-- in general abizaid's proposed posting to riyadh. the one senior military officer who early on demonstrated an inkling of understanding of the long war's true nature now prepares to take up an assignment in what is, in essence, the very center of the enemy's camp." so given what you have said, given trump's extremely close alliance with saudi arabia, why do you think he has chosen to nominate possibly the one senior military figure who has identified saudi arabia itself as the source of so much conflict in the region itself an opposition to the interest of the u.s.? >> i think that based on general abizaid's testimony at his confirmation hearings, he has abandoned the analysis that he had made back in 2003, 2004. just the clip you played showed him basically reciting what has been the standard line with regard to the u.s.-saudi arabia relationship going back decades. that is to say this partnership, as he called it, is of great strategic importance to the united states. and then he when on to recite in a notably passionless way the c

abizaid, general abizaid on how you work with officials to advance u.s. object is on a wide range of issues including saudi's will to yemen conflict, the gcc crisis with qatar and reported human rights. in addition to that, we welcome mr. tueller regarding the iraq post. he remains ongoing tensions between bag dad and the kurds as we all know, particularly in the north, preparing this relationship needs to be a priority for the united states. the kurds have been a good friend of ours become a good allies and it's important to relationship in iraq be repaired or this comes at a time when the iraqi parliament is preparing to did a revolution that would significantly affect the u.s. presence there. this is a hugely concerning prospect and i look forward to hearing from you how we can work together to communicate our shared security interests with officials in iraq had with battle yield to the ranking member, senator menendez. thank you, mr. chairman. and i just want to tell our distinguished friend and colleague, senator sullivan for my travels abroad, i thi

his new ambassador to saudi arabia general john abizaid faced tough questions about how he sees this. his nomination comes at a time when global scrutiny for journalists murder and its involvement in the war in the yemen she had reports from washington. sectarian violence the u.s. hasn't had a saudi ambassador since donald trump took office and retired general john abizaid acknowledged that if congress confirms him for the position he was soon to drop out a difficult time this is not to say that i am unaware of the challenges facing the u.s. saudi partnership today war in yemen the senseless killing of jamal to show wrists and the gulf alliance alleged abuses of innocent people to include an american citizen and female activists all present immediate challenges that american citizen is one lead fatah he who was arrested in november of twenty seventeen in a roundup of influential figures in the kingdom the late washington post columnist jamal khashoggi drew attention to his disappearance as part of his wider critique of developments in saudi arabia then in october of last year was murd

but when pressed about how he plans to do that, here's what abizaid told lawmakers. >> ambassadors don't>> abizaid says he believes it is critical to make sure the saudis know what we stand for and that he will make sure those ideals are conveyed clearly. >>> u.s. intelligence officials are for longer required to publicly report civilian deaths in air strikes against terrorist targets when they occur outside areas of hostilities. president trump just signed an executive order. it is not clear whether the new policy will result in less transparency. the most recent government report from january 2017 says the u.s. government conducted 54 strikes outside of iraq, syria and afghanistan in 2016 resulting in one civilian death. >>> who is tim apple? we'll answer that question when we come back. more than just investment advice. from insurance to savings to retirement, it takes someone with experience and knowledge who can help me build a complete plan. brian, my certified financial planner™ professional, is committed to working in my best interest. i call it my "comfortable future plan," and

saw this condemnation across the board from the senators as for the possible future ambassador mr abizaid he basically agree repeated the trump administration lines that they need to have a good relationship with saudi arabia that it's bigger than just the crown prince he disagrees with the moves by anyone in congress to potentially end cooperation in the war in yemen saying that they need to fight right and if they're going to fight right we need to help them and he really pushed back on any moves from congress to do anything to rein in saudi arabia but he did say that there has to be accountability and accountability for the killing of shoji he didn't exactly say what that would be. thank you very much for that for now that's. what the latest live in washington d.c. thank you. germany has extended and sales ban on saudi arabia despite pressure from european partners like russia and from the german foreign minister who come also the band will continue until the end of the month to evaluate salvia arabia's military involvement in yemen the restrictions were imposed after the murder of jam

john abizaid i want to start with you . saudi arabia is in my judgment a deeply problematic ally their human rights record has been sorely lacking, they have for many years been willing to fund jihadism on the principle that if you feed the crocodile perhaps it will eat you last . their conduct with regard to jamaal khashoggi was abominable and unacceptable . on all of those fronts i think we should be clear and explicit condemning their actions. at the same time they are none the less an ally and critically they are a vital counterpoint to the nation of iran. as i look to the middle east the rivalry between iran and saudi arabia, any conduct that the united states congress does to we can saudi arabia weaken saudi arabia, to my mind is harming the national security interest of america. a stronger iran with an pledging death to america, funding terrorists actively trying to murder americans, a stronger iran makes for a more dangerous world. do you share that assessment and what role do you believe saudi arabia plays in count

army general john abizaid who's donald trump's nominee for the role of ambassador to saudi arabia has been speaking about the reforms that the kingdom must make in order for a more stable middle east and he listed some of the things the u.s. believes need to change this is not to say that i am unaware of the challenges facing the u.s. saudi partnership today war in yemen the senseless killing of jamal khashoggi wrists and the gulf alliance alleged abuses of innocent people to include an american citizen and female activists all present immediate challenges in canada the case of weiwei executive manga has now been adjourned to may when a date could be set for an extradition hearing she was arrested in december and vancouver airport at the request of the us which believes she want to avoid u.s. sanctions on iran and occasions both she and the company deny of more on this tiny lack joins us from toronto donna what happens next then. well we got an indication from today's court proceedings this was just to set a date as you said but defense lawyers for ms monk and there are several of the

saudi relationship but said there are still challenges retired army general john abizaid made the comments during his confirmation hearing when lawmakers condemned the kingdom's role in the war in yemen and the measure of janice jamal khashoggi the u.s. has not had an ambassador in saudi arabia since trump became president in january tenth was twenty seventeen this is not to say that i am unaware of the challenges facing the u.s. saudi partnership today war in yemen the senseless killing of jamal khashoggi wrists and the gulf alliance alleged abuses of innocent people to include an american citizen and female activists all present immediate challenges and he seventeen people have been killed in a suicide attack on construction workers in eastern afghanistan four attackers raided the base of a construction company near jalalabad effort igniting a five hour gun battle the attackers were also killed no group has claimed responsibility but both the taliban and i so are active in the area. strikes at one of kenya's main airports have grounded flights disrupting hundreds of journeys riot police

when he was pressed about how he plans to did that, here is what abizaid told lawmakers. >> ambassadorsountries accountable. countries hold countries accountable. >> he said it is critical to make sure that the saudis know what we stand for. >>> embattled celebrity kref mario batali is now fully divested from his restaurants. this is more than a year after he was accused much sexual misconduct. six of his restaurants have closed in the last year. the cases were closed in january with no charges filed. >>> an arizona prosecutor has determined uber should not face charges in death of a woman struck by one of its self-driving test cars. elaine was killed last march after the autonomous vehicle slammed into her as she was crossing the street at night. the test driver could still face charges. dash cam footage appears to show vasquez taking her eyes off the road moments before the crash. >>> temperatures stuck below freezing across the northeast today with another big storm moving in on the west coast. derek van dam has the forecast. >> good morning dave and christine. the calendar says marc

oodruff: today, the administration's nominee to necome ambassador to saudi arabia, retired l john abizaidstified in the senate. he dended the kingdom's importance to u.s. foreign policy, despite sharp iticism from senators who accuse the kingdom of cracking down on its critics. f eign affairs correspondent nick schifrin reports, even sai citizens here in the united states say they can't escape the watchful eye of their government.ol >> schifrin:ge senior abdulrahman al-mutairy is carefree with his classmates,t feels he has to watch his back. >> i was extremely afraid.to i hahange my location. i didn't know what could happen next. i didn't know what to expect. n>> schifrin: in a manhat art gallery, photographer danah al-mayouf is worried. >> who are these people attacking me all the time, who want to basically put me in jail, want to see me homeless in america? >> schifrin: and in washington, d.c., georgetown university fellow abdullah alaoudh says00 even 6iles from home, there's nowhere to hide. >> they have no limits. they can reach you everywhere. they fear every criticism. >> schifrin:

in the hot seat was president trump's nominee, retired general john abizaid, calling for saudi arabiao be held for the khashoggi killing, but reminded senators of the importance of the u.s./saudi relationship. joining me now is ali shahabi, featured in my special report, saudi arabia, kingdom of secrets, founder of the arabia foundation, based in washington. what do you make of this kind of rhetoric coming from marco rubio, an ally of the president, strong foreign policy senator. it does feel like the mood -- the attitude towards saudi arabia among key republican senators has really changed. >> well, it clearly has. i think what they're all missing is that saudi arabia has had to go through a period of wrenching change in the last two years. wrenching change from above in any society throughout history is extremely dangerous. and the saudi government has gotten more authoritarian over the last two years, hoping to keep the shift together, which they have so far succeeded very well, actually. you haven't had street demonstrations, you haven't had terrorism. you haven't had any sort of

this took place as we were finally going to, i presume, confirm general abizaid as ambassador to saudi arabia, pretty shocking that we haven't had anyone there in two years. that said, what about your resolution next week to cut off arms sales for the continuing saudi war in yemen, american arms sales? are republicans going to support you enough? could you get a veto-proof majority here? >> i think it's unlikely that we're going to get a veto-proof majority. we had enough to get 50 votes. i don't know that we have enough to get over 60 votes. the trump administration is lobbying hard against it. this yemen resolution is really important. it's important for a couple of reasons. it's important because, you know, we are participating in alleged war crimes in yemen today. and we shouldn't go in even with an ally like saudi arabia if they're going to be intentionally killing civilians as they are. mohammed bin salman ordered the murder of jamal khashoggi. by passing a resolution that gets us out of the yemen war, it is a direct message to mohammed bin salman about the nature of our relation

to israel alone a prominent gyptian photojournalist mahmoud abizaid better known as shall khan has been released after more than five years in prison he posted this picture on his twitter account with the hash tag asphalt seized by egypt's political prisoners when they are freed shock and was arrested in two thousand and thirteen while taking pictures of anti military process and was later convicted with seven hundred others on charges of taking part in an authorised protest murder and membership of the banned muslim brotherhood group. in journalism we are taught to report the story and not be part of the story and unfortunately what happened with me was i was the story they said and. i am not the first or last journalist to be detained famous journalists were detained and resumed their work when they were released i hope to follow the same path. al jazeera is mahmoud hussein has been in an egyptian prison for more than two years he's been held without charges a trial or conviction it was detained by egyptian authorities on december twentieth twenty sixteen while on holiday on a holiday