turns out they may be able to get that up and off the runway afterall. that's a lot of breaking news for you today. hope you're still with me. if you're still with me, you should be there for the next show, "around the world," right now. new jersey governor chris christie has a new job. taking over the reins of the preb governor association. the question on everybody's mind, what are his plans for 2016? >> also this, pulled off a plane in north korea, the family of this 85-year-old american says, they've had no contact with him since and they are worried about his safety. also -- >> you know which airport you're at? >> well, we think we have a pretty good zbluls not realpuls >> they are trying to figure out a way to get it back up in the

air. welcome to "around the world," everybody. i'm michael holmes. >> i'm hole la gorani, in for suzanne malveaux. a major debate on capitol hill. the division among republicans and democrats coming really to a boil this hour. >> indeed. senate majority leader harry reid is fed up with republican filibuster threats. he and other democratic leaders invoking what's known as the nuclear option. >> what does it mean? it would change a very important rule in the u.s. senate and allow just a simple majority, 51 votes to overcome a filibuster. reid says the change is needed to keep the senate from becoming obsolete. >> but republicans say, it's a bunch of pointless drama. chief congressional correspondent dana bash is on capitol hill with the details. drama or necessary? >> reporter: it depends who you

ask, how's that a dodge to the question? this is something that has been boiling for some time. when you look at the to-ing and fro-ing and the partisanship and tension about filibusters, blocking a president's nom fine. since it's a democratic president, the the republicans and minority able to use their power of the philly buster to block the president's nominees. there's no question that when george bush was in the white house and democrats were in the minority here in the senate, they did the same thing. you can argue about the statistics and number of times but certainly the tool is something that both parties have used. but at this point, the democratic leader has made clear that enough is enough and most recently the issue was, and sort of the straw that broke the camel's back, is the fact that on the d.c. circuit, which is

very important, probably the second highest court in the land, very important court there are three vacancies and republicans are blocking those vacancies, they say blocking nominations, i should say, to fill vacancies. republicans say it's because the court doesn't have a big workload there are other places where judges are much more necessary and democrats say, huh-uh, the reason is because you don't want to tip the balance of the court and it's not fair. so that is what they're voting on right now, is an attempt to get one of the judges on that bench. and this is really kind of a show, if you will, in order to get to the point where democrats can likely later today hold the vote to change the rules to make it impossible for republicans to do what they're doing now, which is have a 60-vote threshold to block the nomination and bring it down to 51 simple majority. >> you mentioned three vacancies. am i wrong in thinking there's 100 judicial vacancies at moment

in this is about the democrats, would say, the republicans blocking every appointment that the government wants to make? >> reporter: that's right. and republicans argue, and they did argue, mitch mcconnell did on the senate floor, they have passed over 200 of the president's nominees and only defeated less than handful. that doesn't peek to how many are still stuck on the calendar. to be honest, you can look at the numbers and see in them what you want, if you are a democrat or a republican looking at, you know, how things are going. but it is definitely true that the idea of a filibuster for various reasons has been -- become an epidemic in the senate. and both parties are to blame. i want to play for you, though, what the senate majority leader harry reid said earlier today why he's doing this now. >> time to get the senate working again. not for the good of the current democratic majority or some future republican majority.

but for the good of the united states of america. it's time to change. it's time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. >> now the republican leader basically said, give me a break. the people who are playing politics here are democrats sbp there's not a crisis in the judicial branch and what is going on is that democrats are trying to change the subject away from obama care. listen to what mitch mcconnell said. >> once again, senate democrats are threatening to break the rules of the senate, break the rules of the senate, in order to change the rules of the senate. and over what? over what? over a court that doesn't even have enough work to do? millions of americans are hurting because of a law washington democrats forced upon them and what do they do about

it? they cook up some fake fight everybody judges. a fake fight over judges that aren't even needed. >> reporter: now, people looking at this might say, this is sort of process, it's about a couple of judges or a couple of the president's nominees, why do we care so much? sure, that is the case and that is important. but bigger picture, it is important because if you thought that washington was divide and partisan and gridlocked, even though the move is to make it less gridlocked you're going to see very likely the tensions flare even more because of democrats attempting to take away this power from the minority. in fact, john mccain, who has been somebody who tried to broker this issue and successfully did so a month ago, said in the hallway this changes everything with regard to the tone and tenor of how the senate is run. >> dana bash, thanks so much more that. let's put things in

perspective, dana was mentioning why this is important, it could have a substantial impact on how business is conducted in the senate in the future. let's remind viewers the nuclear option as it's called has never been used before. senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin joins us on the phone from new york. first of all, as we were discussing there, the potential longer-term impact, if this nuclear option in fact passes, is utilized in the senate, what would it be? >> reporter: the senate will get more done. now that is either good news or bad news, depending on whether you think the democratic majority is doing what's right for the country. but there are 55 democrats in the senate right now, when there is a 60-vote threshold to do everything, which is when in effect there has been for the past couple of years, nothing much gets done, including

confirming judges and what harry reid is doing will lower the threshold back to 50 for judicial vacancies for the foreseeable future. >> when it comes to the legality of this, there's nothing in the constitution about it, am i right? when you look at use of filibusters, it has grown exponentially, people think m misus misused, overused. >> reporter: there's no question that filibusters are a creation of the rules of the senate. the constitution says very clearly that the house and senate may make their own rules. the senate made a rule, allowing for filibusters and allowing for them to be cut off at some point. the senate today is in the process of changing those rules. the constitution really has nothing to say about any of this. this is really up to the senate. and the -- so that's really the story. the democrats have right to do

it. whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, that's a separate question. but as a legal matter, clearly they have the right to do it. >> jeffrey toobin, cnn senior legal analyst, thanks so much. >> changing the rules of the senate requiring a much smaller majority to get some of the nominations, interesting to see if that option is used. elsewhere on the political front, new jersey governor chris christie is about to start his new gig as leader -- who we love to look forward in 2016 -- leader of the republican governor's association. >> nerve that high profile job, it's on used as a launch pad for governors hoping to become president of the united states. >> this hour, republican governors will hear from the new chief, he has the purse strings, he has the bully pulpit. he's the man. we'll bring you his speech live. >> peter hamby at the governor's

conference in scottsdale, arizona. also political analyst gloria borger. peter, first, governor christie has to take the job from louisiana governor bobby jindal, also touted around as potential presidential candidate. what's the mood at the conference? that is all of the chatter? >> reporter: ub ppublicly the governors, staffs are not talking about the behind the scenes jockeying that took place last year when both chris christie and bobby jindal wanted to run the rga in 2014, next year, big midterm year, when there's 36 governor races, could be a good platform, launchpad to run for president. they're talking not about that but winning races next year. there's a variety of press conferences, governors here meeting with donors and that's one big reason why this event and this conference and this new job for chris christie's so important to him, because it

does put him in touch with the republican party's biggest financial supporters. rga is one of the biggest and most important political committees in the country. they can raise larger sums of money. christie gets to meet people running the committee around the country and next year traveling all over the place. going to iowa, south carolina, florida, important political states where there just happen to be signature governor races. christie gets to travel the country, out of new jersey, campaign and raise his profile without actually campaigning for president. but he will be able to pivot nicely to 2016 after the midterm leaks. >> governor christie is speaking now. >> we are important to the people of our individual state but was we know we have a job to do and what we're hired to do is run our states and to do the job. and i think all throughout the last day and a half or so of the conference, what i've heard from governors all across the

country, whether it's john kasich in ohio or scott walker in wisconsin or, you know, folks leak the ones sitting up here with me, we talk about the common sense solutions we're bringing to the people of our state and things that are getting done on their behalf. and that's what our focus is going to continue to be. we have extraordinary records of people up on the stage who will be up for election next year, some of them, and others further in the distance. we'll talk about our records and what we've accomplished. i think it's going to be a strong and compelling message for the people of the country over the 2014 year. so, i am looking forward to assuming the chairmanship this afternoon. i'm honored by my colleagues' confidence in me. my job is to go out and elect and re-elect republican governors and that's my sole focus over the course of the next 11 months oop i thank them for their support and confidence and turn it over to governor of

south carolina. >> chris christie, governor of new jersey, on a high from a landslide in a reason election there in his state. gloria borger, many people expect if although we're looking years down the line if governor chris christie were to run for president, his possible opponent would be hillary clinton. how does that shape out so very early on in the process? >> in some early polls you see that chris christie does better than hillary clinton. interesting thing to look at in the polls is the independent voters. and he's popular with independent voters. what he's going to do, as peter was saying with the chairmanship, is he's going to be able to raise money. he's going to be able to separate himself as a can-do governor from those guys in washington who are fighting over the nuclear option, as you were just talking about, and who can't get anything done and look at the republican governors that

we can elect and we can win with. and in doing so, as he travels around the country, there's a lot of money he can raise for himself. and he gets to be seen as an outsider, as opposed to all of the insiders in washington, you know, the popularity of congress is incredibly low. so what he's going to try and do is say look at republican governors, we get stuff done, look at those republicans in the senate who want to run for president, they're not the can-do caucus, we are. so it's a perfect platform for him to run for the presidency. it's a springboard. >> of course, as we were mentioning it's very early on. historically speaking, having covered so many presidential elections, at this stage, how often is the rising star in any party an indicator of who ends up coming out on top? >> well, never.

i'd have to say that. but you know, chris christie is not a newcomer, but he's the latest sort of guy on the hit parade. but you know what happens? we bill you up and we attack you down. and i think we've got a lot of ups and downs to go, but you know, clearly, he's a contender, peter, what do you think? >> as chris christie the front-runner, that is what you're asking? >> is he a contender. >> no, is it an indicator? we're talking about two, three years down the line here, is it in any way an indicator early on, is my question? >> look, i mean i think when people talk about the presidential racing three years away, it's not actually true. the presidential race is happening behind the scenes, it's been happening behind the scenes since obama got elected. look who's driving the conversation in the republican party, rand paul, ted cruz,

chris christie, people that are going to be running for president. >> they're running. >> christie is going to use this platform to really make some connections behind the scenes, so-called invisible primary and build support and teams and lots of the states, collect chips from activists, donors and supporters and use it night of the election in the midterms next year and pivot immediately to 2016, because the presidential race begins in earnest november 2014. primary campaign's going to consume -- 2015. the race is already under way. chris christie is at the top of the heap there not only a fight within the republican party, because chris christie's not among the most conservative in the republican party, but there's this fight inside washington, outside washington republicans. which one can actually get things done for you? and as washington tries to fix itself, governors are going to say, we've done it in our own states and chris christie will lead that charge. >> this is really defining the gop into the next few years.

thanks very much to both of you, gloria borger and peter hamby. >> a perpetual election season, isn't it? you win an election, go for the midte midterms, then the presidential campaign. it's endless there right. >> something just in to us here at cnn. a judge in connecticut setting a $1.2 million bail for michael skakel, the kennedy cousin. it looks like he'll be getting out of prison after 11 years. >> convicted for a 1975 murder of a neighbor, martha moxley, both 15 at the time. last month his conviction set aside and a new trial was ordered. >> a judge set some conditions, though, among them won't be allowed to leave the state without court approval and he's going to have to wear a gps tracking device. his attorney tells "hartford courant" skakel is prepared to post bail today. >> we'll come back in a moment.

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unbelievable story that's been developing over the last couple of hours out of london. police say they are rescued three women believed to have been held captive in a house, at least one of them, up to 30 years. >> it's unbelievable. hearing stories in the u.s., some in germany, as well. the couple suspected of holding these individuals against their will has been arrested.

police from london's human trafficking unit spoke out about the arrests earlier. listen. these are deeply traumatized people and it's essential that we work sensitively to establish the facts in this case. when we had established the facts, we conducted the arrests this morning. we have established all three women were held in this situation for at least 30 years. >> extraordinary. max foster live at scotland yard. this tale really is amazing. one of the women is 69, two unarrest are 67. how did police found out about these women? what do they say how this could have gone on? talking south london. one of most populated cities in the world. >> reporter: a very experienced detective in the matters says the longest he's experienced before of this type of captivity was ten years. this is 30 years.

bear in mind, one of the women was 30 years old. so we don't know how she ended up in this house, apart from the fact police say she has spent her whole life in forced servitude of some kind-we don't know the relationship of the three women but either this youngest lady was a baby when she went in or born there. we still don't quite know this. lots of details we don't know, michael. the two, the man and woman, arrested today. but actually the three women were released last month so they've been putting these pieces together. they're not able to tell us everything. one bit of information we have is that they worked closely with a charity. there's a documentary on in the uk, about forced marriage. one of the women in the house watched this documentary, saw the charity involved, and decided to contact that charity. and that would have been a very, very brave thing to do. but the charity recognized this was a serious case, started gaining trust of that woman and

the other two women over time and convinced them that they should leave the house and the police were ready and waiting outside. it's an extraordinary case. 30 years in this house for one of them, a whole life spent in that house. >> do we have any idea on a possible motive at this stage? i mean if they were held against their will, was it sexual exploitation? any idea at this early stage? are police talking about that? >> reporter: not investigating anything sexual, so that's one thing. they are purely looking at this as slave labor. that's what the detective said to me, in those terms. i said, is it slave labor? he said, yes. so servitude. it's what seems like a suburban street in south london, you know, it's very densely populated city, of course. but this is an area where people live. so that seems extraordinary. i want to put that to him.

heed he said that's often the case, capital city, ordinary street, could be next door. they did experience some freedom. they're allowed to watch the tv and allowed to use the phone. what the charity said was, they would organize particular times of the day when it was safe to speak to these women. presumably that means when the other people were outside, out of the house. there was some freedom but they were obviously psychologically in can't vati cappivation. >> there are more slaves in just the west now than they were back when there was a slave trade and it was legal. a multiple -- >> what's unbelievable, as you mentioned, it happens in a big city and southern london, but at the same time, you hide in plain sight when you have hundreds of thousands walking away. back to dana bash on capitol hill on the nuclear option vote that would reduce the size of

the majority needed to confirm executive nominees. dana bash, vote is happening now? >> reporter: that's right. vote is happening now. this is the key vote, if you look on the screen, it says motion to appeal ruling of the chair. in english, that is that the chair said that effectively said, that they can't have a simple majority vote on this particular judge because the rules require 60 votes to overcome the republican filibuster. in order to change the rules, what the senate majority leader did was appeal that ruling. so if that appeal goes through, then that means that the nuclear option is in fact invoked. what that means is that from here on out, any filibuster that republicans wage or if when democrats or in the minority, as will likely happen at some point in the future time, they will

only need -- majority will only need 51 votes, simple majority to overcome that filibuster. so this is certainly an important moment that will change the way these rules have been for decades, for almost 40 years, really to allow the minority to block legislation, to block nominees, in order -- and do that with the 60-vote threshold. i should also underscore this rule change would apply to executive nominees, so the president's nominees for cabinet positions, agencies and so forth, and the bench, judicial bench, but exclude the supreme court. so that's what's going on right now. and again, it's called the nuclear option for a reason. we are already hearing from norths on both sides of the aisle although this is senator reid says in order to make the senate work better it could make things a lot more tense, as you can imagine that happen, and

more partisan because the tensions that were already frayed are going to feel a lot more intense around here. >> i was going to ask you about that, dana. i can't imagine the mood down there at the moment. a lot of anger on the republican side, is that right? >> there will be anger on the republican side. but you know, you were talking before the break about how everything is political and even in nonelection years it's political. you can be sure that republicans are going to try to use this to their benefit on the campaign trail, making the case that democrats only want to follow the rules that apply to them, change the rules along the way while the game's going on so they can win the game. and their hope, republicans, that is, will not gin up the republican base, but will appeal to the independent voter's sense of fairness. so it's going to be probably, in large part, a tug-of-war over appealing to independent voters'

sense of fairness and appealing to independent voters' sense of things working in washington and get things done. it is a fact that the number of filibusters used by both parties over the past decade has exploded compared to how much it's been used over the past century. >> dana bash, thanks so much. >> we'll get back to that vote ongoing in the senate right now on capitol hill. quick break. [ male announcer ] this is jim, a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto®, jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto®. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner

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there you have senator john mccain, several times in the past had averted this nuclear option, negotiating there with the senate majority leader, reid. in this case it looks as though a deal didn't happen. dana bash is of course still covering this on capitol hill. we'll get to jeffrey toobin in a moment. let's listen to john mccain here. >> the last two weeks i've reached out to them. i spent an hour in harry reid's office. i reached until my arm aches okay. >> reporter: they are saying. >> they're governed by the newer members of the democratic senators who have never been in a minority who are primarily driving this issue and they succeeded and they will pay a very, very heavy price for it. >> reporter: is this an election year issue, do you think?

>> no. i don't think americans understand that very well. but what it will do, it will affect our ability to do business here in the senate. and we will not let it distract from the failure of obama care. >> reporter: senator, some people say that -- >> all right. senator john mccain there. dana bash standing by. very heavy price will be paid. outline for us what that price might be. >> reporter: well, before i tell you that, the nuclear option was just detonated on the senate floor, as we were playing that tape from senator mccain they finalized the vote. it's backwards, counter intuitive the vote 48-52. what that effectively did was say the ruling of the chair, which was that anything -- that the particular nomination needed 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, that that was wrong. so it overcame that ruling and what that does is set precedent

for future nominations, for future judicial nominations, executive branch nominations. what that particular ruling and vote just did was change the rules of the senate. again, what we're talking about here what that nuclear option is, is to prevent the minority effectively from waging a filibuster that democrats in this case or majority can't overcome. threshold was 60 votes. and it is at least in the makeup of the current senate impossible for democrats to overcome that on partisan votes. now it's down to 51 votes, simple majority. we're going to see what happens from here. and we're going to see how quickly the senate majority leader is going to take up some of the nominations they've been complaining republicans have been blocking, namely some of the judicial nominations to the d.c. circuit court which is, as we've been talking about, a very important critical court in this country. >> okay.

so then, it been done. finger's been lifted off the trigger now. it's detonated, as you say. what will that heavy price that senator mccain refers to be? >> reporter: we're going to see. look the senate is arranged in i pretty clever way and even though the power of the filibuster, the power of the minority in what was until a few minutes ago the filibuster, 60-vote threshold was a big one, but there are other tricks senators from up their sleeve. the process, the best way a senator, any single senator, can legislate and can make a political impact is by learning those rules. and ways around the rules and there are lots of ways for members of the senate body to throw things up in the air. i think that's one of the answers. the other answer is in terms of getting along. the reason why we wanted to talk to senator mccain in that particular exchange that he had with reporter is so interesting

is because he was the one about a month ago, maybe a little bit more who got a deal going with the democratic leader to avoid exactly what we just saw. he was able to get some of the president's nominees through to avoid this nuclear option. he said he was trying to reach out to democrats making the argument that his fellow republicans are making, democrats want to do this for political reasons, to make a point, change the subject perhaps from obama care. that's the state that we are in right now. if you have somebody like john mccain who certainly has been up and down with regard to partisanship but in recent months maybe the republican who has wanted to reach out the most to democrats, if he's saying things are going to change, that should tell you something. >> dana bash, stand by. remind our viewers of breaking news here, never before used so-called nuclear option on capitol hill in the senate changing the rules for approving judicial nominees, a move that would strip the minority party, in this case the republican party, of the ability to

filibuster, to block some executive appointments in the senate. jeffrey toobin, senior legal analyst there. how important, how significant, how historic is this, jeffrey? >> this may sound like just a bunch of bureaucratic nonsense, but this is immensely important. this may be as significant to barack obama's legacy as president as obama care, almost. because this will mean his federal judges, ones he appointed, will be able to be confirmed, at least for the following year, and they will serve for decades. including three whose nominations are pending to the d.c. circuit, the second-most important court in the country. so this is an enormously important development that really will change the way the senate works. it will either, depending on your view, make this senate more

efficient and fair, or turn it into a political circus, like the house of representatives. take your choice. >> and this, because here you have a democratic majority, once republicans are in charge of the senate, the same rules will apply to them, right? >> absolutely. absolutely. and that is a point that's been made repeatedly in the debate, republicans saying to democrats, be careful what you wish for, when we have a republican president and republican senate, we will jam through nominations just the way you are jamming through. the democrats are essentially saying, we'll take that risk. we think that it's important that the standard for the senate working is majority, not 60 votes, the way it has become to be in the last few years, and we will take the chance and we will live with the consequences. the senate, in most circumstances supposed to be a vote that operates by majority

rule, not by 3/5, and that's the way it's going to be on nominations henceforth. >> jeffrey, you know, i think as we've said earlier, there's 100 or so judicial vacancies. there's other appoint minutes, too, held at bay, the democrats would say, for political reasons. is this not a good thing that these positions get filled? >> well, certainly, john roberts, chief justice, who is no liberal and no friend of democrats, has said there are judicial emergencies out there. we need judges confirmed. republicans point out that president obama has not even sent nominees to quite a few of these vacancies. so it's not all on the senate. but it is true, that this will presumably make filling vacancies a lot easier and faster and it should be a dramatic change. >> jeffrey toobin, cnn's senior

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continuing to follow breaking news out of washington, the nuclear option, as it's being called, to break the opportunity to filibuster in the senate, to change the number of votes required to a simple majority rather than 60, well, the button's been pushed on that nuclear option. it's going to free up the ability of the administration to fulfill its appointments to vacancies but it's angered republicans. >> right. the arizona senator, john mccain, several times in the past managed to negotiate dpreemt to avoid the nuclear option, in this case it did not work. let's listen to what he had to say. >> i know it puts a chill on the entire united states senate. it puts a chill on things like the disabilities treaty which we

had a hearing on this morning. it puts a chill on everything that requires bipartisan. >> you're not reaping out to democrats that you worked with -- >> i talked to them for the last two weeks i talked to them. i spent an hour in harry reid's office. come on, i've reached until my arm aches. okay? >> well, is this the end of what was left of bipartisanship in the senate on capitol hill? dana bash has been covering this, of course, and the breaking news, nuclear option invoked on the floor of the senate. dana, what does this mean? >> reporter: we're going to see. we'll see how it goes. in the short term, it means the president's going to get his judges at least patricia millet the person they used to get the process going, she's a nominee for the d.c. circuit which as we've been talking about maybe the second highest court in the land, very, very important in the land. but also the one that

republicans were trying to keep the vacancies open on because for lots of reasons but primarily it's evenly split right now and they didn't want to tip the balance towards democrats. they're arguing the workload isn't necessary. in the short term, that's what it means, the president's going to get one of his judges, probably a few more, in the near future. long term to the point that john mccain was making about the fact that it's going to put a chilling effect on everything around here it certainly could. there's no question about it. it was a partisan place but there were areas of bipartisan, treaties, a lot very much so on most issues of national security. you see democrats and republicans coming together. we'll see if that changes. what is interesting, in going back and looking at the history of filibusters and how many were used, last time a rule was changed on a threshold look for

filibuster, lowered from 60 to 51, it was 1975, and before that and was 67. about that time people started using filibusters more. we didn't cover the senate back then, but perhaps it was because the threshold was so high to overcome a filibuster, perhaps people on both sides of the aisle worked harder to get bipartisan legislation, which doesn't happen a lot around here. we're not talking about legislation, we're talking about nominees, which is a different thing. but in terms of the tone and the atmospherics here in the senate, it could be part of the reason why. i should make the point, not to far to get into the weeds of the story, just one of the reasons why republicans, now in the minority, argue that they waged so many filibusters is because harry reid, the democratic leader, is able to do some parliamentary maneuvers in order to make it hard for them to

offer basic amendments. so that is, as i said, the blame goes on both sides, a lot of blame to go around, not just from the past, because the shoe's always on the other foot, but in terms of how things work right now. >> dana bash on capitol hill, following things for us. we'll take a short break and "around the world." we'll be back with more.

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welcome back. afghan tribal leaders debating a plan to keep some u.s. troops in their country for another decade, after combat ends next

year. perhaps even longer than that. president obama offering something to help seal the deal. in a all right to the afghan president hamid karzai, he promises u.s. forces will, quote, continue to make every effort to respect the sanctity and dignity of afghans in their homes and their daily life, just as we do for our own citizens. what's missing in that line? an apology for the deaths of afghan civilians, that's something that karzai would have liked, he's not getting it. parts of the plan could be a hard sell for the afghan people in general. here's aleash labith. >> reporter: the deal could leave thousands of troops in afghanistan for years to come. >> there is no combat role for the united states forces and the bilateral security agreement is an effort to for afghans and u.s. military forces exactly

what the rules are with respect to that ongoing relationship. >> reporter: until this council of tribal leaders, approves it, it's far from a done deal. president karzai did hail the agreement while taking a jab at the u.s. >> translator: my trust with america is not good. i don't trust them, and they don't trust me. >> reporter: leaving the question of whether the afghan people will buy in an open one. in a letter to the afghan people, president obama promised u.s. troops won't enter afghan homes without urgent risk to life and limb of u.s. nationals. past raids have killed innocent afghans and fueled anger among the on population. karzai says u.s. should acknowledge the past mistakes. obama notes afghan concerned about the citizen safety and privacy and pledges to ensure afghan homes and laws are respected but offer no apology for civilian deaths. for the u.s., it's a delicate balance between showing remorse

and defending u.s. actions in the 12--year-old war a tightrope act. >> we have of course throughout the war indicated regret when instances of civilian casualties but they understand the great sacrifices americans have made on behalf of their security. >> elise is with us to talk more about this, as all things afghan, it's complicated even if the meeting of elders signs off on the deal. president karzai might not sign it until after the election in april, when he won't be president anymore. talk about trust, i don't trust them, they don't trust me, the fact is he needs the u.s., u.s. dollars. he's got a military that can't pay for itself without billions of dollars going down the line and other things, too. that's the reality, isn't it? >> reporter: that's right, michael. this is president karzai over the years with the united states that frustrated united states officials that he knows that he needs them but always goes out

and says really derogatory comments, throwing everything up in the air. he did promise to sign this agreement once the lawyer approves it. and now, by waiting until april, this could cast doubt on the agreement because what if his successor doesn't like parts of it? the u.s. said it would need a year to start withdrawing u.s. troops. other countries that want to keep troops in afghanistan are waiting for this agreement to be signed. so it certainly casts a lot of uncertainty on the future of the u.s. and international presence after 2014. >> and just briefly, of course, the taliban waiting and watching to see what their fate might be down the line. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. and although there have been some games, one of the reasons that the u.s. wants to keep troops in there is because certainly although the combat role they say is over, the war against the taliban, the war against insurgents is not over. the after gghan forces, trained

and to speed, far from prime time of leading the effort and that's why the u.s. wanted to keep some troops in and may not be able to. >> and keep paying the bills as well. thanks so much. that will do it for "around the world." thanks for your company today. i'm michael holms. hala gorani headed to her next program. "cnn newsroom" with wolf blitzer after this. i'm only in my 60's.

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for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. brecking news, senate democrats vote to approve the nuclear option, a move that would make the partisan divide on capitol hill eeven worse. also right now -- a massive cargo plane getting ready to take off from an extremely short runway at a kansas airport where it was never supposed to be in the first place. woel sh we'll show you t