they were mullahs out in afghanistan telling people to go and protest, but there were other mullahs ines telling them it was not worth it. violence forbids killing anyone, including westerners, so many people happy with these mullahs who tried to quell the violence, but we have to also give credit where credit is due. the afghan security forces throughout the country were out in full force anticipating the violence and in fact, when we were out, it was the afghan army who protected us as the riders were coming towards us and them and western compounds. >> did you have a chance to talk to them? i was reading in the "washington post" and they talked extensively and agreed with your assessment, that they have really done a lot to keep this under control as much they can, but they say they're doing it in spite of the fact that many of them agree with these protesters. >> reporter: that's an interesting point you made, chris. we went with an afghan crew. if any westerners went out, the feel was that the protesters would go after those westerners and in fact, some of the people in the army m

there were mullahs and imams telling them to go out and range against the burning of the koran. what we also saw was the fact that there were a lot of imams and mullahs in afghanistan who were actually preaching the opposite. they said that the koran does not back killing. it doesn't allow killing in any way, even if it is westerners. we had our own producer attend one of these friday prayers. another local producer went to another mosque where he had friday parayers and what the imm said was the afghans had no right to protest and kill because many aftghans and muslis haven't fully accepted the koran because if they had, they would know this is wrong. >> please stay safe. we really appreciate it. >>> newt gingrich hitting the campaign. i'm sorry, hitting the president on foreign policy and he doesn't stop there. can he make a comeback or are his presidential aspirations over? >>> plus, buddy roamer drops his bid for the republican nomination, but his presidential hopes are still alive. he joins me next. you do not want to miss that. [ man ] predicting the future is hard. but i

apply a certain amount of that money to the blue shield rates and that amount of money was 5.2 -- mullah -- $5.20 million. it makes contributions for the shortened plan year. people who enrolled in blue shield and in most cases it cost neutral, there is no change. it was -- what it does is make it for the people who stayed enrolled in blue shield board decided to enroll in blue shield, they would not see any increase in their contributions. given that there is two [unintelligible] and they had seen people leave as a result of the difference in the contribution in keyser and blue shield it was determined this was a good idea to take this one time amount of money into consideration because of its availability and apply it to the rates. and so the hope is that will help stabilize what has been a deteriorating population of people from blue shield to kaiser. for information say, you're kaiser rates are on page 12. your blue shield rates in your packet are 13. uhc is 14. dental is on pages 17 through 19. is there any questions before i continue? supervisor chu: this is an important point at s

because they were enemies and are enemies of the iranian mullah dictatorship, these exile members who were members of the mek are in great danger. our designation to their organization as a terrorist organization has been a major stumbling block in efforts to resettle them and take them to safety. are we going to wait until there is some kind of another slaughter of these people? they already were slauters. they're unarmed. before we act to get them resettled, something as easy as trying to take that designation off the terrorist organization would help dramatically. and we can do that unilaterally. >> first, we are deeply concerned about the security and safety of the residents of camp ashrof. and we have supported the work of the united nations to find a path forward to relocate the residents and that is now begun. we fully support the mou signed in december between the united nations and the government of iraq. and it includes commitments from the iraqi government for the safety and security of the new camp where the relocation is taking place. as you know, there were 397 residents

reclusive taliban leader mullah omar reportedly sent a letter to president obama late last year.o reports, omar expressed interest in bringing an end to the war in afghanistan. president obama met earlier with 25 wealthy donors who paid more than $35,000 each for his time. the event at a washington hotel was closed to the press. >>> and the first big storm of the new year is battering denver, colorado. more than 600 flights have been canceled. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." after a firestorm erupted this week, the susan g. komen foundation has apologized and backed off their plans to drop funding for planned parenthood. actually planned parenthood's breast cancer screenings. in a statement, nancy brinker said, "we want to apologize to the american public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives. our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. we will amend the to make clear that disqualifying investigation

if the mullah asks you to attack americans, would you attack me? would you attack other americans on the streets of kabul? >> "we don't care about you," he says, "but if you were a soldier, we would tear your skin off." >> reporter: and that will deeply disturb how americans and afghans work together. we could have to ask the soldiers to be superhuman, not to expect them to be a little less trusting of their afghan partners as we move forward. >> reporter: two senior nato officials told me today's shooting a quote, "cold- blooded murder. the afghans while increasing are still rare. in fact, half a dozen afghan prisoners were injured this week defending bases from angry protesters. >> nick schifrin in kabul. thanks so much. i want to bring in our senior affairs correspondent martha raddatz. you've reported on this delicate relationship with the afghans. aside from the immediate loss of these two american officers, there's a mump bigger loss here, too. >> there is, david. this is a very effective strategy by the enemy. i've been with these forces man

victory after a decade long war in the middle east it's that would be premature i think the the taliban mullah omar the leader of the taliban has a famous saying which is the americans have the responses and we have the the implication being all we have to do is stay the course and just survive until we know that finally the americans will run out of steam and leave the country and then we will take over this is the strategy they followed for ten years and they they've been very good at it i have to say whether you like them or not the fact that the afghan government and military recognize the americans are leaving starting this year secretary of defense panetta has told us last week u.s. troops are going to start withdrawing and may have the withdrawal completed next year so we're in trouble and so as we are planning this drawdown of troops we see not a clear victory what then is the legacy that the u.s. is leaving behind there. you know what worries my worry my fear for the legacy that we're leaving is that we're going to the analogy is vietnam remember we we went through a process called vi

heard or seen from mullah omar since two thousand and two and so the leadership of the taliban of the quite assured valid and the old taliban is essentially become in consequential what we have seen an anti cars i movement grow there has been a growing movement that's anti western and of course that's what the west the west wants a government favorable to itself so there's some problems there and also i think the big big big problem is that we still haven't had pakistan come on the side of the afghans or pakistan really a real partner with for the united states so i think you're going to see a continued arise in power from the county network specifically and i think that the taliban idiology is still going to be stronger with costumes regardless of whether the u.s. is there or not because we haven't had pakistan drop its support for the taliban and the u.s. has been trying to build some kind of an alliance with pakistan in an effort to help fight against the taliban in afghanistan and light of this recent report that's classified report that was released i mean is that going to show t

was willing to say something and fortunately most cases the donors just stay silent is where the mullah says the project the palestinians lose everything that was built for them and no one makes a sound now it sounds like a case of price tag going but on a national level is that a good comparison it can explain what that means exactly the price tag attacks have become quite famous in israel recently these are at tax locust rated by a colonists israeli colonists and when the israeli government is not steadfast enough in their eyes regarding protecting their rights to continue to occupy palestinian land in an. additional that is demand and so on whenever the israeli government is saying well maybe we're going to slow down the rate of colony construction in the interest of public opinion and international. community column is decide to take out their frustrations on the palestinians and punish palestinians and then they call it a price tag because whenever these are the government does something which they don't approve of they decide they're going to physically attack. it as a form of pun

. >> if the mullah asks you to attack americans, would you attack me or other americans on the streets of kabul. >> we don't care about you but but if you war soldier, we would tear your skin off. >> numerous apologies. >> we're deeply concerned about the possibility that korans or religious materials were damaged in this incident, and we will get to the bottom of what actually happened. >> i have complete respect for islam and the reverence in which the koran is held. >> we ask for forgiveness and seek to move on. >> that may be difficult for a afghan muslims to do. >> burning the koran is a very harsh and ugly act that will distress people in the world. today the religion and holy book have been attacked by these foolish people. >> u.s. commanders stepped up security at all bases but also advising troupes to -- troops to be court courteous to afghans and also be polite. >> the national gas average is 3.67 a gallon, up three crentz from yesterday, and 30 cents from a month ago. and the prices are even worse here in california. sir joan quintana is live in san francisco with a look at

fifty three ended up with the shah and now well tim lee we end up with ayatollah khomeini and the mullahs there and the in the crazies and the crazy thing about this is these countries are not a national security threat to the united states one thing that's stunning to me it is assumed in the united states that iran has committed an act of war justifying invasion if they develop a nuclear capability well we've got a million times more nuclear capability than iran will ever have have we committed an act of war by developing a nuclear capability it's like international law every time i hear the difference divers i guess that's the excuse i want to switch topics really quick to we're going to wrap it up and this one's kind of just for fun but there's a movie that's opening that involves navy seals take a look we have a clip of it. before she was captured morales was working a job that could be why she was abducted. i was. curious. there. are never thought about this on friday show but just really quick before we wrap it up i'm curious what you gentlemen think is this is this cool military ag

question is what's the state of commanding control inside the iranian government who's in charge of the mullahs in charge of the reds lover illusionary guard who are in charge is the government in the parliament in charge my guess is some of those folks are in charge of different things on different days of the week depending on who they happen to be meeting with what do you think there is a report in foreign affairs today that essentially started looking back at some of the history claiming that you know since two thousand and one there are members of al qaeda that were. in iran they're being held there but now they kind of paint this picture as if it ron and al qaeda are working together and this is become the new safe haven and it just a bit because of some of the things that you mentioned just now between cities in between she is it just doesn't really seem to make a whole lot of sense let's distinguish what we know from what certain people think what we know is that there were in fact some al qaeda operatives including the what some of bin laden's family members that took shelter in iran a

you have to be inside the iranian nuclear program or need the meetings of the mullahs to know.on't have that information. we know there are other things being done that hurt the iranians that are putting them off their game. they are making all kinds of statements about, for example, the ayatollah yesterday at a university said, well, we could actually strike first to prevent the israelis from striking us. >>shepard: that was our lead. >>guest: as a pentagon official said, make our day. they would really love the iranians to do something that stupid and give the members and israels a justification for doing what some want to do. >>shepard: do you think there is the remotist possibility that the united states would do something militarily? north korea has this weapon, china has this weapon, why is it the end of the world if the iranians get this weapon? >>guest: that might be the way it looks to us. >>shepard: not to me but why do they present it as end the world situation? >>guest: because to israel it could be the end of the world or certainly the end of their country. they sa

the ayatollah khomeini, who is the leader of the mullah, they're the real rulers in iran and they hateverything about israel. they hate everything about america. so with that kind of hatred, israel probably has no choice but to eventually take out the structure, the nuclear facilities. how they do it, you know, if they have great intel, they can go in and system athlete strike it. if they don't, a -- >> let me ask the question because there is a division in iran now, the value of the iranian currency has fallen 50 purse because of the sanctions. and ahmadinejab and the imams are not getting along. one thing i keep hearing is this will bring the iranians together if they're bombed and the other question is what, if they decide to really do strike at the strait of hormuz and slow down oil? this is a big deal. >> it's very complex. >> you mean the iranians bought off their own oil deliveries? >> that would be brilliant. >> and unlikely. extremely complex. the sanctions go back for years. >> yes, they do. >> maybe we now think they're starting to have an effect? okay, that's great. we have

um, i think the problem with being a nuclear superpower is if you, if you look at, say, mullah omar oner 10, 2011, he had osama bin laden and the guys living in his country plotting what if it had gone right would have not just taken out not just the world trade center, but if fourth plane had made its target, taken out either the capitol or the white house. that was where the plane that came down in pennsylvania was supposed to be heading, to the white house or the capitol. in other words, he would have decapitated the united states of america. and he had no fear whatsoever that the united states would respond by nuking his country. he had no fear whatsoever. and nor do any of the people running around causing america such headaches and bleeding america for ten years in the hindu kush, nor do they have any worries america's going to nuke them. in a sense, having all those nuclear weapons does not act as a deterrent. people assume you will always fight with one hand tied behind your back. i don't think the united states would nuke, would nuke hiroshima and nagasaki these days. i think

that any moment one of the mullahs could decide to attack. that situation for several decades. with an enemy who could wipe out much of america in a few minutes. they don't have the bomb yet. we're negotiating with them. i think part of the israeli concerns is that we may make an arrangement with the iranians that doesn't humiliate them and doesn't force them to capitulate totally. >> let's talk about that when we come back. richard engel, hang on there. dr. brzezinski is staying with us. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. get this free travel bag when you join chase scene, netflix coming soon extra butter tickets, swoon penguin journey jun

rod stewart musical -- i would be in favor of a rod stewart musical in canada are --kandahar mullah belmarand music in afghanistan. they have all these illegal cassettes of rod stewart's singing if you want my body and you think i am sexy which was his favorite song the. and like to say that. i am hoping -- in whichever cave he is holed up in, we understand he is not quite on board with the strictures of music and when they catch up with him his rod stewart tapes will count against him. >> host: what are your broadway friends and what politics have you discussed with them? >> guest: when america alone came out i used to get a lot of e-mails at pretty a list celebrities in hollywood. they all ended with i love your book and it is terrific but please don't mention my name. the idea was above the title, not being able to say you like "america alone" is bewildering to me. i have been around and i love that. to me personally, there is nothing like sitting at the back of a theatre which i do occasionally for friends or producers, a show that is trying out or just sitting at the back and looking

anyone we support in iran is better than the mullahs.e had a chance to support democracy-blinded young iranians in 2009 and we still have that chance. we are dropping the ball. >>neil: thank you, good to see you. the romney campaign is trying to blast away its biggest threat ahead of tomorrow's election. not this give. this guy. mornin'. i guess i'm helping them save hundreds on car insurance. it probably also doesn't hurt that i'm a world-famous advertising icon. cheers! i mean, who wouldn't want a piece of that? geico. ah... fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent oh dear... or more on car insurance. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. >>neil: whatever you do please do not count this guy out. ri

for instance our producer went to a mosque here during his friday prayers the mullah said do not go out there and protest. it's not worth it. the koran forbids you to kill anyone even if they're westerners. so what we see calming the afghan rage is actually religious leaders within the country. i want to point out one other thing, chuck. i was actually impressed today by the afghan security forces out in full force here in kabul, anticipating a raging day throughout afghanistan. they made sure that the forces were out there to stop the violence and we did see less violence, at least here in the capital of kabul. there may have still been nine afghans killed throughout the country including back in the west of the country where many protesters were actually going after the u.s. consulate. chuck? >> two things, two quick questions, atia. one, has karzai, himself, publicly sort of accepted the apology and called for calm? two, you said it was the afghan security forces. so this was afghans sort of securing and trying to push back and stop these demonstrations? >> on the first part of your

there were enough of a change in iran that the rule of the juris prudential as they call it, the mullahsed out, the supreme leader, khamenei, because the rest of the iranian constitution is a perfectly reasonable constitution. it's having that rule of the clerics tacked on top of it that creates the very difficult situation and potential chaos. so i think that we could see a more fundamental change, but there's no way to bet on it. and i think the first step ought to be to essentially help the syrian people throw off assad and not just lead from behind, as someone in the white house put it, but to lead. and the other would be to really crack down on -- finally on sanctions. the swift transfers, funds transfers, to cult off tt off t iranian central bank from that system, to basically really crack down on economic sanctions and put a lot of pressure on iran as well. >> all right, sir, we'll leave it there. thank you very much for your wisdom. >> good to be with you. >> former central intelligence director james woolsey. we appreciate it. all right, folks, all of a sudden you've got democra

simple the nobel laureate talking about ayaan and she said people like ayaan hirisi ali play the mullah game because it isn't possible to have islam and democracy that muslims have to make a choice between the two come and she said i don't agree with that. i think that there's a third way to the islam can be compatible with democracy giving it and the same could be said about aafia siddiqui in pakistan. one of the things that's happened in pakistan is that these women, her voice is have been crowded out and she is accused of not caring enough because she is imprisoned by the west and so i think that's one of the most important points the book has to make and the need to start listening to these voices in the middle. >> host: these are such powerful images of the women in these extreme positions that could completely blot out the people in the middle. now of course he would also point out that both women have certain similarities. dirty different political opinions, they are ambitious, they are bold, fearless, intelligence, they both have their own charisma. that's why they have so much

another is vertically associated with osama bin laden and mullah omar and then the following me belong to al qaeda, and his release has been called highly problematic. all five of these individuals were characterized by the administration in 2010 if these reports are accurate about who these individuals or all five of them were deemed by this administration in 2010 to back the interest transfer but not feasible for the prosecution. i guess my question -- i know you have to certify, psychiatry, two years later is their something changed about these individuals that we are not aware of? and, my follow-up would be as light understand the administration's plan, this is an exchange for good will from the television. if we are going to release -- if these reports are the case, the public reports with who these individuals are dangerous individuals who could get back and we engage with our troops who are not just soldiers the appear to be leaders among the taliban and the networks that if we are to release them in exchange for the measure of good will, it seems to me why aren't we getting the

how about the fact that in afghanistan, the taliban routinely burns down mosques where there are mullah who's are moderate and does karzai say hey, taliban, you're desecrating qurans because you're blowing them up or burning them up? nothing, this would be something good where the president of the united states could show the double standard there and just try to win the hearts and minds of the people over there by showing the double standard regarding the taliban. they do this every day. >> in the meantime, his press secretary jay carney continues to defend that apology. it was apparently in a three page letter tucked in there. here's what jay carney said. i would note that one of my predecessors, dana perino, the press secretary for george w. bush following an incident in which american servicemen apparently shot, did damage to a quran in 2008, she expressed apologies on behalf of the president and that's appropriate for the same reason because our concern, this president's concern as was surely the case with president bush is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform as