali to resolve this long-standing crisis really that bamako, the capital city, was immune to the attacks. >> as the security situation in west africa worsens, a new challenge for the u.s. to contain the threat. mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. in paris vigils were held tonight on the one-week anniversary of the attacks. they're still claiming victims. another death today brought the toll to 130. we're learning more tonight about the investigation and the alleged raid that killed the alleged architect behind the attacks. adam rainy is in paris. french authorities say a third suspect died in the raid. what else have we learned?

>> reporter: we're starting to learn new details from the raid in saint-denis in the northern edge of paris. not only that there's a third body confirms in the rubble, but they think that person that died is actually the one that detonated a suicide vest and not the cousin of the suspected ringleader of these attacks. that young woman died in the blast. her passport was found in a handbag nearby. for days officials say she detonated the suicide vest, but now they say that's not the case. >> adam, today eu ministers agreed to tighten border checks in the passport-free zone. why did they do it? >> reporter: john, they're concerned people rafsh to this huge zone where they don't need passports traveling between countries but they're not checked when they arrive at one of the first countries because

if you have an eu passport up until now you didn't have to have a security check on you. you were waived through. you didn't have to really have a security check. so now all these countries are agreeing that they need to check people on their first arrival at one of these countries. that won't change the fact that within the zones there's free passage, and as we've been learning despite promises from the french president that he's tightening security at the border right now between neighboring countries and france that just doesn't seem to be the case. >> my journey begins in the heart of paris. we face traffic, a hassle parisians know all too well. in a half hour, we're on a highway towards the belgian border. a few minutes before we reach the border is a toll plaza. he hesitated and looked at us, but despite filming with lights were not stopped. then we approach the border itself. there's a lot of traffic slowing cones out, and i see some

flashing blue lights much i don't know if that's police. we're only about 800 meters from the border into belgium. we'll see if we get stopped by pass up or down control or security. we just crossed into belgium from france. there was a car at the border security checkpoint of sorts, a man with a flashlights and flashing blue lights but no one asked us to stop and no one asked for a passport. the next morning we're back to the border. we decided to cross back near a rural border town. a little less than a mile up the road, finally a sign you're in france. again, no security or police. it's hard to even know when you're in belgium or france, so we stop. this is us, this blue dot on this road that runs along the border between belgium and france. over here is belgium and over here is france. you cross the street, and you're in another country.

we met french and belgians on their morning routine. >> reporter: yes, there's more security since friday. i didn't see police today. >> translator: europe should unify to do global work and not each country works alone. >> reporter: the bakery this french woman says she hasn't seen any security. when you see is a lot of trucks shipping and trade. the borders seem wide open to let commerce and people travel freely. in their midst militants looking to exploit the system to launch deadly attacks wherever they can. so it seems to be a compromise, freedom of passage, freedom of trade and commerce and freedom to go between the countries that for decades worked quite well for european, but now they start to be concerned that all this free passage makes it very easy for people wanting to, of

course, exploit that system create attacks, massive displays of violence killing hundreds of people. that they can easily get around this area. in the coming weeks and months, european leaders try to come to terms with how much french can they curtail while also protecting hundreds of millions of citizens in this very large continent. >> adam raney, thanks very much. the general is a former nato supreme allied commander from washington tonight. general, france is trying to create a unified coalition to destroy isil and president hollande will visit next week. is it possible to get the u.s. and russia on the same page? >> i think if there's a common interest and i think isil or isis is a common interest to both countries, i think it's possible. there are so many other issues here involved in the u.s./russian relationship that some of those may have to be overcome first.

but personally i think that both nations working together could have a very serious impact on isis and isil spreading as it has been spreading around the region. >> and general, as you know, a majority of americans now say they support stepped up military force against isil. 60% back additional ground troops according to an abc news/"washington post" poll today. is that the answer? >> i think you need a strategy, and there should be a comprehensive strategy, political, military, diplomatic, economic for that region. i have said that for a long time. i truly think that we need to be able to work with our allies, get our allies involved. some of them and the kurds in particular, the peshmerga have demonstrated a willingness to shoulder that burden. other nations need to get

involved. in the end i think you need to stop the momentum of isis, and to do that is going to take not just air strikes but i think it's going to take a ground force as well. >> the poll also shows a majority opposing admitting the refugees from the middle east to the united states. has this become a political hot potato, and are those concerns warranted? >> well, i think that people out of fear are addressing it in that way. we're a nation of immigrants, and i truly think that our doors should be open. however, it's incumbent upon those agencies responsible for vetting those coming into our country to ensure that we don't have someone as allegedly happened in france come in with the refugees. so i think that there's a process hear that all agencies need to be involved, but i would not close our doors. >> let me go back to ground

forces, u.s. ground forces in syria and/or iraq. how many? >> well, again, that depends on the assessment being done by our own commanders, and in conjunction with our allies. i think we have to get the arab nations involved in this in a proactive way as well as our nato allies and really put together a command and control and a force structure that could make it work. so you have air strikes, but you also follow that up with a ground presence when necessary. that's not easy to do, and will there be casualties? yes. i think we're faced with a threat that we need to take action and do it quickly. >> there are some that argue -- the critics argue there needs to be less military, less of a focus on military action by the u.s. in this situation.

what do you say to them? >> well, let they put forth a plan that would deter or defend or defeat this threat, and i'll be willing to listen to it. if i were in a position of responsibility again as a major commander in the region, i would look at all options. in fact, i would tell the political leaders all options should be on the table. whether you use them or not, that's a political decision. but for training purposes i think all options should be on the table to include ground troops. and that's the last resort to put combat troops on the ground, but what we're looking for is a way to stop this momentum. if it can be done other ways, fine, but all options should be on the table to include ground troops on our leaders, our commanders should be preparing those options.

>> is it too little too late? >> i don't think so. i don't think so. i think that many of these terrorist groups miscalculate. i think they're miscalculating the will of not oenl the american people but of the french and arab states and others but particularly what i knew in the alliance. we did this and went into bosnia when they were hesitant nations going in there, and we were successful. i think that -- by the way, we had moroccan troops, egyptian troops, jordanian troops all with us on the ground in the balkans, so i think that a coalition of that size can be effective. it takes great leadership and that's what we need now, particularly from the united states. we need leadership at the very highest political and military levels. >> general, it's good to see you. thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure.

it's the first friday prayers for muslims in france since the attacks last week. security in paris is tight. the mood is somber. we have the report. >> reporter: under extremely tight security and at a distance from the cameras they entered paris's grand mosque. for the faithful it was day to let their prayers be heard. >> translator: we want to live in peace in a better world for the french people, the french muslims, for everybody no matter their religion. >> reporter: it was abundantly clear how for many faith being being tested. >> translator: we were attacked because of what we are, because we're muslim. we don't pay attention to the attacks. we have to stay calm. the best idz lamb is the one who stays calmest even in the worst situations, the one who can remain patient while facing these tests. >> despite the cold and rain, worshippers that couldn't fit

inside nonetheless prayed outside. the message that emanated loudest during friday prayer at this mosque not just that the muslims condemned the paris attacks and would adhere to the values of the french republic. even though they came in peace, some would have been happy to fight. >> i love france. >> while allegiance to god and france may have been strong at a time of growing uncertainty and distrust, both conviction and compassion will be needed more than ever before. al jazeera, paris. some senators want to tighten travel restrictions for visitors to the u.s. residents of 38 nations currently do not need a visa to enter this country. a new proposal would require a visa for citizens from that country that visited syria or

iraq in the past five years. it also calls for additional members like fingerprinting and electronic passports. being on the terror watch list in the u.s. doesn't prohibit a person from buying a gun. according to a new report more than 2,000 people on the list bought guns from u.s. dealers between 2004 and 2014. several bills have been proposed to stop this. they have also been strongly opposed by the nra. president obama is in malaysia for the annual east asia summit. he says the meetings there will focus on the global fight against isil and the despited south china sea. leaders from 19 nations are on manned, security has been increased across malaysia. the prime minister says his country plans to use social media and other tools to counter isil propaganda. donald trump's shocking rhetoric on creating a national

register for muslim americans. freedom for convicted spy jonathan pollard. a30 years in prison, a closer look at the cost of his espionage. plus, declassified. inside the cia. the secrets and lies revealed by the agency's former directors.

jonathan pollard is a preman tonight. he pleaded guilty to stealing documents for israel. rob reynolds as the report.

>> the spy jonathan j. pollard left a federal prison in north carolina under a cover of darkness. his parole was 30 years to the day after sels a vast trove to israel. pollard later appeared in new york accompanied by his wife esther who he married while in prison. he must check in with a parole officer weekly and may not leave the u.s. for five years. his case became a cause celeb in israel and in some sections of the american jewish community. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu hailed pollard's release. >> as someone that raced this case with successive u.s. presidents many times, i long ford this day. after three long and difficult decades jonathan is being released. >> reporter: many israelis think pollard was punished too harshly. >> i think that pollard served

30 years in the prison with no real reason. it's about time. >> reporter: over the course of 18 months, pollard, a civilian analyst for u.s. naval intelligence, delivered tens of thousands of top secret classified documents to israeli agents in washington. israel paid pollard thousands for the information. he mret guilty to a single chargen conspiracy. caspar weinberger wrote a letter to the judge detailing what his activities have wrought. judge robinson sentenced pollard to life. many would like to give pollard a hero's welcome as soon as possible, but the israeli

government wasn't always so welcoming. in 1985 as hi spying scheme was unravelling with and with the fbi hot on his heels, pollard sought refuge at the israeli embassy in washington but he was turned away and arrested leaving the spy out informant cold. >> according to court documents pollard has already landed a job as a research analyst with an investment firm in new york. princeton university will consider a student demand to remove the name of woodrow wilson on campus. there are several spaced named for the 28th u.s. president who served from 1913 to 192. wilson also served at president of princeton. he's targeted for his support of racial segregation, the law of the land while he was in office. students protest alleged racism on campus ended a 32-hour sit-in on thursday. princeton is not alone. twitter pictures show someone

put black tape across the portraits of black professors at harvard law school. the school's dean admits racism is an issue that needs to be addressed at harvard. university police say happened is a hate crime. up next, the backlash after donald trump says he wouldn't rule out a database or special i.d. for american-muslims. plus, the small georgia city that became the safe haven for refugees around the world. world.

this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler, religious test, keeping tabs on muslims in america. donald trump's inflammatory comments and the backlash. the governor vows to block syrian refugees, but one small georgia town says its doors are open to all. "spy masters" gives a rare look inside the secret world of the cia. at least 19 people were killed today in the west africian nation of mali. gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the capital city of bamako. a group is claiming responsibility for the seven-hour siege. u.s. and french forces took part in the military response today. mali's a former french colony. the french president hollande is promising dabl military assistance formally.

vigils tonight in paris marked one week since the attacks. the death toll now stands at 130. another victim died today. investigators now say three suspects died during wednesday's raid in suburban france. that includes the alleged architect of the attacks, his female cousin and an unidentified woman. police say the woman did not blow herself up as previously reported. new video shows the moment that the third suspect is believed to have detonated explosives. ambassador nick byrnes served as formatter undersecretary of stalt for political affairs and u.s. am bass for to nato and is professor of international relations at the harvard kennedy school of government in washington tonight. ambassador, give me your take. was you surprised that another soft target attack happened in mali? >> well, obviously shocked and sprieds, yesterday, and saddened

by the last of life. you remember two years ago that one of the as lamb mist groups took over the mali. as hillary clinton said in her speech this week, we can't just focus just on the islamic state. we have to defeat the islamic state. the longer battle is against the middle east,est central and west africa. you saw an example of that in mali. we have very good and friendly relations with a wide group of countries from egypt to all the way across north africa to west africa to mali and niger and em

battling boko haram. many governments are trying to help these governments defend their civilians inside their own territory. >> given that this has become some places in africa have become breeding grounds for the groups, should the u.s. do more? >> actually, i think the obama administration has done quite a long. it's expanded or support, our material support and training support for the countries. we can't be everywhere and our soldiers can't be everywhere. i think we have done quite a lot in mali and niger and nye jaer ya and egypt. >> did the united states underestimate isil's global xashts from paris? >> i don't know if we jr.ed estimated it. i think an assumption was made by a lot of countries and certainly the united states that isis could be contained in iraq and syria. we know that's not the case sxing when hillary clinton said we ought to defeat isis and not contain it, that's a stark choice for americans.

we have to, of course, seek to defeat it. we need a lot of help. certainly the arab countries can do more, saudi arabia, united arab emirates can all do more. most of those countries are no longer part of air strikes against the islamic state, and they ought to do more to help. >> was the paris attack a game changer in terms of how we look and deal with isil? >> i think it was. we cannot assume that this threat is limited. we know now, given the complex nature of the attack last friday evening in paris, that they have capacity and intent and have thousands of young people willing to fight and die for the islamic state. so that battle may be principally fought in syria and iraq where they're headquartered and most present, but it's also going to have to be a thought through europe and perhaps elsewhere in the world. >> there were a lot of critics -- after the president

made the statement about paris, and he suggested that the united states has contained isil. is it enough to contain isil? >> i don't think so. i respect president obama and i think he's done a lot to lead the air campaign. i know that the united states is doing as much as it possibly can, but containment will not work. >> wlal work? >> containment won't work if in the process we don't more to arm the syrian kurds and the peshmerga and continue the effort to find sunni arab groups on the ground in syria that will fight the islamic state and support them. most importantly convince the iraqi government and baghdad that the sunni tribes in anbar province ought to be part of the effort and respected and listened to, and they ought to be armed in the fight against the islamic state to liberate their own province. until there are more effective arab and kurdish fighting forces on the ground, we don't have a chance to defeat the islamic state. that's what will it will take in

part. as i said, john, the arab countries and turkey have to do more because there's in this not in a full bore way but in a half-hearted way. >> always good to see you. thank you very much. >> thank you. republican presidential candidate donald trump is backing away from his controversial comments about a database for muslim americans. he said today he did not propose the idea. he was simply answer being a reporter's question. in an interview with yahoo! news, trump would not rule out a database for muslim-americans or a special form of i.d. here's what he said to reporters in iowa. >> there should be a lot of systems beyond databases. we should have a lot of systems, and today you can do it. >> specifically how do you get them registered? >> it would be just got management. what you have to do is good management procedures, and we can do that. >> today on twitter trump said surveillance and a watch list would be helpful tools to defeat

islamic terrorism. a prominent tennessee state lawmaker says the national guard should round up syrian refugees who have recented arrive in theed u.s. he said the guard should be used to prevent more refugees from enters his state. the representative said he doesn't want a paris attack happening in the u.s. he also supports surveillance of syrian refugees by state law enforcement. the spiritual leader of the all dulles society in virginia. he advised the white house on how to counter influence of groups like isil. he's in washington tonight. it's good to have you on the program. welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> you joint us tonight after speaking at a vigil in washington calling on muslims to condemn isil and terrorism in the wake of the paris attacks. there's been widespread fear in country, backlash against refugees. how are muslim communities coping? >> muslim-american communities

have stood today as shia and sunni today in front of the white house to speak in one voice. that all american muslims are against this violent extreemgism and isis and against the ideology of dividing the muslim community and dividing the american community. unfortunately, the -- some of the islamophobia group are feeding into the scenario and ideology of isis because isil believes it's us versus them. every time we talk about profiles muslims, we talk about not allowing children from syria to enter the united states we are confirming the ideology of isis that trying to promote the issue of division between muslims and their fellow americans. >> let me ask you about a couple

of things. what about the state senator in tennessee that wants to round up all syrian refugees? >> unfortunately, people forget that america is a land of immigrants. i would like to ask those who believe that the syrians, the children 3 and 4 years old will pose a threat to this nation, i would like to ask them, how -- if that was the case, how were other refugees treated in the united states? some of those people are speaking against the syrian refugees themselves come from backgrounds of immigrants. it's really shameful that we're using this issue for political gains. this issue of refugees, about innocent syrians who are threeing the war and the isis crimes against humanity. >> i'm going to interrupt you

for a second. it's not just syrians. donald trump said he won't rule out a muslim registry in this country. he walked back those remarks a bit today, but whether we talk about presidential politics, give me your reaction to that. >> i think that mr. trump and any other candidates who will use the muslim community to feed into this stereotype of violence extremism, that this is war against islam and muslims, and it is a he or she will be helping the narrative of isis. we should stand all of us united in the united states against isis. american muslims have given their lives to protect this country. i myself presided over a funeral of a member of my community who gave his life defending this country. we have many american-muslims who were serving in the armed

forces now. american-muslims have lost their lives defending the united states, and anyone who like to feed into this stereotyping of muslim-americans is really violating the american values. >> as you know very well after 9/11 the muslim communities felt alienated by the fbi. do you think that the united states is headed back to that -- to a similar time after 9/11? >> muslim americans are working very closely with law enforcement. we opened our doors for the lawmaker to come to speak to our community about the threat that we see today online. i held many workshops with the law enforcement and members of our community. we do believe you have to strike

a balance to protect our country and protecting the civil rights of muslims in the united states. we should not ever treat young muslims as suspects. we have to treat them where their life is respected and they're treated as equal citizens. bullying of our children in the school is real. i would like to tell the politics and those who run for office, please be careful of what you say to the media because that impacts my children and the children of american-muslims in public school. >> it's good to have you on the program. thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> thank you so much. thousands of refugees have come to the u.s. this year. the largest group, more than 15,000 people, is from median march. now, many are muslim an ethnic

minority that faced persecution in myanmar. robert ray met with one family now living in georgia. >> reporter: mohammed and his family arrived in the united states less than two months ago. >> translator: since we were very young in myanmar, we grew up being pergs could you telled. since we've been in the united states, we felt welcomed by people. >> reporter: 11 years ago he and his wife fled myanmar or burma. they faced religious persecution because they're a minority group abused because of their ethnicity and muslim. most of their people are buddhists. the family ended up in malaysia. they had two children and dreamed of eventually coming to america. trrz myself, other parentses, refugees, we're all overjoyed for our children because he have they will have a good life and education in the united states. we never had that back in

myanmar or malaysia or thailand. >> clark ston, jorjz is now the jaleel family home. the small town of clarkstone has 8,000 residents and one of the most diverse in all of american. there are over 60 nationalities represented, and at the local high school over 50 languages are spoken. 35 years ago after the vietnam war, clarkston morphed into a melting pot of civilization. we met terry at the local coffee shoch. it's actually a truck, and they call it the refuge. >> we think that in 1.4 square miles with christian, buddhists all lives in this close proximity to each other, we would have a religious war here, but the opposite is true. >> there are people all over the

world that live in close proximity, and it doesn't gel. so why here? what's the difference? >> you know, quite honestly i think we're probably more diverse than any other part of the world in a concentrated area, but i think it has a lot to do with the opportunity, the economic opportunity. >> that's also why the mayor is welcome being any syrians if they go through the vetting process. that's in spite of georgia's governor's refusal to admit the refugees. >> the concerns are a little overblown. since 9/11 three-quarter of a million refugees have been resellinr resettled in america and not arrested for domestic terrorism. >> compassion over politics is the mayor's mantra. for the family the mayor's mission is providing the ultimate hope. >> we work hard and try to provide for our children. we believe if our children get a good education and grow up here, they'll have a better life in the near future.

>> reporter: freedom to practice their faith, live in peace with opportunity, raising happy children. a life they have never known until now in a small town of clarkston, georgia. robert ray, al jazeera, clarkston, georgia. president obama's executive order that protects millions of documented immigrants from being deported could be headed to the u.s. supreme court. it allows 5 mill people with no criminal record and whose children are u.s. sith zens to remain in the government. two dozen republican governor as peeled saying congress should decide it. a lower court overturned it. now the obama administration is asking the supreme court to weigh in. coming up next, voters in louisiana head to the polls tomorrow. a look at why obamacare is a major issue in that governor's race.

the nation's largest health insurance company may pull out of the exchanges. the exchanges created under the new affordable care act provide health care to 10 million americans, but unitedhealth care says its difficult to make a profit by selling through them. it says it will stop marking the exchanges next year and could withdraw entirely in 2017. health care is a major issue in saturday's election for governor of louisiana. both candidates vow to close the so-called medicaid coverage gap that left hundreds of thousands

without health insurance, but their approaches differ greatly. jonathan martin reports from new orleans. >> reporter: a popular trumpeter, sean roberts makes a living playing with several brass bands here in new orleans. he has enough bookings to make a decent living, but like most musicians here, he has no health insurance. >> if i ever need surgery, you know, what if i become really, really ill or something, i won't be able to to go out and play. how would i, you know, survive? >> squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. >> roberts uses a clinic that provides free and low cost care to musicians, but it's only basic care and he has no coverage outside of the city. >> we don't make ends meet. we depend on donors to bridge the gap, and i went to experts and they said, no. your model isn't broken. you're in a state that's broken. >> when governor bobby jindal

refused medicaid expansion dollars under the affordable care act it left a lot of people in a coverage gap. >> i make too much for medicaid. so i don't qualify for medicaid. all of the private insurance companies are too high for me. >> about 220,000 people in louisiana fall into the gap. they make too much to qualify for medicaid, but they don't qualify for credits towards obamacare so they can't afford a private policy. that could change after saturday when louisiana elects a new governor. the two candidates in the runoff have promised to expand medicaid but with very different approaches. >> one candidate, john bell edwards said he would take medicaid expansion on day one as governor, and the other candidate, david vitter, has said he would look at doing it but only under certain conditions and try to negotiate a waiver with the federal government. >> moeller runs a think tank called the louisiana budget project. he says seeking a waiver to create a louisiana-specific

medicaid program comes with uncertainties. >> there's no guarantee that it's going to be done, because they have to strike a deal with the federal government. again, we don't know who the next president is going to be. this could be a long, drawn-out process. >> sean roberts said the politics are frustrating. while nothing is certain, he's anxious to see if louisiana's next governor will finally do what he feels is only fair. >> we're working like everyone else. for me as a musician, we're a big part of what drives the economic down here in new orleans. so at the very least we should be covered. >> jonathan martin, al jazeera, new orleans. the presidential candidates are rolling out their plans to fight isil. that's the topic of ali velshi on target. >> john, in the wake of the attacks in paris, many of the presidential candidates in the united states are becoming more aggressive in terms of policies for isil in syria.

the neocons are back and it including the democratic front-runner hillary clinton. we will take a closer look at the difference between policy and politics and there is a difference between the two. also tonight, we're going to take a closer look at efforts to try and derail isil's propaganda machine online. all of that is on target at 9:00 eastern and 9:00 pafk. john. >> thank you very much. am next, "the spy masters." all 12 living cia directors and the life-and-death decisions they had to make. they had to make.

some breaking news tonight. belgium's government has raised the threat level to 4. the city could be facing a serious and eminent threat. several suspects in last week's terrorist attack lived in brussels. the country remains on alert

tonight, and the citizens are urged to avoid crowded areas such as concerts and transport hubs. we'll have more on this story throughout the evening. now, to an unprecedented look inside the cia. our guides to the secretive organization might surprise you. they are the agency's current and former directors. >> we protect our people or do we not protects them. >> the new documentary "the spy spy masters" is an unprecedented look at the agency. >> killing people no matter how bad they are. that shouldn't rest easy on anyone's souls. >> if they're bad guys, i have no problem with that. >> all 12 sat down for interviews. they clashed with each other and the current president on many issues from torture -- >> i don't accept the use of the

word torture. you have to have people prepared to say, you can't too that. it's illegal. >> to drone strikes. >> they're killing a lot of people with drone strikes that would better be captured and interrogated. you can't question somebody you kim. >> it reveals new details of credible threats before 9/11 that went unanswered. >> frent present at the meeting was condoleezza rice and other top officials. there will be significant terror attacks against the united states in the coming weeks and months. they will be spectacular and multiple. al qaeda's intention is the destruction of the united states. >> this country has been going to war now. i slammed my hand on the table. >> what happened? >> yeah. what did happen? >> chris whipple is the executive producer and writer of "the spy masters: cia in the

cross hairs." it it's great to have out program. this is an interesting documentary. i want to go to the news you created with this documentary. it's almost infuriating to realize that these threats, that the u.s. knew about these threats but weren't able to act on them. i'm curious about why. we're talking in particular jum of 2001. what happened? >> you know, it's a chilling picture that george tenet and his head of the counterterrorism center paints of this period. you have to go back to the spring of 2001 when george tenet, the head of the -- the director of the cia submitted authorities for a paramilitary operation in afghanistan to pull al qaeda out by the roots. the response from the bush white house, according to fen net, was we don't want to look at this yet. we don't want the klock to start ticks. what did that mean? he said they weren't ready to decide what their terrorism policy was going to be.

now, fast forward to july 10. within 24 hours of july 10 they had seven specific pieces of intelligence predicting imminent attacks. it wasn't clear where they might be. they might be overseas or in the u.s. on july 10th it came to a cree she understand doe. he goes to the wlous and goes there with black. coffer black slammed his fist on the table and said we have to go on a war footing now. viewers can judge what the -- >> it didn't happen. >> viewers can make their own judgments as how the bush white house reacted. >> all 12 directors of the cia sat down with you, right? >> all 12 sat down with us. we started with george h.w. bush who was revered in the cia who restored the morale of the agencies in the '70s. the last hold was george ten meant who hasn't given an

interview in eight years. imagine for a moment on your watch as cia director you had the 9/11 attacks, you had the so-called enhanced interrogation program many regard as torture and weapons of mass destruction in iraq. the most surprising thing perhaps is the extent to which cia is a house divided. it's a balcs for the soul of the cia. for tune and enhanced interrogation is one example. >> they talk about drone strikes, too. what was the most interesting thing they had about drones? >> leon panetta tells the story minute by minute in riveting details of the ethical dilemma he faced when at the funeral for one of his cia officers in arlington cemetery he gets word that the cia has a major terrorist in the crosshairs a drone over pakistan. and panetta calls the white house. they essentially say to panetta, this one's on you, leon.

this is your decision of whether to pull the trigger. there were women and children in the shot as panetta would put it. he said ordinarily we wouldn't take the shot under those circumstances, but this was a major terrorist. panetta describes how panetta, a devout catholic fingering his rosary beads saying hail marys makes the decision to pull the trigger and take out this terrorist knowing it would cause collateral damage. it's riveting and very human, i think. >> what's the most disturbing thing you found in the film? >> the cia -- the final analysis as one director put it can only buy you time and space. every director to a person agreed that we can't kill our way out of this. as michael hayden put it, if the politicians and the decision-makers don't have the courage and the imagination to use that space and address the root causes of terrorism, you get into a cycle where you kill

people forever. >> that it is an important documentary that premieres saturday november 28th at 9:00 p.m. eastern time on showtime. chris whipple, great to see you. thank you very much. that's our broadcast. thank you for watching. i'm john seigenthaler. see you back here on monday. have a great weekend. ali velshi is next. gentinia argentinia i'm david schuster. on i.s.i.l. tonight. mysterious group has joined the group to disrapt i.s.i.l.'s bomb line