tonight onworldfocus" -- >> as the war agaist the taliban rages on, we will take you inside afghanistan for a vivid look at how american helicopter lots are playing a key role supporng british troops. we will visit qatar, where enormous oil alth isreating the od life. how long will it last? and a ok inside th african naon of ana with recent anniversaryof the monarchy led t king-size cebrations. fr the world's leading reporters and analysts, re's what's hapning around the rld. thiss "worldfocus." made posble in part by the following funders --

major supporhas also been providedy the peter g. terson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressg key economic cllenges facing erica's future. good evening. i'm dait dhaliwal. on this eighth anniversy of e september 11 attacks, america's top commander in afghanistan says that h believes the unid states and it alies there ha likely evented other terrorist attacks. but eight years , the united states is still battling a wry sur gent taliban. tonit we're going to look at war, onceagain. but first, 9/11 was also remembered beyond thunited states. at bram airfield in afghanisn, there was a ceremonynd a run by more than a thousand service membs. the distance was 9.11ilometers

or 5 1/2 miles. in moscow, a chur service attended by american a russian officials, and in london people stopped by the 9/11 memorial. 67 britons were among the almst 3,000 pele who were killed th day. andas the escalates in afghanistan, british and american are also tiedin btle r one thing, the britishely heavily onhe u.s. helicopter support. intonight's "leadfocus" wanto show you ho the operation is playing out. bill nee of itn is with british and american forces. >> reporter: the en of nighttime assault held mu and british troops struggle on to hlicopters, atacked as nded. ta-offs a dangerous moment. no lights, little rt, their ur has beendeadly, with dons killed.

gun fooi from fire from the ame troops. onhe chinooks rely 30 british soldrs. >> it wld not have been possible withou american help. >> reporte the americans used nine transporthelicopter other gunshipsoverhead. nine chinks, equivalent on one mission to the entire british chinook eet in helmund. amican surge made it possible themericans have a lot of aviation, more aviati than the british and enabled us to get into one chinook. >>e're using the american aviation and if effect usi the brish infantry. >>eporter: in the deadliest war zone for bth armies joint operations a mutual respet. >> i get exted when we plo british, because i kno somethg good'soing to happenen. >> reporter: bad things hpen, too. casualties. the america have also brought

dozens of hecopters forthat. at one base, there were three blkhawk medica hicopters beforethe u.s. surge. now there are 15. on board her two afghan soldiers shot by the taliban, e is dying. american medics treat them and get them t a field hospital 30 minutes aftereing called. other emeency, three dutch soldiers have beennjured by a roadside mb. in four monthst one base, the ericans have evacuated 1,500 wounded. their own ritish, afghan, dutch, a canadian. a dozen aday. >> i thinkrobably ne or july wee seen an increase probably about 30% of combat casualties. >> reporter: president obama's surge has brght nearly 20,000 amican troops to souther afghanistan and much more.

the 00 helipters have just one igade, the 82nd airborne, dwarf britain's totalleet arou 20. two of which crashed andere destroyed last month. these aircraft alone will not win this war. but it's certainly wasn't being won witht them. afans are bilding new american ses. but outside them, afghanistan is not being rebut. the war is faltering, afghan are losing patience. coalition casualties ar rising fast. the amerins promi a new dawn with their troop surge. it's too early to judge if it heralds a dawn or the sunset of their hopes andthe faire britain, t, fears. >> w thought weould lo how the eighth annivsary of 9/11 is resonating amonguslims aroundhe world. for that we turn to the executive director the gallup

center for musli studies, she is an adviser to theobama adnistration and leads an unprecedented survey of re than billn muslims worldwide. dala, welcome to the progr. let m start by ask you you polling shows th america' imaghas improved some muslim countries sce 9/11. gives some context, why that is? and are there countriesn this list that might surprse . >> well i ink it's very intesting which countries those are. the biggest improvement has been in eypt and saudi arabia, which usedo be among the countries th the lowestpproval rating of the united states. egypt, for exampl the leaderip of the united stes went up fromnly 6% of approval to 25% aroval, still not a majority but importan improvement. >> what are some of e reasons why that has happed? >> i think tha the overtures of the oba administraon to muslim majority untries have

be apprected and recoized by public in egpt and in saudi arabia and in man other mlim majority countries. the main iss that angered egyptsspecifically atthe unitedtates was the ir war and with the ama ministration specifically talking abouawithdrawal, i thinthat that's improved people's opinions. >> and overall, eightyears on, is there more o less violent tremism d syathy for al qaeda? >> well the sympathy for the attacks of/11 have been on decline anthey are -- th continue to decline in 009, especially among bothgyptians an saus. it's interesting the two countries that impred the opinion of the united states and also t two countries whose publics are le likely th they were jst a year ago or two years ago to say that t attacks of 9/11 were justified. >> and what abt onions

towards musls around the world? have they got more or less gative or would you say tt th figures have stayed about the same? and wh do you thnk there may or may not have beenchanges to that? >> the opinions of -- tard muslims around the world, specifically by the amerian puic, have improv slighy, but not ve muc soin 2007, we foundhat around 19% of americans saidthat they dxtreme prejudi towards muslims. when we polled again i 2009, that numr was 14%. it's ming in the right directio but it's still not -- it hasn't moved very mu. >> all right. thank you very much >> thank you. we also want to know how you see it. the ahanistan invason was launched largely with one man in mine, ama bin ladin. hes still number one on the

fbi's tenost nted lit. the question tonight, eight years after th nooi9/11 attacksd expandg warn afghanistan, should his caure stille a priority f the united states in the bale ainst teorism? u can tell us what y think by going to how you see it section of our website, worldfocus.org. another tense area, the border between israel and l lebano and toda the latest exchange of fire. two rockets fired into northe israel, one landing in the town of nahariya. it wasn'there clear who fired the rockets. >> we want to returnto a story from israelhich we first to earlier this week, a reported secret visit by prime ministerbenjamin netanyahu to moscow, possiy r talks on israel's concerns about iran's

nucleaprogram. israeli medi were caught off ard by netanyahu's day-long disapprance and we thoughtit would be helpful tohow you how the story, the intrigue, was covered yesterda by the state-funded israeli broadcasting autrity. >> the conferratirmation in the russian wspaper of the trip mes despite a statement byhe kremlin newservice saying nothing is known about reports of the visit. newspapers in rsia are fied with rumor about the trip. a paper says, quote, ch a visit could berelated to new information d could threat the irann nuclear program. it should not b ruled out israel may be ready to moveon to decisive actions with regards iran and netanyahu has decided to inform the kremlinof this. last night t prime minister's office publishednother announcement on the disapprance of netanyahu monday. the prime mister is busyith classified activity. it doesn't say wi whom or where why.

but it's almosas mysterious whethethe trip took places at might haveeeniscussed. speculation focuses on iorming russia about a attack on iran and presidenahmadinejad, the possible russian as deal to iran and sia or the disappearance the arctic sea rgo ship suspeed of carrying russian-made300 anti-aircra missileshat went missing last month. and now to o weekly rounable. tonight wee going to look ahead to the major foreign policies facingpresident obama th fall. iran snaled again tis week it is pushing ahead withts clear program, and russia says it won't back iernational nctions. whatptions does that leave the president? d house speaker nancy pelosi says it is unliky that coress will support any plan to send more american troops to

afghanistan, even though top military leade between do just that. we'reoined bagaric utley, president ofthe leaven instute of the state university of n york and form rp nbc news corresponde and ankher. also with us chles sennott a longtime crespondent for e "bton globe" and is now the exutive editor and ve president of global post. welcome to both of of yo nice to s yo >> let's startith iran. the president h given the iranians a taet date of september to come to the table and start negotiati over the nuclear program. we are now inseptember. where do we go from here? >> well, wre does president obama go, one? bu secondl can he dot alone? this is a u.n.actio obviously nations such as rush vse russia veto utthe uk and wants to have.

even if obam can get everybod togeer to say yes thetime has come to ke further steps you have the problem wit the russians and the iranians, as we know sent the propols, which are very vague, but ateast whe obama said in this inaugul addrs i'll hold out an open hand, they are offeringto talk. you say shoulde ener talks? >>what happens to that whole idea of, you know, here's an olive branch, let's do away with the clench fi, iranians are saying yes with a package of proehl. s the united states wants diplomacy. where is theiplomacy fromoth sides. >> i think the obama's administration inclination,ts announced inclinatn they do wanto talk with ir but something happened dhat was e june election. the denstrations in the street. suddenly you're deali with ahmadined in a way which he's no longer seen oin a decreasing legitimacy that he had before, in a realy

contested eelection in a royaling publ that wants chge and america's suddenly caughtn its foreign policy. the obama admintration has to decide now, doest want to go forward with negotiation as it's spelled outr did june change everything and do th now need to back off of that because of that election and s contested results? >> tt also means, doest it, that t issue's not longer abou nuclear energy and nuclear weaps, it's about the relationship of legitizing the government in iran and pulling back which may achieve grear desired rule is which changen the ground. >> given complicatio and i complicate things ormously i'm assuming for predent obama, woulthis be the prose time to put thi on holdather than go down the route saying we want to sanction and the chinese say the same thing? what is pointof going down the

route? >> the russians wil always complicate this for us. unitedtates policy will be complicad by theussians being in thatquation and that's very real. i think this wi come to a head whenhmadinejad vsits new york, visits the u.n., and he's going to be her and there's going to be a great callor him to release the "newsweek" correspondent whis still bng held trelease many of the journalists andbloggers still being detained. there are things for ahmadinejad to answeror and i think, yes it will have to gonto a cooling pattern where thes going to have to b very clear that this gornment is seen as creasingly illegitimate and they have to p that forward. >> one other pect, israel. we m go into a holding or cooling patrn, whatever you call it but israel and netanyu may not be paent. they may t unilaterally. you can't allo an open ended situation and some point isra ys we have to ct. >> let's mov on to the other

big foreignpolicy question afghanistan. a lot going on with that story also. gives both of you your assessments where theresident stands with that. >> his dilemma is irst, i'll be brief, you n't move foard, you can't move backward. you don't want to go in with vast amounts of comb troops if available becae it's an open ended combat situation. you're not going to have a military victory. you don't want to schedu a pullout. you're stuck in the middle. you're the expert on that. >> don't know if'm an expert. >> more troops a go idea or not? >> ithink, hing been on the ground in juneand seeing troop the's are there now, a 21,0-increase flowing now, inging up u.s. psence to 60,000 troops. that's what the general said they waed. when they t to go beyond that incrse, they're going to run into aolitical fight withhe democrat so my aessment, from the ground, woulde the troops that are thereow ne to be better what they do no

they nee to be more well-trained, more educated ere they are, so that than discern throug a more sophisticate understanding of the counternainsurgency who are the wreck reconcilable liban? with thereal sense of being in villages and understanng them i d't see how an increase in trps can do nything. fact i would arg an incrse in troops could ali alienate the population and ckfire. >> i wanto bring up another point it i the domestic litical equation obama has to look at. he came in posing as a nationa security predent, i will otect you by sending more troops to afghanista that's e war ofnecessity, the decrats have supported him. now it the democratic suppo in congress is erode, public support isn't there. the great extensional danger for obama if he uld aken his resolve or see to do so in afghanistan and there's a

terrorist rike, whether it comes om al qaeda in ghanistan or elsewhere all of the republicans were ding to obama in the health care is nothg compared to what y're going to hear from he talk showthat the democrats and the esident have not protected s. so he cannotffordolitically todisengage. >> i woul agree right now in this moment, i do think that the president obama faces a johnson moment. president johnson tried to greatly eand whate could accompsh on his national agenda while figing a devastating wa i think that obama's in that mome now and looki that the kind of history if he's not careful in this moment. >> pleure to talk aut. could go longer. gak uley and charles sennott, thanyou.

as we turn to the global economy there were signs this week that russia may be ttoming out of its severe recession. e russi economy grew7.5% in the second quarter ofhis year, compared with the first qrter. for one thing, ruia has been increang its oil exports. in fact, it has now surpassed saudi arabia as the world's leading l exporter. you might think that an economy wi a seemily nonstopflow of oil revenue a resulting weal means never ending carefree lifestyle. but that is not necessarily the case, as we hear in this report from theeshen gulf nation of qata nicole johnson shows uswhy. >> repter: living it up in the gulf. an 18-year-old holiday. here t country' enormous oil and gas wealth means the state pays f his university edation, gis him a free plot

of land, buildsis how, y po pays f his electricity and water bis. >> they rlized theye privileged. hover, others did not. ose people squandered the ney on luxury. >>eporter: when you're brought into a country rich inoil and gas, the tables have created a assic welfaresystem. while it sounds like a blessing, it can be a curse cause the countries are literall drowning in perodollars. >> it is good to have a welfare state, go tohave the t underneath that peoe don't fall through, fall down, within the competion in the coury. but en it es o far, it kills incentives and that's problem is being faced now. >> reporter: gulf countrie it soun like economic jargon but it mea they rely alst entirely o income from oil and gas and this money is called

rent. how can hving toouch oil rent be considered a curse? analyst says in the glf it storts the domestic economy and this is ow. th lited lcal industr the state gives people js in bloated,ften efficient buaucracies and to spend the money, governmt set out develop ambitiou projects soalled white elephants. these require a huge amount of imrts which in turn sends inflation sring. >> in many ways cieties in the gulf, for example, were much for gal therrien society before the cong of oil. oil elevated the ruling families beuse they got a hd of the oil re from the oil companies or theolonial rulers ithe st and it elevate them above the people. >> reporter: cruising arnd on a je skin the gulf, the politics of oil ses far away. most peopleppear content with e benefits state gives them. for as long as the oil re lasts. nicole johnson, al jazeera

on "worldfocus" we try gularly to iroduce you to unfamiliar parts of the world. tonight ththat goal in min we want to sha remarkable imag that w roac. across. th came from the west aican country of ghana, our first african-american presint visited earlr this year. ghana is an ineasingly mode ciety but some old ways endure. the couny's largest tribe ashantis have their own king. when an iortant anniversy occurred recently th king sized cebrations began. >> reporter: abo 250, members

of ghans ashanti communy have come out in large numbers to pay homage to theiking. ♪ it's been a decade since tutui took ove traditional rule somewhere spitual leader of the shanti the country's largest communithas reason to cebrate. ♪ adorned in gd ornaments, carried shoulder high as his enner to rageakes its way for the day celebrations. girls from the royal palace chase away evil spirits that might be inhe area. but 's a modern monarch, who encourages use of th internet, advotes for better education in schools and heed tackle

verty in the region. he also creditedor aracting investors the country. ana's president was among cal international dignitari to who cameo act nobowledge the king's efforts. the director o the instute of african studies of the university o ghana. wesked him how relant the ashanti king is today. >> there are many morn things that it does, which please me because he s adsted lims the circumstancesnd shown all of us how to respond to change and to culture so that we'll preserve our identity whil at the same time, looking forward to being a part of community in which manthings are happing.

>> rorter: the ashanti king's anniversary celebrations lasted for two da and included the lach of a chity to lp underprivileged childreno to school. >>he establishment of a undation today is no by accident. this is part of a carefully orchestrated agenda of his majesty to ensure that, under his leadership the ashti kingdom doesot just become a reli of the past, b seeks to enr the fure with moder technology and relavendevelopme >> reporter: across africa, many communities have abanned their cultural pracces but ashantis expectheking toreserve their herage and achieve even more for the kingdom as he leads them in these morn times. >> and that's stor fromour partner in nairobi,kenya, africa 24.

d that is "worldfocus for this fridayevening. if you mss any prrams this week, catch up with all of them at our websitet worldfocus.org. i'm daljit dhaliwain new york. thanyou so much for joining us. weope to see you back here at monday time. until then have a eat weekend. "worldfocus" is made possible in part by the folling funders -- majosupport has also been provided by the ter g. peterson foundation,edicated to promotingiscal responsibili and addressing key economic challenges faci america's future.