i want to bring back in jamie mcintyre who has been reporting on this from the pentagon. jamie as you said a few moments ago. we believe these special operations forces are coming from erbil in the kurdish area of iraq. what can you tell us about the risks they face? we know that they are going to be in northern syria. we don't think that this is at the behest of the assad government. we know the russians have been conducting air strikes there, and that the syrian air force continues to conduct air strikes. so is that a risk for our troops on the ground? >> that's a very interesting question, and i'll be interested to see how the pentagon answers this later today. the potential risk from russian air strikes in syria with u.s. troops on the ground. but for now the pentagon would say russia and the united states are operating in completely different areas of syria. this memorandum of understanding to make sure they can operate safely together has been barely needed because the u.s. has been attacking in the north, and the russians imarily, according to the pentagon, have bee

jamie mcintyre joins us from the pentagon now. tell us more about this new strategy, and what prompted the change? >> reporter: well, it really is a case of reality setting in. the president's plan which was to try to wrap up the war in afghanistan by the time he left office simply didn't mesh with the reality on the ground in afghanistan, and that was illustrated graphically with this recent incident with which the taliban for two weeks took over the city of kunduz in north, and although afghan security forces were able to retake the city, there was a lot of damage done there, prisoners released. it was a very dicey situation. so this has been going on for months now, the pentagon and the president have been reviewing the strategy, u.s. military commanders recommended they leave an additional force after the president leaves in order not to repeat the mistake that many believe was made in iraq where u.s. troops left completely, and then the situation deteriorated. a big difference, though, between the situation in iraq, where the

our pentagon correspondent jamie mcintyre is joining us now. he pentagon has been pushing for this for quite sometime, the president saying what they have been saying behind closed door for quite sometime. >> well, the administration would say this has been a process that has been going on for months, and a lot of people are looking at the recent takeover by the taliban of kunduz as something that might have been a tipping point. pentagon officials are steering us away from that idea, insisting this had its germ nation months ago when general martin dumpsy broke with the president that his plan was not meeting with the harsh realities of what was going on on the ground. as the president said, they have been reassessing the mission for months now, and perhaps that taliban takeover of kunduz was one factor. but it was pretty clear that the -- that the afghan force were going to need additional help. the president did want to leave the next president with a clean slate in afghanistan, just a small embassy force there, but he has agreed to -- to the

as jamie mcintyre reports from washington. the move could signal broader changes in relations between the two countries. estimated militarily canada's withdrawal will not be all that significantly. dana considers four f 18 fighter bombers and 11 other countries will pick up the slack. politically, symbolically it's a blow to the united states. cannes doe is a reliable partner. the two tonned ris manned. the nor at is one of the few places where american troops come under foreign command. in a phone call with president obama, the newly elected canadian prime minister made it clear that he would make good on his pledge to end the combat mission. >> we talked about canada's engagement as a strong member of the coalition against i.s.i.l., and we committed to engage in a responsible way, that understands how important canada has, as a role to play in the fight against i.s.i.l. he understands the commitments i made around ending combat mission. >> reporter: canada's contributions to the campaign not just the only loss. the prime min

jamie mcintyre is live in washington right now.d afternoon, the two leaders are expected to put out a joint statement i understand on north korea. >> reporter: we have seen that yet. we with expecting it. and they'll have a news conference is just over an hour from now. the united states has a long-standing relationship with south korea and is the one country that the united states is committed to defend in the case of an attack -- committed by treaty. so there is a very close relationship there, and of course, there are more than 30,000 u.s. troops stationed in south korea, so there will be a lot of talks about that. they will be friendly and cordial talks, although there has been a tiny bit of tension because of president park's overtures to try to improve relations between south korea and china. >> yeah. >> reporter: of course china is the one country seen as having influence over north korea which is really isolated from the rest of the world. so she is trying to walk that line between being able to get china to influence north

ignored. >> jamie mcintyre reporting from the pentagon, and al jazeera's rob mcbride is in beijing with reaction from the chinese government. >> the response from the chinese has been swift with the foreign minister, urging the americans not to take what he calls reckless action. we are expecting a press conference center the foreign ministry when we may have more of a formal protest. and waiting to see if retotality tri action would be taken. and waiting to find out what the military response has been to the chinese, whether they have shadowed the war ship. whether it sets a pattern for future encounters. with the chinese and u.s. military forces. china claims that it is a sovereign territory. it's hundreds of miles from the coast. it claims that it will go back hundreds of years to previous chinese dynasties. it's building on the remote reefs, purely for peaceful purposes to establish the presence there. it's not for military expansion. the suspicion is from the americans that china is trying to establish a more permanent military presence there, but there are people in china that wou

our national security correspondent jamie mcintyre joins us from the pentagon.ell us more about the new strategy and just what prompted this change? >> reporter: well, there is a well-worn phrase here at the pentagon, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. in this case the plan was the president's plan to get all u.s. troops out of afghanistan by the end of his term, leaving just a small force at the embassy, the enemy was a resurgent taliban which was inflicting heavy casualties on afghanistan security forces. the president took the advice of his military commanders and accepted plan that would keep u.s. troops much longer. right now there are about 9800 troops in afghanistan, just under 10,000. they were supposed to be drawn down slowly over the course of 2016. instead most of them will stay for the full year. then in 2017, instead of having just a small force at the embassy, there will be 5500 u.s. troops remaining. their mission is not changing. they have two missions training equipping and advising afghan security forces, and a small number of u.s.

i want to go to jamie mcintyre who joins us from washington over the phone. mie, as you listen to lavrov's explanations, do we have any evidence at this point that cia or u.s.-trained moderate rebels in syria have been targeted? >> reporter: well, you know, minister lavrov mounted a very effective argument in advancing russia's position that they are battling isil rebels, but one of the things that the pentagon would point to, if you look at the location of where these air strikes took place. they are in areas that isil does not have control. if you take a look at the big swathes of area that isil is in control, they are not in these areas north of homs. in addition, you know, the pentagon has been concerned about this since really last week. i talked to an official last week before russia had conducted any air strikes, and they pointed out to me that all of the drone surveillance that russia was doing as a familiarization with the area, was reconnaissance in the area where u.s.-backed rebels were operating. so there were red flags raised even then. the questi

jamie mcintyre has more. >> reporter: militarily canada's withdraw from the anti-isil bombing campaign is not all that significant. canada contributed only four fighter bombers to the effort, and for now the other 11 countries that have contributed bombers will take up the slack. but symbolically, politically, it's a big blow to the united states. canada has been one of the u.s.'s most reliable partners, and the two countries also operate together in the defense of north america under nor rad. it's one of the few places where american troops are under foreign command. but in a phone call with president obama, the newly elected canadian prime minister made it clear that he is going to make good on his promise to end canada's combat mission in iraq and syria. >> we talked about canada's continued engagement as a strong member of the coalition against isil, and i committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way that -- that understands how important canada has -- has a role to play in the fight against isil, but he understands the commitments i have made. >> reporter: canad

-led coalition against i.s.i.l., iraq and syria, al jazeera's national security correspondent jamie mcintyre joins us from washington. canada is it not totally pulling out. how will canada's move affect the fight against i.s.i.l.? >> militarily it will not be all that significantly. canada contributes four f-18 firebombers to the campaign in the aftermath of their withdrawal, and they'll withdraw on an orderly timetable, not immediately. the other countries that are bombing, 1,100, will continue the campaign, so the bombing will go on uninterpreted. canada says it will be part of the anti-i.s.i.l. coalition, but the contribution will not be in the combat phase, it will not be with trainers or advisors. this is a blow to the united states. canada has been the u.s.'s most - one of the most reliable military partners and has been in every coalition the united states has been in in the last 50-75 years with the exception of vietnam, and the u.s. and canada jointly defend north america, part of the north american air defense command. symbolically this is a big deal, and the newly elected prime mi

being court marbled. >> all right, jamie mcintyre at the pentagon for us, and jamie, thank you.nd throughout the course of the campaign in afghanistan, president obama has been focused on ending military involvement in the region, and he has been insist on bringing all but a small contingent of troops home before leaving office. let's bring in mike viqueira. and what made the promise so hard for the president to queen. >> if you hear the white house and experts, the situation on the ground has simply changed, tony. whether the president overpromised in the heat of a political campaign, and remember, it was 2008 when he said he wanted to on get troops out of iraq, but in 2012, he started saying that he was going to end the war, and looking back now in retrospect, the situation changed on the ground. and the afghan army is unable to stand on its own. the president had two choices. he could leave a potential unstable afghanistan with no u.s. military there to help it, or he could go back on as many vows and promises and leave a u.s. force there, and leave it to the next occupant of

the iranians are prepared to attack the rebel troops in ham a and aljazeera's jamie mcintyre is in washington now. >> reporter: well, tony, pentagon officials say that over the past two weeks, they have seen hundreds of iranian fighters moving into northern and central syria, linking up with fighters in a counter offensive to retake rebeller parts of syria. the focus seems to be in aleppo and the provinces in that area. the control of the area is guided between syrian government forces, anti-government forces, and even some areas controlled by isil. but the pentagon sources are down playing the number of iranian troops. it may not be the 1500 that's widely reported. but they're not disputing who the troops are. just recently, the pictures that purport to show schulmany at a pro iranian meeting, and reports also that at least two iranian generals were also killed in northern syria, the white house has been criticizing the apparent russian/iranian alliance, saying that it's counter-productive. and here's spokesman, josh earnest. >> reporter: we're watching the situation quite closely, and it's

national security, jamie mcintyre, has that story. >> secretary carter's testimony before the senate arm's committee was a tacit emission that the u.s. led war against i.s.i.l. ground to a stalemate and challenges are needed to regain the momentum. secretary ash carter pointed to the rescue of 70 i.s.i.l. captives by iraq kurdish fighters backed by u.s. delta force commandos as an example of willingness to put americans in harms way to help turn the tide of battle against i.s.i.l. >> we will not hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against i.s.i.l. or conducting missions directly, whether by strikes from the airar direct action on the ground. >> reporter: the policies increases the risk to u.s. troops. a highly decorated soldiers with bronze stars was killed during the operation. insisting that the laid on the prison, and an earlier one in syria shows that none is behind u.s. reach. carter insisted that the strategy hinges on having american forces helping not substituting for fighters. with the u.s. efforts to train and admit syrian rebels, carterer ou

jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: russia launched the latest strikes against a number of groups in syria with varying ideologies, including the army of conquest, a coalition who oppose i.s.i.l., including the al qaeda-affiliated al nusra front. >> at the united nations, sergey lavrov insisted moscow and washington were confronting a common enemy. >> if it looks like a terrorist, acts like a terrorist. if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist. i would recall that we were saying that we are going to fight i.s.i.l. and other terrorist groups. >> the u.s. says it has no evidence russia has struck any i.s.i.l. forces. and it conducted its first direct talks with moscow over the question of deconfliction. sorting out issues such as which radio frequencies, and what language will be used when russian coalition talk to each other in the air. in one sense the u.s. and russian pilots are deconflicted with the u.s. flying over areas controlled by i.s.i.l. to the east, while so far russian attacks have been in others not controlled by i.s.i.l. to the west. and the u.

let's go to jamie mcintyre at the pent upon now. so jamie, tell us more about this today? >> well, rachelle, it is always a tough sell, as this goes before an increasingly skeptical senate arm services. everyone acknowledges that the u.s., train program for moderate opposition, was dismal failure. carter outlines some new changes including some that could put u.s. troops closer in the front lines in both iraq and syria we won't hold back from supporting capable parter ins. or conducting such missions directly. whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground. last week's rescue operation was led by iraqi kurdish forces with u.s. advisors in support. >> so the secretary outlined what he said were the three r's of the new strategy, r, number one, was for the de facto capitol of isil in syria. the u.s. was going to continue to put pressure on that by supporting forces on the ground with ammunition and supplies. that are pressuring rock ca. also ramadi was the provincial capitol in h the province where the u.s. is hoping forces with u.s. help can retake the key c

jamie mcintyre. tell us more. >> another senate testimony for secretary carter and the new joint chief and the grilling about the sputtering policy in iraq and syria. the training and equip program for moderate opposition is a complete failure, and he outlined his new strategy, which no longer involves training entire units outside of the country. >> the new approach was to train troops outside of syria before sending them into the fight. the new approach is to work with vetted leaders and groups who are already fighting isil, and provide equipment and training to them and support their operations with their power. >> the secretary outlined the three rs of the strategy, raqqa, the de facto capital of syria, they would continue to put raqqa. ramadi, the capital of anbar where the u.s. is hoping iraqi force also retake the city, and the last one, raids. the u.s. is going to be taking advantage of more opportunities to embed u.s. troops along with local forces on the ground in both iraq and syria to car

jamie mcintyre has details. >> reporter: the u.s. responding to an urgent request for transport helicopters and combat support from kurdish peshmerga forces. the kurds believed some their fighters were being held in isil in a walled prison compound, and were about to be executed. they appealed to the u.s. for help to launch a desperate and daring rescue mission. ash carter signed off on the plan, under the assist authority of the u.s. train and assist mission. of being convinced isil was on the verge of mass murder. >> we had discussed the presence of mass graves at this compound. freshly dug mass graves. we have since learned that the postages had been told by other captors they would be executed after morning prayers today. >>> steve warren, a u.s. military spokesman in baghdad in an exclusive skype interview with al jazeera provided a detailed tick tock on how the raid went down. four u.s. helicopters, two chinook transports, and two blackhawks land near the isil compound carrying kurdish peshmerga commandos and u.s. special opera

the winner will build the air forces new fleet of long range strike bombers, as jamie mcintyre shows us, critics say the plane may not be needed. >> the long range strike bomber at the moment is a concept shrouded in mystery. as this north broke television add suggests. >> building aircraft the likes of which the world has never seen. >> this is what we do. >> north broke drum onward that made the stealth bomber in the 1990s won the contract, beating out a team of boeing and lockheed. now all three have multibillion deals. boeing is building a new fleet of tanker aircraft. and lockheed makes the joint strike fighter, the most expensive programme history. the air forces top certainly says the bomber is essential if the u.s. want to hold any art at risk anywhere in the world. >> no chief wants to be in a situation where they combat the president against addressing a threat to the united states either because we lack the appropriate capability or we would incur unacceptable levels of risk in doing so. the bomber will minimise the possibility that my successor is put in that position. >>

and the pentagon has been saying throughout the week according to jamie mcintyre our national securityorrespondent, what you will see is stepped up air strikes and more raids with u.s. support, not u.s. troops embedded with iraqi fighters. here is ash carter you alluded to earlier this week in his testimony. >> the old approach was to train and equip completely new forces outside of syria, before sending them into the fight. the new approach is to work with vetted leaders of groups that are already fighting isil. and provide equipment, and some training to them and support their operations with air power. >> reporter: and one analogy or one similar raid that has happened, wasn't in syria, but just a few days ago you recall, stephanie in iraq, when u.s. forces aided iraqi forces and kurdish forces to free kurdish prisoners in an isil prison said to be just hours away from execution. >> and a u.s. soldier was killed in that raid. >> reporter: right. >> mike viqueira reporting that he has learned that the u.s. is planning to announce it is sending special forces, some 20 to 30 into northe

jamie mcintyre has the story. >> secretary carter's testimony is a tacit agreement that the war against i.s.i.l. has ground to a stalemate. he referred to the rescue of 70 captives by iraqi forces captured by commanders as a sign of putting american forces in harmed way. >> we will not hold back in supporting parse ners in opportunistic attacks. or conducting strikes. whether from in the air or action on the ground. the policy increasing the risk to u.s. troops. a highly decorated soldiers was killed in the operation. while insisting the raid on the prison and an earlier one in syria shows no target is beyond reach. carter insist the strategy hinders on having american forces helping, not substituting for local fighters. >> with a u.s. effort to train and equip rebels admitted a flop. it is the latest idea. >> the old approach was to train and equip new forces outside of syria before sending them in to the fight. the new approach is to work with vetted leaders fighting i.s.i.l., and providing equipment and training to them. supporting operations with air power. >> committee members expr

jamie mcintyre has more. >> good afternoon. >> secretary defense ash carter made no apologies of a risky mission. even though the u.s. combat role in iraq supposedly ended four years ago. >> we find opportunities to do things that will effectively prosecute the campaign we're going to do that. this is an stamp of a case where we'll do something. we alone have the capability to do it. >> the american special operation forces were supposed to helicopter the peshmerga troops to an isil-run prison compound west of kirkuk and get them out after peshmerga did all the fighting. >> they landed in the area where we believe the hostages where. the kurdish peshmerga fought their way up to the wall that was around this compound. the american personnel were ordered to stay in the helicopter an wait until they were funned. >> they saw that the peshmerga was unable to advance. they sprung into action. >> they stood up and all indications are it was his actions and that of his teammate that protected those who were involved in breaching the compound, and made tha the mission a success. it was not part o

jamie mcintyre has more. >> reporter: an i.s.i.l. withdrawal is not all that significantly. they distributed four f/a-18 fighter bombs, and the 11 other countries that contributed bombers will take up the slack. symbolically, politically, it's a blow to the united states, canada has been one of the u.s.'s most reliable partners, and the two countries, which share a common border operate together in the defense of the north america under nor add, one of the few places where american troops are under foreign command. in a phone call with president obama, the newly elected prime minister made it clear that he is going to make good on his promise to end canada's combat mission in iraq and syria. >> we talk d b about the engagement as a strong member of the coalition, and i committed that we would engage in a responsible way, but he understands the commitments i have made around ending the combat mission. >>> canada's contribution of war planes to the anti-i.s.i.l. campaign is not the only lose to the united states. canada's newly elected prime minister justin trudeau promised to

the national secures correspondent jamie mcintyre is in washington with more what this means for the anti-isil coalition. jamie? >> militarily it's not all that significant. canada contributed four bombers to the campaign, and the other 11 countries who are also conducting strikes in abandoning and syria will pick up the slack. but symbolically an it's a blow. the two countries have worked in the defense of north america in norad one of the few place where u.s. troops are under foreign command. but the newly elected canadian prime minister made it clear he was going to make good on that pledge to end canada's role in the combat mission. >> we talked about canada's continued engagement as a strong member of the coalition against isil, and i committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way that understands how important canada has a role to play in the fight against isil. but he understands the commitments i've made around ending the combat mission. >> canada's contribution of combat planes may not be the only loss to the united states. the prime minister designate trudea

jamie mcintyre joins us from washington. president obama said u.s. forces would act in an advisory or support role. how did they get close to the front lines. >> the pentagon paints a dramatic picture of the clock running out on several dozens of captives as forces were ferried in under the cover of the darkness, hours before what might have been an almost certain execution. >> the u.s. responded to an urgent request for transportation from a partner, the kurdish peshmerga. they believed some fighters were held by i.s.i.l., in a walled compound west of kirkuk and appealed to the u.s. to launch a desperate mission. the defense secretary signed off under the train and assist mission, after being convinced i.s.i.l. was on the verge of mass murder. we discovered the presence of mass graves at the compound, freshly dug mass graves. we heard that the hostages had been told by the captors that they would be executed and placed into the graves after morning prayers today. the military spokesman provided detailed tick-tock on how the raid went down. fourp u.s

our jamie mcintyre tells us what could happen during the so-called freedom of navigation mission. >>> carson compares abortion to slavery, raising some questions now that he is leading the polls in iowa. we'll take a look at his stand on some of the issues. >>> and how a singer became president of haiti. the rapper talks to us about the documentary, sweet mickey for president. those stories and a lot more coming up in about six minutes. >>> for centuries, iraq was the designation for copper buyers. generations of families made their living from selling hand-made goods, but now the industry is dying. >> reporter: for 40 years, this man has hammered sheets of copper into works of art. the hand work was taught to him by his father, who learned from his father. his family has worked from this stall for as long as anyone can remember, but he's afraid he is the last one. >> translator: my sons are not going to follow my footsteps. unfortunately they believe this profession is going to be extinct, they are just a handful of us remaining due to the poor security and economic conditions of the

jamie mcintyre is at the pentagon. >> reporter: for months the u.s.as said it's not going to recognize china's claim to territorial waters in the south china see -- sea, and the authorize ration has been given for the guided missile cruiser to conduct what the pentagon calls a freedom of navigation mission within the territorial waters claimed by china in the south china sea. these are around what the pentagon says are man-made islands, reefs that china has built up by pouring sand on them and put landing strips and other infrastructure. china says these islands have been there forever, and they have a right to them. when the chinese president xi made a visit to washington last month both presidents made their position clear. >> we had candid discussions on the east china seas. >> translator: islands in the south china sea since ancient times are the rightful property of china. >> reporter: this mission, which the pentagon says is to challenge what it calls excessive maritime rights is not aimed particularly at china. last year the u.s. military condu

. >> okay, jamie mcintyre for us at the pentagon. >>> there appears to be no end of violence in the middle east. and that has left dozens of palestinians dead. five soldiers were injured when a palestinian man drove into a group of he soldiers in member ron, and meanwhile, a soldier stabbed in the jewish settlement the occupied west bank, and then clashes between security forces. as carl reports from the occupied west bank, to some people, the violence is personal. >> reporter: a widow scratches the earth where her husband died. she cries, she can still feel his damp blood. he died as a wounded israeli soldier crossed his orchard. it happened on tuesday in the town. the struggle was brief and brutal. >brutal. [ foreign dialogue ] >> reporter: the first and second soldier passed by, and then he tripped the third soldier and he stabbed him in his neck. the second soldier shot him in his foot and the third shot him in the head and tossed his body over there, she says. the religious rights with the violence, and here, it's more basic than that. this is a blood vendetta. one death demands anoth

let's look at canada's election, and jamie mcintyre joins us from washington, and how much will canada'secision have on the fight against isil? >> reporter: militarily, it's not all that significant. canada was contributing four f-18 fighter planes conducting strikes in iraq and syria, and the united states and the other coalition members who were conducting the strikes can certainly pick up the strike. but politically and symbolically, it's a blow to the united states. canada has been in every coalition that the u.s. has been in recently, with the exception of vietnam. and for them to pull their planes out now, it's something that the u.s. would prefer not to happen. the announcement was made by the newly elected canadian prime minister just a short time ago after he got off the phone with president obama, and he indicated that he's following through on that pledge. listen carefully. he doesn't quite say that he's pulling the planes out but that's the clear message. >> we talked about canada's continued engagement as a strong member of the coalition against isil, and i committed that we

jamie mcintyre >>> al jazeera's political correspondent michael shure is live on capitol hill. this time hillary clinton, not just the secretary of state. she's a democrat. she is a committee run by republicans, a lot thing the probe is taken by the 308, conducted by the university. >> half the polls said the goal was to embarrassing hillary clinton. a third knew what was going to happen. >> will be find a fact-finding committee. i would say let's wait and see. democrats will tell you there'll be a circus, and they are after the fact. when hillary clinton testified. they gave testimony to the benghazi investigation, she was not a presidential candidate. that was the case. even now super pacts are getting involved. it is political. take a look at the ad that talks about benghazi and hillary clinton just before this hearing. >> republicans can play political games, but hillary clinton will always stand strong for us. >> and so that's the kind of thing that you are seeing, this subdivision. whether or not it's a circus depends on the people involved. hillary clinton's advisors tel

. >> hi, it's jamie mcintyre. and first of all, i just want to thank you for not arbitrarily cutting off this briefing at 30 minutes and sticking with us. i want to ask about the potential for russian air strikes again but from the other side. the statements that we're hearing from the iraqi parliament and others expressing a desire for russia to enter the fight in iraq seemed to be borne of some sort of frustration or perception that the united states and the coalition are not providing the level of air support that's sufficient or desired. can you address that perception about, is there any shortage of air power? are the iraqis on the ground getting the kind of support that they desire when they need it at critical times? >> jamie, have we gone over 30 minutes? would you look at the time, hey, i'm sorry. just kidding. good question. very valid question. it is easy to understand why the citizens of iraq and their elected representatives feel like they need to have more. it is easy to understand. we have an enemy