>> joe biden confirms the u.s. troop pullout from afghanistan starting may 1, to be completed by september 11 at latest, the 2010 anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack that led to the start of the war. bernie made off-- madoff dies in prison at the age of 82. the man whose name came to mean ponzi scheme was serving time for swindling thousands of people out of millions of dollars. and the latest in france on the covid pandemic.

297 people have lost their lives over the past 24 hours. there were 43,500 new cases and 6000 people are in the icu with covid-19. thank you for being with us. joe biden has been outlining the timetable for the pullout of u.s. troops from afghanistan. he has confirmed that may 1 will signal the start of the process, which he says will be completed by the anniversary of the 2001 terror attack's, september 11. he said that the mission is complete. he says the reasons for staying are increasingly unclear, and the news is being digested in washington and in kabul. we have analysis of president biden's words. the mission accomplished, he says, includes killing some of bin laden and stemming to terror

attack for the others say this has not been fully accomplished at all. the taliban is said to be considering their next move because they considering the troop withdrawal on may 1, rather than the other way around, as biden has announced it will be. biden had words of warning to the taliban not to exploit the timing between the start of the pullout and the conclusion. pres. biden: we went to afghanistan because of an horrific attack that happened 20 years ago. that cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021. rather than return to war with the taliban, we have to focus on the challenges in front of us. we have to track industry terrorist networks and operations that spread far beyond afghanistan since 9/11. we have to shore up american competitiveness to meet stiff competition we are facing from an increasingly assertive china. >> president joe biden on the

challenges going forward, but also acknowledging why the u.s. has been in afghanistan for the past 20 years. our international affairs commentator was watching joe biden's speech. in terms of what biden is saying, this is very different from what was agreed in doha between the trump administration and the taliban. douglas: he has moved the timeline back a few months here. it is not going to start may 1, the original timeline, as negotiated by trump was may 1. that was the ultimatum, and that is what the taliban is issuing a warning overcome it saying that they are sticking to may 1, that if you are not off by may 1, all bets are off. they could launch a spring offensive. the fact that nato troops are pulling out of afghanistan, they could be pulling out amidst crossfire from the taliban. hence the warning from joe biden, we will do everything to

defend ourselves and our partners if you attack us as we are trying to withdraw. the main take away here -- we heard part of it in the comments, mark -- this since that joe biden's view, the u.s. needs to fight the battles of the next 20 years, not of the last 20 years, that the world has shifted, that u.s. interests have shifted. in a sense, america has shifted in his attention and its priorities. a lot of americans have drifted away from the hard focus on terrorism that we saw compulsively and perhaps rightfully so, you might argue, after 9/11. those threats, as he said, are more diffuse now. the world has become a much more complex, perhaps more dangerous place, with threats in many regions. joe biden has his hands full right now, both geopolitically, on the map -- rising china. we talk about what is going to happen between china and taiwan and the south china sea.

that is a new nexus of american tension. russia -- we have been talking in the past days and weeks about the new activity in ukraine, crimea. that is a focus of his attention as well. climate change is a focus of his it attention. no minor matter of rebuilding america, building back better, including the trillions of dollars of infrastructure plan he is trying to push through, social and racial equality for the this is no small matter. that would be enough to keep presidents busy for 8 years, let alone four. he is trying to find a plausible way of saying, not that afghanistan isn't important, but we have bigger priorities now, and some of goals were met. in might sound cynical to people who say what about wiping out corruption, what about eradicating drugs, what about education for girls. none of that was met, and it is true. he is not saying it iis the

ideal mission. if you were to wait for a perfect solution, he would be waiting for forever. he is cutting his losses, so to speak. mark: let's go to our next guest from the wilson center. tank for being with us. --thanks for being with us. joe biden cutting his losses, would you agree with that statement? >> yeah, absolutely. i think that this administration rightly recognize that there's not much more that the u.s. can do. if the trump administration recognized that the war could not be won militarily in afghanistan, and now there is a condition that when it comes to trying to end the war diplomatically, negotiations is the way to go. that effort is not advanced by keeping troops on the ground, because the taliban has insisted that the may 1 deadline needs to be obeyed, and that the taliban has said it is not going to want

to do anything, including negotiate an agreement with the afghan government, so long as there are any u.s. troops on the ground. biden has said that the u.s. is not going to abandon afghanistan, even though it is pulling troops. he put an emphasis on the fact that financial aid will continue, diplomatic efforts will continue to advance peace process w that is an important message to send to an afghan audience, many of whom worried that the u.s. is going to abandon afghanistan to its fate, much like what happened in the 1990's when afghanistan was plunged into a civil war sometime after the soviets left the country. indeed, i think that the bottom line is that the administration has concluded there is only so much it can do, it should pull out its troops, and turned to the extent it can to help advance an admittedly fragil and sputtering peace process in afghanistan fo. mark: one of the problems is that this is a withdrawal agreement and not a peace

agreement. michael: there is no peace agreement. the agreement that the taliban signed with the u.s. in 2020 was not a peace agreement. it did--all he did was call for u.s. troops to leave the country by may 1 of this year so long as the taliban uphold commitments, none of which invve peace or reducing violence. you are looking at a situation where all that can be done at this point is for the u.s. to cut its losses and try to advance, try to help advance of peace process. let's be very clear, once u.s. troops have left -- once all u. troops have left afghanistan by september, the taliban is going to be very tempted to give up on any peace process that may still be alive and try to take advantage of the fact that all the foreign troops will be gone. it could decide to fully focus on the fight and try to win a war that it believes it has already -- it is already winning. peace is a very long way away in

afghanistan, and i think afghans have a good reason to be very concerned about what could happen. i think this is the right decision for the united states, d any chance of peace coming to afghanistan does require u.s. forces to leave the country. mark: thank you very much indeed. we will bring you more analysis of the announcement from president biden of the united states that american troops are pulling out of afghanistan starting may 1 and ending by september 11. more analysis to come on "france 24." next, france, germany, and u.k. are voicing concern that iran is starting to enrich uranium to 60% purity. the u.n. and nuclear watchdog has confirmed that iran is ready to achieve this figure, and it is sure to have nuclear weapons great, but it is the most scenic and step towards building a nuclear warhead. contrary to efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

reporter: the iranian leadership turning up the heat in a region already in the throes of several major challenges, and it looks like a game of tit for tat. >> what you are seeing, our response to your malice, is replacing the damaged centrifuges with more advanced ones and ramping up the enrichment to 60% at the natanz facility. reporter: president hassan rouhani's announcement comes after an attack on a nuclear facility and the extremely high security located in the desert. the incident cut off electricity to the site while reportedly damaging a number of centrifuges. while there have been conflicting accounts of what caused the blasts, iran has pointed the finger at israel, calling it an act of nuclear terrorism. israel, for its part as a matter of policy is not confirmed or

denied the attack, but the countries media has reported that it had orchestrated a "devastating cyberattack." some fear that the shadow war will not push iran towards a diplomatic compromise, especially at the negotiation table. >> without a doubt these are very negative developments that can make these talks even more difficult. i think what it also shows is that every time you have the israelis attacking, sabotaging, assassinating in ira it undermines the prospect for a diplomatic solution, and it shows that there reallysn't any military solution, because all of the differe measureby the israel have been countered by escalation on the iranian side in which to further advance the nuclear program. reporter: iran's latest move is a message and a significant step as it takes the country closer to the weapons-grade level of 90%. nuclear bombs are religiously

forbidden by the islamic republic fulsome additionally, tehran claims the program is only for peaceful purposes, in notion challenged by israel and some u.s. officials. mark: let's bring you the latest on covid-19 in france. there have been a further 297 deaths the past 24 hours. 43,500 new cases of covid-19. and in the icu across france, there is 5,902 patients across the country. total inoculations, 11.3 million. bernie madoff has died in prison at the age of 82, serving a 150-year sentence for swindling millions if not billions of thousands. here is a look back at the heartless and cynical white collar criminal.

reporter: he was serving a 150-year prison sentence for defrauding tens of thousands of people of as much as $65 billion. bernie madoff, the infamous architect of the biggest investment fraud in history, died behind bars on wednesday. after setting up his company madoff investment securities in 1960, the firm became one of the largest moneymakers, matching buyers and sellers of talks. much of his success was exposed in 2008 as a pyramid scheme that paid investors with money from new clients rather than actual profits. as the 2008 global recession hit investors, they try to withdraw $7 billion from funds, and madoff could not keep the scheme going any longer. it was his own sons that turned him into the authorities for the ponzi scheme was started in the early 1970's, defrauding as many as 37,000 people in 136 countries, and lasting over four decades.

victims ranged from hollywood royalty to wall street colleagues, as well is thousands of charities and families, many who lost entire life savings. in march 2009, madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes, saying he was deeply sorry and ashamed. the judge described madoff's crimes as extraordinarily people. -- evil. 12 years into a sentence, madoff reportedly died from natural causes. last year madoff requested compassion release from prison, setting terminal renal failure. his request was denied, with the judge stating that many were still suffering financially due to madoff's crimes f. mark: the life, times, and death of bernie madoff. four mourners,--for more news, stay with us. you are watching "france 24." >> hello come and welcome to the

interview on "france 24." our guest is the prime minister observed on-- of sudan, abdalla hamdok. thank you for being with us, mr. prime minister. prime min. hamdok: thank you. >> i want to begin with the dispute between if you via, egypt-- ethiopia, egypt, and sudan over the renaissance dam. they have said they will go with the second phase of the filling of the dam in the next few months you called the prime minister of egypt and the prime minister of ethiopia for a closed-door summit to break the deadlock. are you hoping this will happen soon? prime min. hamdok: over this year, following american mediation, we reached an impasse to break this deadlock. we have written to the leadership of the two countries,

uto prn egypt-- ethiopia and egypt, with the understanding that within the principles of the declaration, it will allow us to reach an impasse on the negotiations. we could refer the matter to the leaders of the three countries. this is precisely what we did, and we hope this summit which we are calling for will be able to break this deadlock and allow us to reach an agreement within the remaining time. ethiopia announced they are going to fill unilaterally next july. we don't have time left, and that is why we think the issue is extremely important, critical, and a time-bound. >> have you received any response from egypt or ethiopia about your proposal? prime min. hamdok: not yet. we assigned it yesterday and we are waiting for them to respond to us within the next 10 days. >> egypt hinted at the military

action. are you afraid of a war over this dam? prime min. hamdok: no, i don't think there is anything for a war or anything. we are addressing this issue within the remit of international law. we think we can for sure through dialogue resolve this issue, if the will is there. i think we are in a position -- >> are you willing to call for the united nations security council to intervene if necessary? prime min. hamdok: absolutely. this issue, we have no limits. we will go anywhere within the legal process that is allowed for us to reach an agreement, which is within -- we are not asking for much. this is not the only river in the world. the legal issues are very clear,

there are standards and norms in addressing this type of issues. >> we have seen tensions with ethiopia over the dam, over the border area. are you concerned of military confrontation with ethiopia? prime min. hamdok: sudan has always been and will always be a peaceful force in the region. we have no intentions of going to war. we think there is enough resources and resolve to solve this issue with dialogue. you are referring to the issue of the borders -- sudan borders seven countries for we don't have any dispute over it. as early as 1902, successive governments know that very well, and we never had a dispute on this. >> i want to get to the issue of

israel. the united arab emirates, bahrain, morocco, and sudan decided to normalize relations with israel. taking off the terrorist list and granting relief. palestinians have deemed your decision as well as other countries who followed the same course as a stab in the back. do you understand their reaction? prime min. hamdok: getting off the list was a game changer for us. it allowed us to come back to the remit of the international community, being a normal country, linking to the rest of the world. as you know so well, currently we are passing through multiple transitions, from war and conflict to peace, from dictatorship to democracy, from hardships in the economic sphere hopefully to prosperity.

but most importantly, and through this process of getting off the list, is remaking to the world-- relinking to the role, meaning from isolation to re-linking to the world and being part of civilized nations. this process is extremely important to our people, and the reference to the normalization with israel, you know normalization is not an event, it's a process. we are going through it. this exercise will be determined by the will and the institutions of israel. >> a sudanese official delegation me up of security intelligence officials is scheduled to make a visit to israel next week in this process you are describing. are you considering a visit to israel in the near future? prime min. hamdok: well, as i started earlier, you see our

current international foreign policy is designed to uphold and promote the interests of the sudanese people. that will be the prime mover in addressing our relationship with the rest of the world. as i said also, sudan has been isolated for so long from the rest of the world, and coming back to the full of normal nation-- fold of normal nation can we are re-linking, making peace to our neighbors, our neighborhood, to the rest of the world. >> so a visit to israel is a possibility? prime min. hamdok: as i said, our foreign policy is for sure defined to promote the interests of the sudanese people. >> so you don't excluded.

omar al-bashir, exactly two years ago he was overthrown, and then a transition was set in motion. the international criminal court still wants him and two other suspects in sudanese custody. are you still considering sending omar al-bashir to the icc? prime min. hamdok: we are engaging the icc, we are talking to them. the prosecutor came to visit us. we have been talking to them over the last year and a half. and i think there are many options in terms of how we address issues of the icc, including the handover. >> you are in favor of such a handover, mr. prime minister? prime min. hamdok: we are going to decide this as a country, as institutions for it is not the of the prime minister--it is not the choice of the prime minister, but institutions collectively, political

institutions, and all of them we have to understand one thing, the victims have to appreciate and understand and feel that justice has been served. >> right, just quickly, in dark fur, omar al-bashir was accused of war crimes f we have seen a spike in violence. are you concerned that violence could return after the u.n. and african union troops have withdrawn? prime min. hamdok: we regret the loss-of-life there, but the situation is now under control. you put in place measures--we have put in place measures that go a long wait towards protecting civilians. we started the process of putting together 20,000-strong force composed of all the elements.

i think with all this preparations, i am very confident we will be able to uphold peace and protect our civilians in darfur. >> two years ago, i mentioned omar al-bashir was overthrown. since then there was a transition period, still a military ruling council. your government, are you confident the military will respect the transition period and will not decide to take matters into their own hands? prime min. hamdok: let me just correct this statement. we don't have military counsel. we have a cabinet, a mere industrial--ministerial council, and the sovereign council which is composed of civilian and military. this is what we call the sudanese model. it is a partnership between military and civilians. and i think it is working.

we know it has some challenges and problems and difficulties, and it is in the nature of any such partnership. it has its issues, but i think there is a strong resolve, determination from all sides to make it work in the interest of our people. we see so well what is happening in the region, in our region, and we are very determined to protect our people and protect sudan moving forward. and i think it is working. with all the challenges and problems, we are very, i think, certain that we will take this journey to the destination. >> last question, a donor conference for sudan is scheduled for paris may 17.

you have told us how important it was for your country to re- link to the international community. this includes to the international monetary fund, world bank. what a simple question -- how much support do you expect from the international communities in terms of billions of dollars at this paris conference? prime min. hamdok: the conference is an opportunity for us to meet with our partners, addressing the debt issue. sudan has mounting debt of over 60 billion, so we hope through the process we will be able to reach a sizable debt forgiveness and all that. our expectations about the conference is quite remarkable. we don't have to put a figure on it, because we are going there to discuss investment, not pledges as such. >> prime minister abdalla h amdok, i want to thank you very

much for being our guest on the "france 24" interview from khartoum, capital of sudan, and i want to thank you for watching this edition of "thetataptúñzñññ

04/14/21 04/14/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the president has been consistent that there is not a military solution to afghanistan , that we have been there for far too long. that has been his view for some time. amy: president biden is going to withdraw all troops from afghanistan by september 11. w