ambassador dobbins. [applause] >> well thank you, very much, steve and thanks to usip and voa and alliance for the support of the afghan people for organizing this event and inviting me to join you today. to the extent that afghanistan has impeded on the american consciousness over the past year, it's largely been the security transition that has dominated. most news stories have focused on the u.s. and nato drawdown, the increasing role of afghan forces in conducting and leading the fight and looking forward on the, on the fate of the bilateral security agreement and the continued uncertainty about whether the united states and nato will continue, will be staying or going in 2015. in afghanistan by contrast, increasing attention is being paid to another transition that has been put in train, that from one elected leader to another. if the security transition goes badly it may not make any difference who is governing afghanistan next year but the reverse is also true. if this political transition does no

also ambassador dobbins and the panelists, thank you very much. it was a good session. the challenge is that i'm not arguing let's not be pollyanna but what's also have a realistic assessment as long as moving forward because if we focus on the failure and have the narrative of defeat, that fuels the sentiment that we should give up and as alex pointed out we pay a very heavy price when we did 20 years ago but not repeat that mistake. thank you very much. [applause] [inaudible conversations] as you heard this event is taking a short break. when it resumes we will hear a discussion on the media in afghanistan. .. members at their annual winter meeting. he is scheduled to speak at 4:45 eastern and we will have live coverage on c-span. >> deaths from other major diseases like heart disease, stroke continue to decline. deaths from alzheimer's increased 50% last five years. five million americans have alzheimer's. at this rate, 35 years as many as 35 million will have the disease. third reason i'm here to show people they are not alone. so few people share personal stories.

special envoy james dobbins was in the taliban to revive talks.xperts say the video is a form of propaganda, and shows the evolution of fighters in the mountains, who are launching attacks. the schemes will be a cause for concern for international troops. and for those taking up the challenge of securing one of the world's most volatile counties. >> involving to syria, it's the second day aid workers have come under fire. they are trying to reach people trapped in homs. 600 civilians were able to escape. stefanie dekker has the latest from beirut. >> captured on video, the help they didn't believe would come had come. this was the moment when the first u.n. cars arrived in the old city of homs. these people have been living under siege for a year and a half. this, finally, their way out. a rare moment of happiness in a war that has brought nothing but suffering. among those, a priest, part of a few christians left inside the old city. >> they are hardly smiling. they are exhausted, starved. we are crying. we want to see people happy. every citizen

state department representative james dobbins will talk about the future of afghanistan. live coverage from the u.s. institute of peace starts at 9:15 eastern on c-span2. on c-span3, the house judiciary possible looks at changes to the criminal code. charged with improving current statutes last year. live coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. eastern. we bring public affairs events from washington directly to you. putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences. in offering complete coverage of the u.s. house as a public service of private industry. we are c-span, and created 35 years ago and funded by your local cable and satellite provider. watch us in hd, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. e-house oversight panel investigates the 2011 downing of a helicopter in afghanistan that left 30 americans dead. pentagon officials testify about the deadliest single day for u.s. forces in the 12 year afghanistan war. this is chaired by jason chaffetz of utah. >>> the committee will come to order. thank you all for being here. >> tha

special envoy, james dobbins was in afghanistan to revive talks between the taliban and afghan governmentexperts say this video is a form of propaganda but add it goes to show the evolution of fighters in the mountains who are now launching complex attacks. these elaborate schemes will be a cause for concern for international troops who are handing over security to the afghan army and for those taking up the challenge of securing one of the world's most volatile countries. al jazeera, islamabad. . >> american officials say that video raises questions of whether afghan forces are ready to protect their country. more from that on washington >> reporter: u.s. officials are reviewing this propaganda individual produced by the taliban. however, one u.s. official says that it's not surprising because it has seen in the past that the the taliban has tried to attack u.s. and coalition forces numerous times during the ongoing war in afghanistan. this is raising new questions about whether afghan security forces are indeed performingas as collision forces should be eight or nine before all coalitio

that, i would like to introduce our keynote speaker, ambassador dobbins. special representative for afghanistan and pakistan, appointed in may of last year. prior to that, he was director of the land policy -- rand policy center. he has held numerous state department and white house posts. he has become perhaps the most experienced diplomatic troubleshooter in the u.s. government. he was the clinton and george w. bush administration special for afghanistan, kosovo, bosnia, haiti, and somalia. all the global garden spots. he hit them all. he has been involved with the american-led intervention in haiti and the nato intervention in kosovo. is truly a man for all seasons, and is a good friend. after september 11, 2001, ambassador dobbins was reported as the bush administration representative, to put together a successor for the ousted taliban regime. he was at the conference that established a new afghan government. he raised the flag over the newly reopened u.s. embassy in kabul. bettert think of a person to be entrusted with guiding u.s. policy through the