andrew wilder is an expert on afghanistan and pakistan. we have about 10 minutes left here with him. to katherine, democrat caller in cleeves, ohio. caller: good morning. i'm a c-span watcher. i watch it every morning since i retired. my question has to do with contractors. how much money, taxpayer money, has been made by contractors in afghanistan and iraq? i live in hamilton county, that's where cincinnati is the largest city. all roads and bridges are atrocious. you can't go 20 feet without running into holes and bridges that are almost to fall down. and we are going to spend my taxpayer money, my children's taxpayer money, my grandchildren's taxpayer money on afghanistan? host: let's take that point. mr. wilder, what is usip doing in afghanistan that is uniquely you and not something that the state department could do? guest: i think that's a very good question. one of the issues is wars are incredibly expensive, i think you talk to any of our senior military leadership, whenever possible try to avoid getting into these situations whic

be joined by the institute's president, richard solomon, the head of its afghanistan program, andrew wilder, and steve hadiman for middle east initiatives. "washington journal" is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern. tonight on c-span 3 it's american history tv. we look with the lives of after afterry can americans in washington, d.c. next a discussion with descendents of african-american families who lived and worked in the nation's capital during the 18th and 19th centuries. this is 45 minutes. >>> for our final session today we have a treat, i think. we're pleased to assemble family members who heard many of the stories that were shared this morning and this afternoon, but they bring their own personal perspectives. to further illuminate them. as we started to do with sthelly, there are a lot of family members here today and i'd love it if you would stand up and let us welcome you. everyone here representing the families here on stage. [ applause ] >> i had to bring my own audience. professor marya mcquirter, who will introduce our panelists and moderate this discussion, is an authority with broad

coming up, andrew wilder.e is joining us from the fifth floor of the united states is a to the peace. we want to dig deeper into the situation in afghanistan. what does this deal mean for future negotiations. guest: this is a significant development. it is the last, major hurdle that stood in the path of negotiating a strategic partnership agreement between the governments of afghanistan and the united states. it would dictate. there have been major sticking points in the negotiation. one was control of the facilities. the second major one was control of the night raids, something president karzai has been critical of. it seems like an agreement has been reached in terms of more afghan control over the night raids and detention, and that paves the way for an agreement that everyone hopes will be signed prior to the upcoming conference in may in chicago. once that is signed, i think it is an important signal of a longer-term commitment. i think the big concern is that the international committee not abandon afg

be joined by the institute's president, richard solomon, the head of its afghanistan program, andrew wilder, and steve haydeman. washington journal is live on c-span every day at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >>> we now continue our look at american history tv in prime time with another program on the history and lives of african-americans in 18th and 19th century washington, d.c. next a look at the gadsby family and slave trading in the nation's capital with alexandra lane. she is the reproductions coordinator for the white house historical association. this is close to an hour. >> thank you. we have just learned about -- perfect. thank you. we have just learned about an important space in the history of decatur house in the nation's capital in our last presentation. now we'll hear about one of the many owners of the house, john gadsby. along with his business interests in washington and how he associated with the slave trade. as katherine mentioned this morning, we do know the names of those enslaved men, women, and children who were living in the decatur house corridors. at gadsby's death, whether