. >> the united eights is planning to expand its drone program to northwest africa -- the united states is planning to expand its drone program to northwest africa. the us will -- the aim is to gather intelligence against rebel groups in the region. this is where the rebel groups operate across africa. in nigeria, boca harrumph -- in

pharm, director of the africa center of the islamic council and jennifer cook director of the africa program at the centre for strategic and international studies. i am pleased to have them all here. max give me a sense of what you know about where we are at this moment? >> i think charlie we are in a very early stages of what could be a very protracted insurgency campaign. one of the things that i did in the course of doing the research for my new book is a calculated the average length of an insurgency since 1945. and the average length is nearly 10 years. the french just got in last week and so we have a long way to run. i think what we have essentially seen is that the french have been able to blunt the advice of the islamist insurgents who have taken control of northern mali, the french first use their strikes and now they have some troops on the ground actually directly battling the rebels. and there's no question that the french can stop the advancement but to actually roll back the insurgents and to gain control of the territory which they currently control is going to be a very diff

provide robust support to all the partners who are engaged in this. >> you're a director of the africa program at the centre for strategic and international studs, where does this put news the african continent. we have yemen, mali -- >> well, this is the big crisis right now. and there are several. i mean it's ironic that somalia is actually on something of an upturn right now and is looking, there are some opportunities there. whereas mali which we always held as this stable paragon of democracy is rapidly going down the tubes. we have got conflict and terrible humanitarian crisis in eastern congo. we have northern nigeria, this though is the one that has the real international repercussions that the u.s., the region, the regional west africans are extremely concerned about this. and the europeans. >> rose: i thank you for taking time to come talk with us about this. >> thanks so much, charlie, pleasure. >> just to put this into the context not just of africa but of the broader fight against al qaeda, because president obama has often said that al qaeda is on its way to defeat and it's proba

. >> the united eights is planning to expand its drone program to northwest africa -- the united states is planning to expand its drone program to northwest africa. the us will -- the aim is to gather intelligence against rebel groups in the region. this is where the rebel groups operate across africa. in nigeria, boca harrumph -- in nigeria, fighters have -- resistance army is active in the region between the south and the central african republic'. in this stretches where the al qaeda and other groups are based -- in this stretch is where the al qaeda and other groups are based. a former u. s. flight officer says that recent events have made -- a former flight officer says that recent events have made this necessary. >> the situation 10 months, 12 months ago, the concerns about drone strikes and civilian casualties -- i would say that many people in north africa probably now rate the risk from al qaeda affiliates as higher. this is all in retrospect, seeing what has happened in algeria, seeing what has happened in mali. there is quite a lot of concern from north african nations about

that particularly in africa but in other parts of the world to be sure, for many people the only american they'll ever meet is a peace corps volunteer. so it's a very powerful program. i get asked a lot, you know, what about this militarization of u.s. foreign policy and, you know, is africom really just a guise to allow the u.s. military an entree into africa, and is that really what you're, you you know, what you're about there, is to get a presence on the continent? let me just say from a, just from a scale the state department and usaid is the principal entity of the government that spends money, spends last fiscal year between eight and nine billion, billion with a b, in africa. the department of defense spent a little more than $500 million. so there's a, i mean, there's just a dollar comparison in terms of what the level of effort is. overwhelmingly, the u.s. government's support to african countries falls into the categories of health care, education and agriculture. security is a very, very minor part of it. it's an important part, but it's a minor part of the u.s. overallen gaugement with african -- overall engagement with african countries, and i think t

manmade role i don't think that a trillion dollars again taken out of anti-malaria programs aids programs in africa is necessarily the best investment for our money if we can't definitively show that but that verdict the trillion dollars come from the trillion dollars comes from an opportunity cost that's roughly how much people of thrown out there are some experts on the left to lower the climate point zero zero zero zero one degree really you know when george herbert walker bush was president you know we had this terrible problem of acid rain there has to rain was caused by sulfur dioxide that was coming out of smokestacks of coal power coal fired power plants and so he put together a cap and trade system where the over time the amount of sulfur dioxide you were allowed to have it would decline and you could trade in sulfur dioxide credits cap and trade work brilliantly acid rain is not that much of a problem anymore and the banks did well the oil companies did well the power companies did well you know i don't see any opportunity cost lost there why can't we do the same thing with carbon dioxide

and the western forces were reportedly trained by american agents as part of a costly program to combat terrorism africa expert lawrence freeman explained to us what's gone wrong as well as how he thinks the mali crisis resulted from western intervention in nearby libya. you have several ways that this outbreak i mean first of all you have after the death sas nation murder presently khadafi you had basically within hours to re no merit in others stream you caused the border with pickup trucks military hardware. but you've also had the failed attempt by the u.s. to so-called tree partners in mali and other african country. these new units moved their units to very very quickly and it was a complete failure in all these policies and when the french are pursuing the wrong going to fail because you can't we don't we'll solve a real crisis by military means first say there has to be complete she industry teaching simply forward thinking of the united states in the west they have to focus on the underlying problems of economic development power the food shortages xander that make these countries very weak and

and the western forces were reportedly trained by american agents as part of a costly program to combat terrorism africa acts that lawrence freeman explained was gone wrong as well as how things the money crisis resulted from western intervention in nearby leave the. your civil. that was our parade i mean first of all you had after the death sas nation murder president khadafi you had basically within hours to ray. no merit another stream you caused a border with pick up trucks no terry hardware etc but you've also had the a failed attempt by the u.s. can so-called train partners in mali and other african country ease these new units military units deserted very quickly and it is a quiz a complete failure in all these policies and when the french are pursuing created what's going to fail because you can't win a we'll solve a real crisis by military means per se there has to be complete change in the strategic thinking forward thinking of the united states in the west that has to focus on the underlying problems of economic development probably food shortages except for that make these countries very wea

now today, south africa has the largest hiv treatment program in the world and things have changed really to date and he was actually fired as president. but it is a tragedy and it must be -- i don't know what it is. i really don't know. >> in a very different mood, you are for somebody who offer it seems like today's avram if i follow the description, but an ample quantity of alcohol is consumed to discuss mandatory quarantine of hiv-positive people in cuba and this should be listed out castro. >> yes. i went to cuba already in the early days for several reasons. one, there was quarantine because in cuba, most of the cupids with hiv were former soldiers in the military who are fighting in africa and came back infected with hiv were locked up basically. in a conversation with fidel castro, human rights is not something that is discussable, so we talked basically that it's not effect the comment that it does not work in today what happens in cuba is when you are found to be hiv-positive, you've got to follow a six-month scores, this is a few years ago is still the case, to prepare you for

a professor to ask. -- is asking about what africa partnership station has done some good, but i'm not sure if it is going. we were funded through this program to look at it, but not from -- a hazards perspective. we had two workshops in west africa where we did some training of oceanographers and forecasters. students worked with us. we develop some operational capacity for hazards and coastal areas. those turned into real time daily forecast for fishermen and others. there was a line of collaboration from 19 different countries i think that took part in that. is the program finished? is it still going? anda professor of physics regional climate change in africa. >> thank you, africa. yes, the station remains an important part of our overall portfolio. with the thrust being to improve capacity and the capabilities maritime abilities. it is a multifaceted. we have not had -- we have not been able to have all of the year. -- u.s. personnel be would like to have because of impeding demands, but it is still an ongoing program. i take the opportunity to highlight a couple of things. on both coasts of africa, we have been able to help african cou

the western forces were reportedly trained by american agents as part of a costly program to combat terrorism and africa expert lawrence freeman explained to us what's gone wrong as well as how have things the mali crisis resulted from western intervention in libya by leaving. you have several ways of this operation i mean first of all you have after the assassination murder of president darcy you had basically within hours to really. no merit in the other stream you caused the border with pickup trucks military hardware. but you've also had the failed attempt by the u.s. to so-called true partners in mali and other african countries. these new units military units just very very quickly and it was a complete failure and all these policy and when the french are pursuing the law going to fail because you can't we don't really solve a real crisis by military means or say there has to be complete cheek in the strategic simply forward thinking the united states in the west has. to focus on the underlying problems of economic. power to food sure it is xander that make these countries very weak and fragile an

a new program that aims to improve production for south africa's supermarkets. >> i will be telling you why millions of devout hindus have arrived on the river ganges. >> hello. we have some optimism across australia. more klaus clouds. no great amount of rainfall. but the rain coming in all -- from the southeast part of the country. a few light showers pushing up toward the gold coast. it looks like it is going to stay dry. the line of rain will be -- to bring some showers into the region. an ecosystem here pulling showers down toward the northern parts the would-a nice little system pulling showers down toward -- a nice little shot our -- shower moving down toward the north and parts of the country. that is what we are looking at in doha. >> good to have you with us. the top stories on al jazeera. hosni mubarak has been granted a retrial. french soldiers are fighting al qaeda-linked rebels in mali. french soldiers have reportedly stopped to the rebel advance in mali. police in an indian state have arrested five men for allegedly gang raping a 29 year old woman. a 23-year-old student w

margolis an award winning columnist who's extensively covered conflicts in africa erykah margolis ever welcome to the program so do you share this idea that if there hadn't been intervention in libya the turmoil in mali could have been avoided but i wouldn't say that because we can't say absolutely did toru a good uprising the demand for a twerk state has been going on for decades the. are the nomadic people the like the kurds of africa there are very stateless people spread across a number of nations who are causing great job unrest in the area but certainly the . u.s. led through the could not the regime in libya played a very important role in mobilizing these two are again sending shells very heavily armed. france are longs for us doctors present was to accelerate there was draw a french troops from afghanistan and now france is leading a military operation an african nation so can these be considered a deviation from his foreign policy agenda though his critics are certainly saying along the nouns just recently that there would be no intervention in africa the old days of when the french used to go in a

it's a way we get to collaborate other researchers from africa. >> scientists in 18 countries are taking part in the pan-african research programempting to unravel genetic secrets they believe have been kept far too long. tanya paige, joe ha happen esburg. >> it's been a tradition for centuries but animal activists are saying it's no excuse. they celebrate today by riding horses through fire. but as it's reported, some say it's time for this particular ceremony to pass into the history books. >> for 500 years spanish riders have been leaping through walls of fire. the annual festival celebrates st. anthony, the patron saint of animals. villagers see the act as heroic but for the riders, jumping through these flames is a way to safeguard their trusty steeds. >> the festival is a pagan tradition and the animals are blessed through the smoke and fire and beauty find the entire year so -- beutified for the entire year and they don't get sick or nothing happens to them. in the days leading up to the festival they collect all the firewood they can and the riders set off at dusk and the fire by trial ends at midnight when the fires ar

also in this program, top concerns as one in three women in south africa try to lighten their skin.nd an amazing escape by helicopter after it crashes into the sea in brazil. ♪ >> hello, happy new year to you. the deal is done now, the u.s. is counting on the and calls fof wrapped -- house of representatives to approve a bill that would avert the fiscal cliff. it was approved by the senate in the early hours in new year's day. the deadline was technically missed, but as long as the bill clears its final hurdle, a few effects will be felt, as today is a u.s. public holiday. >> vice-president joe biden, dropping in on congress until -- as the clock ticks down to midnight. with good humor, a deal with senate republicans had been struck. >> i feel very good, we will get a very good vote tonight. happy new year. >> members of both parties overwhelmingly backed an agreement that had required compromise from all. >> it took an imperfect solution to save the constituents, but in my view, it was worth the effort. as i said, this should not be the model for how we do things around here, but i

degree in west africa and also in asia and the french of sonar program that i mean i think that's very much part of that and also of course there's economic interest there and it turns out that the largest mowing city anywhere is on the outskirts of paris so the immigrants who live here i think the problem is that it's totally over open and the french have. given no and they probably don't know exactly what your objectives are what is there and how long is this going to go on you're talking about a country just northern mali which is twice the size of france how do you track down these rebels these different groups who know these various how do you deal with them with a few hundred troops away it's potentially a huge involvement and very long task in the end what they're going to wind up doing is having to negotiate with these people that's the only way i think it's going to come to an end. it's good to have you with us here on out so you today are the right to a preemptive nuclear strike against china is now part of a u.s. law and the national defense authorization act and the pentago

distribution of wealth nigeria is one of those for example also in britain's aid program nigeria is the second richest country in africa seventy billion dollars of oil revenues every year and yet two thirds of its population are living on less than a dollar a day so that money is going somewhere together with the aid money probably and also a lot of the aid money goes to the e.u. one of britain's aid budget is allocated to maybe you are old friends famously inefficient they've had a project in the past including promoting tourist. believe and also subsidizing a turkish television station here projects that the british probably wouldn't consider particularly meretricious of of the u.k. if they were given the choice. live in london thanks very much indeed so. in the middle east holds its biggest rally since hamas came to power in gaza hundreds of thousands of photos of all the small groups on the boats free but only off the rubble hamas gave them the go ahead more on the ground to vote in a few minutes for you here and i'll tell you plus. president putin made it to the top of the list of the world's most powerful people

africa. c-span: before this program's over i've got to ask you about five movies a day? >> guest: it can be done and i have done it. i am a movie addict, yes. c-span: five in one day? >> guest: yes. it--i have a friend who was there with me so i have a witness. c-span: why movies? >> guest: why movies? because i'm addicted to narrative. i mean, before this i wrote, you know, two books of fiction and i'm back into fiction and, you know, i just have to have a narrative hit. you know, i have to see about characters and plot and that sort of thing and it's just entrancing. c-span: what do you see in the movies the way black people are portrayed? >> guest: hmm. it's very troubling. i mean, one of the people i interview is charles burnett, the great macarthur award-winning filmmaker and we--he gets into it very deeply and eloquently. it's just not a lot of representation. i mean, i think, in the late '80s, early '90s, it was--there was what seemed to be an explosion of young black filmmakers which is sort of--even that which wasn't that great, you know, has sort of receded. no

africa. >>> welcome to the program. i want to bring you some breaking news in terms of energy prices. the iea is out with its latest 2013 oil report. it expects u.s. oil demand to remain flat on the year. but the headline here does appear that the market, according to the iea language here, is tighter than we thought. all of a sudden, the market looks tighter than we thought. that's the main message we're getting from the organization. it says the world forecast to consume about 90.8 million barrels per day in 2013, up by about a quarter of a million since december. despite seeing the u.s. slight to even negative, seen as driving increase in demand and global supplies felly 170,000 barrels per day in december to 192 million. opec supplies falling to its lowest level in a year in december. global refinery rose by 1.5 million barrels per day. the oil market looks tighter than we thought and china has a lot to do with that. china's economy finally picked up pace in the fourth quarter. that gdp number came in above forecasts, growing 7.9% from a year earlier. industrial and retail sales g

he'll face a long list of global concerns including iran's controversial nuclear program, security challenges in north africa the middle east and departmental changes in response to that deadly terrorist attack in benghazi. kerry is replacing hillary clinton who told a global town hall meeting today when she steps down she'll write a memoir about her years at the state department. mrs. clinton had also added she will not be addressing the 2016 election. >>> another change to president obama's cabinet, transportation secretary ray lahood is resigning. the only republican still left on president obama's first term cabinet says he intends to remain in office until his successor is confirmed that will probably be another two months from now. he says working in the cabinet was, quote, the best public service job he's ever had. >>> a horrific discovery in syria today. at least 60 people dead in what appears to be a mass execution. nbc bay area's janelle wang is here with our "world tonight." >>> a body found on a river bank in the city of aleppo bound and apparently shot in the head. the victims men in their teens

activists and journalists rather time but thank you for being on the program which preceded well ok as we heard some analysts suggesting africa's untapped natural resources could be the main reason attracting western powers to the continent's also being cited as a pretext for the intervention in mali we've been talking about this week despite the country being considered among the world's poorest nations it has plenty to offer when it comes to wealth that lies beneath let's take a look at the screen take a look at it the african nation is the continent's third largest producer of gold that we've mapped to the there's mali garnishing see south africa and you can see that it trails only south africa and garner there are some four cars which indicated could move into first place indeed in gold exports in the near future some other facts and figures energy is another of molly's economic trouble with it she radium deposits believed to be over five. thousand terms of france are lying as was mentioning just know was entirely on your rain is fuel for its nuclear power plants it's believed maybe paris is eyeing these mali deposits now o

many as thirty five african nations early next year for training programs and other operations as part of any creased pentagon role in africa the move would see small teams of u.s. troops dispatched to countries with groups allegedly linked to al qaida such as libya sudan algeria and needs well i think it was confucius famously donald rumsfeld should be in jail for war crimes and quote well who's the biggest player in iraq right now iraq's oil business oh china right so. there's just no pretty well this twenty first century but china is tapping their resources but they're paying tied to the empire to the united states is the u.s. that controls that so that the u.s. is very happy for china to have the oil as long as they pay their share to rome in dollars yeah which are quickly losing their value which they accumulated by selling americans hundreds of trillions of dollars with a wal-mart so the team sent to africa our u.s. brigade that has the capable. to use drones for military operations in africa if granted permission not from the nations about to be droned but from their commander at centcom or africa or whatever i want

she helped pave the way for africa's first democratically elected female head of state. two days after her appearance on the program, she was awarded the nobel peace prize. also tonight we will preview a conversation from next week on the issue of poverty. beginning next tuesday night, a special conversation called vision for a new america, featuring a terrific line above guests. -- a terrific lineup of guest. plus, a preview of a special event on this program starting next week. coming up right now. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminate hunger, and we have a lot of work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> in october 2011 we were on our to be joined by leymah gbowee. she proved the difference of one single person can make in our world. she encourages the women of liberia to orga

africa. in the gulf of guinea, i would highlight a notable program, the first that anyone is aware of of a truly effective partnership, not between two african countries but between two of the african unions, regional economic teams. so the gulf of guinea as you all know rests on the boundary between the economic community of west african states and the economic community of central african states. and through a number of workshops as mentioned, mostly legalistic manners but to help those to regional organizations craft sharing arrangements that have allowed for the nations to share law enforcement information, to allow for pursuit of, a hot pursuit of criminals across the borders, whether that's illegal a sherry, whether oil bunkering or other illegal activities. so still a lot of work to do in the domain of maritime security, but progress is being made. the challenge, of course is that operations in the maritime domain are the most expensive than operating in any other domain other than space. ships are expensive. patrol craft are expensive. expensive to procure. they are expensive to maintain

program and minimize the c.i.a. involvement. >> bret: you can imagine secretary clinton will be asked about the expansion in northern africacertainly. >> bret: thank you. >> you're welcome. >> bret: russia has begun evacuating the citizens from war-torn syria. four buses carrying about 80 people mostly women and children crossed to lebanon earlier in afternoon. the latest indication of russia perceives syria's president is losing his grip on power there. still ahead -- a big election in israel and what is at stake. first, is the housing crisis finally over here in the u.s.? we will look at what the numbers say. ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. living with moderate to semeans living with pain.is it could also mean living with joint damage. humira, adalimum, can help treat more than just the pain. for many adults, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain a

we're going to come back a little later in the program and talk to you about the manti te'o hoax. thanks. >>> other news overseas in north africa. we're learning more details about the hostage situation, where americans were among dozens of the people captured. the algerian government says a number of those hostages have been freed after special forces came in on a raid. there are also a number of unknown casualty this morning. the status of the americans involved in this is still unconfirmed. a lot of the facts are unknown. meanwhile, governments from all over the world are expressing concern about the way the algerian government has handled the situation. nbc's stephanie gosk has more on how all of this unfolded. >> reporter: using tanks and helicopters, the algerian military launched an operation on their own to retake the remote gas field from the militants and free the hostages, including at least three americans. algeria says it's over, but details are few and casualty reports vary widely from a few dead to dozens. u.s. officials are saying little about the operation or the american hostages. >> because of the fluidity an

prosecute interest a couple of hours here on the program cross talk looks at why some major crimes committed in different parts of the world including africa basically being swept under the carpet never ever making it to the international criminal court. the i.c.t. why there are only this. have been indicted and convicted and where is the nato allies. either not being indicted or how we already know it is well the fact that someone is acquitted is not an example of the failure of impartial justice in fact in many ways is an example of the success of impartial justice because what that indicates is simply that the prosecutor fail to make his or her case beyond a reasonable. we have already seen the same thing happening where. indicted arrest warrants. bureau chief and other belfast is in a state of shaky calm after the self silent majority rallied against the violent riots of past weeks began when the catholic dominated local council limited the flying of the u.k. flag on civic buildings sparked fears protests by pro british protestants as r.t. sarah for three ports unclear goals on both sides could easily trigger yet more trouble. well it'

year's flash points from china internet freedom to mining strikes in south africa, i am pleased to have him back on this program, welcome. >> thank you. >> rose: here it is, how long have you been doing this. >> about ten years. >> rose: ten years so just tell me what it is in general, how do you go about making the decisions that you do about the risks. >> it started ten years ago with me, i was writing one of my regular pieces as i do and you get it and others would, it sadly has become a bit more of a production, 150 folks this days and we get together month in advance and all of the analysts covering the various parts of the world and various themes and sectors all put out where they think we should be focused and we battle it out and ultimately it is not from my computer, qualitative but -- >> rose: just because you have been here a number of times, so eurasia group is what? >> we are the world's largest group political risk consultants, we look at how politics affect the markets, you know, if you a political scientist you get a ph.d., historically you become either a policy guy or an academic, and it was