we spent about $753 billion in afghanistan. one of the things we spent a lot of money on was opium eradication. it seems like over the last decade the most money we spent the more opium got grown. and a record crop is coming out of afghanistan this year. why? >> i think on the opium side we, the united states, always took second place. we sub credited that out to the united kingdom. we had to lead the efforts in the beginning. it was never the first priorities of the united states. the biggest area of our failure was helping to develop rule of law and governance. afghanistan during the period of the war against the soviets and the civil war produced a class of warlords and group of people who were so horrible to the population they often welcomed the taliban in their place. when we went in, we adopted some of toes people. we kept some of those warlords around, we used them because it was cheaper, and it was a big mistake. a lot of those people are here. when the taliban come in and say we're going to be tough on people, but we'

[inaudible] i'm a correspondent from afghanistan and basically from afghanistan, too mac. everything looks wonderful after the big change in afghanistan but the only concern this is the policy of pakistan, do you think that after the new government in afghanistan and pakistan is able to change the policy towards afghanistan? >> we've been pushing them to change their policy for as long as i can remember. maybe a dozen trips to afghanistan in troops to afghanistan in the last ten years or so and used to go to pakistan. we've received so much false information in afghanistan about the policies i just don't even go there anymore. i don't want to hear their line anymore frankly about what they are doing. at one point i had the head of intelligence say if you could point out to us where in pakistan that people the people are that are supporting the taliban in afghanistan we will go after them and they looked at him like all you kidding? you know where they are, you are supporting them. so i've given up in terms of trying to change their policy towards afghanistan. we shouldn't

we traveled to afghanistan in the midst of this transition. but on the base we found a story that isn't being told. the people doing the day-to-day work here are mostly civilian contract workers - men from india and nepal, who traveled to a war zone just for the promise of a good job. for many of them, that promise turned out to be a lie. they ended up deceived and indebted, victims of human traffickers who thrive on military contracts. fault lines examines the lives of these workers - and investigates how the american military has come to rely on an indentured workforce. camp marmal is the largest base in northern afghanistan. nato's mission here centers on training the afghan national army. >> the complexity, when we first got here i started thinking about it. it almost becomes overwhelming. >> this is the us regional garrison commander, responsible for daily operations in the north. >> there's a lot of great contractors that come up here. local nationals, third country nationals, us expats. they're really good, they work together. >> what a

troops in afghanistan presumably through 2016.hat do you say to afghan citizens who don't want u.s. troops in the country beyond that time? we have lost him. why don't you pick up on that for us. >> sure. afghans have many different views. however, i think they recognize some help is smart. so i think there are more afghans worried about the plan for the united states and its allies to leave in two years, than the number who are upset they are staying until then. in more friendly parts of afghanistan you may have a real antipathy against foreigners, but most of the afghan, political, and economic elites that i know -- and admitted it is not a represented part of society -- but it is backed up community polls, they do still want a limited presence. >> we asked her community what their thoughts about the u.s. troops that will be in afghanistan: >> all right. well, we're going to continue this conversation. next and explore how far afghanistan has come since the fall of the taliban in 2001, and where it still needs to go. plus she is

afghanistan. and i will have a few remarks on another subject after i spend a few moments on afghanistan. now, i'm somebody whose hopeful about afghanistan's future because of the progress that we have helped bring about there in the last several years, and i'm hopeful because of that recent peaceful democratic transition of power which is a first in afghanistan's long history. the transition offers increased reason for optimism that we have an essential ingredient for success in place in afghanistan. perhaps the essential ingredient. and that's a unity government whose goals are in harmony with our goal of a free, peaceful and unified afghanistan with strong security forces and honest governance. afghanistan faces immense challenges from taliban terror, from corruption, from poverty, from ethnic and political tension. but the progress that the country has made is also immense. too many people forget what afghanistan was like before coalition intervention in 2001. even in major cities, access to f

troops in afghanistan, presumably through the end of 2016.hat do you say to the afghan citizens who do not necessarily want to seuoue u.s. troops stay the country beyond 2014? >> michael, why don't you pick up on that for us? >> sure. well, you know, obviously, afghans do have many different views and they are proud of air their own so fvereigsovereignty i think they want at a time back. however, i think they also recognize some limited amount of western and broader international help is smart. i think more are worried about the plan for the united states and it's allies to leave in two years than the number who are upset that we are going to stay until then. the number i have spoken with anyway. in more taliban friendly parts, you may have a real antipathy against it foreigners but most of the afghan urban and political and economic elites i know and admittedly, it's a certain set up segment of society is backed up by public opinion polls. they want a continued international presence because they recognize they are a weak state, they need so

which afghanistan can't afford. afghanistan doesn't have the money. on a couple of insider attacks i had officers killed. i pulled all of my people out of the ministry, in fact all of the ministries. i sat people out of ministries until such time as we had a better feel for how long this is going on and how far it might desce descend. what i didn't realize, because i had never gone from office to office were just how many international presences, that's plural, how much of an international presence was in the building until they all came running out. when we pulled the isaf troops out. they so consequently, you know, sometimes, as the ambassador said, it worked against us. we would have a country earnestly try doing the very best we could, investing people and money in an outcome that isaf might have been working or within nato. frequently we were building the kind of capacity we didn't want to and that's what the president often honed in on. absence of coherent plan for capacity building. can you point to individual moments of brightness and moments

afghanistan. now i'm somebody who is hopeful about afghanistan's future because of the progress that we've helped bring about there in the last several years the power that's the first in afghanistan's history the transition offers increased reason for optimism that we have an essential ingredient for success in afghanistan. perhaps the essential ingredient and that's a unity's government whose goals are in with our goal on afghanistan with strong government. they face challenges from terror to poverty to ethnic and political tension but the progress that the country has made is also immense. too many people forget what afghanistan was like before coalition intervention in 2001. even in major cities with access to food, water, and employment was extremely limited. women were barred from attended school, working outside the home or even leaving their houses unless accompanied by a male relative. medieval rules were enforced by armeding throug armed thugs using public institutions and television and

which afghanistan can't afford. afghanistan doesn't have the money. on a couple of insider attacks i had officers killed. i pulled all of my people out of the ministry, in fact all of the ministries. i sat people out of ministries until such time as we had a better feel for how long this is going on and how far it might desce descend. what i didn't realize, because i had never gone from office to office were just how many international presences, that's plural, how much of an international presence was in the building until they all came running out. when we pulled the isaf troops out. they so consequently, you know, sometimes, as the ambassador said, it worked against us. we would have a country earnestly try doing the very best we could, investing people and money in an outcome that isaf might have been working or within nato. frequently we were building the kind of capacity we didn't want to and that's what the president often honed in on. absence of coherent plan for capacity building. can you point to individual moments of brightness and moments

do you think that after the new afghanistan, will be able to change their policy on afghanistan? >> we've been pushing them to change their policy for as long as i can remember. used to -- i made maybe a trips to afghanistan in the last ten years or so. add pakistan,ys go to pakistan. but i received so much false information, baloney in afghanistan about their policies that i just finally don't even anymore. i don't want to hear their lying anymore. lying about what they're doing. i had the head of intelligence saying if you could to us where in pakistan the people are that are supporting the taliban in afghanistan, we'll go after them. and i looked at them like, are you kidding? know where they are! you know absolutely where they are. supporting them. of just given up in terms of trying to change their afghanistan.s we shouldn't give up. the fact that i'm frustrated is way. policy, by the [laughter] it's just a fact of life. i'm just being honest with you. now there may be some additional ways in which we can pakistan to really go after the people who are inside ofrouble afghani

british guns will be fired in afghanistan no more. but there is still uncertainty about the country they're leaving. >> i think, honestly, the reason why, because i know the enemy -- they fight in different tactics that's hard to combat. i've been there and done that and seen my friends get hurt. i know the challenges. >> 453 of their comrades lost their lives in afghanistan. there is still hope that their sacrifice will not have been in vain. for now, it's relief that they're finally coming home, but there will be plenty of time for reflection. bbc news, kandahar. >> as british troops withdraw and the american commitment winds down, a survey carried out for the bbc shows a slim majority, 51% of americans, say the involvement in afghanistan was not worth while. in the u.k., that number was much higher, at 68%. when it comes to the ability of afghans to defend themselves, 66% of americans lack confidence they could do it without u.s. troops. nearly identical to the 64% of brits who felt the same way. i spoke with a former u.s. ambassad

and afghanistan. at some point he asked me to have you ever seen the film the titanic and i said yes i have seen a movie. he asked me, how come your country doesn't make news like that anymore and it turned out he was a big fan and many members of the taliban, in the 1990s the taliban regime had outlawed the titanic but it was very popular among members of the taliban and they treated in people with get the popular haircuts. that was the first inkling that i got that the category they had in my mind came out of afghanistan in the taliban of the various political actors there they get complicated when you talk to people and hear stories on the ground. that was really, that is really the underlying theme of my book which is that the categories that we have come to think of as defining the war on terror which is there are terrorists, there are good guys and there are bad guys. it makes a lot of sense sitting over here but when you are on the ground these categories are remarkably fluid and in fact they d

i do want to focus on afghanistan. i have a few remarks about another subject after i spent a few moments on afghanistan. i am somebody who is hopeful about afghanistan's future because of the progress we helped bring about in the last seven years, and i am hopeful because of the transition of power, which is the first in afghanistan's long history. the transition offers increased reason for optimism that we have an essential ingredient for success in place in afghanistan -- perhaps the essential ingredient, and that is a unity government whose goals are in harmony with our goal, with strong security forces and honest governance. afghanistan faces immense challenges, from taliban terror to political tension. the progress the country has made is also immense. too many people forget what afghanistan was like before 2001. the access was once extremely limited. women were barred from attending school, working outside the home, or leaving their houses unless accompanied by a male relative. medieval rules were enforced by ar

combat force are leaving afghanistan that doesn't mean that britain won't support afghanistan.n the president conference he outlined some of britain's accomplishments here. >> we have been very clear about what we have been trying to achieve in afghanistan. and that is to build an afghanistan that is capable of looking after its own security without the need for a large number of foreign troops. and i think you can see in an afghan army now 340,000, that is responsible for security across the country, that it is capable of delivering that security. but as ban ki-moon i think put it so well, a missile might kill a terrorist, but it is good governance that kills terrorism. the real and pressing need is for this new national unity government to bring the country together. >> jennifer, david cameron mentioned good governance there. one. largest financial donors is the uae. how will the country go when they leave the country. >> reporter: 70 soldiers and officers will remain here as the backbone of the training force. david cameron announced the country will continue to fund afghani

and afghanistan free from al qaeda is in our national interests as well as afghanistan's. and now 13 long years later afghanistan can and must deliver its own security. the work of defeating islamist extremist terror goes on elsewhere and because this threatens us at home, we must continue to play our part. afghanistan is a country transformed since my first visit. together we've made afghanistan safer and we've made britain safer. of course, the new government of national unity faces many challenges ahead. but president ghani and chief executive abdullah have already shown the leadership necessary to build a better afghanistan and in britain, you will always have a strong partner and a good friend. thank you. >> thank you, mr. prime minister. two questions. >> prime minister david cameron there discussing the many ways in which uk forces have helped in his words transform afghanistan, helped develop afghanistan's military which itself has been the subject of recent attacks in kabul, in fact, there were some three attacks over the past few days that targeted afghan soldier

today i want to focus on afghanistan. i have a few remarks on another subject after i spend a few moments on afghanistan. i am somebody who is hopeful about afghanistan's future because of the progress that we helped bring about in the last several years and i am hopeful because of the recent, a peaceful democratic transition of power which is a first in afghanistan's long history, transition offer is increased reason for optimism that we have an essentials ingredient for css in place in afghanistan, perhaps the essential ingredients, and that is a unity government whose goals are in harmony with our goal of a free, peaceful and unified afghanistan with strong security forces and honest governance. afghanistan faces immense challenges from taliban terror, corruption, poverty, ethnic and political tension. but the progress the country has made it is also in men'mmense. people forget what afghanistan was like listening major cities texas to food, water and employment was limited, women were barred from attending school, wor

he did add that afghanistan had the political will to tackle the challenges.l, the talks all came as british combat troops prepare to leave the country by the end of the year. let's have a look at what all this might mean, because with me now is dawoud from the bbc's afghan service. david cameron is quick to get in support for this new unity government, which from a british perspective has got to work. >> there seems to be a tradition here, the 12 years ago in january 2002, that then-british prime minister tony blair was the first western leader to visit kabul, and to meet the then afghan president hamid karzai, and now david cameron has become the first western leader again to visit kabul. it was more about showing commitment and showing the afghan people that you will keep engaged after the withdrawal of foreign combat forces by the end of 2014. and britain is also leading another important initiative, a trilateral summit between britain, afghanistan, and pakistan and the fourth meeting took place last year in london. so that meeting might come up again in t

first, we went to afghanistan. people say we shouldn't be in afghanistan. one, that is pointless. we are there. two, we went for our reasons not for afghanistan. they didn't invite us in 2001. we went because it met our goal to get rid of al qaeda. when we up ended the taliban government and we set the country sort of into free play, i think we developed some kind of moral responsibility for helping them set it right. third, geo strategically i do think it's in america and the world's interests to have a stable region. if afghanistan were to be completely unstable, then i think that pakistan's stability would be very tenuous. and they have challenges anyway. i think it's important. so my view is what we need to do is be consistent and persistent in the region. the reason people in afghanistan are so nervous is because in 2004 they think we're going to leave and they've seen us leave before. in 1989 we turned from the region. now, again, it doesn't matter whether each individual afghan saw that. it's become commonly accepted truth. that we left in 1989 and they're starting to think

leaving forces in afghanistan. we have at least two years to continue to build on the security for the afghan people, to continue to work with the .inistries you mentioned 9800 -- that's just the u.s. contribution. 12.5, 12 .7bout with the nato contribution, and we'll have forces in the north, south, so, and how -- we are going to really a spoken hub. in the east, we will have forces .n jalalabad, in bagram on fourbe covered down of the six course, and two of the course will continue to advise. >> thank you for doing this. can you please expand on your point about the ansf? what do they need the most help doing now, and where do you focus with them on your time going forward in afghanistan? >> we are not out on patrol with the afghans. we are focused on the systems and processes that they have at the core level. we are no longer with the brigades. the gaps and scenes that were identified early on, aviation, close air support, intelligence, logistics, how to sustain their wece by the processes that continue to work

here in afghanistan.id cameron mentioned there is one british base left in afghanistan in the next three months. all british combat forces will leave afghanistan, but he says that doesn't mean that britain doesn't remain committed to afghanistan, and outlined some of the accomplishments britain has made here. >> this is a difficult, unstable, dangerous world, but in well-trained afghan security forces in a national unity government and continued engagement with the rest of the international community with this country we can make sure it isn't the haven for terrorism which is why we came here in the first place. >> reporter: they will continue to have 74 officers here at the training academy, helping to train the future of afghanistan's military officers. and cameron said he is confident afghanistan will be able to stand on its feet in part because of that training. >> the forces need to be supported until they can become self sustaining. there is the officer training academy, which is something the forme

from the mountains of afghanistan.y count -- they call themselves mountain boys. afghans talk about the unfortunate reality of sending farmers to kill farmers while people are starving. there are several people starving in afghanistan because of war for 30 years and drug. >> talk about jacobs struggles when he came back to the country. he saw a lot of killing in afghanistan and also talked about seeing fear in the eyes of afghans, and the idea that he could put here in someone kind of haunted him. he had lots of nightmares when felt isolated, did not really tell his story. over the last few years, he has had the opportunity to tell historian build long-lasting relationships, not only with other veterans who are like-minded, but also with afghans. >> jacob had this philosophy of what he called a warrior-hood. can you play with that is? >> a soldier is a career professional. they go to work and then can come home and permanent allies the job of going to war and then coming home. -- being as someone warrior is a way of li

we met a few months after i got back from afghanistan, we cofounded the afghanistan brothers againsthe war committee. after that we went to afghanistan again as civilians. we met with a group called the afghan peace volunteers, which have been doing wonderful organizing against the occupation of afghanistan, organizing for an end to were in general in their country. we also went to several schools, orphanages, displaced persons camps. jacob son about those experiences. >> talk about what happened to jacob. >> jacob deployed to afghanistan three times. first climate in 2001, which was 13 years ago. >> why did he go, where did you come from? inhe grew up in arkansas, the watchdog mountains, a proud hillbilly. returning to afghanistan was a powerful experience for him because he got to meet afghans who are also from the mountains of afghanistan. they count -- they call themselves mountain boys. afghans talk about the unfortunate reality of sending farmers to kill farmers while people are starving. there are several people starving in afghanistan because of war for 30 years and drug. >>

. >>> two suicide bombings in afghanistan have killed at least seven soldiers.is just a day after the government signed a deal with the united states to allow its forces to remain in afghanistan. dominic kane has the latest. >> reporter: this is the aftermath of one of the explosions. it happened in the western part of kaboul. a bus loaded with afghan soldiered was targeted in brood daylight. >> translator: a suicide tacker on a bicycle detonated the explosi explosives. we managed to take the wounded to the hospital by motorbike. >> reporter: a second suicide bomber targeted a bus in the northeast of the city. a spokesman for the taliban said they carried out both bombings. on monday the new prime minister took office calling for the taliban to join peace talks with his government. then on tuesday his officials signed a security deal with the u.s., allowing a small con tinning gent of its forces to remain in the country beyond the end of this year. [ applause ] >> our pledge will provide the foundation for afghanistan to continue its impressive developments, and

i'm a correspondent from afghanistan. basically i'm from afghanistan too. everything looks wonderful after the big change in afghanistan. but the only concern that everybody has is their policy on pakistan. do you think that after the new government in afghanistan, will be able to change their policy on afghanistan? >> we've been pushing them to change their policy for as long as i can remember. i used to -- i made maybe a dozen trips to afghanistan in the last ten years or so. i used to always add pakistan, go to pakistan. but i received so much false information, baloney in afghanistan about their policies that i just finally don't even go there anymore. i don't want to hear their lying anymore. lying about what they're doing. at one point, i had the head of intelligence saying if you could point out to us where in pakistan the people are that are supporting the taliban in afghanistan, we'll go after them. and i looked at them like, are you kidding? you know where they are! you know absolutely where they are. you're supporting them. so i've sort of just g

so there are they in afghanistan serving on camp phoenix. and the armorman team when michele and debby the youngest and oldest of the three women are on the armor team and weapons mechanics. the armor man team runs out of american weapons to fix. they are in a support battalion, do maintenance work and support infantry soldiers and their weapons are not breaking enough to have anything to do. and the very driven man and superior come up with the idea of why don't they work on this interesting un project. the united nations facilitated the collection of a hot of old, broken ak-47s which are going to be repurposed and given out to afghan soldiers. and the idea is if they help arm the afghan army they can save money and help the process of building a viable army that could defend afghanistan and the u.s. soldiers would be able to ideally leave in the future. i wanted to read a little bit about what is happening in afghanistan with these weapons. there is a huge contract of michele's idea of what it means to be working on the weapons and debby's

general frer glass reports from southern afghanistan.he lowering of flags marks the ends of a 13-year combat mission in afghanistan british forces and u.s. marines handed over their last basis in healthment province to after gans. operation enduring freedom effectively began in october, 2001. there were once more 30,000 foreign soldiers on these basis alone. nato's combat mission is over at the end of the year and most of the troops are going home. the british defense secretary says they have achieved their mission. >> there is a better chance of a more stable future in afghanistan because we have a government there of national unity and an army that is supported by the local population that represents all parts of afghanistan. >> afghan sforsz suffered losses in battles with the taliban. over the yearsforces suffered ls in battles with the taliban. over the years have been killed or injured. the head of the british forces admits the security situation remains difficult. and that's one of the reasons why some 12,000 nato forces will rema

now we're committed to afghanistan basically forever.ed today without a peep from washington. apparently this is not supposed to be news for us. not a matter for our politics. people talk about there being a civilian military divide in this country after so many years of war. this is why. they go again and again and again and again and again. add another ten years to the 14-year-long war they've already fought. and the civilian press and our civilian politic, don't even pretend to notice let alone care. it's absolutely astonishing. helps you find a whole range of coverages. no one else gives you options like that. [voice echoing] no one at all! no one at all! no one. wake up! [gasp] oh! you okay, buddy? i just had a dream that progressive had this thing called... the "name your price" tool... it isn't a dream, is it? nope. sorry! you know that thing freaks me out. he can hear you. he didn't mean that, kevin. kevin: yes, he did! keeping our competitors up at night. now, that's progressive. in the country. we operate just like a city, and

to allow its forces to remain in afghanistan afte after 2014. dominick cane has the latest. >> reporter: this is the aftermath of one of the explosions. it happened in the western part of kabul. a busloaded with afghan soldiers was targeted in broad daylight. >> a suicide-bomber on a bicycle detonated the explosion. we managed to take the wounded victims to the hospital by motorbike and vehicles passing by. >> a second suicide-bomber targeted another army bus in the northeast of the city. a spokesman of the taliban said it carried out both attacks. >> this is a direct challenge to the newly inaugurated president ashraf gandhi. i tall on the taliban the called on the taliban to join in peace talks. >> i pledge the security operation will provide the foundation for afghanistan to continue it's impressive development, and to build on the achievements of the past. our agreement will lead to the stability not only in afghanistan but throughout the region. >> reporter: people in kabul gave that a cautious welcome. >> i'm happy about the agreement if i

in afghanistan. finally take look at the rise in home grown terror attacks with mike rogers and all-star panel. 60 years of news because this is "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs good morning we start with ebola in new york city, dr. craig spence the latest american to contract the disease remains hospitalized at bellevue hospital. but there is growing controversy over mandatory quarantine issued by the governors of new york, new jersey, illinois and florida. quarantine applies to all passengers coming back sible to the u.s. who have come in direct contact with ebola patients in west africa. start our coverage with dr. anthony fauci from the national institutes of health. good morning. do these quarantines go against science? because you've always insisted we should start with the science. >> first of all, the most important thing to protect the american people and as you said, you got to base your decision and policy on scientific evidence and scientific principles. what we are taking a

china wants the minerals, and afghanistan wants chinese products.e travels there once a year, and hopes some day goods will arrive by truck. >> we can make a road from afghanistan to -- direct to china. this is the first we need and hope in the future. >> reporter: but the border is in a remote corner of afghanistan and it could be ten years or more before any road is built. this used to be kaboul's version of chinatown. they left last year because of uncertainty over the election. the president is also looking to the chinese for help with security. that's because the chinese government has a strong relationship with pakistan. >> we are seeking the chai nice support to use its support, and the [ inaudible ] of afghanistan is in the interest of all countries in the region. >> reporter: f afghans are hoping their new president will deliver security and prosperity, they will be watching this visit to get a sense of his foreign policy and whether it can bring them the changes they want. j jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kaboul. >> what does china expect wh

now we're committed to afghanistan basically forever.at happened today without a peep from washington. apparently this is not supposed to be news for us. not a matter for our politics. people talk about there being a civilian military divide in this country after so many years of war. this is why. they go again and again and again and again and again. add another ten years to the 14-year-long war they've already fought. and the civilian press and our civilian politics don't even pretend to notice let alone care. it's absolutely astonishing. to map their manufacturings at process with sticky notes and string, yeah, they were a little bit skeptical. what they do actually is rocket science. high tech components for aircraft and fighter jets. we're just their bankers, right? but financing from ge capital also comes with expertise from across ge. in this case, our top lean process engineers. so they showed us who does what, when, and where. then we hit them with the important question: why? why put the tools over there? do you really need tho

afghanistan. he was honorably discharged in 2012. the house subcommittee is looking into his arrest in mexico. the testimony will include his servedand a soldier who with him in afghanistan. you will also see montel williams, who has been speaking a great deal about the case. the hearing should get underway shortly. . >> a quorum being present, this subcommittee will come to order. we will limit the opening statements to myself, ranking member, and chairman of the full committee. members will then be given ample time to answer questions. if we have time for a second round of questions, we will do so. i like to start by recognizing myself and present my opening statement. without objection, the members of the subcommittee can set -- submit their opening remarks for the record. now i yield myself as much time as i may consume from opening remarks. welcome, everyone, to this important hearing. korean sergeant andrew tahmooressi, iranian custody in mexico. i want to thank chairman royce and all of my

now we're committed to afghanistan basically forever. that happened today without a peep from washington. apparently this is not supposed to be news for us. not a matter for our politics. people talk about there being a civilian military divide in this country after so many years of war. this is why. they go again and again and again and again and again. add another ten years to the 14-year-long war they've already fought. and the civilian press and our civilian politic, don't even pretend to notice let alone care. it's absolutely astonishing. >>> okay. best new thing in the world, this has no redeeming value whatsoever. but it's miss mer rising. if you live in a swing state or swing district it's all political ads all the time now. million, many, many millions of dollars spent to show candidates at the ranch, doing stuff ranchers do, wrangling up a better america for you. or candidates sitting in a local greasy where, of course, they always eat when they're there, because they're regular folks, too. mmm, hungry. or candidates in their o

hands over its space in afghanistan. america's ambassador to the u.n. makes a high-profile visit to west africa to help mobilize support for the fight against ebola. we report from the birthplace of the arab spring, 5 million tun easeians are voting for a new parliament. >> the air force has launched a new airstrike against isil hitting serial targets in the past few hours. in syria, five airstrikes near kobani destroyed seven vehicles and a building occupied by the group. in iraqi, three airstrikes southwest of muss ill dam and three air strikes were carried out southeast of saluza. we have our reporters in iraq and on the syria/turkey border as well covering this story from all angles. in a moment, there is bernard smith who will update us from the turkish border town of erfa. but first, charles strafford joining us from erbil to tell us whether this is a significant escalation of the u.s. air strikes in iraq in particular targeting isil and if so, why. it's not really an escalation. what it does show, though, is the importance of protecting this dam,

but security in afghanistan remains a huge obstacle. most of the international forces stationed in the country will leave and hand over control to local forces by the end of this year. observers say china aims to use its ties with afghanistan to prevent the spread of terrorism on its side of the border. they hope china can extend its influence in afghanistan after u.s. and european troops withdraw. >>> in china, military prosecutors are preparing to indict a former general on bribery charges. he has admitted to taking huge bribes. he was expelled in june for disciplinary violations, and formally the second highest ranking official in the people's liberation army. he was also a vice chairman of the central military commission. prosecutors said he took advantage of his position to help promote certain people. he accepted a huge amount of bribes personally and through his family. chu has reportedly admitted to the charges. china's leadership is aiming to use chu's indictment to demonstrate its anti-corruption stance. >>> victims of weapons

it's the last uk base in afghanistan. and the last marine base nearby at cap leatherneck has been handed over. the total number of foreign troops stands at around 40,000. that is down from a peek of 114,000 in 2011. most will leave by the end of this year. 12,,000 will stay. most will be american. nearly 500 british soldiers and two and a half thousand american troops have died while serving in afghanistan. and 4,000 afghan soldiers and police have been killed this year alone. jennifer glasse has more from kandahar in southern afghanistan. >> reporter: the handover of these two basis in hellmit province marks the end of the nato come backgrounds mission in that prove incident. two large basis handed over to the afghan security forces. the british base, last british base here and last american u.s. marine base here, camp baston, camp leather neck, the marine base but this marks a big transition for the nato force here as it winds down it's 13 year mission here in afghanistan, 13 years of combat coming to an ends, about 12,

afghanistan is going very well. obviously the united states transportation command working closely with united states central command. is the commission dispition of the stuff we are not going to bring out. are cutting up military vehies, auctioning things off to afghanistan that will help their economy, and we just we -- the mark in stuff we have either handled or disposed of. >>>> the true disposition is to shift forward. there are those that argue we have not done as good a job on appetite control. how could we do a better job in the future? >> i think we can always do a better job of that. we had mountains of containers. we did not know what was inn then. rarely do thingsgs get lost. i think a given combat opations on the ground you protect yourself with the variations that come. dlan do more from a perspective. it is about 60 days for the big commodities. effort.that is an ?> what about 3-d printing would be easier for you to ship a bunch of 3-d printers? >> i think that is the vision. we havbeenoing this for 3

forces will leave afghanistan but doesn't mean they are not committed to afghanistan and he outlinede accomplishments britain has made here. >> this is a difficult, unstable, dangerous world. but i think in well-trained afghan security forces in a national unity government and continued engagement by britain and the rest of the international community with the country we can make sure it does not become all haven for terrorism which is why we came here if the first place. >> reporter: britain will continue to have 74 military officers here at the officer training academy, helping train the future of afghanistan's military officers and cameron said that he is confident that afghanistan will be able to stand on its feet in part because of that training. >> the afghan national security forces need to be supported until they can become self sustaining. the officer training academy which is something the former president of afghanistan specifically asked britain to do. we are proud to do and glad it's up and running already. but there is also the support of a large diplomatic mission. the

i worry about afghanistan.f the president repeats what he did, the real mistake is not having a status of forces agreement with iraq. when we left, it left a vacuum. maliki was not the best in terms of leading the country. now, we have a caliphate. this goes to a larger problem. the president has tried to lead by following with national security and foreign affairs. when you lead by following, there is a vacuum and bad people fill it. if you cannot deal with the bad people, it gets worse. much worse. that is where we are today. have a situation where, just today, the president says we are winning with isis. we are not. they are within 20 miles of the airport. we have the big red flag in baghdad. we have 450 members there. before we go any further -- >> ok. >> i'm sorry. >> you have reached your time. let us hear a rebuttal. >> i did not hear an answer about whether or not we should have gone into iraq. we were optimistic to think that we would take able to have been fighting for 15 centuries and form a properly

led international coalition in afghanistan.he base housed almost 40,000 contractors and military personnel. but now, 13 years later, it's in the hands of the afghan military which says it's ready for the challenge. >> translator: this is a good opportunity for the afghan ample and security forces to put into practice capabilities they've already demonstrated in the last 12 years over defense of the country. >> reporter: british officials seem to agree. >> we have a government there of national unity and an army that's supported by the local population. >> reporter: but some u.s. lawmakers think that confidence may be misplatessed. >> we -- misplaced. >> we don't want to have that repeated in afghanistan. they're going to have to die in support of their country. >> for the u.s. troops it is their first stop home as they prepare to leave in the coming days or at the very latest by the end of the year. this after afghan troops are left to ramp up their fight against a resurge enent taliban. local officials say four taliban members

and david cameron said that there's one british base left in afghanistan. next morning all british combat portions will leave. and he outlined some of the accomplishments that brit has made here. >> this is an unstable world. but continued engagement by britain and the rest of the international community, we can make sure that it doesn't become again the haven for terrorism, which is why we came here in the first place. >> britain will continue to have 74 officers here at the academy, helping to train the future officers, and he said that he's confident that afghanistan will be able to stand on its own in part because of the training. >> the security officers need to be supported until they can become self-sustaining, and the officer academy, which is something that they specifically asked britain to do, and we're proud to do, and we're glad that it's up and running. but they will be part of a mission, a trade mission, and support in helping afghanistan with its development. >> it's one thing that david cameron did while speaking at the presidential pass wi

military strikes in afghanistan. next, he talks about his memoir my share of the task. he recounts the major turning points which ended in 2010. it was hosted by the free library of philadelphia last year. >> thank you very much. thanks for coming out. i think this is a wonderful opportunity for the gentleman sitting next to me, it is kind of a big deal. for anyone who pays attention to american foreign policy and military affairs. ever since the attacks on this country in 9-11, the united states has had to evolve to meet the challenge of this new enemy and more than anyone that i can think of, general mccrystal has beenab ab responsible for shapi that and adopting our primary method of defending the country, thank you for being here mr. mccrystal. >> thank you for a too kind introduction, i always thought of you as a nonfiction writer, but you're going into fiction now. >> you were the commander in our special operations in iraq and afghanistan, there has been a rapid evolution, i'm familiar from writing "black hawk down" from the way things were in the '90s. can you g

afghanistan can be their best friend. but only if they can match their words with actions. >> taliban insurgents are intensifying their offensive in parts of afghanistan. united nations officials estimate 1,564 civilians died in terrorist attacks and cross fire in the first half of this year. that's up 17% from the same period last year. u.s. president barack obama has declared that all u.s. troops will be out by the end of 2016. but first, they must prepare afghan forces and police to fend for themselves. >>> a team from vietnam won this year's robot contest for university students from asia and the pacific region. the annual event is sponsored by the asia pacific broadcasting union, or abu. the team overwhelmed its rivals from the preliminaries to the final round. nhk world's reporter tells us their secret behind their strength. >> reporter: the abu robocon was held with 17 universities taking part. participants tested their technological skills and ideas with their handmade robots. vietnam's university grabbed the titl

why can't we do a marshall plan for afghanistan? so these are some of the yes, sir questions that have come up. and why if the british were so successful in places like malaria, why can't we do this -- malaysia. this is sort of where i was coming from. and looking at this historically and challenging the historical record, how successful were they? i believe you spent a lot of time in malaya. why were the british successful? why did they win? when does one win insurgency. does one win with hearts and minds? so my book was an attempt to look how western democracyies fight of what caldwell called small wars. i concluded there are a lost sacrifices one has to make in this. that if you're going to be successful, you've either got to be extraordinarily brutal and therefore you pay a huge price in terms of civil military relations. and military professionalism. these small wars actually erode military professionalism in many respects because the insurgent is not regarded as a lawful combatant. and because he is not a lawful combatant or s