a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and from all around the world. i'm rosemary church. you're watching "cnn newsroom." ahead this hour, donald trump surprises troops with an unannounced trip to iraq. but couldn't help but mixing politics into what are normally nonpartisan visits with the u.s. military. plus, wall street whiplash. after taking a beating on christmas eve, u.s. stocks rebound with their biggest point gain in history. and tragedy near the border calls for an investigation after a second migrant child dies in u.s. custody.

u.s. president donald trump is onboard air force one at this hour, after doing something he has never done before. for the first time in his presidency, mr. trump visited a war zone. for some three hours, the commander in chief was on the ground in iraq. there, he visited troops and military leaders and defended pulling out of syria, saying the u.s. can't continue to be the world's policeman. and he said he came to share the country's gratitude for, among other things, everything the troops do to keep america safe, strong and free. >> the other reason i'm here today is to personally thank you and every service member throughout this region for the near-elimination of the isis territorial caliphate in iraq and in syria. two years ago, when i became

president, there were a very dominant group. they were very dominant. today, they're not so dominant anymore. >> joining me now is john kirby, who served as state and defense department spokesman during the obama administration. thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure. glad to be here. >> this is president trump's first visit to a war zone since being elected. why is a visit like this so critical for troop morale at this time? >> it's always critical for morale during the holidays. it's a tough time to be in the service and separated from your families. it's important for the families to see the commander in chief and the first lady understands the sacrifices that they're all making, all military family members. it's also a great opportunity for the commander in chief to learn more about the fight, to show the troops he actually supports the mission they're on, that he wants to get it right, that he's looking to the future

and that he's taking the time to really understand from a tactical perspective. not just for knorr moraore mora tactical perspective what they're doing through. >> president trump intends to pull out troops in syria and in afghanistan. in iraq, he emphasized there were no plans to pull troops out from there, but iraq could be used as a base to have a presence in syria. what's your reaction to his military strategy? >> there's a couple of thoughts. i believe his decision to uniformly extract forces from syria is a reckless mistake. it's not keeping in our national security interests. we have isis on the run in syria. now is the time to press that advantage. there's not many of them there, although there are some and they don't have as much territory as they had. now is the time to carry that all the way through. i think it's a terrible mistake.

i think it's important to remember iraq's role in this counterisis fight since the beginning. if you go back to 2014 and 2015, it was from iraq that we started to launch strikes into syria. what he's proposing isn't new. we've done it before. it will be more difficult now and probably less effective now because the isis targets inside syria are not as overt. there's no infrastructure to hit anymore. they've been reduced in size and scope, so they're almost under the radar, if you will. they have gone to ground. targets are harder to hit. they're more dynamic. they need more time-sensitive intelligence that you're not going to get because you won't have the boots on the ground to see what's going on and provide that dynamic and intelligence that you need. >> right. you mentioned isis. the president also apparently said this about isis. we have knocked them out. we have knocked them silly. is that true?

>> it's true to a point. he gets credit for accelerating the fight over isis the last two years. he has loosened up some of the constraints that our military commanders were under. i think he deserves some credit for that. but he's overstating the case in the extreme. isis is not destroyed in area. his special enjoy said that two weeks ago, as did jim mattis who resigned in protest over this decision. let's look at iraq where he was today. iraqi special forces are hitting one to two targets on isis every week now. and the new prime minister doesn't agree with his predecessor that isis has been defeated and is concerned about the ability to resurge in iraq. the fight is very much real and in the iraqis' face. they were hoping to hear from the president how he's going to help them complete the task there. and he didn't have a chance. he, trump, didn't have a chance to meet with the new iraqi prime

minister, which i think was a missed opportunity. >> that was interesting, indeed. while the president was visiting the troops, he raised political issues and he signed red make america great again hats. you called this inappropriate. why is that? >> it's absolutely inappropriate. the military serves the people of the united states and the constitution. not a party, not a president. he's the commander in chief and they obey his orders. but it's an apolitical body. i said back in november, if he couldn't keep from making a visit to the troops political, he shouldn't go. and i'm sorry to see that happen today. i guess i'm not all that surprised, given his past performance when he's in front of a military audience. he tends to politicize thing. but i'm very disappointed that it happened today. frankly, it just puts the military in a very difficult position. they want to support their commander in chief. they're glad he came. they're excited about it. but they don't want to be dragged into politics here at

home. and i don't think mr. trump understands it. i think he assumes that their obedience and loyalty is about political support for policies and administration. that's absolutely not the case. >> retired rear admiral john kirby. thanks for joining us. >> you bet. a huge rally on wall street is carrying over to tokyo. but not all of the markets are following suit. japan's nikkei with a surge up 4%. australia's asx is almost two points higher. blue chips soared more than 1,000 points or 5%. tech stocks led the way to a nearly 6% gain for the nasdaq. but as alison kosik reports, investors still have major concerns. >> reporter: hey, there. investors dip their toes back in the water after wall street had

its worst christmas eve trading ever. today's trading was volatile, with the dow moving between gains and losses before settling on a positive finish. still, the dow has a long way to go before it's back to its peak in october. since then, the dow has lost thousands of points. and the same worries remain. the federal reserve's pace of interest rate hikes is more aggressive than what wall street is hoping for. higher interest rates can make borrowing more expensive and eat into corporate profits. the unresolved trade situation between the u.s. and china is lingering and is rimamping up concerns that it can cause uncertainty. economic growth is a concern, as well. political ris k is a part of th playbook on wall street. it's now driving the trade. tweets and statements attacking jay powell have rattled the markets as has the move by steve

mnuch mnuchin, to call ceos of banks to ask about liquidity. that is seen as rod cadical and undermine confidence, as seen on the trading day christmas eve. alison kosik, new york. joining me now, ryan patel. great to have you with us. after the markets' worst christmas eve in history, suddenly a record rebound wednesday, with the dow soaring more than 1,000 points as we reported. what do you think is behind the impressive comeback? >> well, santa claus showed up with the presidents this year and wall street loved it. that whole day to cool down and the world is not ending piece. you know, truthfully, this is not a trend. what you and i talked about on

christmas eve, is still there. people are still concerned. it's a little overboard of what they saw in the market. today was a day that you mentioned earlier, nobody talking about the federal reserve. nobody was tweeting at the market. it was just today. tech stocks were leading the way. the s&p 500, all but one stock was up, by a lot today. so, i mean, it was not just a few stocks. it was through the whole market. and i think, to have a day like this and a day like christmas eve, is going to tell you what's going to happen in 2019. we're going to be on a rollercoaster ride. >> what you're saying there, is the president stays quiet, the market does well. if we can keep that going, things should look good. is that what you're telling us? >> well, like i said, the concern had been, you know, just let the markets play out and not to kind of get involved in it. i think the bank ceo said the same thing. they don't want phone calls from the administration. let it be.

and obviously, the president and the administration has a lot of work to do. they can't be quiet going to the markets. they have to do their part to make sure the u.s. trade policy is there, too. >> i know it's tough. i want you to get out your crystal ball. there were rumors about a possible recession in 2019. you see a rebound, you get excited. you look at your 104401(k) and think everything will be fine. how possible is a recession in the next 12 months? >> if you weren't going to look at it tuesday, don't look at it today. stop looking at it. you know, i think people are -- analysts and, i agree, later 2019, 2020, that's kind of where people looking at the recession. the numbers, like i said, in the first quarter, second quarter, strong profits earnings are going to come out. they'll be fine. what is going to push this to the other side is the cost of profits decreasing. how is that going to, with rising wages -- the retail this

month, it was really great, right right? one of the top in 16, 17 years. higher wages, and people were spending money. when that changes over the next quarter, when we get into this aspect of trade wars and things becoming more expensive, the consumers will be passed on to it. >> we'll see if a deal can be done with china, that might change everything. ryan patel, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. the u.s. government shutdown is also playing into the market uncertainty. the partial shutdown is now into its sixth day. and there are no signs that either the president or democrats in congress are willing to budge on the $5 billion mr. trump wants for his border wall. >> how long do you think the shutdown will last, mr. president? >> whatever it takes. i mean, we're going to have a wall. we're going to have safety. we need safety for our country. >> joining me now from brussels,

"new york times" chief diplomatic correspondent, stevensteven irlanger. thanks for being with us. >> thanks, rosemary. >> president trump is giving every indication he will keep the shutdown until he gets his border wall. but the democrats say he is not going to get that wall. if neither side blinks, the government will be shut down for some time. what are the ramifications of a long-term shutdown and who gets the blame? >> well, in the end, the people who get hurt the most are government employees who don't get paid tons of money. this does not include the military that mr. trump went off to see, finally, in one of his more presidential acts of the entire month. i think, you know, there's a blame game that always goes on. the democrats are really waiting for january when they will take vol control of the house.

they don't want to give in to the white house before then. mr. trump originally said he would be happy to take the blame for the shutdown to get his fence, wall, whatever the hell it is. and the democrats are saying, fine. it's your fault. now, mr. trump is saying, it's not my fault. it's your fault. this is american politics at the end of 2018. i suspect it will continue early next year, as well. >> yeah. it looks that way. of course, president trump is now trying to pit democrat leaders, chuck schumer and nancy pelosi against each other. let's take a listen. >> here's a problem here. we have a problem with the democrats because nancy pelosi is calling the shots, not chuck. and chuck wants to have this done. i really believe that. he wants to have this done. but she's calling the shots. >> pelosi's calling the shots. how much traction will comments

like that, from the president, likely have enforcing the democr democrats' hand on this issue of a shutdown over a border wall? >> well, one of the things one always tries to do, and trump does this, too, is divide the opposition. he's good as trying to blame individuals for policy issues. the big question is, you know, first we were going to have a wall that mexico was going to pay for. apparently mexico is not going to pay for it. now, he wants the american taxpayer to pay for it. there is, you know -- the border is not unguarded. let's be honest. he sent troops down there before the midterm elections, which was one of the reasons mattis resigns. i think, you know, this is going to go on. this is just politics. at some point, congress is going to throw a little bit of money at him, and it will be over. and trump will declare it, as he

always does, the most important victory since eisenhower became head of allied supreme forces. >> president trump traveled to iraq on wednesday, his first war zone trip since taking office. this is what he had to say in defense of his decision to withdraw troops from syria. >> if they want us to do the fighting, they also have to pay a price. and sometimes that's also a monetary price. so, we're not the suckers of the world. we're no longer the suckers, folks. and people aren't looking at us as suckers. i love you, folks. you're nodding your head. >> will his critics come around to his way of thinking as he has suggested? >> well, i mean, who's -- we invaded iraq. we get, you know, a certain

amount of revenue from being in iraq. you know how many troops are in iraq and syria? about 7,000. there's 1.8 million americans who work for the military. 1.8 million. we're talking about 7,000. so, i don't think money is the big issue here. it's more trump playing politics and saying that, you know, as he promised in his campaign, we're not going to be the world's policemen. but as you know, his top advisers urged him not to do this, not to pull out of syria. now, he's saying he's going to do it more gradually. we'll see what happens. >> we shall. thanks for joining us. coming up, a new mission for border patrol agents after the death of two young children in u.s. custody. and following word of a u.s. troop withdraw, a renewed look

at the mission in afghanistan. we're back in just a moment. nee rise from ruin. in southern california, a small family business becomes a beacon of hope. in seattle, people with disabilities create success and shatter barriers. day in, day out, people prove that when we work as one, we have the power to create better futures for us all. and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everything's pretty much done. it's so much easier so now, we're ready, bring on t. shipstation. the number one ch of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get two months free.

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welcome back, everyone. the head of homeland security says it is heartbreaking that a second migrant child died while

in u.s. custody. and in response to that tragic death, kirstjen nielsen says all children have gone through medical screenings. an autopsy will determine the cause of death of the 8-year-old boy from guatemala who died on wednesday. nick valencia has our report. >> reporter: in a matter of three weeks, it happened again. 8-year-old guatemalan migrant philipfil filipe gomez was the second child in a month to die in border protection. the child died 14 hours after a cdp agent noticed he was sick. alonzo gomez was picked up on december 18th in el paso, texas. he and his father were shuffled between facilities, one of which was overcrowded. on christmas eve morning, alonzo gomez was taken to the hospital

after showing possible flu symptoms. he was diagnosed with the common cold and given tylenol. over an hour later, his fever was 103 degrees. he was released from e.r. and prescribed antibiotic. by 10:00 p.m., he was so lethargic and nauseous, he was taken back to the hospital. he was pronounced dead shortly before midnight. last week, kirstjen nielsen, faced blistering questions following the death of jakeli a jakelinca. >> how many children have died in custody since you took office? >> i will get back on you on that figure. we have saved 402 migrants.

>> how many have died? >> i understand your question. >> reporter: the scrutiny surrounding the deaths of two children is forcing changing at cdp, who is beefing up screenings with a focus on children under 10 years old. others question the effectiveness of the wall of stopping migrants from crossing the border. i want to point out that felipe and his father were in tell paso sector where a wall already exists. and this tragedy should be a wake-up to those folks who believe the mythology about walls. they just don't work. u.s. immigration agents will be dropping off 500 migrants at various shelters in el paso, texas. but this time, unlike earlier in the week, the process is expected to be orderly and it was planned in advance.

an organization has 11 different sites to offer shelter, food and medicine. on sunday and monday, agents dropped off hundreds of migrants at a bus station. police say the people were simply left there with no one to help them until volunteers and churches stepped in. a surprise visit for the first time in his presidency. president trump visits a war zone, where he defends his middle east policy. his trip to iraq, just ahead. brighthouse financial rom allow you to take advantage of growth opportunities with a level of protection in down markets. so you can be less concerned about your retirement savings. talk with your advisor about shield℠ annuities from brighthouse financial, established by metlife.

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♪ there's no place likargh!e ♪ i'm trying... ♪ yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪ welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. u.s. president donald trump and

the first lady are on their way back to washington after visiting troops in iraq. it's the first time mr. trump visited a war zone during his presidency and it comes amid a tumultuous time back home. >> great job. >> reporter: in a surprise holiday season visit, president trump and first lady melania trump landed in iraq to visit with troopsatio s stationed at d air base, west of baghdad. leaving the white house under the cover of darkness christmas day, the trip marks trump's first visit to a war zone as president. and it comes less than a week after trump ordered a complete withdraw of u.s. troops from syria and partial drawdown from afghanistan. in iraq, the president defended his decision to leave syria, a call he made without consulting military advisers earlier this month. >> i think a lot of people will come around to my way of

thinking. it's time for us to start using our head. >> reporter: as trump seeks to boost morale among soldiers and commander s stationed abroad, uncertainty remains about the u.s. strategy in the middle east, to combat the terror group isis. two years after he falsely claimed that president truobamas responsible for isis' rise -- >> isis is honoring president obama. he is the founder of isis. he's the founder of isis. >> reporter: -- trump is facing criticism that he has abandoned allies in the region, who are fighting to crush the terror group, even as he insists they have been defeated. telling reporters -- >> we knocked them out. we knocked them silly. today, they're not so dominant anymore. >> reporter: all of this unfolding amid problems on the home front, including a shutdown that the president isn't backing down from. trump telling reporters in iraq,

the border wall must be funded. while 800,000 federal workers spend the holidays in uncertainty due to the shutdown, the president complained he was all alone in the white house, after he canceled plans to travel to florida for christmas. trump's sour mood was fueled by steep losses on wall street this month, caused by his own trade war and his sharp criticism of federal reserve chairman, jerome powell. >> how about the fed chair? >> we'll see. they're raising interest rates too fast. that's my opinion. >> reporter: a source familiar with the matter says trump has blamed steve mnuchin for recommending powell for the job and his failure to calm markets. and despite praise of the secretary yesterday -- >> yes, i do. very talented. very smart person. >> reporter: mnuchin is still under the gun and his job may be in serious jeopardy, that source says. joining me now from los

angeles, cnn senior political analyst and senior editor at "the atlantic," ron bernstein. good to have you with us. >> good evening. >> president trump told democratic leaders, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer, he would take responsibility for the shutdown over the border wall. now, he is trying to shift the blame on the democrats. who will blink first? who will ultimately get the blame and what damage will be done in the meantime? >> well, first of all, the history of the shutdown is fascinating because it's easy to forget that last year, there was a deal on the table for the president, in which he would have received his full funding that he's requesting for the border wall, in exchange for legal protections for the so-called dreamers, the young people brought to the country illegally by their parents. in a deal seemed to be on track until the hard-liners on immigration in the white house

demanded that democrats also agree to the largest cuts in legal immigration since the 1920s and it all fell apart. here we are now, with the president demanding from democrats the money for the wall, without anything on the other side. the longer-term history of this, is twice in 2016 and 2013, the senate passed legislation, that included substantial increases in border security, as part of a comprehensive package, that included a pathway to citizenship for roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country presently. again, each time republicans said no. given that history, i think it is very unlikely the democrats are going to agree to this border wall without getting some of the change that they want to see, in the immigration system, particularly given that there has never been a majority in public opinion for building a wall. last cnn poll, only 38% of the

country supported building the wall. and that dropped to 33%, if mexico was not going to pay for it, which was the condition we're in. >> right. we'll just have to see how long the shutdown losts. so, president trump made a surprise visit to iraq wednesday. in is what he had to say in reply to criticism, from senator lindsey graham and others about the president's plan to pull u.s. troops out of syria. let's take a listen. >> i think that a lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking. it's time for us to start using our head. >> okay. with every military expert advising against the withdraw of u.s. troops from syria, is it even possible that everyone will suddenly agree with mr. trump's strategy here in syria? >> probably not, obviously. in many ways, the process of this decision, it was more alarming than the -- at least as alarming as the outcome of the decision. there is a legitimate debate about how long american forces

need to be in syria on this mission. but i think there's no debate, really, from all points on the political spectrum, that this was a process in which, not only the advice of short-circuited, but the input of the military was pretempted. and it's the volatility that the president has brought into all aspects of policymaking. doing this so unilaterally, within his own government, and at the same time he's precipitated the other circles of instability around the government shutdown and what has been happening with the turmoil in financial markets. so, i think the process here was at least as alarming as the conclusion. >> right. and you mentioned the markets. of course, after they experienced the worse christmas eve in history, u.s. stocks soared wednesday, to their best day of the year. the dow breaking a record,

adding more than 1,000 points. and this happened while president trump was on his way to iraq, silent and not tweeting. how big a role did politics play in this market rebound, do you think? >> i don't think this is the end of the gyration of the market. i don't think anyone would expect this is the last word and we are back to clear sailing. i mean, it has been striking to see how many financial analysts and strategists and traders in the last month have said something to the verdict -- to the version of, you know, in the past we treated the president's twitter tirades and his press conference remarks and his attacks on the fed as background noise among policies we like. and now, we see there's a consequence to them. and that is the market may be the most powerful force that we have seen so far that has the capacity to force -- pressure him to temper his behavior. but i don't think anyone expects it will be powerful enough, particularly because congressional republicans have

been continuing -- since the election, to a striking extent, after a midterm election where hay lo they lost 40 seats in the house, the most since 2010, no effort behalf of the president, the way he is behaving. grumbling about mattis, syria. but a party-wide reluctance to face the implications of that decision, for the way the president is operating. as long as that is the case, i think the markets will have to brace themselves for more of what they've seen, in terms of the disruptive behavior of president trump. >> ron brownstein, great to get your analysis. they've been a presence in afghanistan for 17 years. days before word of a partial withdrawal, u.s. troops discuss their mission. we're back in a moment with that. the new sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now during our lowest prices of the season. it senses your movement, and automatically

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welcome back, everyone. well, donald trump returns from iraq to a washington that's

about to change dramatically one week from now. democrats will retake control of the house of representatives. armed with enforcement powers to investigate every aspect of the trump presidency and his business empire. here's cnn's randi kaye. >> reporter: is the trump organization mixed up in money laundering? that's what some members of congress want to find out. deutsche bank has a history of illegally laundering russian money and a relationship with the trump organization. >> they paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines to the state of new york because they were laundering russian money. and this apparently was the one bank that was willing to do business with the trump organization. now, is that a coincidence? >> here he comes. >> reporter: there's also the michael cohen problem. the trump organization's long-time lawyer pleaded guilty in august, to eight counts, including campaign finance violations, tied to his work for

trump, which cohen says included payments designed to silence women who claimed they had affairs with trump, which trump has denied. >> he directed me to make the payments. he directed me to become involved in these matters. >> reporter: voters were kept in the dark as they headed to the polls. cohen admitted in court filings at the coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office, he kept information that would have harmed trump from being made public during the 2016 election cycle. and what about that proposed trump tower in moscow? cohen said talks about the moscow project ended in january 2016, before the iowa caucuses. turns out, that was a lie. according to rudy giuliani, the talks continued into november, the month of the election. in court, cohen admitted he made his false statements consistent with individual one's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual one. just who is individual one? donald trump.

all of this matters because if it's true it could prove trump was seeking business with russia, while moscow was secretly working to get him elected. and speaking of hotels, attorneys general for maryland and d.c., have filed a lawsuit and subpoenaed financial records from the trump organization and the hotel in d.c. >> this is the most coveted piece of real estate in washington, d.c., the best location. >> reporter: the hotel plays host to foreign officials and leaders from around the world. the lawsuit suggests the president breached the clause that prohibited the president from accepting payment from foreign powers while in office. all said, five committees in congress now poised to probe the trump organization on everything that trump's touched, including his yet-to-be released tax

returns. randi kaye, cnn, new york. the daughters of a new york podiatrist say their father diagnosed donald trump with bone spurs in 1968 as a favor to trump's father, fred. now, according to "the new york times," the diagnosis helped the 22-year-old trump avoid serving in the vietnam war. he had received four deferments to finish his education. one of the women says what her father got was access to his landlord, fred trump. she goes on to say, if there was anything wrong in the building, my dad would call and trump would take care of it immediately. that was the small favor that he got. no comment from the white house yet. well, 17 years in, u.s. soldiers remain clear on what their mission is in america's longest-running war. the u.s. has about 14,000 troops in afghanistan. last week, a defense official

said the military has been ordered to withdraw about half of them. kate baldwin traveled to afghanistan to speak with the troops and the new top commander of u.s. and coalition forces there. >> we truly believe we're here defending the homeland, by preventing safe haven for terrorists here in this region. >> the training we get, the mission we're on, i feel like i'm doing something for my country. >> reporter: two different soldiers, two different stories. lieutenant colonel keith benedi benedict, he joined the military a month before 9/11. >> i went to iraq in 2006-2007. and haiti in 2010. three times to afghanistan. >> reporter: private brendan bledsoe was 3 years old when the 9/11 attacks happened. now, on his first deployment. >> as long as i have a good head on my shoulders and stay on my task, i'll be fine. >> reporter: these soldiers say

they know what their mission is. now, 17 years in, what about the overall mission today? i asked scott miller, the new top commander of u.s. and coalition forces in afghanistan. you've been in command for a few months now. we've seen other top military officials offer their assessment that things here are, essentially, at a stalemate. i want to know your assessment of where things are right now. >> this fight will go to a political settlement. these are two -- these are two sides that are fighting against one another, which neither one will achieve a military victory at this stage. i'd like -- i like how the afghan national security forces are performing. >> reporter: 17 years on, why is the united states still here? >> this is ultimately about national interests, not just for the united states, but vital national interests. 9/11, terrorist groups came from here. and today, there's other terrorist groups that could

affect external to afghanistan and the homeland. >> reporter: our sitdown came after general miller briefed john bass and senator lindsey graham, on a trip to visit the troops. ambassador, the political solution is the reality at the end. how do you get there? >> we have an opportunity today that we didn't have 6 or 12 months ago, to see if it's really possible to achieve that political settlement that general miller indicated is the only way this conflict ends. we don't know if we're going to be successful. i think what we have to see is whether the taliban is interested in responding to the deep desire of the afghan people for peace. >> reporter: when you look over the 17 years, the troop levels, over 100,000 at one point, down to just over 10,000 now, do you have enough? can you be successful with the

mission with less troops? >> we have the resources we need. this is an afghan fight. resolute support provides support. we enable them when able. but make no mistake, the afghans are in the lead in this fight. you can see that through the casualty figures. it's their fight now. >> reporter: you mentioned 9/11. you were one of the first troops into it after 9/11. do you want to be the commander when it ends in afghanistan? >> when i leave here and i tell the afghan people, it would be the last time as a soldier. i want to leave a country that's peaceful and unified. that's a tall order. that would be my hope. >> reporter: you're confident you can accomplish that? >> we'll keep working at it. we'll keep supporting the political process p. we'll keep supporting the political forces, all designed to support the political process. i see some pathways of hope. >> reporter: until then, it's

another holiday season with u.s. troops stationed in afghanistan. another holiday 14,000 service members are spending away from their families, like major isiah thom thomasson, a father of two with twins on the way. what's it like being away for another holiday? >> it's tough. like i said, now with kids, you know, christmas is more important to them so it becomes more important to me. missing their faces, you know, facetime helps a lot. but it's -- you can't make up for it. >> reporter: how many christmases have you been away from your family? >> oh, i believe five. >> reporter: you can't even count them anymore? >> no. it's past counting. >> kate baldwin reporting from afghanistan. next here on cnn newsroom, the haircut that has led to cries of racial bias. a school district is standing behind a young wrestler forced

to cut off his dred locs before a match. back with that in a moment. who doesn't love a deal? i do. check out the united explorer card. savin' on this! savin' on this! savin' in here. rewarded! learn more at the explorer card dot com.

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welcome back, everyone. a controversy is growing in new jersey where a 16 year-old wrestler was forced to cut his dread lox or forfeit his match.

the boy is african american and the referee who made him cut the hair is accused of racial bias. now the boys school district says it won't send sports teams to any events with that referee officiating. we have the latest. >> reporter: it's the haircut sparking out rage. and investigation. into the white referee who insisted on it. the civil rights division of the new jersey attorney general office and the state athletic association looking into whether race played a role in to the decision to offer 16 year-old varsity wrestler johnson a stark choice. cut off his dreads or forfeit the match the the state governor tweeting no student should have to needlessly choose between his or her identity and playing sports. his parents in a statement say their son was visibly shaken by the incident. they also say the ref was late to the match.

he had no issue with their sons hair when he did arrive. and only once their son was on the matt, did he threatening disqualification. the parents say the referee said his hair wasn't in its natural state. referring to the dread locks as braids. the rules indicate a wrestler hair cannot fall below the top of the shirt collar in the back below the ear lobe on the side or eyebrows. for longer hair it has to be braided or hide it beneath a hair cover attached to his ear guards. none of when the referee allowed say the parents despite multiple pleas from the athlete, coach and trainer. the association says the referee will not be assigned to moderate matches pending investigation. it's executive director adding as an african american and parent as well as a former educator, coach, official and athlete, i clearly understand the issues at play and probably better than most. i asked that everyone respect

the investigation process. related to all parties involved. it's worth pointing out that young wrestler went onto win the match. congratulations to him. finally, an american man just made history in the antarctic. the first to complete a trek across the continent alone. he ended the trip with incredible effort. covering 77 miles. in 32 hours. he says the last stretch was a challenge but also some of the best moments of his life. you are watching cnn "newsroom." i'll be back with another hour of live news right after this.

hello, welcome to the viewers in the united states and around the world. you are watching cnn "newsroom." ahead this hour, donald trump surprises u.s. troops with an unannounced visit to iraq. it's his first trip to a combat zone since becoming president. plus wall street roars back setting a new record for single day stock gains. the plenty of market uncertainty remains. another border tragedy for the second time in matter of weeks, a migrant child dies in u.s. custody.