occupies in syria completely under al qaeda's control? >> no, i think in control has to be put in quotes here. the fact is that the syrian army was obliged to withdraw from portions of the country, simply because a large portion of the syrian forces are comprised of sunni conscripts. and therefore, their reliability could not be guaranteed. it was more important to protect the capitol and to protect the ethnic and sectarian enclaves that are loyal to the regime. that accounts for a number of the so-called rebel advances. it is not certain that they exercise control. although, where they do have some control, it appears that they haven't learned many lessons from the past because they're imposing a harsh form of sherea in some of these areas and that provokes local resistance. >> i'll say quickly one thing i think is going on is the assad regime is doing a lot lest to fight extremist factions than other factions. i think this is been a very deliberate machiavellian strategy. the pror extremist factions come to represent the factions, try t

al qaeda is getting stronger. according to this conversation, the daily beast, he is arguing that the moderate opposition not allow this process to unfold and take a different track. i mean, you know, i know is that there are big challenges. >> i agree, but to give back to your question. that would have been in. it would have been the time to intervene to the much more micro intervention focused specifically on protecting civilians for about a year ride with st. paul latta options were open him. the first six months when it was the place think you. one of the lessons of the administration certainly must be that if you threaten the use of force you have to be prepared to then carry out that threat. you are talking about using the threat of force to try and bring assad to the negotiating table in this serious lake earlier talking abut using the threat of force to try and get that only the assad government, with the other players on the ground to lift the sieges of these areas so that humanitarian assistance can be b

isal is al qaeda and iraq. the leader was the al qaeda and iraq leader since 2010. the other is a offshoot and focusing on syria. now there's this message that al qaeda is no longer affiliated. we have found that isal has such media presence, such a propaganda presence, and is able to self-sustain itself by patrolling facilities in eastern syria, oil facility, and extortion rackets in the cities in western iraq that it will be able to maintain its cycle of operations. in terms of those that are recruited and come in to isal, it's their message -- it goes all the way back to zarqawi 10 years ago, that its's perniciously sectarian, shiah muslims in particular don't have the right to live and should be killled. those who believe that tend to gravitate towards isal. the other is more of an al qaeda central like message including a threat to us. but i think despite the new statement we've seen, isal is going to maintain the pace of operations and continue to be a serious threat. >> thank you i'd like to ask some questions about iraq and iran. when i look back to the war

facing wello be trained al qaeda. how imminent threat is the resurgence of al qaeda affiliates pose for the region stability? increasingly is an big concern that we're going to have to pay close attention to not only inside of iraq but in the whole region as you are highlighting. the scale of what is involved, particularly the al qaeda elements in iraq, and the level theestruction they have in level of killing they are doing is just terrible. >> thank you very much. chairman,ou, mr. director clapper, general flynn. fornt to thank you both being here and thank you for your service helping to protect our nation. i also want to thank the men and women military and civilian with you both. start byike to focusing on al qaeda. sustained counterterrorism pressure, key organizational setbacks and the emergence of other power centers of the global extremist movement have put core al qaeda on a downward trajectory since 2008. all is ask you what your core definition of core al qaeda is. >> why definition is the -- it isp group

al qaeda corps is much weaker. >> is terrorism a major issue?the core is weaker but now it seems the per periphery is getting stronger. >> how does the united states handle these different groups especially with isil and others that are warring inside syria? >> well, i think the united states is going to have to look at each of these small franchises as we call them differently. some of them in the middle of africa. they are concerned about local events and they just want to transform their little area. others, including alnusra and isil may well have designs on europe and even the united states. >> go further with that. why do you think they may have designs on the united states or europe or other western targets when these groups, especiallies the ones fighting in syria, they seem to be distracted with the war they are facing currently. >> well, particularly in isil's case, they are much more concerned about holding territory and building legitimacy for themselves in these areas, building bases and they may decide that from there, they can pro

of al qaeda? >> jon, it's not going to be easy. you know what they say, mo-mullah, mo problems. [ laughter ] >> jon: nobody says, that sam. >> i know. trying to make that phrase happen though. [ laughter ] >> jon: what has zawahiri done so far? >> there was a certainly worded memo reel: beheadings to all staff basically stated that any unauthorized beheadings would be grounds for beheadings. >> jon: i see. >> and also that management is not responsible for any unlabeled hummus in the fridge. >> jon: sure, sure. [ laughter ] seems pretty clear. >> the isil guys are not having it. you know what they call al qaeda management tyno's terrorists in name only. >> jon: wow. what does al qaeda do now? >> be build the -- rebuild the franchise. try to attract a different caliber of maniacs. >> here is the crazy ones the relentless murderous ideological terrorists offering little to society other than chaos and destruction but not so crazy that they forget there's a well established chain of command. here is

or non al qaeda? how would like to move a -- director, would you be willing-answer those questions for the record under clause abutter aren't classified? >> absolutely. i would just offer one comment that everything that we have to that has been exploited, just described is going to school on that to make sure that we are learning from that exploitation. and i would say that we are applying a lot of all we're doing in the current effort against terrorists based upon some of that information. >> thank you. i look forward to your responses to those questions. director, would you be willing to respond to those also? >> i don't know how long it would take to answer those questions, but i certainly will take your questions and follow up. >> thank you. director, i want to switch to benghazi. are you aware of any claims that e-mails regarding ca involvement were destroyed and are kept from this committee? >> no, i am not. >> okay. were you -- director brendon, were you in tripoli in october of 2012 to review

all this chaos has created an environment ripe for al-qaeda. al-qaeda's reestablishing a safe haven to plan and launch attacks outside the region. that is totally unacceptable trend. the question is, what is the united states going to do? and i yield back the remainder of my time. >> in the 1940s we occupied countries. no one doubted our right to occupy. we took our time, we created new governments, and those governments created new societies. at various other times we've invaded countries, achieved military objectives or as much as could be achieved at reasonable cost, and we left. the first example of that was thomas jefferson's military intervention in libya. in iraq and afghanistan, we established a bad example. the world and even some in the united states doubted our right to occupy, so we hastily installed karzai in afghanistan, and in iraq we installed a structure which is now presided over by mr. maliki. it is not surprising that afghanistan and iraq continue to be problems since we have -- since we hastily handed over governance to those who were ill prepared. iraq is not the

this created an environment ripe for al qaeda. establishing a safe haven to plan and launch attacks. that is an unacceptable trend. what is the united states going to do? >> we occupied countries that nobody doubted our right to occupy and those governments created new societies. we invaded countries, achieve limited military objectives, as much as could be achieved at reasonable costs and we left. the first example was in libya. we established a bad example. states, theynited doubted our right to occupy. and in iraq, we installed a structure that provided over by mr. malik he. it is not surprising that they since weto be problems handed over governance. the most important arab states strategic lead. it doesn't become more important because we made a mistake in the past. other hand, iraqi is important because of its proximity to her rant which i believe is one of our greatest threats to national security. >> we are pleased -- prior to his current assignment, he served as a special advisor to the national security staff. he also se

it is frustrating that al-qaeda is gaining that ground back in iraq. al-qaeda's resurgence is directly related to prime minister maliki's mishandling of his government, incompetence and corruption seem to be the norm. he centralized power, alienated the sunnis and brought back shia hit squads. he has allowed iranian-supported operate i haves to kill -- operatives to kill dissidents on seven occasions without consequences. the last time you were here, mr. mcgurk, you testified before my subcommittee and ileana ros-lehtinen's subcommittee. i predicted that there would be another attack. seven days after you testified in december, camp liberty was attacked again. all this chaos has created an environment ripe for al-qaeda. al-qaeda's reestablishing a safe haven to plan and launch attacks outside the region. that is totally unacceptable trend. the question is, what is the united states going to do? and i yield back the remainder of my time. thank you. >> thank you. mr. sherman. >> in the 1940s we occupied countries no, no one doubted our right to occupy. we took our time, we created new go

training ground and transit point back and forth from al-qaeda and al-qaeda affiliated groups? >> correct. it's a pore yows border this. >> now, when you look at lebanon, jordan, turkey, and kurdistan, this is toot -- to the large degree of regional conflict, would you agree? >> certainly has regional implications, absolutely. >> 7,000 foreign nationals would want to return someday to their own country? that's the presumption. >> and the 26,000 there are extremists that, as you point out, who would like to attack the yeast of america? in your words, intentions, i believe. >> well, not all 26,000, necessary, and, by the way, that's the high end for the extremist, but there are long professed a desire of ultimately to attack the homeland. >> so the longer this goes on, really, the more foreign fighters who go in, ect., ect., the more likely there is a greater and greater threat actually to the united states of america, would you agree? >> i would. >> so could you tell in me, in your mind, what are some of the options that we could example in order to change this stalemate on the

there is an al-qaeda extremist presence south of there.we are working to try to make sure that local people, christians in that community, have the resources to protect themselves and to police their own communities, and we've made some progress in that area over the last six months in the north. and in the kurdish region, when i was in iraq a few months ago and i met, as i mentioned earlier, with the head of the community there and linked him up with the prime minister of the kurdish region to talk about schools for the community and making sure that they're getting the resources they need from the kurdish regional government. so what we can do as a neutral player in iraq with relationships between everybody, because we've been there for ten years and we're seen as a neutral player, one of the very few, is try to make sure that the connections are made between the governments, provincial, regional and national, so that the christian and minority communities have the resources they need to protect themselves but also for schools, for child

al qaeda was on the run. >>. >> we put al qaeda's core leadership on a path to defeat. as al qaeda affiliates and other extremists take root in other parts of the world. in yemen, somalia, iraq, mali, we have to keep working with partners to disrupt and disable those networks. >> when the u.s. pulls its last troops out of iraq in the ebt of 20 2011, the iraqi leadership snubbed u.s. commanders and didn't show up for the departure ceremony at the baghdad airport. just two year later and after cozying up to iran's leaders, prime minister nuri al maliki is requesting u.s. help. he asked for a wish list of weapons, drones and attack helicopters. in a recent editorial, he writes the u.s. has a moral imperative to help fighters leaving syria. he wrote, time and again, i have cautioned against the spill over of terrorism from that conflict to our own country and now it has happened. with logistical force, al qaeda forces have reestablished their presence in western iraq. chuck hagel was asked about maliki's request for weapons while leaving a synagogue outside washington, d.c.

whether al qaeda or not al qaeda? i would like to move, director flynn, would you be willing to answer those questions for the record either a classified or unclassified setting? >> absolutely. and i would just offer one comment, that everything that we do that has been exploited, we are, but i just described is going to school on that you make sure that we are learning from the exploitation of that particular raid. and i would say that we are applying a lot of what we're doing in the current effort against terrorists, based on some of the information. >> thank you. i look forward to your sponsor discussions. director brennan, would you going to expand -- to respond to those questions? >> i certainly will take your questions and follow-up on. >> thank you. director flynn, i want to switch to benghazi but are you where of any claims that e-mails regarding cia involvement in benghazi were destroyed and are kept from this committee? >> no, i am not. >> okay. were you, erector britain, where you in tripoli in october of 2

>> i think any group that has its origins in al qaeda or are still associated with al qaeda presents a threat. >> isn't there some concern in the community that this unprecedented action by the al qaeda core that al qaeda and the levant will have something to include itself, and that will escalate any interest in external operations outside of syria given that is one of the reasons why they separated in the first place you g? >> it is a near-term as well as a long-term concern. >> you would argue this is a clear and present danger and a good growing danger if we do not have at least some effort, we will not say how that efforts might come together, but try to do something to disrupt their ability to plan, corrupt, and train for external obligations. >> and present a number of challenges in terms of the potential spillover of the fighting inside of syria, but also an increasingly so concerns on the military front. >> we again just returned from the security conference. a huge expression of frustration about what they believe is an incoherent policy. do you see that, is there anyway we

or an alr al qaeda qaeda affiliate, the goal is to drive the u.s. out of the mideast entry eight an islamic state throughout the region -- and create an islamic state throughout the region? >> yes. >> attempts against the homeland have been generated by organizations other than core al qaeda, is that correct? >> yes. talked about the perfect storm. sequestration, diminished nsa isability, emboldened enemy, that a fair summary of what you think the perfect storm may be? >> yes. we canll the things control, it seems like budgeting is something we can control in congress. are you agree with that? >> yes. >> can you give a good reason why the u.s. congress would be diminishing your ability to defend this nation given the threats you have described? >> i hate to go where angels , but we do the best we can with the resources we are given. >> if sequestration is fully implemented, how much more risk will we assume in terms of the nation? >> substantial. i can't quantify that. every year we cut resources, we have less capacity. s we are assuming more risk.

and was in fact on al qaeda's payroll. shouldn't his group also be considered part of core al qaeda? >> well, they're not. and of course core al qaeda the central leadership picks and chooses who is among the wannabes or actually nighted or if you will so designated as an al qaeda organization. so there are a lot of these organizations that profess extremism have in some cases the same goal with but are not a part of al qaeda. soot jamaal organization in egypt. a violent organization but not yet a part of al qaeda formally to the extent it has meaning. >> so the determination of core al qaeda -- who is making that? it would seem to me that characteristic of al qaeda being on the payroll and -- >> it is ideological leader is probably pick somebody in charge of that. of course, he recently essentially excommunicated al qaeda in iraq or isio as known. so he is the does knee for deciding who is al qaeda. martin dempsey gave to the house armed services committee when general dempsey was asked about the ability of the military t

i think it is true that the al qaeda were inspired by religion. course we make an obvious distinction between that which is islam and the extreme version which are at the heart of all qaeda. but it's invaluable for us to face those religious roots of the problem, and in fact one of the best ways to do that is to open in addition to the inspired magazine said there've been ten or 11 of these so far even a dirty editors were killed and the drug strik strike and drugst issues and that leaves out in terms how they do their diplomacy and how they hold onto their religious beliefs and how they are willing to fight and die for them and so they are religiously and fired. our war is not. we have to remember we fought with the anarchists a century ago and we defeated them by a long process of law enforcement and other. we have resisted for years those that have very different motivations and there have been waves they are still with us but they've never been able to effect the purposes. we attacked the communists in this country to the groups like the liber

that saddam hussein had ties to or is it the al qaeda that weren't that dangerous or diehard al qaeda or or dangerous islamicists so we don't really know who these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read in forward i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue not out a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. coming up on r t we remember the legacy of internet freedom fighter aaron swartz. young man took his life just over a year ago after facing an intense legal battle against the government congress still deaf to cost reform its measures of prosecution. i mean likely to see any sort of counter-revolution preserving maybe even a charcoal gender roles the islamic religion is one very powerful force towards maintaining traditional marriages and. just as they become more western liberalism. becomes powerful and we have to sort of. civilization currently on a collision course. but they are feeling that the location of the voice still remember. how to do it well there's of the text and said let's s

and other al qaeda.i've never heard the term core al qaeda used in any of my intelligence briefings. could you publicly say what the definition of core al qaeda is and how that differs from each uap? the -- aqap >> refers the original al qaeda move meant and the remnants to include zahler heery, the leader of the al qaeda movement. and so, to me that is my working definition is the core al qaeda and its origins in the pakistan and now primarily fata region. >> do you get across the board to carry out attacks, are you just do not qaeda affiliate? are you answer us a real? or some other terrorist group or related to al qaeda? >> well, i am not sure i understand the question, that there are sort of designated affiliates. five of them, aqap, we now regard that franchise if you build indiana and is what we regard now is the primary threat of all the franchises in terms of threat to the homeland. >> you understand the question. then maybe berkeley bar clear. the reason we haven't been able to get the pentagon'

we have come a long way denying a safe haven to al qaeda. and building up the security forces of our afghan partners. we must not commit the same mistake of losing what the president termed a must win war. i implore you to convey our thanks to the entire intelligence community and those that serve under each and every one of you. a tripntly returned to to jordan and afghanistan where we met some of the men and women of our military and intelligence community. isolatedserving and units in very dangerous parts of are conducting very important missions. it became very clear that we sufferlet afghanistan the same fate as a rack. we must not withdraw from the fight before we finish what we went there to do. recent articles suggest that we may be behind a force of 8002 2,000 personnel -- 8000 to 12,000. we have come a long way denying a safe haven to al qaeda and building up the forces of our afghan partners. we must not make the same mistake they must win war. assigned a have bilateral agreement we must ensure that afghanistan has military assist

no there is no al qaeda as an organization anymore but al qaeda as an idiology and it doesn't need money to spread it spreads by itself everywhere in the world not only in lebanon but in america britain serbia here radical ideas of bread from a young age. fighters here called card as bin laden a teacher and their fight jihad. went twenty three year old returned from syria where he joined the free syrian army he continued his jihad here in lebanon. target the district where she'll leave tripoli is divided into sunni and shia parts ironically by the street called syria two years ago we filmed on that street by street in the city of tripoli separates the whites and sunni neighborhoods in this part of north levanon running like a merger between those who support the syrian president and his regime and those who want him out today we can't get the cache sometimes was. who do you fight against who is your enemy i magick would be my fight against the infidels those who don't carry that for go far eleven is probably the war spillover of the syrian conflict and while the world is hoping for peace

saddam hussein had toews to or is it the al qaeda that we're in that dangerous or die hard al qaeda or or dangerous islamised so we don't really know who these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read and for what i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue not a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. coming up on r.t. we remember the legacy of internet freedom fighter and the young man of life just over a year ago after facing an intense legal battle against the government congress still deaf to calls to reform its measures of prosecution. sigrid laboratory. was to build a needs most sophisticated robot which i don't think he'd leave doesn't give a darn about anything mission to teach creation why it should care about humans. this is why you should care what you only. speak your language as i mean some of the will or not of the. news programs and documentaries and spanish matters to you. it will turn it into angles stories. here. the spanish find out more visit actuality. welcome back you'

al-qaeda link to the latest threat. this man. ibra him a l sir i who is called the best bomb attacker maker. security officials now in europe are advising the airport in amsterdam and two in great britain to ramp up security. we'll keep an eye on it for you. >> and a fox news alert in the disturbances in the ukraine. right now, there is an uneasy truce playing out. that is after the russian backed president and opposition signed a deal. will that deal hold? can they make it stick? or will there are deadly outburst as we are so sadly seeing in the television screens over the past few days? european mediators say it does open the way for reform and comes one day after the worst violence in the month's long crisis and the images are stunning to the world. the slaughter of people fighting on the streets for democracy and freedom. amyicle log live in moscow. >> reporter: the big question is will this deal be enough for the hard- core protestors manning the barricades. one. eu foreign ministers who brokered the deal caught on camera sa

al qaeda core has been decided. core al qaeda is not the issue. it is the splinter groups.e are losing control of that. >> none of them are good guys. >> they are not good guys. >> thank you very much. we will look at the clean debt ceiling bill. and we debate obamacare's latest delays. ♪ >> welcome back. it was a mixed week for the affordable care act. we debate the latest numbers, but first, we avoid another washington standoff. there was a budget deal last december. does this mean some things will actually get done? >> you don't hear much optimism out of the white house. they said, any paths to immigration reform are through john boehner. john boehner says it will not happen this year. floating proposals out there. >> chuck schumer in the senate said -- >> that is more a political ploy. >> all the stories about john boehner, what a huge loser he was. i think he was a huge winner because he bailed the republican party out. the president was moderate in the state of the union. when do they reach the point that we have to lash away politically? >> they are trying to give jo

so i took a closer look at the changing nature of al qaeda. >> it's base firmly in pakistan, al qaeda has branched out into somalia, and africa. >> you could say that there have never been so many members of al qaeda and the world. and many of them are very large. >> richard barnett is a training expert. and there are training camps and easy financing for any of them. but instead, the u.s. policy of drone strikes has weakened the structure and isolated it's top loaders. >> they have been in afghanistan and given up great wealth to go in very civil which has appealed to many people. >> the death of osama bin laden has launched it into broader appeal. >> his weak point is his relevance. >> al-zarqawi doesn't have day-to-day control over affiliates in places like somalia and yemen. he ordered the leader to concentrate on iraq. >> i don't believe that it has any impact on these young jihaddists, they will carry out on their own without instructions from al qaeda center. >> reporter: obama officials worry that some radicalized fighters will try to launch attacks within the u.s. >> why syri

the al qaeda reference was removed. and apparently no one, even after receiving the actual eyewitness interviews of what happened on the scene, ever thought to go to the administration, what the president of the united states -- and correct him, by the way, we're not sure this video really, this pans out, that it's a demonstration, this is a protest in response to a video. yet somehow that doesn't get up the chain of command? we got big problems if that kind of information is not getting up the chain of command. and that's never been answered as to why that would happen and why those representations were made when there was intel that contradicted it. finally, most of all, the president said that he was going to bring the individuals that committed these attacks to justice. no one has been brought to justice. and for the families who lost loved ones because of the terrorist attack on our consulate, they deserve to have these terrorists brought to justice. and in fact, you know, what we've seen in some of the reports, th

to or is it the al qaeda that weren't that dangerous or die hard al qaeda or or dangerous islamised so we don't really know who these people are but from what i see and from what i know from what i read and from what i learn these are just disparate gangs of murderers and criminals it's a moral issue out a military issue and that's the only way it's going to be solved. as the syrian conflict rages the country is busy dismantling its chemical also in accordance with international agreements a third batch of toxic material has been shipped out for decommissioning so you were recently missed several deadlines to hand over its chemicals saying rebel activity will still blame but damascus maintains it will meet the un backed road map and fully designed mixed toxic arsenal by. this is unchanged or national and coming up later this hour it's might just be the right time for some house hunting. great. british town puts homes up for sale for just one pound look at what's proven the local council to let them go for next to nothing. it's a busy day for waves sultry with eight sets of medals up

al qaeda has brampinged out into franchises. in some of the most volatile places on earth. >> in some ways you can say there's never been more members of al-qaeda. there is so many groups, many of them large. >> richard barr ot is a counter terrorism expert and says there's no longer training camps or traceable financing for min yip bases. pt u.s. policy of drone strike. >> there was a particular charisma. he'd been in afghanistan. he had given up wealth which appealed to many people. the death of obreason didn't finish you have, but the new leader backs bin lad ep's broad appeal. >> the biggest weak point is his relevance. >> he does not have day to day control over al qaeda affiliates. he ordered the leader. and to concentrate on iraq. he refused, directly challenging the al qaeda leadership. i don't think of the submit between i.s.i.l. has any impact on the jihadists. they'll carry out the operations on their own with or without instructions. >> obama administration officials worried that some fighters were inspired to laurge

he really has to come up with a plan that addresses al qaeda threat as well as the al qaeda threat inq. that's going to require to us work with our partners there. provide capacity. not involved with al qaeda. but most of all leadership on this. what's most disappointing about it is that you think about the presidential election where the whole. the policy of this administration right now, i believe has been very weak and we have been in a position where it's been insurgency of al qaeda that's very dangerous to our country. say, i'm open. i want to hear his plan. and i think we are going to have to work with the israelis, other partners in the middle east to clamp this down or it's going to come to bite us. >> senator, thank you. always nice to see. >> you great to see you too, greta. >> all right. let's go off-the-record for just a minute. the nation has a big problem and this should worry you regardless of your political party. president obama has lost his mojo. yes, he came to office with very little experience, but he had that incredible power to inspire. america was rooting for h

this is a guy who was believed to be associated with al qaeda, the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, who may be involved in the bombing of the airliner in the united states, and a yemeni judge ordered him captured dead or alive. should we have gone after him with drons. >> first of all, he was reprehensible. i detail what happened to the cartoonist, whose life he threatened. it's not that he was an anningelical character. it's not who he is, but who are we as americans. when the president of the united states serve as the prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner of an american that has not been charged with a crime. if the yemeni indict him, and he's given the death penalty -- >> it went a little further. whatever the u.s. is doing, it's working because there hasn't been a significant frorist attack on -- terrorist attack on u.s. soil. >> first of all, we are going pay a price for this. everyone said look at the iraqis pulling down the sued am statues. fast-forward to a year later there was an insurgency from the shi'a and sunni communities. i think we will be hit. >> befor