the government of the evgeni malkin -- government of nouri al-maliki, it is a problem. there's no way to work with them until nouri al-maliki steps down. we may need greater military help as lefage and a bargaining chip. >>> what about the u.s. role. president obama made extensive comments on the deteriorating military situation, saying iraq needs help and he is considering options, but no troops on the ground. what are the options. what can the u.s. do, what should to do? >> to say all options are on the table but no troops considered is an oxy moran. we have to be a little careful. there may be a need for special forces, for example. perhaps americans can help with commando raids. perhaps we can help with intelligence, signals intelligence to figure out where the i.s.i. s fighters are and tart them. doesn't mean americans have to take a lead role, but to rule out the possibility of putting american boots on the ground may be a mistake under the circumstances, because the threat is serious, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. i would say, however, before we would

generals, many defense officials who are career, worked hard with the iraqis to get into 2011 and evgeni malkin, and the iraqi -- nouri al-maliki and the iraqi parliament decided no, and the administration continued to press for it. at a certain point you have to take no for an answer. i think that, you know, this was a timetable that was originally set out by the bush administration and we had to adhere to it. we could not stay in the country without their permission. >> final response? >> well, that's just absolutely not correct. the fact is i was part of the 2008 negotiating team. at that time it was understood by nouri al-maliki, and accepted by prime minister nouri al-maliki, that this was the first sofa not the last. we spent many months successfully accommodating a first sofa and we hoped for a second. the diplomatic shortfalls led us to where in some ways contributed to where we are today. >> thank you both joining us tonight. thank you. >>> now an update on the al jazeera colleagues held in prison in cairo. egypt's prosecutor ordered the release of our longest hold reporter abdullah al