guest: i think people in iraq and syria would certainly disagree with that. controlled en and territory, it caught the u.s. and others by surprise back in 2014. that territory has been shrinking dramatically and again ed earlier, envision scenario in the coming month longer they may no control territory in iraq or in still be they could effective at low level insurgency, carrying out car bomb necessary major cities, those type of things. not saying they will disappear, controlling territory and claim thanksgiving islamic very much is threatened in iraq and syria. hey have presence in libya and afghanistan, so the notion of completely seems way off and individual attacks like car bomb necessary multiple countries, could still be there. we are hitting on crucial point of they will be able to hold territory. host: what is the expectation isis once ppens to they stop holding territory? guest: i think you would be and syria, their ability to carry out car bomb attack or individual attack. the other concern, many people came from europe, for example, eastern middle

we respect democracy in iraq. democracy in iraq respects the will of the people and our security forces provide protection to these citizens who are expressing their views freely as long as they are doing it within the boundaries of the law and not attacking people's properties and so forth. this is a great progress in a country that had seen sufferings and oppression. if someone expressed his views, he was killed in the past. today we have done great strides in that field and we provide such freedom to other regions. we will be victorious over isis with our democracy and freedom and diversity. daesh hates diversity and kills those who are opposed to their views. today, we demonstrate to others that we remain united despite the divergent perspectives. in iraq and iraq has always seen such diversity and lived for centuries with such diversity. i will also say that the structure in sameh and the tower can be made resistant and with daesh was destroyed. that shows the extent of the destruction that these terrorist gr

the iraq and afghanistan conflicts. i am joined part inaq and afghanistan conflicts. i am joined here at horse guards parade, as we watch the end of the service of dedication, by lieutenant colonel cliff of the royal marines, who served in these conflicts. what do this service mean to you, lieutenant colonel? it was the final stop on a really important chapter in many people's lives, and for me it was really memorable and a wonderful occasion to come here. the brits do pagea ntry wonderful occasion to come here. the brits do pageantry really well and i think today we are dead ourselves. beautiful day for it as well. so far, so good, as they say. but in a wider context, this attempt to remember the conflict we have seen, really in the last quarter of a century in iraq and afghanistan, and represent and remember notjust the service men and women like yourselves, but the civilians as well. is that important? of course, and asa well. is that important? of course, and as a reservist i have a foot in both camps. the civilians in those countries,

in iraq, more than 1.5 million iraqis have returned to their home that had been under control of isis. the displacement flow outward has been reversed and this is a trend we must ensure continues. in neighboring countries closest to the conflict like jordan, turkey and lebanon have undertaken a widespread humanitarian response to the regional refugee crisis including the acceptance of millions of refugees, many of whom they are working to reintegrate into normal life and their own nations. we especially should recognize the republic of iraq. prime minister abadi who is with me on stage has shown commitment and courage often visiting the front lines to encourage his troops and ensure that people are being cared for after the battles. his desire for stability and inclusive governance drives his vision for the future of iraq. the ongoing iraqi-led retaking of mosul is pushing isis out of a key strong hold and liberating more than a million civilians. iraqi forces, many trained by our coalition are performing heroically and placing protection of civilians at the forefront of their militar

has faced in either iraq or afghanistan. capable and has many more fighters deeply entrenched inside a city that was home to 1.2 million civilians. even in this last portion of western mosul you saw how hundreds of thousands of civilians who cannot flee even if they wanted to because everyone we spoke to who tried to escape said isis turned them back at gunpoint. we also spoke to numerous civilians who lost loved ones or some who hand nagged to survive the situation, isis would hold them at gunpoint in their homes while at the same time using their roof tops for fighting positions. this is a tragedy, of awful proportions. while we were in mosul yesterday we spoke to a handful of people that were in a neighborhood that had already been liberated, describing the sheer terror and horror of war. one woman we met, in fact, was staying behind because she was waiting, hoping that her husband somehow would return to her because he had been taken away by isis the day before this area was liberated. you have these stories of the nightm

remembering those who served in iraq afghanistan and in the gulf war. memorial commemorates the lives and service of all who took pa rt lives and service of all who took part in the operations in iraq and afghanistan. the queen unveils a memorial, dedicated to both soldiers and civilians, at a special service in central london an australian man alleged to have posed asjustin bieber online is charged with more than 900 and one of the most improbable comebacks in european football history — barcelona produce a stunning victory in the champions league to knock out paris st germain to reach the quarterfinals. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the chancellor philip hammond has defended his plan to raise national insurance contributions for the self—employed, saying the government faces "new challenges." mr hammond is facing criticism of the budget announcement for apparently going against a 2015 manifesto pledge on tax rises. the change, due to come in next year, will mean 1.6 million self—employed people paying on average £240 more every year. labour

today it is it now broadly edged that the war in iraq -- acknowledged that the war in iraq -- and i am very proud that i was one top the leaders of the opposition to that war -- it is widely acknowledged that the war was a foreign policy blunder of enormous unthinkable magnitude. the war in iraq led to the deaths of some 4400 brave american soldiers, and the wounding -- and i speak as the former chairman of the senate committee on veterans affairs -- the wounding of tens of thousands of others, both physical and emotional. not to mention the pain inflected on the families. the wifes and the children, of the men and women who suffered. the war in iraq led to conservatively speaking the deaths of over 100,000 iraqi civilians and the wounding and displacement of many times more than that. more people than that. it created, as you all know, cascade of instability around the region that we are still dealing with today in syria and elsewhere, and we will be dealing with that for many years to come. and by the way, that war in iraq cost us trillion of dollars, money that should have been spen

my son was called kris 0'neill, he was killed in iraq in 2007. s the main thing. that is the main thing. with all the controversy over the iraq war, i did not even think we would get a memorial, but it shows what people power can do. but delight at public recognition was tempered by regret. a very fitting service, a very pretty memorial, but very frustrated. bereaved parents, family members, were not originally invited to this. those who were invited saw a sculpture that offered a glimpse of the past and the future. today brought a good closure to the events, both iraq, which was quite traumatic, and afghanistan, which i went to four times, which was very traumatic. there are still people out there. ileave injune. and i am leaving a team behind that will continue working. one day, sergeant mark lunn and his wife michelle will pass on their iraq experiences to their son alfie, not on his best behaviour this morning. but the queen was amused. alfie, and generations to come, will have a permanent reminder of a chapter in our history that remains unfi

the queen unveils a memorial in london to service personnel and civilians who served and worked in iraqfghanistan. the ceremony in victoria embankment gardens was followed a service for 2,500 veterans on horse guards parade. welcome. the chancellor philip hammond has defended his plan to raise national insurance contributions for self—employed people, saying the government faces "new challenges." mr hammond is facing criticism, including from his own backbenches, for apparently going back on a 2015 manifesto pledge not to raise tax or national insurance. the change, due to come in next year, will mean 1.6 million self—employed people paying, on average, an extra £240 a year. labour has accused the government of breaking its promise. here's our political correspondent eleanor garnier. voiceover: learning to solve technical problems at a college in dudley in the west midlands this morning. and after yesterday's budget the chancellor's the one looking for a nswers after criticism over his plans to hike up national insurance. i think the decision we made is a fair decision, to ask self—empl

the president says we're doing very well in iraq. the iraqis say about that characterization. >> reporter: it's a simplification. are the iraqi security forces backed by the u.s. coalition slowly and painfully making advances against isis in mosul? yes. of course they are. but it has come at an astrono c astronomical cost for the country. we have that in the spotlight because of the investigations being carried out by the u.s. and iraqis into whether or not a number of strikes may have caused civilian casualties. the bottom line, david, this is a battlefield. and it is arguably one of the toughest battlefields in modern history because not only do you have an enemy that is as vicious and experienced and sophisticated as isis you have the iraqi security forces trying to dislodge them from a city that had a population of around 1.2 million people before this operation began. and isis did not allow the population to leave. they effectively held them all as human shields. when we were down in western mosul yesterday we were able to speak

strikes in iraq and syria has outpaced those linked to russia. the scrutiny has been compounded by a string of high-profile reported u.s. attacks in both countries, including assault on a mosque, a school, and most recently a building apparently used as a shelter in the rocky city of mosul that is currently being investigated, appropriately so. --se reports come alongside they are considering relaxing rules of engagement put in place by the obama administration, which made an f at avoiding civilian deaths. there has not been such a change. takeaid the coalition will extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians. can you tell us how you balance the pursuit of important military perspectives -- objectives with those measures? and fighting an enemy that increasingly puts civilians in harms way, how much risk should the u.s. and its civilian coalition partners except in limiting air or artillery strikes where it may be difficult to confirm civilian presence, especially in mosul, where civilians have been directed to shelter in place? there are so

thornberry: and you have a long experience in iraq dealing with this enemy. describe their ability to create further that they see as in their interest? one example that stuck out in my mind, i remember in iraq after a raid or something, the enemy came and deposited dead bodies and then brought cameras in to make it look like they had been killed as a part of the raid, when in fact, they had not. they were brought in after the fact. can you describe the sophistication of their efforts? gen. votel: thank you, mr. chairman. i agree with you. the enemy we have faced in afghanistan and iraq, syria and other places are particularly savvy and how they use information operations. isis is well skilled in this. they have professionals who have expertise in this particular area so they know how to manipulate the information environment and create situations that they know will cause concern for us in western countries. as i mentioned in my comments to you, i do believe they do concern touse our operate at higher standards and prevent civilian casualties as a way to dist

troops are fighting in iraq like never before. and i asked the white house press secretary about both of those comments and whether or not they were really in touch with reality. sean spicer said, well on health care, he was just joking when he said that it would be such an easy one. he was sort of poking fun at i suppose the fact that they were not able to turn this into such an easy ones in terms of getting health care pass 37d here's a bit of how that played out. >> if you couple that comment with the comment on health care, it being an easy one to get that done, it sounds like he's -- you probably have heard this and come across this notion he's detached from reality in making those comments. >> first of all, i again woman respectfully ask you to review the tape. he was having a light-hearted moment. it's on tape. he was poking fun and making a joke. there's been comments before how he didn't get it and he was joking about how easy it was. okay? it was a light-hearted moment. it was on tape. i think everybody and the idea there

chris: how close in iraq, in syria, how close is isis to defeat? >> well, in iraq is there. s sure, is definite. we finish the job in a very short time. it is within reach. chris: by when? >> within next few weeks. chris: within the next few weeks, daesh, isis will be gone from iraq? >> yes. militarily. we are defeating them militarily. as a terrorist organization, i have said before, they will will try. so that's where we need the efforts of others to flesh them out in syria and other places. chris: there are now 5,000 u.s. troops in iraq, and the chairman of the joint chiefs, general dunford, talks about wanting to keep troops in your country for a long time. >> we have, as has nato, begun a dialogue about a long-term commitment to grow the capacity, maintain the capacity of iraqi curt forces, but no -- security forces, but no decisions have been made yet. chris: how many u.s. troops do you want in iraq and for how long? >> we are concentrating on training, logistical support and intelligence cooperation and gathering. these are three important elements which i think we nee

strikes in iraq and syria have now outpace those linked to russia. the scripting has been compounded by a string of high-profile report of u.s. attacks in both countries including assaults on a mosque, a school and most recently a building apparently used as a center in the iraqi city of mosul that is now being investigated appropriately so. these reports come alongside indications that the administration is considering relaxing the rules of engagement put in place by the obama administration which made a concerted effort avoiding civilian deaths and you have said today that there has not been such a change. i have read that you said that the coalition will quote take extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians and quote. can you tell us how you balance the pursuit, very important military objective with those extraordinary measures and in particular when fighting an enemy that intentionally places civilians in harm's way, we all know that, how much risk the should the u.s. and its civilian coalition partners accepted limiting air or artillery s

the war in iraq, like many other military conflicts, had unintended consequences. it ended up making us less safe, not more safe. in contrast, the iran nuclear deal, a deal that didn't promote or prompt great dramatic speeches, a deal that was enormously complicated, a deal that took an enormous amount of quiet diplomatic work, that deal helped the security of the united states and our partners. yes, it helped the security of israel as many as israeli security experts have acknowledged. that is the power of diplomacy, that, in my view, is what real leadership is about. some who oppose this nuclear deal have attacked its supporters, including j street for being part of a so-called echo chamber. the truth is, that here in washington, there has been for many, many years a very loud and powerful echo chamber which called for war. it is about time that we had an echo chamber that called for peace. thank you, j street. as some of you may know, a few years ago when i was a young man, i had a connection to the state of israel in the sense that i lived on a kibbutz for many

this wonderful memorial to all of those who served in iraq and afghanistan. ved in those conflicts. it is here on the banks of the river thames. the founder of a charity which supports people who as children were forcibly sent abroad without their parents has been giving evidence at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. margaret humphreys said the deportation of thousands of children was the "most catastrophic child abuse legacy within our living memory." here's our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. margaret humphreys has worked most of her life for the british child migrants. her offices are covered with the pictures of those she's helped. today, 30 years after founding the child migrants trust, she finally got to give evidence to a british public inquiry, and she didn't hold back. without doubt this is the most catastrophic child—abuse legacy within our living memory. kidnapping, sexual abuse in the uk before they were sent — before they were sent! between 1945 and 1974 britain accelerated the migration of poor children, in particular to au

we have got those in iraq, with the iraqi army. on the syrian side of the border harder to find. m: thank you very much indeed. >> pleasure. tim: in other stories, pope francis has asked for god's forgiveness for what he calls the sins and failings of the roman catholic church during the genocide back in 1994. it came after he met with the rwanda president. his government requested an apology from the vatican last year for the role that some catholic priests played. some consumers have brazilian meat have suspended imports on allegations that companies have been selling unsafe me for years. in a meeting with investors from europe, united states, and china, brazil's president says he is confident of the quality of brazilian meat. it is the world's biggest red meat exporter. thefive main candidates for french presidency are taking part in the first of three televised debates. the two current front-runners, liberal centrist emmanuel macron and far right politician marine le pen, are hoping to consolidate their positions ahead of the election's first round next month. the divorce date

first islamic state group is under increasing pressure in iraq and in syria area in the iraqi city of mosul, government troops are closing in on the jihadi held western districts, u.s. backed forces have captured a major bridge which leads directly to their stronghold and they now control two out of the city's five bridges. liberate mosul, the last iraqi city under isis control, began back in october. france 24 is there. what is the latest? is what wehe latest witnessed on the ground in mosul today and over the past 48 hours. it is certainly a fluid situation. those we spoke to are openly admitting it is a complicated task, the one they are faced with because of the fierce resistance their forces are encountering in the ground. jihadists using hard bombs and suicide operations to stymie the offense of those iraqi troops. western mosul is a lot more complicated to navigate than the eastern counterpart. narrower inlot terms of the space, the alleyways and the urban planning if you can collect that. very chaotic in the western part of mosul, which means death to moving vehicles and troop

. >> reporter: rash comments on the war in iraq from president trump. em as more ral blooster in chief. but it seems a peculiar time. >> the really hard fighting occurred with the invasion of iraq in 2003, 2004, 2007. >> roiptd the comments come just after word of a formal investigation into u.s.-led air strike in mosul after more than 100 civilian deaths. the trump administration dropped 100 precision guided bombs of mosul last week according to the pentagon. one official said it's harder to attack isis. >> it's going to become more and more difficult. >> reporter: as the trump white house increases bombing and troop levels against isis in several countries, still no sign of a trump military strategy. >> i think there's the vague idea that you have to throw some troops at the problem, whether the problem is in iraq, syria, or yemen or some other place. roimt more u.s. troops are headed overseas. >> i think that is what you continue to see with all of these deployments right here. we are not -- we have -- one of our key principles here with our focus for

strikes in iraq and syria. meanwhile, the pentagon is also expanding its role in the saudi-led war in yemen. we will get the latest on iraq and yemen. then to a historic debate at the united nations. >> the doomsday clock indicating how close the humidity is to at 2.5ophe has been set midnight, the worst since 1953. worse than the other time, even at the height of the cold war. amy: more than 120 nations have begun drafting a u.n. treaty to ban nuclear weapons but the united states is leading a boycott of the talks. we'll find out why. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a federal judge in hawaii dealt another blow on wednesday to president trump's attempt to ban refugees and travelers from six majority-muslim countries. district judge derrick watson extended a nationwide halt on trump's executive order, which would bar citizens of iran, libya, somalia, sudan, syria, and yemen from entering the u.s. for 90 days and all refugees for

>> we're doing very good in iraq. >> reporter: rare comments on the war in iraq. nt have meant them as morale booster in chief but our timing seems peculiar. >> our soldiers are fighting and like never before. >> in this particular case he was ignoring the fact that the really hard fighting occurred with the invasion of iraq in 2003 and 2004 and 2007. >> reporter: comments also come after word of a formal investigation into u.s.-led air strike in mosul after more than 100 civilian deaths. the trump administration is now dropping 500 precision-guided bombings on mosul every week a u.s. defense official tells cnn. the top commander acknowledges that keeping civilians out of the line of fire while attacking isis is growing harder. >> as we move into these urban environments, it is going to become more and more difficult. >> reporter: as the trump white house increases bombing and troop levels against isis in several countries, still no sign of a trump military strategy. >> i think there's the vague idea that you have to throw some troops at the problem, whether the pr

-led coalition airstrikes in iraq and syria in march alone. the high civilian death toll is leading many to question whether the us military has loosened the rules of engagement that seek to limit civilian casualties. the pentagon maintains the rules have not changed. we'll have more on u.s.-led airstrikes, including the devastating strike in mosul later in the broadcast. the washington post" reports james matattis is asking the trump adadministration to lt obama euro r restrictions so the u.s. military can provide more support for the saudi led war in yemen. the u.s. already authorizes weapons sales to saudi ararabia provide other assistance, including mid air refueling t to saudi warplanes for the onongoig bombining camampaign.. on sunday, tenens of thousandsdf yemenis rallied in the streets of sydney -- s sanaa to proteset the w war. the fifth round of syria peace talks have begun in geneva. at least 16 civilians including women and chilled were killed by an airstrike on a market in the suburb of damascus on saturday. and d russia, as many

my son was killed in iraq in 2007. at least they are all being recognised, that is the main thing. aq war i did not even think we would get a memorial, but it shows what people power can do. but delight at public recognition was tempered by regret that invitations were not extended to all of the families. a very fitting service and a very fitting memorial, but very frustrated. bereaved parents, family members, were not originally invited to this. those who were invited saw asculpture that offered a glimpse a sculpture that offered a glimpse of the past and the future. one day sergeant mark lamb and his wife michelle will pass on their iraq experiences to their son alfie, not on his best behaviour this morning. he and generations to come will have a permanent reminder of a chapter in our history that remains unfinished business. hello, this is outside source. the us is expanding its presence in syria. a00 extra marines will offer support to local militia trying to drive the islamic state group out of raqqa. last month we brought you the story of this baby chimp, nemleyjunior. he was

in the original travel ban. after you raised strong objections, iraq was taken off the list. you think of the travel ban in general? political policy, and have other arab leaders spent as upset about it as you were? >> prime minister: we are allies. we are victims of terrorism. it is not acceptable to us, especially when you have u.s. soldiers, u.s. officers working with iraqis in iraq. i'm working with the iraqis. i think that's a major point that was rectified and i'm very thankful. >> chris: after 14 years in iraq, america wonder what's going to happen to your country at one of the big concerns as this. can you guarantee that enron will not have undue influence or even control over some parts of iraq? >> prime minister: iraq is for iraqis. iraqis are nationalist. they don't accept anybody controlling them. >> chris: put it around plays a big role in the shield parts of the country. >> prime minister: the neighbors play a role. we want to pretend that -- prevent the bad side. >> chris: finally, ever since we talked saddam hussein, it seems that the different parts of the cou

in 2003, and the invasion of iraq int they could. the felt the job they done the best they could. the felt thejob they had done the best they could. the felt the job they had dug was the best they could. they accept its unfinished but at least they did something to give those countries a start. national anthem plays. her majesty the queen and the duke of edinburgh here. they are arriving for the service of dedication. here at horse guards parade. national anthem plays. and the queen will be greeted here by the chief of the defence staff air chief marshal sir stuart peach. and lord lieutenant ken lisa. the start of this service of dedication which we will be bringing to you live here on bbc news. after the service, just after 11:30am the queen will make her wait to victoria embankment gardens, where the memorial is situated overlooking the thames. the iraq afghanistan memorial and she will unveil it, that £1 million memorial that has been created by paul day with two stones to represent iraq and afghanistan. and a bronze

my son was called kris o'neill, he was killed in iraq in 2007. the main thing. that is the main thing. with all the controversy over the iraq war, i did not even think we would get a memorial, but it shows what people power can do. but delight at public recognition was tempered by regret. a very fitting service, a very pretty memorial, but very frustrated. bereaved parents, family members, were not originally invited to this. those who were invited saw a sculpture that offered a glimpse of the past and the future. today brought a good closure to the events, both iraq, which was quite traumatic, and afghanistan, which i went to four times, which was very traumatic. there are still people out there. ileave injune. and i am leaving a team behind that will continue working. one day, sergeant mark lunn and his wife michelle will pass on their iraq experiences to their son alfie, not on his best behaviour this morning. but the queen was amused. alfie, and generations to come, will have a permanent reminder of a chapter in our history that remains unfini

strikes in iraq andnd syri.

my son was called kris 0'neill, he was killed in iraq in 2007. n thing. with all the controversy over the iraq war, i did not even think we would get a memorial, but it shows what people power can do. but delight at public recognition was tempered by regret. a very fitting service, a very pretty memorial, but very frustrated. bereaved parents, family members, were not originally invited to this. those who were invited saw a sculpture that offered a glimpse of the past and the future. today brought a good closure to the events, both iraq, which was quite traumatic, and afghanistan, which i went to four times, which was very traumatic. there are still people out there. ileave injune. and i am leaving a team behind that will continue working. one day, sergeant mark lunn and his wife michelle will pass on their iraq experiences to their son alfie, not on his best behaviour this morning. but the queen was amused. alfie, and generations to come, will have a permanent reminder of a chapter in our history that remains unfinished business. robert hall, bbc

garamendi: the continuing war in afghanistan and also now in iraq and syria is based on that 2001 authorization to use military force which was specific as a result of the 9/11 incident. in fact, it was september 18 that that actually was passed through congress. here we are all these years later and we're waging war around the world. we must come to grips to this, understand what's going on. the actual resolution doesn't stop and doesn't pull the troops out but it forces the congress to come to grips with this and say, ok, we're going to stay and we're going to spend the lives, we're going to spend the lives or not. host our window guests if you want to ask them -- our -- host: our two guests if you want to ask them questions -- host: what are our current resources to date? mr. wilson: we have roughly 2,000 troops there and civilian employees over there. the point is we're spending about $3 billion to $4 billion month in addition to that we already spent. -- spent. total is about $4 billion a month. mr. garamendi: we now have new administration. trump says he'll wipe isis off the face of the e

>> navai: these men are in the badr organization, the biggest militia in iraq. last year, along with other militias, they were granted official recognition by the iraqi government. they are supposed to answer directly to the prime minister, but in practice they have their own allegiances and chains of command. the post's senior officer, who goes by abu sajjad, says isis attacked a few days earlier. >> navai: the bodies of isis fighters lie between the lines. (shouting) suddenly, the militiamen spot some civilians fleeing isis territory. we head into no-man's land to meet them. the road is pockmarked with craters from ieds that isis fighters plant every night. the family's right ahead of us, a few dozen people. they've been walking all night to get here. salam alaikum. the refugees are sunni muslims, from the isis-held town of hawija. how are you feeling, how was your journey? (baby crying) >> navai: the guys here say we may be monitored by isis right now, fighters often shoot across, so we're leaving. >> navai: the militiamen bring the refugees to their base for

in iraq? there are about i've thousand, 5500. most of them in a kind of training role. l—abadi asking donald trump in the early days about these restrictions on iraqi forces. he has won a battle against the usa administration? or has found allies. secretary matters, the new national security advisor, general mcmaster, they work well and i expect the prime minister had a receptive audience and people to carry his into the administration water into the administration and make his case. and we have president trump hosting this meeting, 68 countries in the fight against ”sass—ff ww this meeting, 68 countries in the fight against ”a“ state, 77, ww this meeting, 68 countries in the fight against ”a“ state, what as, *w this meeting, 68 countries in the fight against ”a“ state, what do 7 ww fight against islamic state, what do we expect america will offer to spearhead any agreement with all of those different countries?” spearhead any agreement with all of those different countries? i expect the 68 countries are going to be looking less at iraq, as you mentioned. that fight is n

the queen has unveiled a memorial in london in honour of all those from the uk who served in iraq andment — on the banks of the thames — is dedicated to civilians as well as servicemen and women. before the unveiling, a special service took place in horse guards parade. live to ben brown who's been following events for us. thank you. yes, we are right in front of the iraq afghanistan memorial here. it is a beautiful sunny afternoon. you can see here some servicemen and women, past and present, having a look at the memorial which hasjust present, having a look at the memorial which has just been unveiled by the queen. it is really two half, two stone monoliths. one representing iraq, the other afghanistan. in the middle a bronze plate with a picture of troops in action on afghanistan on one side and on the other side is civilians. this is a memorial very much to remember those who served in the military in iraq and afghanistan but also civilians. aid workers, humanitarian workers, people involved in the reconstruction work. iam going involved in the reconstruction work. i am going to t

and the queen unveils a memorial dedicated to those who served in conflicts in iraq, afghanistan, and gulf war. and the queen unveils a memorial dedicated to those who served and coming up in the sport on bbc news. england and scotland name their teams for saturday's calcutta cup match in the six nations, with billy vunipola on the bench for eddiejone‘s side at twickenham. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the chancellor philip hammond has defended his plan to raise national insurance contributions for the self—employed, saying the government faces "new challenges." mr hammond is facing criticism of the budget announcement for apparently going against a 2015 manifesto pledge on tax rises. the change, due to come in next year, will mean 1.6 million self—employed people paying on average £240 more every year. labour has accused the government of breaking its promise. here's our political correspondent eleanor garnier. learning to solve technical problems ata learning to solve technical problems at a college in dudley in the west midlands this morning, and after yesterda

my son was killed in iraq in 2007. at least they are all being recognised, that is the main thing. roversy over the iraq war i did not even think we would get a memorial, but it shows what people power can do. but delight at public recognition was tempered by regret that invitations we re tempered by regret that invitations were not extended to all very families. a very pretty service and a very pretty memorial, but very frustrated. brief parents, family members, were not originally invited to this. those who were invited sort of sculpture that offered a glimpse of sculpture that offered a glimpse of the past and the future. today brought closer to the event, iraq was quite traumatic and afghanistan where i went to 44 times which was very traumatic. there are still people out there. i am leaving the team behind that will continue working. i leave in june. one day sergeant mark lamb and his wife michelle will pass on their iraq experiences to their son alfie, not on his best behaviour this morning. he and generations to come will have a permanent reminder of a chapter in our history

policy debate, on what is our responsibility. >> the continuing war in afghanistan, and also now in iraq and syria, is based on that 2001 authorization to use military force which was specific as a result of the 9/11 incident. in fact it was september 18th that that actually was wpassed through congress. here we are 17 years later. the resolution doesn't pull the troops out. it forces the congress to come to grips with this and say, we're going to stay, spend the money, spend the lives, or not. >> if you want to ask our guests questions. afghanistan veterans, if you want to give your thoughts and perspective on this topic. what are our current resources as far as manpower and otherwise in afghanistan to date? >> we have roughly 8,000 troops still there. of course we have the civilian employees over there. the point is that we're spending about 3 to $4 billion a month in addition to what we've already spent. that's the average going in every month to afghanistan every month total. >> we now have a new administration. we have trump saying he's going to wipe isis off the face of the earth.