iraq. the u.s. officially ended its military campaign in the country. thirty six people. in the. growing number of people getting a global audience. twenty years. of independence from georgia. public. violence.

under control. concentrating troops in afghanistan and spending hundreds of billions of dollars on trying to hunt down al qaeda is a deeply flawed strategy that's the view of. outspoken critic of u.s. policy in the country he thinks washington is being inconsistent in its military pursuits as he explains. does the goal match the cost that is something many americans are asking when it comes to the u.s. strategy in afghanistan and members of the of ghana's then study group call on the president to bring the majority of the u.s. troops home abandoning the strategy of defeating the taliban and matthew hoh is heading that group he's a marine officer who resigned from the state department in protest over obama's policies in afghanistan it happened last year and d.

he's here with me now thank you so much for joining that matthew so the war in afghanistan is the longest and it has cost a lot poorer to the united states you are saying american interests at stake in afghanistan do not warrant this level of sacrifice please explain why. the war's cost us about four hundred billion dollars it's lasted for over nine years american dead or close to twelve hundred there's been fallon's of afghan deaths. we're spending one hundred billion dollars a year next year will spend about one hundred twenty billion dollars a year according to the congressional research service in a country whose g.d.p. is only fourteen billion and knowing that according to our cia there's only fifty to one hundred members in afghanistan so you're talking about spending one billion to two billion dollars a year on each al qaeda presence in afghanistan massoud i know that you had been working in iraq for

a while before going to afghanistan was that war worth it was that war programatic no i mean we've seen from where rock was a few years ago yes the country has stabilized you know you've gone from four thousand civilian deaths some months down to a few hundred it's still by no means a story and i don't know if i will ever say it was worth i i don't agree with those who believe that we needed to be. iraq in order to make the middle east a safer place or a more democratic place and certainly if you look at the reasons why we were given for going in there ties to al qaeda that wasn't true weapons of mass destruction that wasn't true. you know saddam was was effectively contained designs saw it he was no threat to this to us or to his neighbors i don't see the expenditures you know the over the forty five hundred american dead near trillion dollars that we have spent there the near one hundred thousand iraqi dead i don't see that in any

way to find the invasion of two thousand and three the other thing too is that since we're talking about iraq and afghanistan one of the larger problems i think with u.s. foreign policy particular national security policies are not consistent if they're if we are in afghanistan because of al qaeda and if there are only fifty to one hundred members of al qaeda in afghanistan then why are we pulling out of iraq where there are one thousand to two thousand members why do we see and we need to keep. one hundred thousand troops in afghanistan when those operations come out of somalia and yemen as when and pakistan and yes so that consistency is not there in our in our foreign policy particularly in our now security policy and that's very worrisome to me because you don't have consistency if you don't have good critical thought if you don't have a degree of intellectual honesty in your policymaking you are going to have bad policy and you're going to have things like iraq we're going to find yourself nine years into afghanistan entangled in a civil war spending one hundred billion dollars a year for

a purpose that does not make the united states safer matthew you've been saying that stabilizing the government in afghanistan does not defeat al qaida and and that it's like using a flash hammer to kill a fly do you think it's such a fly and if not a sledgehammer what should be used to kill that fly you know i mean sure of fly can bite you short before i can affect you he could get in your. refrigerator make your food moldy or what not but you try and kill with sledgehammer you end up wrecking your house and if you look at our successes against al qaida they have not come from occupying afghanistan yes it was based in afghanistan when we showed up they fled to pakistan they dispersed around the world they became this near virtually these centralized loosely for militarization that uses individuals and cells and doesn't rely upon large physical tracks on land are successes in. against al qaida and there's a good new yorker article not too long ago about this. have been through more of

a police or law enforcement or intelligence role and we capture of khalid sheikh muhammad then by the fact that we've got tens of thousands of u.s. troops occupying. two muslim countries out also suggests that we need to look at our strategy in the sense of that our policies have been counterproductive and we've turned to using military occupation as a tool to beat a terror network that is more similar to a mafia organization or a criminal organization and that is only composed of a couple thousand or a few thousand members worldwide well let's get back to the taliban are you saying the u.s. should not be afraid of taliban afghanistan i don't believe so. i'm not i'm not one to apologise for taliban you know and i don't want to be accused of that or be seen as that but we have to recognize the taliban is not a monolithic movement the taliban is composed of many different groups within afghanistan that have diverse motives supporting taliban

a lot of times that being financial financial the sense of now i'm going to give you ten not because i give you ten dollars to put a bomb aside because in your valley and give this group a couple thousand dollars and that's going to make that group the most powerful group in that valley it a lot of the groups that support the taliban have very vocal concerns. things are not going to affect you and i here in washington d.c. or other folks throughout the united states also to the ties between the taliban and al qaeda are not really there there or certainly elements of the taliban that have ties to al qaida but you can you can isolate them do not because there is ten or fifteen or maybe even twenty percent of taliban that are irreconcilable or do have links to transnational terror groups does that does not mean we should not do our best in the go see it with and work with that other eighty percent or ninety percent taliban that is reconcilable and that we can get in the ghosted settlement

with because they don't have ties to al qaeda. mathewson you also said that ghana stands neighbors say china russia have actually more to lose from the instability in afghanistan that the united states and i would have more reason more and more reasons to get involved in keeping it again and then quiet and you think countries like take turns saying waging war thing afghanistan oh do absolutely not i think it's an. every other nations interest to see a negotiated settlement in afghanistan it's been a proxy war or. a real war in one way or another for the last thirty thirty five years in afghanistan and it has improved nobody's economy has approved nobody's way of life i think for nations like the central asian states for russia for china that have issues with their own ethnic minorities or muslim minorities i think it's important for what's happening in afghanistan not to spread across

boundaries was the biggest issue for russia is the dragging flow of the argument you know that's that's a great point i believe it's about ninety percent of the drugs that leave afghanistan go to russia or to europe to huge huge issue but you're not going to feet that you're not going to feed the drug trade there and to you stabilize the country until you stop the war until you stop one side from having incentive to utilize that drug trade to you know provide the money to fight the war until you take away the aspect of the war itself you're not to be able to address any of these issues and that goes for the drug trade that goes for women's rights that goes for other ethnic or other human rights and that goes for development as well in terms of i mean it's a very it's a incredibly poor credibly desperate country it needs a lot of assistance it's not going to develop it's not going to grow without there being instability so for so many different reasons but if someone has to keep them

stable they can do it on their own are all the money they have to ultimately they have to do it on their own as long as you have outside powers backing up one side or another and putting one side in a position where it's trying to subjugate the other side you will not have stability the situation as we can see in afghanistan is as bad as ever the corruption is rampant and the casualties rate to the ag is thirty one percent i read are you saying that the u.s. should go out. should pull out now no one's seen him well we're not saying about afghanistan study group is not saying abandon afghanistan unfortunately when you get these conversations you kind of get it it gets characterized you're all in or all out war you want to cut and run that's not the case we're saying the problem is inherently political not country so utilize political solutions. take the foreign troops out of the places where they're a catalyst for the violence where there are a catalyst for people to join the insurgency engage regional nations find

a better way to do economic development it's important the way we're doing it now is not working and is doubling down the effort is not going to work and prioritize the u.s. interests u.s. interest in that region is al qaida and pakistan's nuclear weapons so have a policy that goes after al qaida and helps stabilize pakistan in the region so that those nuclear weapons are never put in jeopardy and that's what we're advocating we certainly are not advocating wave the magic wand and disappear tomorrow afghanistan figured out for himself well thank you very much it was matthew hoh with me here in washington d.c. who resigned from his job where the state department because he thinks the u.s. is fighting for the wrong cause in afghanistan and paying too big a price for that i.

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because. of. this history still keeps its secrets but now it's time to reveal the truth of the soviet files house on the embankment and on t.v. . more news today violence has once again flared up if these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china operations are today. and.

for. the first. they faced this is not a provocation but a warning that. it should be several you should it's a pretty tree because they have no idea about the hardships to face. plate one it's this is. all of them too nice to. bring the army to life so the use of them is the most precious thing in the world. uses of self-sacrifice and heroism but those who understand it fully but you have to live a. real life stories from world war two. victory

nineteen forty five gold dot com. the headlines here on r.t. and iraq's hit by the worst violence since the u.s. officially ended its military campaign in the country three car bombings killing thirty six so brace down so whether local forces can ensure security. and justice online the internet and russia is becoming a new frontline in the fight for fairness a growing number of people are getting a global audience and results when they expose crime corruption and bully. plus stuff especially amongst twenty years since its declaration of independence from georgia since one nine hundred ninety the republics being plagued by violence as tbilisi tried to bring it back under control. and time now for the sports with.

hello and sign for spore n r t come and see you every day from the russian capital i'm on cos forever now let's take a look at our top stories in brief. one more set serbia reaches its first ever davis cup final. closing the gap ravine move to within a win over leaders is a meet in the russian premier league thanks to a last gasp goal. dissolve of the pile the inaugural russian challenge cup comes to an end just outside moscow with spain's carlos del mar all the man writing his way into the record books. but let's start in belgrade where serbia have come from behind to beat the czech republic and reach the finals of the davis cup for the first time in the history the czechs were two one up in the best of five going to the final day thomas verdict and roddick's the panic on the doubles

rubber on saturday and it was vertical to be opening set in sunday's first singles match but world number two know bob johnson that's managed to find his rhythm much to the delight of the partisan home crowd in belgrade the u.s. open file this reading of the following three sets six three six two six four to put serbia back to level in just over three hours so it went down to the wire young good tips are average getting the crowd on its feet with this dominant display against a panic tipsarevic hitting a total of nine aces to six seven six six four big three waiting in the final are nine time champions france who completed their thing sweep of argentina on sunday courtesy of jean simone and arnold three meant. that's with fish side where rubin's quest for a third straight russian championship received a boost on sunday the man from cousin securing maximum points against and with virtually the final kick of the game. away and then. was it.

has its ation of plants in the freaking build up but with good cause as get these cards and these rifles and what are all ninety plus minutes through the overriding emotion on the face of rubin manager good bond between the there he is the full time whistle blowing seconds later sealing the one mill win for the champions still a lot of work to do though say they're crowned leaders sydney may be just three points in front but they hold their heads to three matches in hand. meanwhile in the days early kick off local months even couldn't be separated in psalms a lot of good things rolling for a local five minutes from the break before i found the back of his old seems not to make it one one and both sides remaining in mid table. on monday's need can reestablish their six point advantage of the summit the st petersburg side aiming to keep their unbeaten run intact in chechnya where terry gross they lie in wait then there is a clash of the two sparred sox in that game also taking place in south the russian

third placed says scott will fully expect to claim maximum points at the expense of rock bottom seat in the late game. and has returned to russia the first ever challenge cup reaching its conclusion at the label goal from polish club victory going the way of carlos del mar all meaning the spaniard now has a great chance of getting his place on the european tour proper next season as andrew farmer reports. so it was a fitting finale to what has been a hugely successful tournament jack nicklaus design course carlist a moral started the day four shots off the late but by the final hole he'd fought his way to the top of the leaderboard with a one stroke advantage over his nearest rival. oleson and although del model found the sand he recovered well to finish on eleven and overall and that was enough the victory after all isn't missed his part means that the moral walks away with twenty eight thousand euros in prize money and also boost his chances of qualifying to

play on the european tour next season i came here four years ago for a european tour event it filled awesome i mean we went to the red square it was just a very cool week it felt awesome especially with great conditions great golf dignity . so tonight. do you only have to see here so he's smiling but so too is the russian golf association it has big plans to promote this sport across the country and the sleeve a golf course here has proved itself to be a championship quality and is being raved about by the players i think a reflection from the players certainly the players i've talked to which is pretty much everybody has been a good response. enjoyed the course immensely they have told me that it was being prepared to the highest standard. the practice facility. every part of the facility

even down to the catering and the club. has been welcomed by the players they've loved it while it is only the second time the challenge tour has come to russia which still only has a handful of courses but after the last week who knows russia might just have found its way into golf's calendar on a permanent basis andrey farmer r.t. moscow region. and there's another scan you're celebrating on the greens of adam brugge jose man you. lara edging that tightly contested final round at the australian open the thirty three year old carting a sixty four to catch out with a joint overnight leader david lend it to work side at seventeen under par after seventy two holes it was lara though who would be in soon play off to win on the first extra hole bogeyed but lara made par on the replay eighteenth to claim only his second victory on the european tour his previous title coming three years ago in hong kong danny willett who shared the lead heading into the finals

a bogey of his last three holes and had to settle for joint third place with the us open champion graeme mcdowell and alexander noren all to sweden. now let's check on the latest scores in the kontinental hockey league where seven games were played on sunday and sell about you live stuff with their first defeat all of the season at the hands of jaromir joggers ave guard draw in regulation and overtime and the home side eventually winning the shootout in kazakhstan a double by brandon but chance he helped local side barrus beat com if he may got a hard earned home victory against up to mobilise five four and looking at the needed overtime to overcome moscow reagents lines sixty five the final score there . another three games took place on sunday words in a moscow so the league's new converts bugrov st petersburg last game four of six this season the latest by way of four pedal three two in overtime there as well and finally in the last. because i needed the shootout to determine the winner victory

and two points going through the garden cup holders are bars. cycling now and after coming into existence just last year russian team cut shusha have captured their first major title as they won the same classification in the last three grand tours all the season. but you show up at local favorites face to parnate to the coveted title by twenty nine seconds and we're in no small debt to go to the road dream gets. the mail from spain the thirty one year old finished fourth over roll while also placing high in the points king of the mountains and combination classifications russia's top that's also contributed to cut you to success after clocking the thirteenth fastest so i'm individual author's words a way of it's out inventions on the body to maintain his forty one second lead after the symbolic stage twenty one in madrid brits and mark cavendish triumph in the sprint category. in a multi g.p. there's been a race of first at the inaugural arab grand prix former champions cases daughter

and nicky hayden posting a first win and first podium finish of the season respectively stoner started from pole in spain but was closely followed by informed that it would draw for most of the race but the two thousand and seven champion pulled away towards the end to be the home favorite by more than five seconds championship leader jorge lorenzo loops on course for third place finish but it's turning last lap by american hayden solo renzo slipped down to four dispersed finish outside the podium in the grand prix so far this season the stand here however sits a huge to six points clear of the draw at the top of the standings with just five more races to go stoller is now third overall he may be out of contention but still reddish to the well deserved when. we're able to get the bike working almost the way we wanted it to you know had a little slip off this morning which was a little bit worrying going into the you know staying away from everyone could want to get too close but yeah we were able to pick up the pace when we needed to during

the race and bring her. for the team for everyone who's stuck by me and you know i'm sorry it took so long. and that's finished with some big waves where a kelly slater's march towards an unprecedented half century of elite sort certain victories shows no sign of abating the florida native wrapping up title forty three on the opposite coast line at the latest stop of their holy pro event the ninth world champion. looking good to reach double figures propelling to the top of the overall standings at trestles south in california but he was pushed hard by the man who defeated slater on the same piece of beach in two thousand and six. durbidge ousting a slew of high ranked pros to reach the decider but that's where the australians highlights what and thirty eight year old slater dominating the two metre waves suis to victory and pocket hundred five thousand u.s. dollars in the process i'm just i'm just trying to soak in this and not think about

everything right now. i just want to week i mean we think that that's well forecast path now we're taxiing in like laughing on the phone going look what we're going to get next week and i just told pat i'd let one hundred five thousand people punch me in the face to surf these ways by myself and you paid me money. that's all for the moment but remember more russian and international sport can be found on our website artsy dot com bye for now thanks. allison was that so much given to you to be sitting on the market why a lot of people overwhelmingly majority of muslim populated countries governed by either non-democratic regimes run stable democracies and just.

wealthy british style sun. sometimes.

markets why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max conjure for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our. line. would be soon which brightened if you knew about sound from finest impressions. from stunts on t.v. dot com fifty. fifty .