so this indian role in afghanistan is the result of what pakistan has been doing in afghanistan. if pakistan stops what it's been doing, i think india will, it will give incentives to india, if it's doing something, to pull back. the other big thing for pakistan is the whole situation in fatah and belugistan. pakistan invested a lot of money and effort in bringing stability to fatah and there is stability in fatah i'm happy to report. i just wrote something about waziristan and the situation there has improved. people are going back. there's millions of displaced people, but what pakistan says it is unwilling to do is to implement political reforms in fatah, and you can't have this region in pakistan which is central administrator, which is outside of its mainstream legal and political mainstream, and hope that there won't be an insurgency, even hope there won't be grievances. baluchistan is very different but in baluchistan there can be, if pakistan recognizes afghan's stability and in a way pushes the taliban back into afghanistan or give them incentive, a real incentive to eng

-led effort in afghanistan. from the position where i was at the u.n., i was often surprised at how sanguine russia seemed to be about the presence of so many u.s. troops in what it considered to be its new abroad, or its backyard. but even that's beginning to fracture, and you have now the emergence in the last couple of weeks of what seems to be a pakistan and india bloc against a -- sorry. an india-afghanistan bloc against a pakistan-russia-china bloc. who knows how that will develop? but if there is a fragmentation at the level of the international coalition and diplomatic community supports, they're all one. they all have the common objective of stability in afghanistan. i think that also needs to be addressed. and that unfortunately falls right in the middle of this very uncertain new diplomacies signaled by the the incoming administration over its relations with russia, its relations with china, and others. on the question of pakistan, i completely agree with what ambassador cunningham said. we don't real

-led effort in afghanistan. from the position where i was at the u.n., i was often surprised that how sanguine russia seemed to be about the presence of so many u.s. troops in what he considers to be it's near abroad or its backyard. -- as thes we begin begin to fracture and you have the emergence in the last couple of weeks of what used to be a who knows how -- that will develop your and if there is fragmentation at the international, coalition and diplomatic support, they all have a common objective of debilitating afghanistan, that also has to be addressed. that is in the middle of this thertain new diplomacy by new administration and its relationship with china. i agree with what ambassador cunningham said. nothing we've done has worked so far and that still remains one of the crucial pieces of this puzzle. it,erms of what to do about i'm mostly going to hunt -- punt. on asia foundation report afghanistan going forward, which has a number of recommendations, i reread them yesterday in the context of his more

>> and how can you continue supporting afghanistan? >> we are providing like the chair reflects, we have shared interests and what i referred to earlier was our mutual commitment to our future, not just afghanistan but the region and the world so we, for everything we've heard from president trump's administration's policy toward afghanistan would be continued progress in building upon what has already been achieved so far. >> that's relates to this part of the program this morning, before we move to our next panel, could you join me in giving around of applause to hamdullah mohib. [applause] if you could give us a minute and we will set up for the first, thank you. >>. >> you guys ready to start? >> good morning. welcome to the heritage foundation. i'm here to address the situation in afghanistan, i'm peter brooks. our territories are covered this hour on the topic so let me quickly give you some abbreviated information. on our panelists whose resumes are very impressive, it will take a lot of time to get through all of them. i will t

and ss senior fellow to a afghanistan. from the ambassador from -- through 2012 and answered the distinguished diplomatic post including the u.n. and nato. and as the senior mediation / -- advisor in director of afghanistan and central asian programs. and on the united nations focusing on afghanistan and. in from the heritage condition enjoining irritated 200 the director of the allison's center for for a national security policy. and with a special adviser to the british defense secretary. and into reagan leave of the country in the u.s. army. florida is yours. >> so just to focus on the three things that the administration will address with those security challenges in crisis extending all the way through north africa. was as the senator mentioned some of this the first thing that the next demonstration will do is put to afghanistan not in the context of of problem to be solved but of the broader struggle that we face. in to be an isolated phenomenon. and with this set of challenges but it is an extraction i don't just m

fundamentally, the stability of afghanistan and building confidence within the region in afghanistan is a on the path to success which i think it is, but slowly. the more the regional neighbors see that as the future and the vision, the more they will bank on it and the more they will invest in trade rather than security protection measures that they are taking and the better off we will be. i think the situation within afghanistan was probably described fairly well during the first panel, but it is this effort to get them to cooperate more on appointments, on implementing the good ideas that both of them have for good governance and also controlling corruption and providing resources to the afghan security forces so they can continue to repel caliban challenges. within afghanistan, i would say the taliban are reading the situation very closely and there are two sides of the coin on analyzing a security environment as the afghan and ambassador mentioned the army has been successful in repelling attacks but on the other hand the taliban has taking increasing territory and surely they

that's why i went to afghanistan. in march of 2001, i moved to afghanistan. a relief agency called shelter now international. their objective was developing small business enterprises for women and programs to teach job skills to street kids. >> there were a number of internationals in afghanistan who were doing humanitarian work there. who really wanted to serve the afghan people. over half of the population is female. of course, in islam, any contact with women with whom you are not related by blood outside of marriage is absolutely forbidden. and so just from a humanitarian standpoint, yeah, there was a very important role that female humanitarian workers would have in a place like afghanistan. >> my plan was to be there forever. i bought a one-way ticket. i wrote my will. i told my parents where to bury my body if i was killed. that motivation to make a difference in the world was a big factor in choosing afghanistan. i wanted to go to a place where the need was great. >> there were a lot of ngos that were active in afghanistan, including christian ngos.

how safe is afghanistan? safe enough, says the german government.t has begun reporting failed asylum-seekers back to their homeland. ♪ i am brent goffetz. good to have you with us. a short-lived attempt at a cease-fire in aleppo. an evacuation plan for civilians and rebels trapped in the syrian city. thousands were due to leave today, but a cease-fire collapsed amid acrimony and new reports of reprisals from syrian forces and their russian allies. the u.n. has demanded safe passage out of the war zone for the city's shellshocked residents. the fighting has made that impossible. >> the short-lived cease-fire, already forgotten. life for those trapped inside the embattled city is intolerable. "i cannot stand here in the street for a long time because of the heavy shelling. it is affecting every neighborhood, which remains under rebel control." syrian government buses were meant to take moderate rebels and civilians out of aleppo. instead, they left empty. another sign of a collapsed cease-fire. both the syrian government and rebels accuse each other o

military headquarters in afghanistan. unearthed $600 million spent on a fleet of afghan airlines that never flew. when you were sitting there and hearing the redefining the numbers they were giving you and blaming your agency, what was going through your mind? >> welcome to washington. >> wynwood's burgeoning art scene took a nosedive when it became the first zika virus own in the united states. >> we saw sales drop at a retail establishments by 60% to 70%. visitors declined 50%. >> miami beach was the next zone. that is when the city launched its aerial pesticide spraying program. >> these pesticides that were involuntarily being sprayed on us were really more dangerous for my children than the mosquitoes were. sharyl: is it possible to make it look as though a hat came from one country when it came from somewhere else? >> our adversaries are keenly aware of our generic capabilities to detect the source of origin, what the intelligence community would call these cutouts, being able to bounce it off of other servers out o

so, heed in -- only a handful of fbi guys in afghanistan. he brings in more than 100, and goes after these ied cells killing american soldiers, and in trying to understand these ied cells, improvised explosive devices -- he brings in the behavioral science guys, the serial killer profilers from quantity -- quantico and interview the failed suicide bombers. and interviewed these guys for weeks and in other words how these guys -- understood how these guys were low level peasants guys in pakistan and the referee reef camps who were radicalized by a radicals imam or a mosque in pakistan and basically just brought along this all the way, told -- they're going to go to heaven if they do this operation, their families are paid a certain amount of money, then they were brought to these logistics lines to could could buhle and plead up with a handler who makes the vests or the vehicle ied. so they in other words -- they got to understand the enemy at a real granular level and flurries there's an ideology element to the enemy and one of the profilist

the situation in afghanistan is still tough. has been a part of life in afghanistan for over 30 years. the united states cannot eliminate the taliban or violence in that country but we can do is deny al qaeda a safe haven and support afghans who want a better future which is why we work not only with their military but we have backed the government in kabul. we helped afghani girls go to school. we helped with electricity and education. you have made a different in afghanistan and america is safer for it. [applause] pres. obama: of course, the terrorist threat was never restricted to south asia or afghanistan or pakistan. even as al qaeda has been decimated in afghanistan and pakistan, the threat from terrorists metastasized in other parts of the middle east and africa. most dangerously, we saw the emergence of isil. the terrorist network and insurgency. there has been a debate about isil that is focused on whether or not an attempt back in time could've stopped them from growing. this was not an option. by 2011, iraqis wanted o

war has been a part of life in afghanistan for over 30 years. and the united states cannot eliminate the taliban or end violence in that country. but what we can do is deny al qaeda a safe haven, and what we can do is support afghans who want a better future, which is why we have worked not only with their military, but we've backed a unity government in kabul, we've helped afghan girls go to school, we supported investments in health care and electricity and education. you have made a difference in afghanistan, and america is safer for it. [ applause ] of course the terrorist threat was never restricted to south asia or to afghanistan or pakistan, even as al qaeda's been decimated in afghanistan and pakistan, the threat from terrorists, metastasized in other parts of the middle east and north africa. and most dangerously, we saw the emergence of isil, the successor to al qaeda in iraq. which fights as both a terrorist network and an insurgency. there's been a debate about isil that's focused on whether a continued u.s. troop presence in iraq ba

the situation in afghanistan is still tough. war has been a part of life in afghanistan for over 30 years. and the united states cannot eliminate the taliban or end violence in that country. but what we can do is deny al qaeda a safe haven. and what we can do is support afghans who want a better future. which is why we have worked not only with our military but we've backed a unity government in kabul. we've helped afghan girls go to school. we've supported investments in health care and electricity and education. you have made a difference in afghanistan and america's safer for it. [ applause ] of course the terrorist threat was never restricted to south asia or afghanistan or pakistan. even as al qaeda's been decimated in afghanistan and pakistan, the threat from terrorists metastasized in other parts of the middle east and north africa. and most dangerously we saw the emergence of isil. the successor to al qaeda in iraq. which fights as both a terrorist network and an insurgency. there's been a debate about isil that's focuse

syria, iraq, afghanistan.o build these communities up in hopes it is less likely they will be overrun by terrorist organizations and we will see their return here to the united states. i'm wondering about what your thoughts are. guest: an interesting point. what we learned about this itnomenon of radicalization, tends to happen in places there are not stable and do not have a strong government and do not have the law that will keep them under cap's locally. -- tabs locally. look at afghanistan in the 1990's, the civil war. them, including some of them emerge and al qaeda emerged. it looks like what is going on in syria today. if you have a muslim majority company poor that is subtly destabilized, -- subtly destabilized, these groups will vacuum of power. they seem to be in the most organized groups and that civil war or conflict ill link society area and saw it in somalia and nigeria will bow boko haram and in maili. thatow the conditions create fertile grounds. unfortunately, after the arab spring revolution

taliban is making a comeback in afghanistan.f you don't keep the taliban it was destroyed when the biggest base since 9/11. there's no easy answer for this. i don't think occupied a bunch of countries is the answer. he tried to ignore a system so they took over our serious instead of launching attacks in paris and brussels. i don't think occupation is the answer but i don't think ignoring the problem solved it either. we tried that in the problem still persists. >> either. my name is josh. thank you very much for the top. very interesting. i work as an analyst for the canadian eggs. thank you for the comment on the toilet soldiers and the operation mozilla iraq. >> i've read about -- i was over a month ago with the chairman joint chiefs of staff. the template you are seeing to your question of occupation, very like the footprint and afghanistan and iraq from the very smallest area. the template is to use the skill set of what i talked about in the discussions in the book, the joint special operations command develop into proxy f

afghanistan. the obama administration decided to increase the development aid in afghanistan from 1.2 billion dollars to $1.4 billion. they undertook a civilian surge which took 500 civilians in afghanistan up to 1300. they set about trying to a smart power approach in afghanistan. unfortunately, the results did not live up to the billing. some of you here saw this firsthand. for one thing, we saw the state department, u.s. aid to not get there experienced people to go to these countries so they had to bring in contract or's and temporary employees. the vast the geordie of those people never got out into the countryside because it was dangerous there and the civilian unions did not feel they were obliged to go there. we then did not have oversight where huge amounts of cash were going and they often ended up in the hands of the enemy or corrupt officials. you were actually exacerbating conflict rather than alleviating --and you also had a problem if you wanted to do and a project, the taliban were

at the command in afghanistan and i would read the field force. it's all still, this is the same stuff we're still doing, the same customs traditions and anything else you are grappling with. i mean, to say that he achieves prodigious amounts in every different feel detached would actually be an understatement. and then even managed to coin the phrase is that defined entire eras, you know, the iron curtain, the cold war, all of this really extraordinary. i've been to westminster and did something there at that great library, which is truly, truly inspirational and educational and fun. and go back out there again in april. this is somebody who is just exceptional and every single regard, except that it do think i could outrun him. [laughter] spirit with that i have no doubt whatsoever. his idea for places him was -- >> and was polo in till he had about 40. and then it was drinking after that. there most good something special in that. the united states has just undergone a dramatic political convulsion, and our cultural divisions seem very deep. i

syria, iraq, afghanistan. to build these communities up in hopes it is less likely they will be overrun by terrorist organizations and we will see their return here to the united states. i'm wondering about what your thoughts are. guest: an interesting point. what we learned about this itnomenon of radicalization, tends to happen in places there are not stable and do not have a strong government and do not have the law that will keep them under cap's locally. -- tabs locally. look at afghanistan in the 1990's, the civil war. them, including some of them emerge and al qaeda emerged. it looks like what is going on in syria today. if you have a muslim majority company poor that is subtly destabilized, -- subtly destabilized, these groups will vacuum of power. they seem to be in the most organized groups and that civil war or conflict ill link society area and saw it in somalia and nigeria will bow boko haram and in maili. thatow the conditions create fertile grounds. unfortunately, after the arab spring revolutio

present in afghanistan. i think we have to be concerned about this. and the taliban pulling together and cooperating and collaborating with other terrorist organizations is something we should be -- we should be concerned about. i am concerned about that. i am concerned about how these voids are filled. and how we address and provide the pressure and incentives for them not to grow roots in these particular areas. and i think that's something we'll have to continue to contend with here in places like afghanistan. >> we have about five more minutes. let's see if we can get a couple more questions in. we'll go here and then over there and finish up here if we have time for all three. three. >> my name is russell king. to what extent are the battles in the middle east driven by the fact we've got all these terrorist incidents in europe. is there like a coalition of the willing? nirks ra in iraq, the coalition of the willing, but what are the nato countries doing in -- >> yeah, exactly. i mean, we've got a coali

for instance, afghanistan. pakistan's policy is a direct by-product of the tensions in a lot of ways. how do they do that and there's a problem and so are we not only looking at the symptoms here? i'm not saying that it's resolvable sh but is it realistic to expect that they can have the interest while the problem remains? >> well, it's sort of what we have been doing this whole time. >> it's not working out too well? >> well, i think we're in a mode where we deal with it when it becomes a problem because there are bigger issues that we're working on, so on the pakistan u.s. side we think that it's the number one you issue. it's not the relationship with india. that's in a reaction mode and we will deal with that when it comes. i don't see that changing unless we're going to go to kind of a zero troops and afghanistan within the next year. i don't anticipate that. until that afghanistan situation changes, i think that the u.s. is constantly going to have to balance how it approaches peace between the two countr

by defeating islamic state corazon inside afghanistan, afghanistan will not be a safe haven for islamic state fighters that leave syria. >> next is jennifer griffin with fox news. >> thank you. sir, can we get your reaction to the announcement that general mattis is the pick for the next defense secretary? is there anything you can tell us about him, personal anec doetss, something we may not know? >> i've known general mattis for ten years. he's highly respected across the ranks, and so we all congratulate him. i don't want to make any comment. he will go through a confirmation process. as far as his -- any policy issues going forward, that's a matter for the transition. >> is there a particular story about him you'd like to relay? >> he's a soldier's soldier, marine's marine. i'm sure that's what he would say. i first met him in afghanistan where we were in a tough fight in 2006. he's a very inspirational leader. i know he inspired me as a soldier on the ground as we talked about that very tough fight in those days. we wish him the best of luck and send congratulations. >> if i could

because the people who are living in afghanistan, all of them don't like afghanistan.hey stay? because they don't know the way how to come, or if they know the way, they don't have the money to come. i'm sure if they have enough money, nobody will remain in afghanistan, and afghanistan will be empty. >> here are the buses which the refugees travel to macedonia. and i'm going to find my friend sadeer. >> hi. >> i'm 24 years old and i faced many problems, i've seen many problems in my life and it's enough. i want to have the remain, the rest of my life with peace, with civil life with good situation. i remember when i was a child, the regime of taliban. and everything was bad. taliban was very cruel to all human beings. and especially for women. there was not right for women in the period of taliban, no right. for example the girls and womens were not allowed to go for job, for work, for studying. everything was forbidden for them. and when they go outside then it was rule they should cover all the parts of their body, all the parts. if their hands or feet was uncovered,

intelligence believes in pakistan's tribal region, bordering afghanistan. appealing directly to president obama. >> please don't become the next jimmy carter. just give the offenders something so they and you can save face and we can leave the region permanently. >> reporter: and to the president-elect. >> we ask that you are merciful to their people and god willing, they will release us. >> reporter: the terrorists demand the release of taliban terrorists held in afghanistan, something president obama did to rescue sergeant bowe bergdahl, despite saying he won't negotiate with terror groups. >> to include children in the video is specifically despicable to do. >> reporter: in caitlin's tiny hometown of stewartsville, pennsylvania, friends and family say they had no idea the young couple was going to afghanistan. holly saw her days before she left. >> she was actually pregnant then and hadn't told her friends or family. that was unfortunately something that they didn't find out until after she was kidnapped. just adding to this nightmare. >> reporter: caitl

this as the violence in afghanistan continues.hed the largest american base and kill canning five and wounding roughly a dozen. many wounded are still here recovering in walter proceed hospital inside of the beltway. it is not based on fact, but it is used as a way to essentially undermine the afghan government and alstory the belligerent. this comes after the release of a new video shows a american and her canadian husband and children both born in captivity. they were kidnapped while hike nothing afghanistan. icate len was pregnant and the ha cani network is the most sophisticated terrorist group in pakistan. and in the video she was seen pleading to president obama "with don't be the next jimmy carter". they are holding an american professor and a man from massachusetts, jon. >> so many people would like to forget about what is going on in afghanistan but the war there continues, thanks. >> and a court hearing for robert durst getting underway. you might remember him from the hbo jinx. and he deflies the allegation. jon thonmen

one example, afghanistan. the obama administration decided to increase the development aid in afghanistan from 1.2 to 4$4. billion. they undertook a civilian surge, went from 500 civilians in afghanistan to 1300 civilians. they set about trying to actually implement this sort of smart power approach in afghanistan. unfortunately, the results did not live up to the billing. some of you here, i think, saw this first hand. for one thing, we saw the state department, u.s. aid could not get their experienced people to go to these countries and they had to bring in contractors and temporary employees and the vast majority never got into the countryside because it was dangerous there and the civilian unions didn't feel they were obliged to go there. we did not have oversight where the huge amounts of cash were going and oftentimes ended up in the hands of the enemy or corrupt officials. you were exacerbating conflict rather than alleviating it. and the problem if you want to do aid projects, the taliban were there an

-- how many refugees are coming from afghanistan? guest: thank you for the question, because it is very important. the second largest refugee population heading into your are afghans. that is one of the things we work very closely with the government of afghanistan to address, is how do we develop security and prevent the taliban from affecting these people so that people feel secure in their own land? that is not a military mission. that is not something we focus on, but we do believe it is our effort to help prepare the security services, set the conditions for the eventual economic opportunity. host: republican, democrat, independent. we do have a number for veterans. joining us from panama city. go ahead. can you give us an update on the afghan air force? i serve their last year -- i served there last year. it was costly to maintain the pipeline and the logistics. we heard during the last segment s not the interpreter getting into the u.s. can you explain about that situation? guest: sure. first of all, thank you for your service

but also policies in afghanistan or vice versa. having some more coherence on these two orders without. the last point i will just add if anything is always the push for conflict resolution. conflict resolution is something that either is quite difficult or certain party still want to participate in within the bilateral relationship. we can't help creating facts on the ground that can harden borders. when i think about porter heartening common it is a means of material assistance and guidance in india and heartening borders for defensive capabilities. one of the flashpoints for this flashpoints for these crazies is coming out of crust order attacked and vulnerable points within the indian security establishment where it shouldn't be happening. there's a lot of obvious failures and a lack of learning in terms of the intelligence available, security perimeter, to run throughout these things that the united states both physical as well as organizational. also in the game of trying to harden borders with respect to afghanistan. we can

i think afghanistan is a country worth fighting for. as a military member who went with the first wave of forces in october of 2001 i remain very hopeful about it and i know it's a very challenging environment and there is a lot of -- a lot of things to address there, but i think it's important for us to see this through. >> how would you describe where we are with battlefield trends in afghanistan, specifically over the last one to two years, you know, there has been concern that the taliban of course temporarily occupied con do you say last year and took some of the excerpts this year, they have made headway in helmand province, they've always been in flux but are maybe a little less favorable to us at this juncture. i haven't personally detected a systemic collapse, either, or it seems like it's sort of 5% to 10% of the country that may have shifted hands in terms of population and territory. is there any way you would describe the last one to two years. >> i would describe it as an equilibrium in favor of the government right now. a

by defeating islamic state corazon inside afghanistan, afghanistan will not be a safe haven for islamic state fighters that leave syria. >> next is jennifer griffin with fox news. >> thank you. sir, can we get your reaction to the announcement that general mattis is the pick for the next defense secretary? is there anything you can tell us about him, personal anec doetss, something we may not know? >> i've known general mattis for ten years. he's highly respected across the ranks, and so we all congratulate him. i don't want to make any comment. he will go through a confirmation process. as far as his -- any policy issues going forward, that's a matter for the transition. >> is there a particular story about him you'd like to relay? >> he's a soldier's soldier, marine's marine. i'm sure that's what he would say. i first met him in afghanistan where we were in a tough fight in 2006. he's a very inspirational leader. i know he inspired me as a soldier on the ground as we talked about that very tough fight in those days. we wish him the best of luck and send congratulations. >> if i could

e-mailed the president of afghanistan -- be met with the president of afghanistan. during his visit he also met with notary commanders and delivered a preholiday address to u.s. troops. the u.s. has 10,000 troops in afghanistan. >>> congress has said president obama a bill that sends help for national guard soldiers who were told they have to repay their enlistment bonuses. the pentagon wanted thousands of national guard troops to pay back horses that were improperly handed out during the height of the iraq and afghanistan war. the measure would allow the pentagon to forgive those that and to reimburse soldiers who are the prepaid the bonuses. >>> a later today in tennessee the great smoky mountains national park reopens after several devastating wildfires. it killed 14 people and 2500 buildings were damaged in the past we can have. officials are eager to reopen this park. it is a nations most visited national park. almost 11 million visitors last year. >>> two teenagers suspected of starting the fire are being charged with aggravated arson. >>> cruise in ohio work

we're looking at other hard threat capabilities and ongoing efforts in afghanistan and iraq. crane said it really well, the historian, he said two ways to fight the military, assume metally and stupid. you hope the enemy picks stupid but they're unlikely to do so. we have to be prepared to fight across a range of contingency operations, we've never been able to predict with any degree of certainty what the next conflict is going to be. and we have to do what sir michael howard said, not be so far off the mark we can't adjust once the real demands of the conflict reveal themselves to you. we're trying to adopt quickly to circumstances, learn quickly, develop situations to understanding with these problem sets and i think one of the things we have to really do is recognize that there are no short term solutions to long term problems. and if we try to take a short term approach to a long term problem we're just guaranteeing that we're going to extend the duration of our effort and probably just increase the scale of it. so we're really emphasizing in the army the consolidation o

there was only a handful of the fbi in afghanistan he brings in more than 100 because they were killing american soldiers and trying to understand of ied deaths to brings in the behavioral science people and has an interview today the best did not go off for in these experts profilers understood how most of the moral level peasants from pakistan with the refugee camps were radicalized by erratic call imam in a tribal area and basically were told they will go to heaven with this operation and their families are paid money then they are brought to the of logistics' where they meet up with of guy of the vehicle of the ied t. so they have to understand that i agree annual level. but as one of the profilers told me they are manipulating these guys and it is very sophisticated because somebody who is the uneducated and not capable to go after a soft target but they found somebody they would put them on a team to do more hard target commando type of things but the profilers if i was taking a team i would pick exactly these guys and assign them the task they were given so they were a sophistica

critics say afghanistan is not as a country. the german interior minister says one third of the men were criminals. speaking in berlin, he also said deportations were unnecessary in order to keep the asylum system functioning. "integration for those who have a right to stay and repatriation for those who are obliged to leave. those are the two sides of the same coin. you can't play the one off against the other." some of the returnees won't be able to go back to their home regions, because the security situation there is too bad. the men don't know what will become of them. "because i went to europe, i lost everything. everyone loves their country. i also love my country. but what should i do here? do i have to go in joined the taliban or i.s.?" there were protests at frankfurt airport as the men were about to depart. the german refugee advocacy group says the deporortations ae wrong. "how safe is it? just look at where the german armies station. taliban are everywhere. and the german government says once we believe these people

. >> let me ask you about afghanistan and pakistan. on afghanistan, president obama decided to hold force level study at roughly 8400. brookingsew of us at with a few your predecessors and friends to the paper over the summer. we suggested it should be a broad range of options considered by a new administration that can imagine a few more thousand forces from the united states and coalition and maybe some expanded authorities in the use of air power. i don't know if you want to comment on if we should have a proper view of that type that would consider different options or are we on a steady path you are comfortable with. gen. votel: nothing is on cruise control. i would encourage we don't take that approach. we should be looking at what is happening for opportunities to change our footprint, whether it is increasing or decreasing activities. i think we should always be looking at what is happening in assessing that. i think the president's decisions have been fortuitous. 5500,osed to going on the which is where we would generally be r

there is 11,000 afghanistan -- measure the exact number. have young -- children and the notion of losing a child in the conflict butlf is agonizing to me, to lose someone in a conflict like this when people are not even paying attention and when it seems like something very far from american concerns, i think would be very, very, very painful. i think it probably would not seem worth it. i think one has to tell oneself that, you know, my son or daughter was there fighting for something they believe in, and , but its was meaningful just strikes me as extremely, extremely painful. host: we are right between but a president in the time period cause you into the oval office and says "mark danner, what should i do about drones?" guest: i would say, "mr. president, use and less. -- use them less. realize that the decapitation strategy has its own downsides. they should be used in situations in which there really is -- we really do know about an eminent attack being planned. theoretically, that is when they are used, but they are now using elongat

operated out of afghanistan. for example, alongside the afghan partners we recently conducted to large's gail against isil and afghanistan. killing the top leader in the country and significantly degrading capabilities there. on the campaign's third objective of protecting the homeland to your days working with intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement partners at home. and supporting them his job and priority number one. but also abroad. there we are are conducting operations together intelligence with a particular importance of destroying their external operations cadre. we have not only killed the chief of isil's external operations but taken out more than 130 external plotters. we have gone after their branch in syria, we with the fbi to systematically eliminate members of a cell outside the united states that was inspiring attacks in our country. and including against our armed forces. we directed the joint special operations command to make that top top priority of destroying isil's capabilities.

just back from afghanistan. want to talk about that as well.t's your reaction to bringing down the price of pharmaceuticals? those companies clearly not happy and some republicans not happy he's intervening as well. >> interesting. pharmaceutical companies agreed with obama on passing obama care. we need to make all of health care more affordable. we're trying to do this immediately with repeal and replacement of the entire obama health care law so people get the care they need from the doctor they choose at lower costs. >> and do you support a two-year replacement policy or three-year? seems to be debate among republicans now. how long it will take to completely change the affordable care act? >> the important thing, people who have had their lives significantl disrupted, a smooth transition to do that. we visited with vice president-elect pence yesterday who came to the senate policy committee luncheon to talk about that. we just want to make sure we don't disrupt the lives of the people. >> what about the millions that have health insurance

there are a thousand ragged militants in the mountains of afghanistan. e have to go in and get them we have to destroy their organization. we can do it with our special forces and highly trained troops and do it with a limited use of airpower but we have to discreate and corrected and go against our help mies in such a way we kill the minimum number of civilians and give them the minimum case to make against us. it's what they want to do. and it's on record, mr. president, they want to get us to occupy afghanistan and have us become a quagmire where they can destroy us as they destroyed the soviet union before us. so we need a discrete lethal response and we need at the same time to strengthen their relationships with moderate muslim countries and have to realize our enemy is extremism, is extreme jihadism and make sure it isn't perceived we're attacking the muslim world, that we're attacking everyday arabs and have to do everything we can to destroy our enemy and prevent it from growing because the wrong response will help them and they have attacked us

she's become a shining light for women's rights in places like afghanistan.you see yourself as a role model like malala? >> yes, actually since i started, i was very young to start, because i wanted to encourage more females in my country to do the same job, but unfortunately there are people that, of course, we know that over 30 years, the story of afghanistan, there is a war, a wild lands, a discrimination against the female in afghanistan. so unfortunately for me it became a public face in the country and all over the world that, okay, this is a female pilot in afghanistan doing this, and i understand it was to encourage other females in my country to do the same job, but unfortunately it became a negative point against me and my family for the people like taliban, extended family, that we had no control over it. and for a while my dad could control it and take the situation serious and take care of the family and me, but after that, i think we couldn't like control the situation anymore without the support of government and anyone else. >> i asked then ca

. >> they moved into afghanistan, it was nicaragua, it was in the caribbean.re was a feeling that the united states and i felt it, the united states could lose the cold war. >> there was a model of behavior during the cold war, and the way i often described it, it was the red side of the map and blue side of the map, separated by the iron curtain. the rest of the world we competed for. >> that fundamental clash between communism and capitalism, between dictatorship and freedom divided the world. but it is a revolution starting to stir. >> there has been an unexpected development abroad. polish workers in the baltic area are standing firm in their strike against the government. >> the demands of striking polish workers concluded free press, release of political prisoners and right to strike. they assumed the risk of striking illegally. >> along comes solidarity, but not a union run by communists, it is a union run by polish patriots, so it is a tremendous threat to the ussr because of possible contagion, it would wipe out communism if allowed to spread. >> in t

army as a translator in afghanistan. five years, starting in 2007, he was the eyes and ears of the us military and the words all. >> it is a feeling of fear, a feeling like you know you are going to die any second. >> that out 26-year-old has dozens of recommendation letters from a general to a captain.>> his effectiveness was not only notify my soldiers -- >> and his letter, an army captain wrote that he distinguished himself, running through the middle of the gunfight to give ammunition to one of my vehicles that had run out. had he been an american soldier, it is the kind about a week of metals for. he speaks for different languages and recalls one especially harrowing translation in 2009 were both is an american soldier lives were on the line after he heard the enemy say this: >> saying, let them all go through and we will shoot them from behind so they don't buy less. we can kill a couple of them for all of them. i told my po that we are about to get killed, right over here. they are tracking us right now. right awa

in afghanistan, libya and elsewhere. in the third objective is to work with the intelligence homeland security and horseman partners to help protect our homeland some people from attack. that's ultimately our most important mission. this strategic approach of our campaign is to leverage all the tools the dod's disposal to enable capable and motivated local forces to apply pressure to deal them out defeat. we recommended this strategic approach because the only way to ensure once defeated isil stays defeated is to enable local forces to seize and hold territory rather than substitute for them. we have been squeezing isil from all sides and across domains through series of deliberate place to continue to build momentum. what are special operators conduct raids, free hostages and gather intelligence it creates a virtuous cycle cycle a better intelligence generates more targets and rates and more opportunities we can seize. to gain even more momentum. as a result since last year, play-by-play, accelerant after accelerate, th