i'm bernard smith, live in afghanistan with the latest. >> cc goes to moscow. the head -- abdul fatah al-sisi goes to moss go, the head of egypt goes moscow. >> plus... >> if parents ask if you want to live or day, what questions pass a child's name. >> an emotional debate in belgium has party debates whether sick children should have the right to die. >> hello. afghanistan has released 65 prisoners despite condemnation by the united states. afghan president hamid karzai ordered their release several weeks ago. the men were held in the parwon detention facility. washington says the inmates pose a threat to diplomatic forces and insists they should be prosecuted under afghan law. here is what the u.s. don't of defense said in a pentagon statement: bernard smith is joining us live, to tell us whether there has been any afghan reaction, afghan government reaction to the u.s. condemnation. >> the afghan government position has always been that there is no evidence against these men. the cases were, the government says here, looked at by a review board, and that rev

bernard smith joins us from north-west afghanistan. that is a decision that is likely to strain what is already difficult relations between the u.s.-led forces and the afghan government. >> there's no surprise. the americans are furious about this. there has been a flurry of press releases from afghanistan. and from the pentagon and the united states condemning the afghan government for going ahead with the release of these prisoners, the u.s. military describes these as taliban fighters, and they say they have evidence that many of these people, these men are responsible for planting roadside bombs. they have explosive residue from the fingers of a lot of these men, they have biometric evidence that they say puts them at the scene. these men are released to go and kill again. >> what does this do then for the timetable of withdrawal for foreign forces there? that is something that is very much hanging in the balance, isn't it? >> well, what it does is it complicates and strainings relations between the u.s. and the afghan government.

killed 19 soldiers and tid napped seven others let's get the latest from bernard smith.going attack still not over yet, what are you hearing? >> reporter: no, the afghan security forces are telling us that the operation is still going on. by our calculations we think this about one of the largest single taliban attacks there has been on an afghan base or any army base in a couple of years the police chief telling us about 100 taliban fighters launched the attack on this base near the pakistan board at about 3:00 this morning, the fighters the police chief tells us were made up of afghan, pakistanis and arab taliban fighters and managed to kill 19 afghan soldiers and take six or seven of them hostage, that's also the single largest loss of life for the afghan army in the last two months. the previous one was in march last year. when 18 soldier remember killed when a convoy was attacked, particularly this time of year, as well, when it's still very cold and very snowy up there, soaredly the taliban's activities are curtailed base of the weather, but it seems on this occasi

bernard smith reports. >> the killing of 21 afghan soldiers as they slept at a remote outpost seems toe the worst single blow to government forces in the last three years. they would have had little chance as their base, close to the border with pakistan was overrun by what the government says were hundreds of taliban fighters. >> the attack was organized from the other side of the border and it was very intensive. the army defended their country until the last drop of their blood. >> the defense minister accused a foreign intelligence service of helping plan the attack. he didn't name pakistan, but the inference was clear. >> since the beginning of the year, more than 80 soldiers have been killed in combat with the taliban, a measure the army faces looking after the security of its own country without the help of nato. >> nato support was requested, the afghan army says, but it didn't arrive in time. this man's son was a soldier for more than three years. he was the only breadwinner, his father says. >> there's been an outpouring of public sympathy for these soldiers and their familie

. >> bernard smith has more from kabul. >> the u.s. wanted to leave about 8,000 troops in afghanistan from the beginning of 2015 to train, advise and assist afghan forces and continue the fight against al qaeda remnants. if they pull out, 13 years, and the loss lives, the u.s. could risk losing gains in afghanistan in the fight against terrorism. there's a risk for the afghan government if the u.s. pulls out. foreign powers contribute up to $8 billion a year to maintaining afghan forces and providing aid to afghanistan. it's unlikely they'll want to continue to provide the money if they are going to be kicked out by the afghan government. all the contenders in the election on april the 5th, or the main contenders say they'll sign the bilateral agreement. it's problem thable that there'll be no outright winner from the elections, meaning a run-off and the campaign running into the summer and we may not note who the afghan leader will be until the end of the summer, and the clock will tick down on the appearance of american troops in afg

i'm bernard smith, live in afghanistan with the latest. >> cc goes to

al jazerra's bernard smith introduces us to one man who will suffer the rest of his life for the jobporter: for much of the past six years, this has been abdul's life. lying face down in a bare room. the former police officer was paralyzed by shrapnel after his pickup truck hit a roadside bomb in central afghanistan. >> translator: i have endured so much pain and tragedy, for the past six years my wife, god bless her, who turns me over, looks after me. after god, she is the only person who cares. i can't even use the bathroom. >> reporter: ab doubt joined the police as an idealistic 22-year-old. he says that he wanted to serve his country. but there is only so much his country can do for him. abdul was flown to i had indiar surgery however doctors there couldn't help him. last year almost 81st were killed every week during april to november fighting season. another 3,000 were injured according to the government. >> translator: he used to tell us these terrible stories from the frontline. he used to tell me about the dangers of the job and i told him not to go anymore, but he would sa

bernard smith, al jazeera, afghanistan. >> iin the ukraine the man who was kidnapped said he believes captors were russian. lately they've been adding unlikely recruits. we have reports from kiev on the women's brigade. >> the 20-year-old has come to join the revolution. the protesters main command center all new recruits are vetted. she is ukrainian but lives in london with her parents, and an unlikely new member of the opposition women's brigade. >> when i had seen how they burn the buses and how the police are attacking them, i just got all my stuff and went to the airport. >> you said it's quite a dangerous situation here. what are you prepared to do? >> everything. like i'm ready to fight for my human rights and my country and a better life with my country, even to death. >> she is among 700 women eagle for play a more active role in ongoing protests. that means they are ready to fight. but before being allowed to police the barricades they receive basic training. >> these somewhat young recruits are being trained in a whole series of different tactics, how to avoid arrest, what

bernard smith reports on the shattered lives of police officers wounded in the conflict there. >> for much of the past six years, this has been the life, laying face down in a room. the former police officer paralyzed after the pick-up truck hit a bomb in afghanistan. >> translation: i've endured to much pain and tragedy. for the past six years my wife, god bless her, turns me over. and looks after me. after god she's the only person who cares. >> abdual joined the police as yn idealistic 22-year-old. he wanted to serve his country. there's only so much the country can do for him. abdul flew to india for surgery. doctors there couldn't help it. last year 80 officers were killed every week. 3,000 were injured according to the government. >> he used to tell us terrible stories from the front line, the dangers of the job, and i told him not to go. he'd say as long as i'm alive i'll serve my country. while healthy the government used him. now he's wounded and paralyzed, they don't care about him. >> abdul wants treatment in the u.s. or europe and it will cost tens of thousands. in reality

. >> thank you for that, bernard smith, speaking to us from kab u. in neighbouring pakistan, police were the target of attacks. three were killed and several wound wounded. no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. >> described by some as the world's top drugs lord, joaquin guzman, known as shorty, has been captured. mexico's most wanted has been on the run for 13 years and on forbes list of billionaires, captured without a shot being fired. adam raney has the story. >> after evading their capture for 13 years, mexican law enforcement were keen to parade joaquin guzman before the cameras. he led the sinaloa, and was captured overnight by mexican and u.s. officials. >> translation: today at 6:40am in the morning, elements from the navy detained joaquin guzman, along with a collaborator. >> he's been one of the world's most wanted men since escaping from a mexican prison in 2001, in the back of a laundry truck. since then his empire expanded across the globe. his cartel allegedly controls some of the most lucrative drug smuggling routes. traf

. >> bernard smith has a view from kabul. >> the u.s. wanted to leave 8,000 troops in afghanistan from the beginning of 2015, to train, advise and assist afghan forces and continue the fight against al qaeda remnants in afghanistan. if they pull out, there's a risk that after 13 years of involvement in afghanistan, and the loss of more than 2,000 american service personnel, the u.s. could risk losing the gains it made in afghanistan, in its fight against terrorism. there's a big risk for the afghan government if the u.s. falls out. foreign powers are contributing up to $8 billion a year to maintaining afghan forces and providing aid to afghanistan. it's unlikely they'll continue to provide the money if they are going to be kicked out by the afghan government. the main contenders in the election said they'd sign the bilateral agreement. the problem is it's probable there'll be no outright winner on april the 5th, meaning a run-off and the presidential campaign running long into the summer. we possibly won't know who the leader will be unt

despite the drop though, it remains one of the most dangerous in the country as bernard smith reports for much of the past six years this has been his lich. lying, face down in a bare room. former police officer was par lived by shrapnel after his pick-up truck hit a roadside bomb. >> translation: oi endured so much pain and tragedy. for the past six years my wife, god bless her, who turns me over and nurses me. after god she's the only person who cares. i can't even use the bathroom. >> he joined the police as a 22-year-old. he says he wanted to serve his country. he was flown to india for surgery. doctors couldn't help him. last year 80 officers were killed every week. another 3,000 were injured according to the government. he used to tell us terrible stories from the front line, the dangers of the job. he said as long as i'm alive i will serve my country. while he was healthy the government used him. now he's wounded and paralyzed, they don't care about him. abdual wants treatment in the u.s. or europe. it will cost tens of thousands. in reality, this is how he'll be for the rest o

bernard smith, al jazeera, harat, afghanistan. >> and joining me to discuss the lessons, al jazeera'sernational affairs contributors and a professor of history at the university of michigan. 25 years after the soviets pulled out, what are some of the lessons the americans can take when they begin to withdraw from afghanistan? >> the soviets, did leech behind najib but he had no support in the country and the soviets didn't stay with him. so just pulling out and leaving nothing behind very bad idea. >> so how critical is it for the u.s. to reach a security deal with the afghan government? >> well, whether u.s. troops stay in the country or not, i think, is still an open questi question, and maybe not the really consequently one. >> really? >> the important thing is, it is a government, it is an elected government, there are some irregularities in the government but there is an army. it simply does not have a budget that would allow it to maintain 200,000 men under arms between the police and the military. so i think continued financial support to the government is absolutely key. >> so

bernard smith reports from the capitol of kabul. >> for much of the past six years this has been thelife, lying face down in a bare room. former police officer was paralyzed by slap. >> you've endured so much pain and tragedy the past six years my wife, god bless her, she turns me over and cares after me. after god, she's the only one who cares. i can't even use the bathroom. >> he said he wanted to serve his country. but there is only so much his country can do for him. he was flown to india for surgery, however, doctors there could not help him. last year almost 80 officers were killed every week from april to november fighting season. another 3,000 were injured according to the government. >> he used to tell us terrible stories from the front line. he used to tell me about the dangers of the job. i told him not to go any more. he said, as long as he's alive he will serve the country. when he was healthy the government used him. now that he's wounded and paralyzed the government doesn't care about him. >> he wants treatment in the u.s. or europe. it will cost 10s of thousands of do

al jazerra's bernard smith reports from kabul on the shattered lives of police officers wounded in theflict. >> reporter: for much of the past six years, this has been abdul's life. lying face down in a bare room. former police officer was paralyzed by shrapnel after his pickup truck hit a roadside bomb in central afghanistan. >> i have endured so much pain and tragedy over the past six years my wife, god bless her, who turns me overlooks after me. after god, she's the only person month cares. i can't even use the bathroom. >> reporter: abdul joined the police as an idealistic 22 year old. he says he wanted to seven his s country. but there is only so much they can do for him. he was flown to india for surgery, however doctors there couldn't help him. last year almost 80 officers were killed every week during the april to november fighting season. another 3,000 remember injured accord to this government. >> he used to tell us these terrible stories from the frontline and told me dangers about the job and i told them not doing anymore but he said as long as i am alive i will serve my co

bernard smith has more from kabul. >> more than 100 taliban fighters launched a predawn assault on anhan army post. it's one of the biggest single taliban attacks there has been in afghanistan in the last couple of years. at least 19 afghan soldiers killed. many more wounded, and we understand at least six or seven have been taken hostage and are kept by the taliban. the afghan security services now trying to free those soldiers. it's prompted afghan president hamid karzai to cancel a trip to sri lanka, and in a statement condemning the attack he's pointed the finger of blame again at pakistan, accusing the pakistanies of not doing enough to tackle the taliban, wanting islamabad to take on the fight. it has to be said last week the pakistanis lost 23 soldiers who were killed by taliban fighters inside afghan territory. the pakistanis suffering casualties. the kav gan believing the -- afghan leaving the pak stapius -- pakistanis not taking the fight seriously. >> president hamid karzai confirmed a secret meeting in dubai, saying his high peace council met with a delegation committed to

al jazeera's bernard smith introduces us to one man. >> for much of the past six years this has been his life. face-down in a ware room. the former police officer was paralyzed by shrap until, after his pick-up truck hit a bomb. >> i've endisured pain and tragedy. it's my wife who turns me over. she's the only person who course. >> abdul joint the police and said he wanted to serve his country. there's only so much his country can do for him. abdul was flown for surgery. doctors couldn't help him. last year almost 80 officers were killed every week during the 80 to november fighting season. 3,000 were injured, according to the government. >> he used to tell us terrible stories, and tell me about the dangers of the job. i told him not to go, but as long as i'm alive he would serve the country. he's wounded and paralyzed. they don't care about him. >> abdul wants treatment. it will loft tens of thousands. in reality this is how he'll be for the rest of his life. during the past six months the number of casualties has fallen dramatically from up to 20 a day to three our four. they put i